Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 237

237 Before Them All 2

Lev’s POV

The room erupted again, though not as wildly as before. This time the sounds were sharper. More

defensive. More offended. Men half rising from their seats. Voices overlapping. Outrage too

immediate to be entirely clean.

Boris was the first to push back.

“That is an assumption,” he snapped. “You cannot build accusations on the words of James Nightwind. A man who sold his loyalty to his own mate for a seat in the Union cannot be called

trustworthy now.”

The line was clever enough on the surface.

Use James’s betrayal to discredit James.

Use what everyone already knew and despised about him to wash yourself clean.

It would have worked better if I had not watched Boris’s eyes flick once, instinctively, toward Marcel.

Small.

Quick.

But I did not miss it.

David did not miss much either, I suspected.

He remained unmoved.

“Fortunately,” he said, “we are not relying on James alone.”

That quieted them enough to make them listen.

He continued, “On our way back from the Blackbirth dinner, we were ambushed by wolves.”

That pulled all attention sharply.

Several of the Alphas who had not been directly involved leaned in. A few who had heard whispers of the attack before now understood why this meeting had been called in such haste.

David’s expression darkened slightly.

“We would have died if we were not formidable enough to resist. We were fortunate to catch one of the men involved alive. He is from Gracefield. Under Alpha Boris.”

< 237 Before Them All 2

Boris’s mouth flattened.

David did not stop.

“He named himself. He named Gracefield. He named Irongate, Cliffsand, and Redclaw.”

Silence settled again, but this time it was uglier.

Heavier.

Marke

Because now there were two chains of accusation, both pointing in related directions. Nightwind. Then the ambush on Dragonclaw Alpha and wolves returning from Blackbirth. Same cluster of hands.

Same scent of coordinated cowardice.

Keith of Redclaw stood abruptly.

“I gave no such order,” he said. “I would not dare move against Dragonclaw.”

His tone was too forceful.

Too fast.

Men who had nothing to hide usually aimed for insult first, not fear. Keith sounded less insulted than eager to separate himself from consequences already forming in his head.

The others followed quickly.

Irongate denied it.

Cliffsand denied it.

Boris denied it again with louder indignation.

Voices layered over one another, each claiming innocence, each insisting they would never act against

a certified pack under Union protection, each trying to sound offended enough to distract from the fact

that they were all now speaking far too much.

I let them go on for a few seconds.

Long enough for the guilt in it to become obvious.

Then I spoke.

“I will not be taking your word for it.”

That ended the overlapping denials at once.

276

< 237 Before Them All 2

Every head turned back to me.

Good.

I kept my voice level.

“There will be a thorough investigation.”

No one moved.

Get 5.

3 METU

I went on, letting the weight of the hall settle around the words. “The Silverclaw Union was formed to guard against behaviour like this. My family allowed packs to settle on our lands and flourish. The laws were made to protect peace. To protect order. To prevent exactly this kind of chaos.”

I looked from one face to another.

Boris.

Keith.

The rest.

Then Marcel too, because he belonged under the same light whether he liked it or not.

“An attack on an uncertified pack may be called opportunistic by cowards looking for excuses,” I said. “An attack on an Alpha of a certified pack under Union protection is unforgivable.”

That landed hard.

A few men looked away.

A few straightened.

A few remained carefully blank.

Arya was silent beside me, but I could feel her listening. Feel the steadiness in her. Feel the heat of her

presence near my arm. It should not have affected me in a room like this, in the middle of politics and

accusation, but it did. Knowing she was there. Knowing I had named her before them. Knowing the hall had heard me and would carry it outward.

Mate.

The word still sat under my tongue like something claimed.

I kept my face impassive.

“For that reason,” I said, “I will be looking into the matter personally.”

< 237 Before Them All 2

That rattled them.

It should have.

Get &

Mary

A general Union inquiry could be delayed, softened, diluted through procedure. A personal investigation under Blackbirth authority was something else. Harder to outrun. Harder to influence

quietly.

At once the objections shifted tone.

Now they wanted nuance. Misunderstanding. Distance.

“There has been foul play,” one of them said.

“We are being framed,” another added.

“Someone is using our names,” Boris said, leaning into offended dignity. “This is too convenient.”-

Around the hall, some Alphas looked persuaded, some did not. A few began murmuring that if innocence truly existed, an investigation should not be feared. Others remained silent, not because they believed Boris, but because they understood too well how quickly scrutiny could someday turn toward any of them.

I let the room move. Watched it. Weighed who leaned where.

And in the middle of all that, I kept tracking the lines under the surface.

Boris looked to Marcel.

Not directly at first. Again, it was small. An instinctive glance. The sort a guilty man made toward the one he expected to speak for him.

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