CHAPTER 264: CHAPTER 264 DEBUNKING ACCUSATIONS

"But Addison? She’s just a wolfless omega. How could she be heir apparent when she couldn’t even stop her own pack from bullying her as Luna of the Midnight River Pack?"

Her words were not just defiance; they were a threat. Claire was warning the Alpha King that if he dared harm her, she would spread the truth: Addison was nothing but a wolfless mutt. And once that truth spread, Addison’s claim to the throne would crumble, for a kingdom built on strength could never accept a wolfless woman as its ruler.

"Sweetheart, what do you mean by wolfless? And... Luna?" Dimitri asked, his face a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

Claire’s lips trembled, but she pressed on, voice quivering. "Father... did you truly not know? Addison was Luna of the Midnight River Pack for three years. And yet, in all that time, she never once shifted into her wolf form. Every time she was injured, she had to go to the clinic for bandages; her wolf couldn’t even heal her. That can only mean... she doesn’t have a wolf anymore."

As she spoke, she dared to flick a glance at the Alpha King, and instantly regretted it. His storm-dark expression made her blood run cold. Just one look was enough to crush the air from her lungs, as if his very gaze promised: ’Say one more word, and I’ll cut off your head with my own hands, right here, right now.’

Fear seized her whole body, her knees nearly buckling under the invisible weight of his fury.

Claire bit her lip hard, refusing to speak further. She had already said what needed to be said, and now silence was her only shield. Still, her words had already lit a fire—one that burned hot in the Alpha King’s eyes.

Before he could unleash his wrath, Dimitri stepped forward, his voice trembling with desperation as the questions clawed their way out of him. "Brother... what is going on? Is what my daughter said true?"

The Alpha King ignored his brother’s question, his gaze locking on Claire with the cold, lethal eyes of a predator. To him, she was already as good as dead. "Are you threatening me? The Alpha King of this kingdom?"

His voice was low, edged with danger. "Do you think you can spread rumors and escape unscathed? Try it. Speak a single word, and I will hunt you to the ends of the earth myself. Even if you are my brother’s child, you are nothing to me."

His glare was so vicious, so merciless, that Claire felt her knees buckle. The crushing weight of his aura pressed down on her until she nearly fainted from sheer terror.

The Alpha King’s words were more than enough to confirm Dimitri’s suspicion. Dimitri shot his brother a cold look, but the Alpha King showed no intention of admitting anything outright.

His earlier declaration had been both a promise and a warning, the natural response of someone of his rank. To be threatened by a lesser werewolf was nothing short of insulting, and he could easily justify his words as a reaction to that disgrace.

Yet when he caught Dimitri’s gaze, eyes that already seemed to hold the answer, the Alpha King’s expression hardened.

"I despise being threatened," he growled. "If you believe you can manipulate me with false accusations, then be prepared to die by my hand. My daughter, who has always been outstanding, was simply too kindhearted to act against you. I have already shown leniency, yet you dare to demand more? Then perhaps I should reinstate the original sentence—public execution!"

His voice dripped with venom, the sound of a low growl rumbling in his chest as his eyes began to glow. His wolf was clawing to the surface, desperate to tear Claire apart. Dimitri saw it too, and in a rush of panic, he threw himself in front of his daughter to shield her from the Alpha King’s wrath.

"Brother, calm your anger..." Dimitri said, bowing low. His voice quivered with submission. "We never intended to challenge your authority as Alpha King. I beg you, grant us your leniency, not only as your subject, but as your brother. Please..."

From the Alpha King’s vantage, all he could see was Dimitri’s trembling form. What he could not see, hidden beneath the bow, was the cold glint in Dimitri’s eyes—a silent defiance veiled by humility.

"Dimitri, as my brother, you should know well that a hundred lashes with silver is already an act of leniency," the Alpha King said, his tone clipped with restrained fury. "What your daughter has done warrants a public execution."

"The law has always been clear: anyone who dares to harm, target, or even plot against the Royal Bloodline faces death. This decree has stood since the founding of our kingdom, and even I, the Alpha King, am bound to it. Without such rules, how else do you think peace is maintained? Without order, anyone could crown themselves king, and chaos would reign."

Though his words carried reason, his eyes betrayed the storm raging within. In truth, the silver lashes were far from enough to soothe his wrath. Even as he spoke, his mind churned with dark schemes, plotting how he would make Claire pay—slowly, piece by piece—for daring to harm his daughter.

"Brother, that would kill my daughter!" Dimitri roared, chest heaving as his glare burned into the Alpha King, losing control over his emotions. His voice cracked with desperation, but his defiance rang clear.

That outburst alone was enough to be taken as a challenge against the Alpha King’s authority. Dimitri had begged once, then twice, then more, demanding his brother overturn a royal decree, an act so brazen it could warrant his beheading on the spot.

Any other man would have already been executed for such insolence. The only reason Dimitri still breathed was because he was the Alpha King’s brother, and even then, the Alpha King’s restraint was wearing thin.

The Alpha King had endured countless trials as ruler, honing his will to cage his fury when duty demanded it. But his wolf was another matter entirely. Every word of defiance from Dimitri was like fuel to the beast’s rage.

Its blazing eyes clawed for dominance, desperate to shred the disrespectful pair into pieces. Only the Alpha King’s iron grip on his own instincts kept the wolf from seizing control and ending them both right then and there.

"Enough!" the Alpha King thundered, his voice laced with fury. "Dimitri, you’ve already overstepped your bounds more times than I should permit. Do not push me further."

"Your illegitimate daughter’s weakness is her own fault; if a hundred silver lashes could kill her, then so be it. After all, my own daughter, whom she dared to brand a wolfless omega, endured the same torment and survived."

"If Addison had truly been wolfless, how could she have withstood such torment? Tell me, how could she live through what even your daughter admits would kill her?"

His words cut like a blade, dripping with venomous sarcasm. The retort stunned Dimitri into silence, his anger faltering as the weight of the Alpha King’s reasoning sank in. With that single statement, the Alpha King had unraveled Claire’s accusation entirely.

If even Claire, someone with wolf, believed such a punishment would be fatal, then Addison surviving it was proof enough that she was far from wolfless. The accusation crumbled beneath its own contradiction, exposed as nothing more than a baseless lie.