Tempted By My Ex's Brother-in-Law (Aria and Grayson) novel Chapter 208

Aria’s POV

My words hit the campsite like a thunderbolt.

For a second, it felt like the entire forest went silent. Even the wind seemed to freeze.

The soldiers who had been roaring General Tasmin moments ago all stopped mid–chant, their mouths half- open, faces stiff with disbelief.

The guests–all the Alphas from other packs, nobles, warriors–stared at me like I’d just confessed to murdering the Moon Goddess herself.

And Tasmin’s proud smile vanished right away.

Then her eyes sharpened. Her whole body turned tense, as if a dagger had suddenly pressed against her throat.

And just like that, she snapped.

“What the fuck did you just say?!”

She shouted, her voice booming across the clearing. “You–You little whore! You’re funking insane!”

The crowd stirred.

Tasmin threw an accusing finger at me, her eyes blazing. “This is a lie! A filthy lie! She’s trying to replace me in pack. Everyone knows she’s fucking jealous of my influence in the army. She’s trying to seize power and overturn everything I built! Don’t get fooled by her!”

She turned toward the soldiers again, her voice rising into something almost hysterical:

“Soldiers! Don’t you understand what she’s doing? She wants my position! She wants to drag me down so she can climb up! Because she knows she doesn’t deserve it! She knows she’s nothing!”

Her words were sharp. Poisonous.

And for a moment, I could see her strategy clearly: turn the crowd back into an angry mob before they had time to think. Then she wouldn’t have to dirty her own hands killing me. Her soldiers would do the dirty work for her.

But this time, I wasn’t going to let her scream her way out of it.

I let out a short, cold laugh. Then I raised my voice. Calm and steady. Cutting right through her madness.

“You’re so confident it’s a lie?” I asked. “Then watch.”

Tasmin’s pupils narrowed. “What?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

The signal in this forest was terrible, but Red Stone Pack had their own satellite network. Grayson’s men had already connected it the moment we stepped back into camp.

I didn’t even look at Grayson. But I felt his presence behind me, solid and unshakable, like a mountain.

He was letting me handle this. Letting me burn her down with my own hands.

It’s kind of ironic that he was still the only one I felt safe with after everything that happened between us.

I tapped the screen twice.

Then I handed the phone to one of Grayson’s soldiers, who immediately connected it to the large projector the guests used earlier to announce scores.

A moment later, a shaky video flickered onto the screen.

Tasmin’s smug face faltered.

The crowd leaned forward instinctively.

The video was dark. Grainy. Clearly recorded in a hurry. A man’s breathing could be heard. Ragged, wet, as if his lungs were filling with blood.

Then a face appeared.

A young soldier. Frostpine uniform. His skin was pale as snow. His lips were blue. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He was dying.

“If… if anyone sees this…” he rasped. His voice came out broken. “Please… listen… please…”

The crowd fell into complete silence. Everyone started at the video with their mouth half–opened.

The soldier in the video swallowed hard, choking, then continued.

“We didn’t win… General Tasmin led us to death, not victory. We… we were sent into a trap. The rogues weren’t scattered. They were organized. Hundreds… no, thousands….And General Tasmin didn’t have what it takes to defeat them…”

His breath hitched. He coughed violently, blood splattering across the camera.

“The… battle was slaughter. We lost. We lost everything.”

A tremor went through the campsite. Tasmin’s face changed. It wasn’t rage first. Fear. Pure, ugly fear.

“TURN IT OFF!” She suddenly roared. “Someone shut this ridiculous thing off now!!!”

But nobody listened to her. All the guests and soldiers were caught up in it.

The soldier’s eyes rolled, then focused again, filled with terror.

“General Tasmin said…” he whispered. “She said… no one can know. If the pack finds out… the blame… will fall on her.”

“She ordered us to retreat. We survived–barely… But then…She executed everyone who came back.

The crowd erupted with yells and shouts:

“What?!”

“That’s impossible!”

“No freaking way!”

The soldier’s voice rose in desperation. “She… she is going to tell the pack it is a victory…she will accept praise… while our brothers were buried in the mud!”

He coughed again, choking. The camera shook wildly, and a different voice–panicked–could be heard faintly in the background.

“Stop talking! Stop it! They’ll find us!”

The dying soldier’s eyes filled with tears.

“Frostpine Pack’s soldiers, listen to me. If you… if you believe her…” he whispered. “You’re worshipping a monster…Please… don’t let… the truth die with us…”

Then the video cut off.

The screen went black.

For a full five seconds, no one spoke. It was like the entire world had frozen.

Then-

The campsite exploded.

The guests surged into frantic whispers, voices overlapping in a storm.

“That’s a Frostpine uniform. That’s real!”

“She executed her own soldiers? The survivors?! That’s fucking treason!”

“God I can’t believe such thing happened in Frostpine Pack. I thought the members here are all fucking patriots!”

The Frostpine soldiers had gone pale, staring at the screen like it had just ripped their faith apart. And then slowly, they all turned to look at Tasmin.

Tasmin looked like she’d been stabbed.

208

She stared at the screen, shaking. Then suddenly, her face twisted into something horrifying.

“YOU-!”

She screamed, lunging forward like she wanted to rip my throat out. “YOU MADE THAT UP!”

I didn’t flinch. I watched her coldly and let out a cold laugh.

“Fabricated?” I repeated, my voice mocking. “Really? That’s the best excuse you can find?”

Tasmin spun toward Alpha Thalira, her eyes wild. “Mother! Don’t listen to her! She’s lying! She’s using some fake video to frame me!”

“Bullshit,” she hissed. “All bullshit. Aria bribed him. She-”

I cut in coolly, “Bribed him? With what? A promise of freedom?”

I looked at Lance. “Tell them. What did she do to you?”

Lance’s eyes darkened.

“She kept me chained in a basement,” he said slowly. “Because I kept asking about my brother. Then she starved me. Beat me. Broke my fingers one by one until I learned to shut up. When I finally gave up on the truth, she forced me to bed because she likes my looks.”

Shocked mutterings grew louder. And that’s when Alpha Thalira finally rose from her seat.

The air changed the instant she stood. Even the other Alphas stopped whispering. Frostpine soldiers straightened like they’d just been yanked back into discipline.

Alpha Thalira looked down at Tasmin.

“Tasmin,” she said. Her voice was quiet. But it carried enough authority to crush bones. “Tell me the truth.”

Tasmin’s face twitched. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“Mother,” she gulped. Then suddenly, she dropped to her knees like she’d been wronged. “They’re framing me! Aria wants to take the throne, she—”

“Enough.”

Alpha Thalira didn’t even look down at her. She turned to her guards. “Bring her to the post.”

Tasmin froze. “…What?”

The guards moved instantly.

Tasmin shrieked and fought, nails scratching, voice tearing through the night. “No! You can’t! I’m your daughter!”

But the guards didn’t hesitate. They dragged her toward the thick wooden post used in Frostpine punishment rituals.

My stomach tightened.

This wasn’t normal interrogation. This was Alpha authority. This was what happened when an Alpha wanted truth at any cost.

Tasmin’s wrists were tied. Her body was forced upright.

She thrashed violently. Mother! Mother!”

“Make her talk,” Alpha Thalira ordered ruthlessly.

The guards pulled out silver–edged tools. Tasmin’s eyes widened in sheer terror.

“NO-!”

A scream tore out of her throat as the first cut landed. The crowd flinched. Even Morrigan looked like she was about to faint.

Tasmin screamed and screamed until her voice cracked. But Alpha Thalira didn’t blink.

“Tell me the truth,” she repeated after every strike.

Tasmin’s body convulsed. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I… we lost.”

She choked out at last.

The entire campsite erupted in stunned cries. Meave let out a low cry and nearly fainted on the ground.

“You lost,” Alpha Thalira repeated, her voice low and hoarse. “And you claimed victory.”

Tasmin broke, wailing, “I had to! I had to! The pack needed hope! I—”

A loud smack cut her off.

Alpha Thalira slapped her so hard her head snapped to the side!

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”