Chapter 88 The greater good

Chapter 88 The greater good
Havilah looked like he couldn't believe his ears.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at Shonda, his mouth slightly parted and his brows raised. He had heard many questionable ideas from her over the years, but this one somehow managed to leave him completely speechless.

"Are you being serious right now, Shonda?"

Shonda didn't think twice before giving him an answer. Her overconfident demeanor remained intact, as if there was absolutely nothing unusual about what she had just proposed.

"You and I both know that Blazing Moon will not survive without an Alpha. The Alpha's bond energy is what keeps us together. Unimaginable chaos will erupt if we lose him. We need a replacement fast, even if the replacement is a baby."

She spoke as if she was schooling him on something he had no knowledge of, despite knowing very well that Havilah understood the dynamics of Blazing Moon just as deeply as she did. In fact, that knowledge was one of the reasons he was the head of the council.

Havilah didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or simply frown at the absurdity of her reasoning.

He finally settled for staring at her in disbelief.

"You know all this, yet you tampered with his bond energy and went ahead to open up a hole in his chest that is refusing to heal now?" he asked, his incredulity reaching a level it had only managed to reach whenever he was desperately trying to make Shonda see reason.

Shonda's expression remained composed for a moment.

Then she finally confessed.

"I only tampered with his bond energy because his ideologies were different from what this pack stands for," she admitted. "I needed to rewire his mind, and I couldn't do that without tweaking his bond energy. It was just a little change. I didn't expect it to backfire this much."

Havilah frowned deeply.

Hearing her finally admit what she had done brought a strange mixture of relief and irritation. At least he finally had confirmation. But at the same time, he couldn't ignore the fact that Shonda had successfully managed to fool almost everyone.

"You made everyone believe he was the one with the problem. Why didn't you tell us the mistake was from you?"

The question had barely left his lips when Shonda's expression changed.

Her brows drew together, and the confidence in her eyes hardened into something more defensive. She clearly had no intention of allowing the conversation to continue in that direction.

"I was busy with something before you came in, so it will save both our time if you just get to the point. Why have you chosen to visit the temple unannounced today, Havilah?" she probed, completely avoiding the question thrown at her.

The fact that she had finally admitted the mistake was hers did not mean she was suddenly willing to sit there and answer every question thrown at her.

Havilah watched her for a moment, then a devilish smirk slowly appeared on his face.

He nodded several times, finally deciding to drop the matter and focus on the reason he had come.

"Alpha Evander has agreed to approve the humiliation ritual," he announced.

His eyes moved around the inner chamber once again, taking in the items surrounding them before returning to Shonda.

The moment his words registered, relief slowly appeared on her face, and Havilah noticed it.

He allowed her to enjoy that brief moment of relief, watching as some of the tension left her features.

Then he continued.

"But before you celebrate, there is a condition attached."

The relief on Shonda's face immediately began to fade.

Havilah's smirk widened slightly.

"He will pick the exact rituals you will perform. And secondly, your trigger happy finger must be cut off publicly and delivered to him."

Shonda's eyes stretched, her heart dropping with the speed of lightning as Havilah's words finally registered in her mind.

"What?!!!"

The word finally exploded from her lips, carrying all the disbelief and horror she could no longer contain.

Havilah did not stop to explain himself or soften the blow. His expression remained composed as he looked at her, clearly aware of the effect his words had caused.

"You have only twelve hours to get back to me with your decision on whether you still want to go through with the ritual or not."

Havilah turned around and began walking away after that, leaving her standing there, still swirling in the sea of shock he had just dumped on her. She watched his back as he walked toward the entrance, her mind racing through every possible way she could avoid the punishment.

He, however, paused right at the threshold and turned his head slightly to the side until his eyes were locked onto her in a pointed side glance.

"One more thing. Make sure whatever you're doing to her works," he said, referring to Bree. "Because if it backfires the way Alpha Evander's did, I'll make sure you bear the entire consequences alone. I won't let you drag us into another nightmare."

His warning lingered in the room even after he walked away.

Shonda watched him disappear from view, her jaw tightening as anger slowly replaced the initial shock.

The moment he was gone, Shonda finally snapped out of her shock, and panic immediately took over. She hurried toward the flat stone, her steps almost stumbling over themselves as she approached it. She placed her hands over the surface and began reciting her summoning chants repeatedly, her voice growing more urgent with every repetition.

The temple remained still for several moments.

Then the stone began to glow.

A faint light appeared across its surface before growing brighter, illuminating the surrounding walls. A familiar energy filled the chamber, and moments later, the thundering voice of the moon god reached her ears.

"What is it this time? Why are you adding to the list of things stressing me out?"

Those words coming from the deity took Shonda aback. She blinked several times, momentarily forgetting the reason she had summoned him because she was too stunned by his choice of words. Those were words she never expected to hear from a god, especially the god she believed held the greatest power over their existence.

"Stress? What concerns a god and stress? I thought that word only belonged to mortals," she revealed her confusion, temporarily forgetting why she had summoned him in the first place.

"Gods deal with a lot of things over here that mortals can't understand. What is the matter?" The voice dismissed her question and forced her attention back to the issue at hand.

Shonda swallowed.

"I'm about to lose a finger. Evander will only approve the humiliation ritual if one of my fingers is cut off publicly. I can't lose my finger. Do something."

Her voice showed desperation, fear and panic holding her down tightly. The thought of standing before the entire pack while one of her fingers was severed made her stomach twist.

How could this be happening to her?

She had spent years building her position and power. She had done everything she believed was necessary to keep Blazing Moon under control, and now she was being asked to pay for it with a part of her own body.

A short silence passed before the moon god finally spoke.

"You're bothering me because of a finger?" The voice boomed through the temple, laced with annoyance.

Shonda lowered her head, shaken by the response. She had expected concern. She had expected him to immediately offer a solution. Instead, he sounded irritated that she had bothered him over something he considered insignificant.

"I didn't mean to bother you, but this is serious. It may not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me as a mortal."

There was another pause before the moon god called her name.

"Shonda."

His voice was calmer now, and she lifted her eyes toward the glowing stone.

"What is one finger compared to everything I've promised you? What is one finger compared to a brand new body? If losing one finger is what it takes to keep the order, then see it as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good."

A brand new body.

That promise had always been enough to make her endure things she would never have accepted otherwise. It was one of the rewards she had been working toward, the thing she believed would make everything she had sacrificed worthwhile.

The glow dimmed after that and eventually went out, signaling the end of the conversation.

Shonda stared at the now lifeless stone, her expression slowly hardening as the reality of what had just happened sank in.

She couldn't believe it.

She was supposed to just accept losing her finger for the greater good? Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.

She turned away from the stone and returned to Bree, her fury burning like never before.

Shonda stared at her sleeping form for a few seconds before her lips curled into a bitter expression.

"You're gonna pay for all this, Evander. As soon as you produce another alpha, I'm gonna show you why no one messes with Shonda."

Her voice was low, but the promise in it was unmistakable. Pain laced every word as she turned her attention back to Bree and resumed her chantings over her sleeping form, determined to make the enchantment work no matter what it cost her.