Chapter 75 Unmasked
Lady Flourish’s POV
The entire ritual ground fell into stunned silence.
On the massive screen behind me, the camera focused on Phina’s youthful face. She looked soft and innocent beneath the warm glow of the birthday candles, her features delicate and shy as she clasped her hands together.
There was no trace of the supposedly debilitating moon sickness she had spent years using as
an excuse.
Instead, she looked healthy, radiant, and very much like a young woman celebrating her birthday with the man she loved.
She closed her eyes tightly and made a wish. One minute passed. Then another. Only after making everyone wait did she finally lean forward and blow out the candles.
Harold’s voice drifted from the speakers. “My sweet Phina, tell me what you wished for.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Harold, wishes don’t work if I say them out loud.”
“You silly little omega.” His voice was filled with affection. “How am I supposed to help make it come true if you don’t tell me?”
The smile on Phina’s face widened. Then she looked up at him. “Harold, I want to be your Luna. I don’t want anyone else to be your Luna.” Her voice softened even further. “Later in life… can I be your Luna?”
The words landed like a bomb. A collective gasp swept through the hall. For several seconds, nobody seemed capable of breathing.
Then the whispers erupted. “What’s going on?”
“Isn’t today Alpha Harold’s Lunar Rite?”
“Wait a minute…”
“Isn’t that Phina? The widow of Alpha Harold’s dead Beta?”
“How did this suddenly become a confession?”
The murmuring grew louder and louder. I didn’t have to turn around to know Ragnar’s expression had become terrifying.
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His Alpha aura surged through the venue. “What are all of you standing around for?” he roared. “Shut that video down right now!”
Unfortunately for him, the screen continued playing.
The next scene appeared almost immediately. Harold himself entered the frame, holding the camera in one hand while looking down at Phina with a tenderness that made my stomach
turn.
Then he lowered his head and kissed her forehead. The gesture was so intimate that another wave of gasps spread through the crowd. “All right,” Harold said softly. “In three years, you’ll become my Luna.”
The footage ended. But the presentation didn’t.
Thousands of photographs suddenly began flashing across the giant screen – photo, picture after picture.
–
photo after
Harold and Phina.
Harold and Phina.
Harold and Phina.
Over four thousand carefully hidden memories. Birthdays, dinners, trips, private moments — moments nobody should have been collecting if their relationship was truly
innocent.
Harold’s face lost all color. His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at me. “Enough!” His voice thundered through the venue. “Flourish, you actually went through my tablet and snooped through my photos?”
A laugh escaped me. Soft. Almost amused. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” I tilted my head. “There’s more.”
The lights dimmed once again. The photographs vanished. Then a single line of bright text slowly appeared across the screen – huge, impossible to miss.
PHINA, WILL YOU BECOME MY LUNA? HAROLD
–
The venue exploded. Every gaze turned toward Phina. Every single one.
I watched her fingers dig into her palms as panic flashed across her face. Her wolf was trembling.
Her breathing was uneven. And because my wolf was paying attention, I caught the whisper
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Chapter 75 Unmasked
that slipped from her lips. “Is Flourish trying to ruin me?”
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Romantred
A smile curled across my mouth. Slowly, I raised the microphone. “Phina.” The room quieted. I looked directly at her. “Are you going to say yes to Harold’s proposal?”
For a moment, silence reigned. Then someone started clapping.
“Say yes!” Another voice joined in. “Say yes!” Soon the entire venue was chanting, the applause becoming deafening, every clap sounding like a knife being twisted deeper into their hearts.
Neither of them wanted their feelings exposed. Neither of them wanted the truth dragged into the open.
Unfortunately for them, I was finished protecting their secrets.
For years, Phina had hidden behind her image of innocence. For years, Harold had pretended his feelings were nothing more than loyalty toward his dead Beta’s widow.
Now both masks were being ripped away. Did she still want to play the untouchable saint? Not tonight. Tonight, everyone would finally see exactly who she was.
The ballroom doors suddenly swung open. My gaze shifted.
Damian had arrived.
The moment he stepped inside, countless people noticed him. His black suit fitting him perfectly, his expression remaining calm and controlled.
Dangerously calm. His dark green eyes immediately found me on stage, then he began walking forward, one step at a time. Steady. Unhurried.
The crowd instantly became nervous. “This is bad.”
“So bad. Lady Flourish has caused a disaster.”
“Alpha Damian is definitely going to lose his temper. Everyone knows he cares more about the Virel family’s reputation than anyone.”
“He’s obsessed with rules. I don’t even know how this ceremony survives after tonight.”
Yet Damien surprised everyone. Including me. He didn’t look angry, and neither did he didn’t look embarrassed.
Instead, he calmly picked up a crystal glass from a nearby table. The room gradually fell silent, all eyes following him — waiting, watching, expecting him to stop me, expecting him to save Harold.
–
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