Chapter 40: The Fallout

Kael’s POV

The grand hall of our estate echoed with my father’s growl, a deep, guttural noise that sent shivers down my spine. His voice was like thunder, reverberating off the walls and filling the room with oppressive tension. I stood in the center of the room, my shoulders stiff, my jaw clenched as I faced him. His eyes, usually calm and calculating, were now dark with anger; the outer rim of his irises turned black as his wolf threatened to surface.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he roared, his voice shaking the very foundations of the room. His fists were clenched at his sides, his chest heaving with barely contained rage. “Were you insane?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but my mother stepped forward, her expression a mix of disappointment and frustration.

“Kael, we thought you had a plan,” she said, her voice sharp and cutting. “This… this is not what we expected.”

I did have a plan. A damn good one, or so I thought. I had planted a spy behind Ezra, the Blackwood heir, and arranged for him to meet with a rogue. The spy was supposed to gather evidence—photos, videos, anything that could tarnish Ezra’s reputation. The rogue was supposed to play his part, to make it look like Ezra was involved in something shady, something that would disqualify him from the Royal Beta lineage. But things had gone sideways. The spy’s camera had been taken by another rogue—or so he claimed. I had been disappointed, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I thought the Moon Goddess was on my side.

We got another chance. The spy managed to take more photos of Ezra, and I thought this was it. My plan was to present the evidence to the council, to discredit Ezra and force Lilac to come to me for help. I knew her well—she would do anything to protect her brother. And I would be her savior, the one who could make the council forgive Ezra. In exchange, she would marry me, and I would secure the Blackwood family’s support. Ezra, of course, couldn’t be my Beta—Coco didn’t like him—but I could appoint another alpha, someone powerful, to form a strong alliance.

But it all went to hell. The trap had been set for me, not Ezra. And Alexander, of all people, had stepped in. He wasn’t even the Alpha yet, but he had enough influence to turn the tables on me. The council had seen through my plan, and I had been humiliated in front of everyone.

“What made you think you could spy on a minor, let alone the Royal Beta lineage?” my father growled, his voice low and dangerous. His wolf was close to the surface now, his eyes glowing with a feral light.

“Kael, answer him,” my mother snapped, her tone icy.

I clenched my fists, my frustration boiling over. “You knew I had a plan, Mom. Why didn’t you stop me then if you didn’t like it?”

The slap came out of nowhere, the sound sharp and stinging. My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning from the impact. I was dumbfounded, my mind reeling as I stared at my mother. Something else was there too—disappointment, maybe even fear.

“That woman will be the end of you,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Your marriage to Lilac was perfect. Her brother being the Royal Beta was even better. Together, they would have given you strength and wealth. They would have supported you to be the next Alpha King. And you threw it all away for that filthy little whore.”

Her words hit me harder than the slap. She was right. Lilac had been the perfect match for me, the ideal Luna. She was strong, loyal, and from a powerful family. Coco, on the other hand, was a secret, a weakness. But she had a way of getting under my skin, of making me do things I wouldn’t normally do. And yet, she wasn’t enough. She wasn’t Lilac.

“We’ve spent our entire lives preparing you to be the next Alpha King,” my mother continued, her voice rising with each word. “And this is what you do? You throw away everything we’ve worked for, for a mere omega?”

“Calm down, Cassandra,” my father said, pulling her into his chest. His voice was firm, but there was a hint of weariness in his tone. He was tired—tired of my mistakes, tired of cleaning up my messes.

“Look at him, Darius!” my mother cried, her voice breaking. “Look at what he’s done!”

I felt a pang of guilt, a flicker of regret. “Mom,” I said, my voice softer now. “I didn’t mean for it to go this way.”

But before she could respond, the door to the hall burst open, and a warrior stepped inside. He bowed low, his expression grim as he handed my father a tablet. “Alpha, you should see this,” he said, his voice tense.

I didn’t need to look at the screen to know what was on it. The sound was enough.

“The most eligible contender for the future Alpha King, Kael Reventhorn, was caught spying on a minor wolf.”

My father’s jaw tightened as he swiped the screen, the next headline playing automatically.

“Kael Reventhorn was caught targeting the Royal Betas once again. He wasn’t done even after he ditched his fiancée, Lilac Blackwood, during their engagement ceremony. This time, he went after Ezra Blackwood.”

“The name of the Royal Beta family was tarnished by the Royals. Is this a rivalry between two families or two old lovers?”

“Many werewolves are asking Kael to step down from the election.”

“The Blackwoods were bullied again by the royalties.”

“Kael Reventhorn—is he truly worthy to be the next Alpha King?”

My father’s grip on the tablet tightened, his knuckles turning white. With a growl, he threw it.

“Great,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re trending everywhere.”

This was bad. Really bad. If this stayed up, I would lose my chance at the throne. My family would be forced to leave the castle, the home I had grown up in. Everything we had worked for would be taken away by some stranger.

“You will fix this,” my father said, his voice cold and final. “You will apologize publicly to Lilac, to Ezra, and to the Blackwoods. And you will make it right.”

I nodded, my mind racing. I had to fix this, no matter what it took. But as I stood there, the weight of my mistakes pressing down on me, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was already too late.

I sat in my study, a glass of whiskey in my hand, the amber liquid swirling as I stared at the empty fireplace. The events of the day played on a loop in my mind, each mistake, each misstep, haunting me like a ghost. I had been so close, so close to securing my future, and now it was slipping through my fingers.

The door creaked open, and Coco stepped inside, her presence a familiar comfort. She walked over to me, her hips swaying, and sat on the edge of my desk. “Rough day?” she asked, her voice soft and teasing.

I didn’t respond, my eyes fixed on the glass in my hand. Suddenly I felt disgusted by her presence. If it weren’t for her, Lilac and I would have been engaged. Mom was right. I should have rejected her.

“How did you show up in the palace that night?” I asked.

Was it always in her plan? It felt too coincidental for her to be there, and a rogue attack at the same time, that too in the castle of the Alpha King.

“Kael,” she said, her tone more serious now. “Don’t you trust me? As soon as I came to the castle, those rogues jumped on me.”

I looked up at her, my eyes meeting hers.

“Is that so?” I said, my voice cold.

She reached out, her fingers brushing against my cheek, and I flinched at the touch. And her touch always finds a way to my heart. Was this the spell of the mate bond? I liked and hated it at the same time.

“I wished I never had met you, Coco,” I said, my voice heavy with regret. “I messed up big time.”

She bit her bottom lip, her expression sad.

“Reject me then, if that’s what you want,” she said, her voice filled with sadness. “I know I am not as good as Lilac and that’s why you still haven’t marked me. I am unworthy to be your Luna. If that’s so, then be it. I will never be in your way, Kael.”