The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 378

Chapter 378 The Fool of Blaze Pack

Cindy’s POV:

Viola drew up a chair and sat, her brow furrowed so deeply it might have been carved from stone.

“It’s… complicated,” she said after a moment, exhaling slowly as though forcing the words past her teeth. “And honestly? Revolting.” A flicker of anger surfaced in her eyes before she pressed it down. “The good news is, my grandfather and my father held their ground. They may be merchants, but they’re not blind. They know exactly what kind of man Prince Niall is. They refused him outright. Said I’ve already sworn loyalty to the Crown, so marriage is no longer on the table.”

“That is good news,” I breathed, relief washing through me. “If your family stood firm, surely the council cannot compel you?”

eyes. “But “I am safe enough, yes.” Viola’s jaw tightened, and something ugly flickered in her that old beast has not given up. He dangled inducements before the council. Political concessions, mining rights, all the choicest morsels a man can offer. And those venerated elders, discerning as ever, saw only the glitter of profit. They decided that an alliance with a prince would elevate the Blaze Pack to new heights.

“My father refused to sacrifice me, so the council determined to select a suitable omega from the collateral branches to offer up instead. My father fought them and did his best to forestall the matter, but…”

She slammed her palm against her thigh, fury breaking through at last. “Our family produced a fool. A complete, irredeemable fool.”

“Who?” I asked.

“My cousin. Ayla.”

The name came out like something bitter. Viola’s voice dropped, thick with disbelief and contempt. “That woman’s been jealous of me her entire life, always clawing for a way up. Somehow, she heard about the arrangement. Marched straight to the council chambers and knelt outside in the snow overnight. She volunteered herself. Said she would willingly take my place and marry Prince Niall as his wife.”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

“Is she mad?” I could scarcely comprehend such folly. “Sephiria’s fate unfolded before our eyes mere days ago! Everyone in the kingdom knows what Niall is. A wife-abandoner, a whoremonger, a brute who casts aside women when they no longer serve his pleasure. Does she knowingly leap into a fire that will consume her?”

“Because she covets power! A vain creature who longs to be above everyone!”

Viola rose and began to pace the room, agitation in every line of her body. “Her mother raised her on fairy tales of marrying into greatness. To her eyes, even if Niall were a swine-and he is -he would be a swine wearing a prince’s coronet. She imagines that as a prince’s duchess, she may strut through the kingdom as she pleases, that she may finally trample upon those of us who have always stood above her!”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify