Seeing that I stayed silent, Ravenna grew impatient. Her gaze sharpened with mockery.
"What, no shame left at all? You knew Alaric never loved you, yet you still insist on holding on to the title of Luna of Blackthorn?"
I let out a cold laugh. "And you don't find it shameful to be the other woman, fully aware he's mated?"
Ravenna's lips curled into a smile. The faint scent of night jasmine and copper drifted off her, sweet and wrong, like something bruised beneath the surface. "I knew Alaric long before you did. If I hadn't gone across territories, you'd never have had the chance to bond with him."
She lightly patted her belly, then added smugly, "But I'm back now, and I'm carrying his pup. So I'd say it's time for you to step aside."
From the moment I bonded with Alaric, I knew he had a she-wolf he considered his one true love. But I never thought she'd hold such an unshakable place in his heart.
The pain that shot through my chest nearly brought me to my knees. Somewhere inside me, my wolf curled tight, pressing herself small, as if trying to protect something already breaking. My grip tightened instinctively on the report in my hand.
And that's when Ravenna saw it and snatched it from me.
She scanned the conclusion and burst into wild, gleeful laughter.
"Silver-scar blood rot?" she said. "So, what do you think? Will you live long enough to give birth to that bastard pup, or are you both going to die together?"
Her laughter rang in my ears like sirens and something in me snapped. I stepped forward and slapped her, hard.
She staggered back dramatically, then fell to the ground with a wail.
"Selene, I didn't mean to keep this from you! But I'm carrying a pup! How could you hit me like that?"
Huge, dramatic tears rolled down her cheeks. And before I could even process her performance, I felt a violent shove from behind. I lost my balance and my belly slammed into the cold, hard floor of the Healers' Hall.
Alaric grabbed my arm and yanked me up. I was still dazed, still trying to process the shock, when he yelled in my face.
"Are you out of your mind?! How could you push Ravenna? She's carrying a pup!"
I stared at him, stunned. Before I could speak, Ravenna cried out, "Alaric, please don't fight with Selene because of me. I shouldn't have asked you to come to the appointment with me. This is my fault. As long as the pup's okay, she can slap me."