Chapter 4: The Oath I Refused to Swear

Kane’s first instinct was to rush Vera for an examination.

But Vera clutched his sleeve, accusing me through her tears.

“Kane, Evelyn said I stole her position. She even called my pup a bastard.”

“She cursed us, said neither of us would leave the healing center alive.”

“It’s fine if she hates me, but the pup is innocent. How could she direct her hatred at an unborn child?”

At the word “bastard,” a flash of guilt crossed Kane’s face.

In that moment, I was certain Vera hadn’t lied.

He had known all along whose child it was.

Kane ordered me to the oath stone in the lobby and told me to publicly apologize to Vera.

The lobby’s oath stone was used to record disputes involving high-ranking werewolves, bloodlines, and inheritance.

Once I admitted fault before the stone, Vera could submit the record to the council.

If I did as he said, the registry would forever contain a record of me harming the Alpha’s heir.

I refused.

Kane’s face went cold.

“If you don’t obey, I’ll revoke your access to the Greenridge cemetery.”

“Your mother’s ashes and her treatment records are on my territory.”

The mention of my mother was a blade to the heart. My eyes stung.

I swallowed my hatred and pushed myself up against the wall to stand.

My injured ankle wouldn’t bear any weight, so I could only inch slowly toward the exit.

Kane noticed my foot and frowned, starting to reach for me.

Vera’s crying stopped him cold.

She held her belly and made a show of walking toward the oath stone herself.

“Evelyn, I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have asked Kane to come with me for the checkup. But the pup is four months old. I just want him to be born safely.”

As she finished, her body went limp and she collapsed into Kane’s arms.

Kane was thoroughly enraged.

He seized my shoulders. The air grew heavy as he unleashed his Alpha command, trying to force me to submit.

My wolf refused to bow to Vera.

“Apologize to her.”

“You’re not leaving until she accepts it.”

I stared at Kane, fighting him with everything I had.

He summoned the Greenridge guards stationed outside the healing center.

Every healer here was under the authority of the Alpha and the council.

They smelled my blood and saw my injured foot, but not one of them dared to stop Kane.

“Hold her at the oath stone until she’s willing to tell the truth.”

They surrounded me.

Two of them pinned my arms while another gripped the back of my neck, forcing my head down toward the black oath stone.

I still refused to speak a false oath.

The guards used more force.

My head struck the stone hard. A fresh wound split open on my forehead.

A werewolf should have healed quickly, but the pregnancy and repeated use of the scent-blocking spray had left me weak.

My consciousness began to blur.

A trace of reluctance finally appeared on Kane’s face.

“Evelyn, just admit you were wrong.”

“As long as you promise Vera you won’t hurt her again, this will all be over.”

I lifted my head and looked at him with disgust.

“I did nothing wrong.”

Kane’s chest heaved, and his cedar scent turned sharp with rage.

“I’ve indulged you for too long. You’ve forgotten the order of the pack.”

“Watch her. Don’t let her go until she admits it.”

Vera leaned against Kane, pretending to dissuade him.

“Don’t be angry. It doesn’t matter if I’m a little hurt. I’m not worth the two of you fighting.”

Kane wrapped an arm around her waist and looked at me, his disappointment plain.

“When will you learn to be as forgiving as she is?”

Vera shot me a victorious smile.

Then her gaze fell to the moonstone pendant at my neck, and her expression changed instantly.

She snatched the necklace from me, clenching the pendant in her fist.

“Why do you have the Wren family’s bloodline emblem?”