Chapter 76 Between Rejection or Punishment

Chapter 76 Between Rejection or Punishment

Livia couldn’t breathe. The world around her seemed to fade into a distant hum, as if every sound and breath had been swallowed by the single, devastating truth echoing in her ears.

Her mother — her mother — had just confessed.

“No…” she whispered, voice trembling, eyes wide with disbelief as she shook her head over and over.

“No… you’re lying. You didn’t… you wouldn’t…”

Her knees felt weak, and the cold marble floor beneath her seemed to sway as her heart pounded painfully against her chest.

She staggered a step forward, eyes glistening with tears as they locked on the familiar woman standing at the center of the hall — the same woman who used to cradle her after nightmares, who used to hum lullabies until she fell asleep.

“Why?” Livia’s voice cracked, her breath hitching between sobs as she clasped her trembling hands together. “Why would you do that to me? Why, Mother? Why?”

Her mother did not answer. Her head remained bowed, shoulders hunched like the weight of her own admission was too heavy to bear. Her lips trembled, but no words came.

Livia’s tears streamed down unchecked, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her mind screamed that something was wrong — this wasn’t right. Deep down, in the depths of her soul, she knew her mother would never hurt her.

She could feel it — the love, the bond, the years of gentle care. None of it matched this monstrous confession. And yet… her mother had said the words. The very words that could condemn her.

The hall erupted into a cacophony of noise.

Gasps echoed through the chamber, sharp and disbelieving. Some covered their mouths, others exchanged horrified glances. A few even stepped back as if the air itself had turned poisonous.

“How could a mother do that to her own daughter?” someone whispered from the back.

“She cursed her own blood… unforgivable…” another voice hissed.

“I knew something was off about their family…”

The crowd was split. Some pitied Livia’s mother — murmuring that there must be a reason behind such an act — while others turned their accusing eyes on her, their disgust palpable. But through it all, the one thing that echoed louder than anything else was the disbelief. No one had expected this.

Livia’s father stood frozen beside his mate, his face pale and drained of color. He reached for her trembling hand, his eyes darting between his daughter’s tear-streaked face and his wife’s bowed head. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came, only a choked sound of confusion and horror.

Members of the Elder Council exchanged grim looks. Even their centuries-old composure cracked under the weight of the revelation. Elder Caelum leaned back slightly, his ancient eyes narrowing, though not with certainty — with suspicion.

Something about the woman’s trembling form, about the way she had confessed so quickly and without explanation, stirred unease deep in his gut.

Across the hall, Amber’s lips curved into a small, satisfied smile.

The chaos unfolding before her eyes was far more delicious than she had imagined. She hadn’t planned to use Livia’s mother — truthfully, she found the idea too messy, too unpredictable.

But cornered by the Elder Council’s probing gaze and the threat of exposure, she had no choice. If someone had to burn, it would not be her.

And so, with a whisper of her dark magic, she had reached into the older woman’s mind — twisting it, corrupting it, planting a false memory so deep that even she believed it. Now, the poor woman would take the fall, and Amber… Amber would remain untouched.

Amber’s chest swelled with satisfaction as she watched Livia crumble to pieces before her. ‘This is what you deserve’, she thought. ‘For daring to stand in my way’.

But her moment of triumph was short-lived.

From across the hall, two pairs of sharp, penetrating eyes cut through the tension and found her — Alpha Dominick’s icy glare and Sebastian’s burning suspicion pinned her in place. Her smirk faltered.

In an instant, Amber schooled her features into an expression of heartbreak and disbelief. She gasped softly, covering her mouth as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her eyes shimmered with fake tears, and she shook her head, whispering,

“No… this can’t be… this isn’t right…”

The crowd, too wrapped in the spectacle, bought her performance without question. Some even cast sympathetic glances her way, believing she was deeply affected by the tragic betrayal unfolding before them.

Anyone watching her now would see a picture of innocence — a friend devastated by betrayal, a woman who could barely process the tragedy unfolding before her.

But behind those wide, innocent eyes, Amber was smiling. The game was far from over. And in her mind, she had already won.

While everyone was distracted — whispering furiously among themselves, still reeling from the shocking confession, and watching Livia fall apart before their very eyes — the members of the Elder Council remained silent, their expressions unreadable yet their gazes razor-sharp as they fixed them on Amber and Aldrake.

The air in the hall grew heavier with every passing second. Most of the audience was too caught up in the chaos to notice the way the Elders’ ancient eyes seemed to pierce straight through the façade Amber wore.

They could feel it — the shift in the atmosphere, the faint trace of darkness coiled like smoke around the true culprit. And though the one who had confessed now trembled in guilt, the Elders knew, deep within their seasoned wisdom, that there was more to the story than what had just been spoken aloud.

They already knew the truth. They could see beyond lies, beyond illusions, beyond the masks that desperate souls wore. Yet they chose to remain silent — for now. It was not yet time to strike. They would wait, watch, and plan their next move carefully.

In the midst of this chilling revelation — with Livia sobbing uncontrollably, begging her mother for an explanation that would never make sense, and Amber quietly savoring her twisted victory — the Elder Council finally reached their decision.

Livia’s mother would face punishment for her confessed crime. The verdict, though expected, sent a ripple of shock through the room. Even if she had been manipulated, there was no proof to clear her name now — and the council’s law was absolute.

She would be taken away and imprisoned, locked deep within the Shadow Cells of the Blood Moon Pack — a place few had ever seen and even fewer had survived. The dungeon was a labyrinth of darkness, carved into the oldest stone beneath the pack’s stronghold.

It was cold and merciless, a place where time itself seemed to stop and where guilt clung to the air like a curse.

The murmurs ded down as the reality of the punishment sank in. Some pitied the woman, others felt anger and disgust, while a few whispered that justice had finally been served.

But amidst the chaos of judgment and despair, one truth hung heavy and unspoken — that the real monster still sat among them, smiling quietly in the crowd.

As the pack guards dragged Livia’s mother away, the once-powerful hall fell silent — and the only sound that filled the air was Livia’s loud, broken sobs.

She understood now — her parents, her mother had abandoned her because of Amber. But what she couldn’t understand, what her heart refused to believe, was that her mother would go this far… that she would curse her own daughter.

Her knees buckled beneath the weight of betrayal, tears pouring down as uncontrollable sobs shook her body. She screamed for answers that would never come, cried for the love she would never receive.

Her father barely glanced at her as he rushed out of the hall, chasing after his mate — his wife — leaving Livia behind in her pain, as if she were nothing more than a stranger.

All around, the pack members watched in silence, their hearts aching with pity for the woman who had just lost everything.

Yet even as their gazes softened toward her, the Elder Council’s eyes shifted elsewhere — toward Amber and Aldrake, who were quietly exchanging glances from across the room.

They knew.

The elders had already pieced the truth together — they knew exactly who was pulling the strings behind this chaos. But knowledge alone wasn’t enough. Not yet. They had no proof, no reason to act without exposing themselves too soon.

And so, they remained silent, forced to play along with the charade. They had to pretend to believe that the woman taken away in chains — Livia’s mother — was the one truly guilty of the crime.

In reality, this was only the beginning. And when the time was right, the real culprits — Amber and Aldrake — would find themselves trapped with nowhere to run.

Amber’s lips curled into a faint smile as she watched the chaos unfold — a smile so fleeting that anyone who wasn’t looking closely would have missed it.

To the others, she appeared sorrowful, her brows furrowed with concern as if she, too, was shaken by the tragedy that had befallen her sister. But beneath that carefully crafted mask, satisfaction glimmered in her eyes.

“Everything is going exactly as planned,” she whispered under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Beside her, Aldrake sat composed, his expression unreadable. He reached for Amber’s hand and gave it a subtle squeeze — a silent reminder to stay calm, to keep playing the part they’d perfected.

“Do not get ahead of yourself,” he murmured quietly, his gaze locked on the council. “The elders are not as blind as the rest of them. They’re watching.”

Amber’s smirk faded just enough to mask itself as a sorrowful frown. She lowered her head, pretending to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye — a performance worthy of applause.

“Let them watch,” she replied softly. “They have no proof. And without proof, all they have are suspicions.”

Aldrake’s lips twitched into a dark, knowing grin. “Exactly. And suspicion alone can’t save anyone… not even that pathetic woman.”

Amber’s eyes flickered toward Livia, who was still sobbing on the cold floor, her body trembling with pain and betrayal. The sight should have stirred guilt — but it didn’t. Instead, it fed something darker inside her.

“She’s weak,” Amber whispered, almost as if speaking to herself. “Always was. That’s why she was never meant to stand beside me.”

“Soon,” Aldrake murmured, leaning closer so only she could hear, “there will be no one left to stand in our way.”

Amber inhaled deeply, steadying herself. The plan had unfolded perfectly — their enemies blinded, their tracks covered, and the blame resting entirely where they wanted it. But even with their victory within reach, she knew the final step had yet to be taken.

They needed the council to believe. They needed the pack to turn their backs on Livia once and for all.

And when that happened, when everyone she loved had abandoned her… Livia would break. Completely.

Amber lifted her gaze once more, her eyes locking with Aldrake’s — a silent promise passing between them.

This was only the beginning.