Chapter 12:
RAGNULF
The summons came swiftly.
The elders wanted me in the council hall immediately. My teeth ground together as I mounted my horse, the ride to the hall feeling endless.
When I arrived, the elders were already seated, fixing me with a look of judgment. that I was not used to. It wasn’t until I saw Jeanette standing in the middle of the room that my blood began to boil.
Her tear–stained face did nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me. All I wanted to do was hurt her.
“You,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous.
Jeanette met my gaze with bloodshot eyes, as if she’d been crying for hours.
“Ragnulf,” she sobbed in that fake sweet
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voice of hers. “I am so sorry.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “You‘ re pathetic.”
One of the elders leaned forward. His voice was firm but clipped, as though he‘ d rehearsed what to say. “Ragnulf, we‘ ve received disturbing information.”
My heart skipped a beat. “From who?” I snapped.
“The Luna,” the elder said, his gaze unwavering. “Lyra has provided us with evidence. She has accused you of cheating on her, and more than that, she claims you’ve failed to lead the pack as our Alpha.”
I felt my blood run cold at the mention of Lyra’s name.
“I haven’t…” I began, but the elder held up a hand.
“We don’t need to hear more excuses, Ragnulf. You‘ ve already been accused,
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and now we have proof of your actions. Lyra claims you have been unfaithful, and that your actions have put the pack in jeopardy.”
I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they would break. “This is absurd! Lyra has lied-”
“Not just that,” the elder interrupted. “It’s worse. Jeanette, the she–wolf you‘ ve been with, has been using your position to sell pack secrets. That’s why rogues have been attacking our borders. They’ve had inside information.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I turned to Jeanette, fury rising in me. “Is this true?”
She sniffled, nodding her head in defeat.
“I needed the money to survive. I’m so sorry, Ragnulf.” She took a step forward but I took one back, suddenly filled with disgust.
“You used me? You manipulated me?”
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The truth of it hit me like a wall. I had trusted her, chosen her over Lyra, and this is what I got in return. Betrayal. From every direction.
The truth was clear, and it stung like a thousand blades piercing my chest.
“She is pregnant,” one of the elders said, his voice cold and matter–of–fact.
“Yes, the child is mine.” I mumbled, fighting back the tears burning my own eyes. At least, I have someone to call mine.
Another elder spoke up. “No, Alpha. The child she carries is not yours.”
I blinked, my head spinning. What did that mean? I looked at Jeanette again, my gut telling me there was more to the story.
The elder continued, his voice calm. “We have spoken with the pack healer. It has been confirmed–Jeanette is carrying Beta Enzo’s child. Not yours, Ragnulf. Your body is incapable of making her
pregnant.”
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The words hit me like a blow to the eritomach. Impotent. I had spent so much Terane with Jeanette, thinking that she was
he one who would be my future, and now I earned that I couldn’t even fulfill that
most basic role as a man.
sdtsm
ng m
101e of
me
cter–of
had been so blinded by lust and desire, adn’t even considered the truth.
I
And then, there’s Enzo. My Beta. The one who had been my closest ally, my trusted s burnin
riend. The one who had been sleeping with Jeanette behind my back.
offend
ooked around, trying to find him but he was nowhere to be found.
IT YOURS
inning
If you‘ re looking for Beta Enzo, he’s пепе ing arrested as we speak.” One of the
nore tot
ders said and I nodded in satisfaction,
his ven though my anger burned so hot that it packlit like my insides were on fire.
lette is
urs, Ha
naking
elder’s voice cut through my rage. Here is our judgement. Jeanette and zo, are to be sentenced to twenty years
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of hard labor in the dungeons for their betrayal.”
Jeanette’s smug look faded instantly as she grew pale. I smirked, not quite satisfied with the severity of her punishment.
The elder‘ s gaze turned to me. “Ragnulf, you are to be stripped of your Alpha title. Your leadership has failed, and the pack has lost its faith in you.”
I stood frozen. My legs suddenly felt weak beneath me.
The punishment for Jeanette and Enzo was deserved, but my own fate felt like a death sentence. How did I get to this point?
The silence in the room was suffocating as I stood there, the reality of what I had lost sinking in. Lyra. She had been right all along. I had hurt her, I had betrayed her, and now everything was falling apart because of my own stupidity.
“I should never have done this,” I muttered, my voice low, barely above a
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whisper. “I should have never let her go.”
The regret hit me like a tidal wave, and I finally allowed myself to feel the full weight of what I had done. I had torn apart the one thing that had truly mattered. I had let my greed, my ego, blind me to everything else.
Lyra had been the light in my life, the one who kept me grounded. And now, because of my actions, I have lost her forever.
The weight of my mistakes settled over me like an iron shackle. I had no idea what
came next. All I knew was that I would
never be the same again.
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