Chapter 3

SHADOW CLAW  PACK 

“You all deserve the truth.”

Ronan’s voice cut through the crisp morning air, his tone sharp, commanding. The pack had gathered outside the mansion, tension thick enough to suffocate. Every face turned toward him, eyes wide with uncertainty, waiting for answers.

Lilith stood beside him, her expression composed, a perfect mask of sorrow. But her eyes—those deceitful, calculating eyes—held something else. Victory.

“The rogues didn’t just stumble onto our land last night,” Ronan continued, his voice heavy with manufactured regret. “They were led here. Someone betrayed us.” He let the words settle, let the weight of them press down on the gathered wolves. “Selene.”

A stunned silence followed. Then—gasps. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, disbelief cracking through them like lightning.

“That’s not possible,” someone whispered.

“Selene?” Another voice, uncertain, shaken.

Ronan’s jaw tightened. “I know it’s hard to hear,” he said. “But the truth can’t be ignored. She was the only one who had access to the patrol schedules, the security details. The only one who could’ve weakened our defenses at exactly the right moment.”

A few heads nodded hesitantly, doubt beginning to take root. But others—the ones who had fought alongside Selene, who had known her as their Luna—stood rigid, unwilling to believe.

“She wouldn’t do that,” an elder spoke up, his grizzled face creased with a frown. “Selene has been nothing but loyal to this pack.”

Lilith exhaled shakily, drawing all eyes to her. “I wanted to believe that too,” she murmured, voice thick with unshed tears. “She was my friend.”

Lie.

“But I saw her,” she continued, letting her hands tremble just slightly as if the memory pained her. “I saw the way she hesitated when the rogues attacked. The way she… she let them through.” She looked at Ronan then, her voice soft but cutting. “Even Ronan saw it. He saw her.”

The crowd shifted uneasily. Eyes flickered to Ronan.

Ronan was silent.

Not denying it. Not refuting her words.

The subtle manipulation worked like poison seeping through their veins.

“She let them in?” A warrior’s voice, thick with anger.

“She betrayed us?”

A low growl rumbled through the pack. The doubt cracked further, shifting toward resentment, toward outrage.

One of the younger wolves, eyes blazing with disbelief, stepped forward. “Then where is she? If she’s guilty, why didn’t she stay and fight for herself?”

Lilith dropped her gaze, her lips trembling. “She ran.”

A snarl echoed through the clearing.

“Coward.”

“She knew she was caught.”

Lilith lifted her chin, swallowing down a satisfied smile. “I loved her like a sister,” she said softly. “But she chose her path. And now…” she glanced at Ronan, her voice turning solemn, “she has to face the consequences.”

Ronan’s shoulders squared. Whatever conflict warred inside him, he buried it beneath the weight of his duty. His pack needed to see strength. Certainty.

“Selene is no longer part of this pack,” he declared, finality ringing in every word. “She is exiled. Forever.”

The pack absorbed the sentence like a blow.

A few looked away, guilt flickering in their eyes. Others nodded, accepting their Alpha’s judgment.

Lilith lowered her head, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Fake. Perfectly placed.

And just like that, the Luna was erased.

The murmurs in the crowd had barely settled when Ronan raised his hand, silencing them instantly. His face was unreadable, but his next words shattered what little composure remained among the pack.

“I have another announcement to make, I know this is too early but the pack would be too weird if there is no Luna.”

The tension in the air shifted, curiosity creeping in where uncertainty had lingered. Lilith, standing close beside him, lowered her gaze, feigning humility.

“This pack has suffered a betrayal,” Ronan continued, his voice firm. “But through it all, there was one person who stood strong, who remained loyal, who helped hold us together when everything threatened to fall apart.” He turned slightly, his gaze settling on Lilith.

“Lilith has helped this pack so much. I hereby mark her as my mate.”

The silence was instant. Heavy. Almost suffocating.

For a moment, no one spoke. No one moved.

Then—

“You couldn’t even wait for a while? You named another woman your Luna?”

The voice rang clear and sharp through the stunned air. Heads turned, pack members shifting as a figure stepped forward from the shadows beyond the clearing.

Not one. Not two.

A group.

Four women..

They moved with quiet authority, their presence commanding, effortless. The women walked ahead, their expressions unreadable, while the men followed—a rare sight. The women of this group almost never showed themselves, but when they did, it was never without purpose.

And now, their presence carried a weight that sent ripples through the gathered wolves.

Ronan’s jaw clenched. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, but he held his ground. “This is not your concern.”

Amanda the group leader stepped forward then, her eyes locked onto Ronan with something dangerously close to disappointment. “Not our concern?” Her voice was calm, measured, but it held an edge that could cut through steel. “You think what happens to this pack doesn’t concern us? We made you an Alpha, you shouldn’t be the Alpha but we made you because you swore to lead well”

Lilith shifted beside Ronan, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her dress. She hadn’t expected this. No one had.

Another voice, Nyx the witch spoke up in anger. “Selene was one of us, she had fought and bled for this pack, she didn’t just get that title, she got it because she deserved it.”

A flicker of something passed through Ronan’s expression, but he buried it quickly. “Selene betrayed this pack.”

Lina, the toughest one in the group, smirked. “Did she?”

A pause. A challenge.

Lilith exhaled softly, stepping closer to Ronan, slipping her arm through his as if grounding him. “She did,” she murmured, her voice gentle but firm. “We all saw it. Even Ronan saw her let the rogues in.”

The silence that followed was deeper this time. Heavier.

The group didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

And then, Amanda who had spoken first tilted her head slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line.

“You’re lying.”

Lilith stiffened.

Amanda lifted the delicate diamond necklace into the air, the morning light catching on its polished edges. The hush that followed was absolute. Every pack member’s eyes locked onto the piece of jewelry, as if it held all the answers.

“Who owns this?” Amanda’s voice was steady, her tone leaving no room for evasion.

A beat of silence. 

Lilith’s fingers twitched as she reached for her throat, panic slithering through her veins like ice. Her breath hitched. Her pulse pounded against her ribs.

The necklace—

It wasn’t there.

“Lilith.”

The name came from Kara, who had been silent until now. She stepped forward, her gaze unwavering as she pointed at the necklace. “That belongs to Lilith. Alpha Ronan gifted it to her on her birthday. In front of everyone.”

Murmurs swept through the pack, a few audible gasps breaking through the stunned quiet.

Lilith’s breath hitched. “No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “That’s not mine. I’m not the only one who has this kind of jewelry.”

Amanda’s sharp eyes stayed on her. “This was found in the woods,” she said, her voice laced with certainty. “Near the clearing where the rogues attacked. Tell me, Lilith, how did it get there?”

Lilith swallowed, but before she could answer, Amanda continued, her voice calm yet slicing through the tension like a blade.

“You see, this necklace wasn’t the only thing found.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a matching bracelet, its clasp slightly bent, as if it had been yanked off in a struggle. “The necklace is yours, but this bracelet? It was found near the rogues’ point of entry.”