She screamed and ranted like a lunatic. I watched her and felt an eerie calm settle over me.
"Is that so?" I said softly. "Then take a look around."
Her laughter died. She stared at me in confusion.
At that moment, the room suddenly grew brighter. The gray-white walls gradually faded, becoming transparent glass. Behind that glass stood the high-ranking members of the Vernal pack.
Every one of them glared at Liv. Fury and hatred blazed in their eyes. Fists were clenched. They looked ready to burst in and tear her apart at any second!
But they didn't move. Because the man at the front hadn't given the order?—
Elias sat in a wheelchair, his arms crossed over his chest. He still looked weak, but the cold fury in his eyes was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
She froze.
"This… This…"
I looked at her. "Forgot to mention—the walls in this room are special one-way glass. They block werewolf senses of smell and hearing. Everything you just said and did has been publicly recorded. Including your confession that you impersonated the Alpha's savior. And your crimes of conspiring with vampires and hunters to betray the pack?—"
Liv collapsed. She slid off her chair and crumpled to the floor.
"This isn't real!" she screamed in despair. "This can't be happening?—"
"What can't be happening?" The one-way glass dropped its blocking function. Elias's voice came through crystal clear. "That I'm not dead yet? Sorry to disappoint."
Liv curled into a ball, trembling.
Elias formally pronounced her sentence. "Liv Laster's guilt is undeniable. Blood debts must be paid in blood. As Alpha, I hereby sentence her to the Blood Hunt—and permanent exile from the pack!"
"No! Please, no—" Liv shrieked in terror. Werewolf guards stormed in and dragged her out like a dead dog.
Of course she was terrified.
Because the Blood Hunt wasn't a simple banishment. It meant the entire pack would treat her as prey. Every wolf would shift and hunt her down until she died beneath their fangs…
It was the most primal, most brutal punishment a pack could inflict. Reserved only for when the pack demanded vengeance.
Liv's screams grew more and more piercing, audible even as they dragged her from the room. I rose from my chair and walked out.
Outside, every pack member greeted me with regret, shame, and—for the first time—respect.
My spine stayed straight.
Never again would I fear anyone.
CHAPTER 25
SERENITY KELLER
My life returned to peace.
After Elias woke up and Liv got what she deserved, I took Arian back to the café to resume our life there. Maybe because I'd been closed for a while and the townspeople worried I might go out of business, customers came by more frequently than before. Day by day, I honed my coffee skills, and business picked up noticeably.
"Serenity, table six ordered a latte." Elias stood in front of the counter in a black server uniform, handing me the order slip.
I was busy grinding coffee beans and corrected him without looking up. "You should call me 'boss.' Don't forget—you're just my employee now!"
"So when can I get promoted to boyfriend, boss?" Elias asked with an innocent expression.
