My Alpha's Ninety Three Lies

Outside, I heard Harrison's inner circle complaining.

“It was just a joke, Harrison. Why are you suddenly so sensitive?”

Harrison's voice grew low; he was struggling to stay calm.

“Elara has been afraid of water since she was a child. How could you joke about her greatest fear?”

One of them scoffed.

“Consider it a lesson for her.”

“Victoria's back—don't you want to have your bonding ceremony with her sooner?”

“Yeah, you've done worse before. What's one more thing?” another chimed in.

Something in Harrison snapped.

He kicked the table hard, his voice icy.

“She just sacrificed half her life force. What if the sacrificial wound ruptures completely?”

Victoria's face darkened.

She glared at him, her voice trembling.

“Has your heart really changed in just four years apart?”

“Never,” he said instantly.

“You are the only one I've ever loved, and that will never change.”

His friends egged him on, fanning the flames.

“Harrison and Victoria are fated mates! If Elara hadn't gotten in the way, you two would have been together long ago. She's shamelessly sticking around, so we should give her one last lesson—show her what happens when you steal someone else's place. She sabotaged Victoria’s promotion ceremony, so crippling her legs is only fair!”

The others nodded as if this made perfect sense, but Harrison hesitated.

“No. Elara's body can't handle that kind of ritual right now.”

A silence fell.

Then Victoria burst into tears.

“Harrison, you told me you were only apart from me to get revenge on her. Now that I’m back, why are you still protecting her?”

“You saw the agony I was in when my wolf went wild. All I want is justice—is that too much to ask?”

Flustered, Harrison pulled Victoria into his arms and kissed her.

After a long, tense moment, he spoke to his friends in a hoarse voice:

“Just don't actually kill her. I don't want to owe her anything.”

A sharp pain lanced through my chest.

He would destroy me without a second thought for Victoria's happiness.

Fine. If that's what he wanted, I would make him pay.

I took out my communication rune and sent a message to my mom.

Harrison’s friends left boisterously, still reveling in their cruel scheme.

A few minutes later, Harrison slipped into the bedroom and sat by my bed.

Perhaps seeing me curled up under the covers, pale and in pain, made him feel a shred of guilt.

He leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed him away.

His hand froze for a second before he forced a gentle smile.

“Baby, I'm sorry you had a bad day,” he said.

“I've booked your favorite spot at Moon Goddess Cliff. Meet me there at noon tomorrow. I have a surprise for you.”

My heart felt like a block of ice, but I managed a slight nod.

“Okay.”

The next morning, he claimed he had to handle pack business and told me to drive there myself.

As he handed me the car keys, I asked in a low voice:

“Harrison, if you had another chance… would you still choose me?”

A strange flicker crossed his eyes—maybe regret—but he plastered on a smile and ruffled my hair.

“Don't overthink it. You're my only mate.”

As he walked away, I gave him a faint smile.

It was his last chance.

I went to the garage, got into the car, and started the engine.

The car sped out of the territory and onto the path leading to Moon Goddess Cliff.

A sacrificial array flashed into view by the roadside, but I barely gave it a glance.

In the villa, Harrison and his inner circle were using an eagle-eye spell, their focus locked on my car.

Just before the final turn, the car didn't slow down. Instead, it accelerated, the tires screeching like claws on rock.

Inside the car, a hidden magical conch transmitted my terrified screams directly back to the villa.

“What’s happening?”

“The car’s out of control! Harrison, where are you? I’m so scared! I don’t want to die!”

They fed on my fear like wolves, laughing uproariously.

The car careened off the road, crashing into the center of the sacrificial array at the cliff’s edge with a sickening surge of magical energy.

Harrison led the applause.

“When she crawls out of that array, I'll tell her we're finished.”

But things didn't go as planned.

The preset array activated, the energy of mixed silver dust and wolfsbane erupting instantly.

Thick smoke and silver flames shot up, and before they could react, a violent magical explosion ripped through the center of the array, scattering debris and leaving nothing but a pile of smoldering ash.