Chapter 7: Kieran’s Wrath

Evelyn’s POV

The great hall was silent.

The kind of silence that crushed the air from my lungs, thick with judgment, expectation, and something colder—finality.

I stood in the center of the room, my hands clenched at my sides. The weight of a hundred stares pressed against me, but none burned as fiercely as Kieran’s.

He sat on his throne-like chair at the head of the room, flanked by his Beta Cedric and Serena, whose face was a mask of victory.

The council members stood close by, their expressions somber. They weren't giving me sympathetic looks.

They were condemning me with their eyes.

Less than an hour had passed during the trial, if I may use that term at all.

The poison had been discovered in my room.

Marcus had passed away.

I was also the most likely suspect.

I was going to get a sentence now.

Kieran drummed his fingers on the armrest. He appeared to be every bit the vicious Alpha that people had been saying he was—cold, untouchable, with a storm building beneath the surface.

His voice cracked like ice when he finally spoke.

"Evelyn Grayson."

I took a deep breath. "Yes, Alpha."

When I gave him my formal address, his lips slightly curled. Days ago, when I realized that whatever was between us, whatever hope I had held onto, had crumbled, I had stopped referring to him by name.

"You are charged with Alpha Marcus's poisoning and murder." Kieran leaned forward and looked directly into my dark eyes. "Before I judge, do you have anything new to say?"

I raised my chin. "I didn't do it."

The room echoed with a low murmur.

Kieran's eyes remained fixed. "However, the evidence contradicts that."

"The proof was fabricated," I spoke steadily, but my heart was racing. "Kieran, consider it. Your closest ally was Marcus. The only person who wished for you to accept me as your partner was him. Why would I murder the one person who genuinely supported me?

Kieran remained silent.

I looked for any hint of doubt on his face, but he had put up barriers that even I couldn't get past.

Stepping forward, Serena was the epitome of sweet destruction. "Evelyn, perhaps we could have been lenient if you had simply acknowledged what you did. However, is this lying? It is shameful.

I swiveled to face her. "You set me up."

With a gasp, Serena covered her chest with a delicate hand. "You dare?"

Kieran let out a long sigh. "Enough."

My stomach turned over. I anticipated what would happen.

Even so, his words tore me apart when he said them.

"I, Alpha Kieran Blackwood, deprive Evelyn Grayson of her Blackwood Pack Luna title."

The hall fell silent in shock.

I felt the world tilt beneath me, even though I had anticipated it.

The room was filled with gasps. I no longer had my title, which was the only thing that made me feel like I belonged.

Kieran went on, his expression still unreadable.

"You are no longer acknowledged as my mate as of this day."

A triumphant smirk curved Serena's lips.

The agony was excruciating.

The title wasn't all that important.

It had to do with him.

Some tiny, stupid part of me had hoped—hoped—that Kieran would see me someday, no matter how cold he had been toward me. He would let me in one day.

Now, however, that hope had died.

He had put his pride ahead of me. Above us.

He cleared his throat, Beta Cedric. "What are we going to do with her, Alpha?"

I made myself stand up straight and breathe.

Banishment. Exile was the only option.

Kieran wouldn't murder me.

Would he?

Kieran's mouth tightened. The tiniest moment of uncertainty, the flicker of hesitation, was visible to me.

Then he said something.

"Until a decision is made, she will stay in the pack as a prisoner."

A wave of shock swept over me.

Serena paused her smile. She had thought he would fully get rid of me.

Kieran got up from his seat, his bulk taking over the room. He came down the steps to within inches of me.

He spoke softly, only for me to hear.

"Evelyn, if I discover that you were involved in Marcus's demise... He left the sentence hanging. He was not required to.

I raised my chin. "What if you discover that I didn't?"

His eyes grew gloomy. "Then I'll have to ask myself why someone is so desperate to get you gone."

Throughout the day, he had shown no doubt at all except for that.

However, it was insufficient to save me.

Kieran looked away. "Bring her to the cells,"

That evening

The dungeon smelled of mildew and was damp and cold.

With my back to the rugged wall, I sat on the stone floor. The shackles around my wrists served as a symbol even though I wasn't stupid enough to resist.

Kieran no longer considered me his mate.

I wasn't Luna.

I was incarcerated.

Footsteps reverberated along the hallway.

The cell door creaked open, and I looked up.

I was shocked to learn it wasn't a guard.

Cedric was the one.

Glancing toward the entrance, he entered and then lowered his voice. "Evelyn."

I stiffened. "Why are you in this place?"

With urgency, he stated, "I don't have much time." "Pay close attention to what I have to say."

I squinted. "Why should I pay attention to you?"

He paused. "Because I think you're real."

I blinked. "What?"

Cedric let out a breath. There's a problem with all of this. Kieran is someone I know. He is not blind, but he is many things. Despite his refusal to acknowledge it, he has a suspicion.

I took a deep breath. "So why—"

"Because he would appear weak if he publicly defended you without evidence." Cedric's tone was resentful. "Kieran also never lets himself appear weak."

I balled my fists up. "So what? Would he rather see me languish in a cell?

"For now," Cedric uttered somberly. But Evelyn, pay attention to me. You must be intelligent if you wish to survive this. You were set up by someone. Someone who wishes to permanently remove you from the picture.

A shiver went through my body.

Calm down.

The answer was obvious: she.

However, something about this felt... more expansive.

"Who?" I muttered.

Cedric paused. "I don't think Marcus's murder was just about you," he said, his voice barely audible above a whisper. I believe it served as a warning.

A cautionary tale?

A piercing voice reverberated down the hallway before I could ask any more questions.

"Cedric?"

Both of us froze.

Kieran was the one.

Cedric stood up. "Remain silent."

Then he vanished as swiftly as he had come.

Behind him, the cell door locked.

My heart was racing as I sat there.

A caution.

To whom?

And more significantly...

Had Marcus been the initial target—

Who came next?