CHAPTER 48: BABIES AND EXCUSES

If my old attachment to Julian could be explained by our childhood bond, then what excuse did Camilla have? Why cling so desperately to a man whose heart was nothing but dust?

Before anyone could speak, Vivian stirred. She opened her eyes slowly. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she took in the scene: torn clothes, flushed skin, betrayal thick in the air. Her voice shook as she lifted a trembling finger at them both. "You... are you out of your minds? Julian, she’s your sister!"

Julian opened his mouth, but Camilla cut him off instantly, her voice icy and sharp. "I’m a Morrigan. I’m not blood-related to the Hales."

The slap that followed cracked like thunder. Vivian’s palm struck Camilla so hard her head snapped sideways, her body stumbling into the glass wall. For a moment, the greenhouse fell silent.

That sound. It hit me deeper than I expected. Because I remembered it. Too well. I had been slapped by these people so many times while Camilla stood behind them, innocent in everyone’s eyes. Every time she lied, I took the punishment. Once, Malcom hit me so hard that my ear rang for months. But Camilla? She had always been protected. The sky they loved. Untouchable.

Now, for the first time, the sky cracked.

Camilla’s eyes watered, but she still bit back with venom. "Elena is dead," she said coldly. "Their bond ended with her. Julian and I are both unmated now. What’s stopping us from being together?"

Her calm, twisted logic left even the elders speechless.

Vivian’s face drained of color. "W-what’s gotten into you? Elena hasn’t even been mourned properly. Her killer is still out there. And you... you’re here doing this?"

Malcom rushed to steady his mate before she fainted again.

"How can I not be upset?" Vivian sobbed. "You’re acting like animals. This is what you do to Elena? After everything?"

Camilla only laughed, a brittle, heartless sound. "In old times, pack law allowed a younger female to bond with her sister’s mate after the first died. It strengthened alliances. It wasn’t taboo. I’m doing nothing new. Our families would be closer. Isn’t that a good thing?"

Her words were poison, rotting the room from the inside.

Julian turned to her, eyes wide with disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about us," she said clearly. "I want to mate with you.I want to be your wife"

Vivian gasped. "You’ve lost all shame. You’re heartless."

Malcom, shaking with rage, finally spoke. "This isn’t something we can decide here."

His gaze turned toward Lewis my Alpha partner who had stayed quiet through it all, hiding every emotion behind that calm, carved expression.

"Lewis," Malcom said, "this involves both packs. We should ask Jeffrey to judge this. Let him decide what punishment fits."

Lewis’s cold stare snapped to Julian like a blade. "Fine."

Back at the pack house, when Jeffrey heard what happened, his fury exploded. His cane struck the floor with a hard thud. "You disgraceful wolves! On your knees."

Julian dropped instantly, shame twisting his face. Camilla followed, trembling.

Jeffrey’s glare swept over them, sharp and merciless. "I should have known," he spat at Camilla. "Like mother, like daughter. With a foster mother like yours, what good could you be? You learned no honor. Only how to manipulate males."

Vicky stood stiff in the back, lips pressed tight. Vivian looked shattered, guilt swimming in her eyes.

"I failed as a mother," Vivian whispered through tears. "I never imagined she... could fall this low. This is unthinkable."

Jeffrey motioned for someone to help her into a chair. Her legs trembled too much to stand. And for the first time, the full weight of their sins settled over the greenhouse like a dark cloud.

Once Vivian was seated and breathing steadily, Jeffrey turned his fury back toward Julian. "You have no shame," he growled. "Elena has barely been laid to rest, and you’re already tangled up with her sister. Where is your conscience? Did you bury it with her?"

James,Julian’s father quickly stepped in, trying to shield his son. It wasn’t out of love; it was fear. His wealth, rank, and future all depended on Julian staying in good standing within the pack. If Julian fell, everything James built around him would crumble too. "Father, I don’t think it’s fair to put all the blame on Julian," he said carefully. "You’ve always known Camilla and Julian weren’t connected by blood. Something like this was bound to happen eventually."

Jeffrey scoffed. "That doesn’t matter now. This isn’t a private mistake anymore. This is a pack-wide scandal. So tell me what do we do about this?"

Malcom stepped forward, his tone strangely calm for someone who had just walked in on his daughter’s shame. "Camilla’s pregnant," he said.

The room went dead silent.

Jeffrey’s eyes widened. "Pregnant? You mean you two actually ?" His face reddened with fury, and the air filled with the heavy dominance of a powerful elder wolf on the edge of snapping.

I had always known Malcom valued alliances and status more than his own family, but even I was stunned by how quickly he brushed aside my death. One brief outburst, and then his mind shifted straight to strategy. My death had turned into a convenient opening for Camilla to secure power through her unborn child a new tie between the Hales and Morrigans, even if it was wrapped in dirt.

Camilla saw her chance. She stepped forward, voice shaking but determined. "Julian and I have been in love for years," she said. "Even if Elena were alive, he never truly loved her. He stayed with her out of duty. But with me, he could be himself. Please... don’t stand in our way."

Julian snapped before anyone else could speak. "Shut up."

Every head turned toward him in shock.

"I never wanted to mate with you," he said coldly. "The only female I ever loved was Elena. That hasn’t changed." His voice wavered slightly not from affection, but from fear and anger. "The biggest mistake of my life was trusting you. I should’ve seen your lies. You used me, Camilla. Was Elena’s death just another step in your plan to replace her?"

Camilla crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Julian... how can you say that? We had something real. You told me you were tired of Elena that you couldn’t breathe around her. You said only with me could you relax."

Then she clutched her stomach like it was her last weapon. "Even if you hate me, I’m carrying your child. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"