Damn right, I’m no fool. I edged closer, keeping myself in the shadows. I needed to hear every word.
Ravenna stepped closer to him, her hand brushing his arm. The sight of her so close to him, touching him, made my blood boil. I felt my fingernails lengthen, claws itching to tear them apart, but I forced myself to stay calm. I needed to know the whole truth before I acted.
Ravenna tilted her head, flashing him a sickening smile. “By the time she finds out, it’ll be too late. You’ll already be Alpha, and I’ll be your Luna.”
Alpha? I stopped breathing. Luna? When did my mate ever dream of that?
Draven didn’t say a word. His silence was all the confirmation I needed.
The room swayed, and for a second, I thought I might fall. But I caught myself, pressing my hand against the cool stone pillar to ground me. I couldn’t collapse now. Not here. Not in front of them.
“I don’t know, Ravenna,” Draven finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “This was never the plan. I didn’t want it to go this far.”
A hollow laugh escaped Ravenna’s lips. “You didn’t want it to go this far? Draven, you’ve wanted this for as long as I have. You wanted power, and now it’s within your grasp. Are you really going to let your guilt over Zerra stop you?”
His silence hung in the air like a knife, ready to drop. And I was standing right underneath it.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to storm in there and rip them both apart. But something stopped me—a voice in my head, whispering that I needed to stay calm, that this wasn’t the moment. No, I would have my time to confront them, but it wasn’t now.
Instead, I listened.
“You’re going to be Alpha,” Ravenna continued, stepping even closer to him, her voice softening, dripping with false sweetness. “And I’ll be at your side. We’ll unite the packs, and Shadefall Vale will fall in line once I’m Luna. Together, we’ll be unstoppable. Zerra will just have to accept it. She always thought she was so special with that Nightwhisper blood of hers.” She scoffed, as if the very mention of my bloodline disgusted her. “But in the end, she’s just another obstacle.”
My blood roared in my ears. Obstacle.
That’s what I was to them. Nothing more than something to be removed. Ravenna didn’t just want my mate—she wanted my title, my legacy, everything my bloodline stood for.