Chapter 209: Chapter 209

The door shut hard behind us when Lisa told us to leave. Her voice still echoed in my ears, sharp. Kael walked beside me, his jaw tight, fists clenching and unclenching. I knew the look. He was angry, and so was I.

"Did you see her face?" Kael muttered as we stormed down the hall.

"All she ever wanted was Damon," I spat, shaking my head. "She doesn’t even hide it anymore."

Kael scoffed. "And Damon laps it up. He lets her control him. He lets her speak for him."

We walked in silence for a moment, anger burning between us like fire in dry grass. Then Kael stopped suddenly. Dıscover more novels at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽

"What about Belinda?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "She’s been locked away, suffering. Maybe we should check if she’s okay."

I hesitated. Part of me didn’t want to see her like that. Broken. But another part... another part wanted her to know someone still cared.

"Yes," I said at last. "Let’s go."

We reached her room. The guard opened the door, and we walked in.

Belinda was crouched on the floor, her hair falling around her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She looked so small, so lost.

"Belinda," I said softly, stepping forward.

Her head shot up, eyes red, cheeks wet. "You..." Her voice cracked. "You don’t believe me either. None of you do."

I crouched down beside her. "That’s not true."

Kael nodded, kneeling too. "We believe you. If we didn’t, why would we even be here?"

Her lip trembled. "You... you do?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "We even told Uncle Fridolf to launch a secret investigation. To find out the truth. For you."

Her sobs slowed. She blinked at me, then at Kael.

Kael placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes. You’re not alone in this. Don’t think you are."

Belinda let out a shaky laugh, half relief, half pain. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

But then her eyes darted to the door. Panic filled her face.

"You need to go. Now."

"Because Damon," she whispered. "If he finds you here... he’ll get angry. I’m supposed to be in confinement. Please. Just go. For my sake."

I looked at her for a long moment. She looked so fragile, so scared. I hated leaving her like that, but she was right.

"Fine," I said, standing. "We’ll go. But we’ll check on you tomorrow morning."

Kael nodded, helping me pull the door shut behind us.

Morning came, and I met Kael in our chamber. Damon was already there, sitting with that smug calmness that always made my blood boil.

Kael was the first to break the silence. He smirked, though there was no humor in it. "So, Damon. When did you come in? After spending the whole night with your pet?" His voice dripped with jealousy, sharp as broken glass.

Damon’s eyes flicked up at him, dark and unbothered. "Watch your tongue, Kael."

I scoffed, unable to keep quiet. "Why should he? He’s right. You treat Lisa like she’s everything. Like the rest of us doesn’t matter."

Damon leaned forward slightly, his tone cool, controlled. "That’s not the right thing for the morning, Rowan. We have bigger matters to deal with."

Kael laughed bitterly. "Bigger matters? The only thing you see as big is her. The rest...Belinda, this pack, even us...you don’t care."

Damon’s jaw tightened, but his voice stayed level. "You’re wrong. I’ve already sent a guard to find out the truth. About Belinda. About her connection to Dolph."

That caught me off guard. I turned to him sharply. "You did?"

"Yes," Damon said firmly. "Because I want facts, not whispers."

Before either Kael or I could respond, the chamber doors creaked open.

Uncle Fridolf walked in with measured steps, bowing slightly. "My lords." His voice carried calmness, but his eyes glinted like steel.

Damon straightened in his chair, his tone sharp. "What do you want, Uncle?"

Fridolf’s lips curled into a faint smile. "I come with evidence. Proof that Luna Belinda is not behind Lisa’s attack. That Dolph acted alone."

Damon’s voice turned cold. "Evidence?"

"Yes," Uncle Fridolf said smoothly. From inside his robe, he pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it delicately, like it were a crown itself. "A letter. Written by Dolph before his death. In it, he explains his actions. He clears Belinda’s name."

Damon’s eyes darkened, suspicion flashing. "And how," he asked, voice low with anger, "did you come across this letter?"

Uncle Fridolf didn’t flinch. "Because I searched his room."

Damon shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. His voice was sharp as a blade. "You carried out an investigation? Without the permission of any Alpha?"

His anger rolled across the chamber like thunder.

Uncle Fridolf bowed his head slightly, but his tone was steady. "I did what needed to be done."

Damon slammed his fist against the table. "You overstepped, Uncle. No one moves without our words. No one!"

Kael stepped forward quickly, his eyes blazing. "We gave him permission."

Damon’s head whipped toward him. "What?"

"And I did too," I said, stepping up beside Kael. "We told him to investigate. We wanted the truth. And he found it."

Damon stared at us, his fury growing. "You went behind my back? You trusted him over me?"

"It’s not about trust," Kael snapped. "It’s about Belinda. She was rotting away while you clung to Lisa’s skirts. We couldn’t wait."

I met Damon’s glare head-on. "This letter...this evidence...it’s real. Belinda is innocent."

Uncle Fridolf unfolded the letter slowly, his voice calm as he began to read. The words poured into the room, painting Dolph as guilty, repentant. He begged forgiveness for Belinda, claimed she once saved his life, and swore he acted alone, against his master’s wishes.

When the last word fell, silence clung to the chamber.

Kael’s eyes shone with triumph. "There. Proof."

Damon’s face was hard, carved from stone. "Convenient. Too convenient."

But I stepped closer, my voice quiet but certain. "Real or not, it gives Belinda the chance she deserves. And I’ll stand by it."

Damon stared at the paper like it burned him. His hands clenched at his sides.

"You want me to accept a letter as proof?" he said finally, voice low and dangerous. "A dead man’s scribble? That’s your evidence?"

"Enough talk," Kael said, stepping even closer. "Either accept the evidence and release Belinda from confinement, or we do it ourselves."

The words were a challenge. There was steel in Kael’s voice. I backed him.

"We won’t let her suffer for lies," I said. "We won’t let her sit behind closed doors while the ones who made her suffer walk free."

Damon inhaled sharply. For a heartbeat, I thought he might explode. He looked at each of us, at Kael’s fierce face, at mine, and then at Fridolf as if he could see through him.

Damon’s breath left him like a hiss. His mouth thinned. "You threaten me with patience."

"No," Kael said. "We threaten you with truth. We are telling you, as your brothers, that this is the way."

Finally, he turned. "Fine." The word fell like a blade. "We release her. We bring her out of confinement. But hear me: if this letter is a lie, if Belinda is not innocent and this is some game, I will not forgive. I will not be lenient. I will tear whoever did this apart. I will make them wish they had died when they had the chance."