Chapter 31: Trophy

Chapter 31: Trophy

🌙𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡

For the first time, Caesar looked shaken. His mouth fell open, snapping shut only to twist again into disgust. He barked a laugh that didn’t reach his eyes.

"So the little liar kept secrets from me too. Hiding what she was from the only man who at least pretended to see her as more than the mistake she’s always been."

The words stung, but Vladimir didn’t let them linger. His gaze sharpened.

"Another word out of you, Caesar, and you’ll find your position in the Concord stripped indefinitely."

Caesar’s retort died in his throat. He turned sharply, seeking support but finding none. It seemed he didn’t have much standing among his peers. It was almost laughable.

"Alpha Kustav," Vladimir asked, leaning in, a predatory lilt in his words. "Why do you not defend your kin now?"

Kustav’s amber gaze flicked between me and Vladimir. Then, with a cruel, deliberate smile, he spread his hands.

"Because it is the obligation of her husband-to-be to defend her. And that is you, High Alpha."

The chamber stirred again.

Caesar shot to his feet, chair legs scraping violently against the floor, his face mottled with rage and disbelief. He looked at me as if I’d personally betrayed him, though I owed him nothing. His voice cracked like a whip.

"You’re going to marry the High Alpha?"

"I underestimated your comprehension abilities," I remarked dryly, even as my heart thundered in my chest. I curled my hands into fists. I would not let him trigger me. I had bigger fish to fry.

But Caesar had another idea.

"It’s been less than a year since we went our separate ways," he snarled. "And you pull this on me? You halflings really don’t have loyalty."

I glanced at Vladimir, and he crooked a brow as if challenging me.

What are you going to do? his gaze asked. Again, the gun was to my head. I had to learn to fight for myself. I would marry him, be intertwined in this world in which I had no bearing. The rules had long since changed; I supposed it was my turn to do the same.

"I am over you—or whatever you thought we had," I replied dismissively. I found I meant every word. The girl who loved him died the moment she found out what she was. There was nothing left of us—not the person I had been, nor the man I thought he was.

Caesar’s face darkened, lips peeling back in a snarl that revealed sharp teeth. He glared down at me.

But I simply looked away.

No one moved as Caesar continued to silently seethe, but I gave him no mind.

Then he scoffed. "Still you wear the ring I gave you?" His tone was mocking. "Don’t lie to yourself."

I lifted my hand, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. I had tried to pull it off, but it refused to budge. And he was right—some part of me had held on, like a fool clinging to the symbol I once thought was genuine.

Everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, Caesar laughing at his supposed victory.

I glanced at Vladimir, whose expression was as unreadable as always. Yet in his stare, there was a challenge. He was giving me a stage to prove myself before a council that saw me as nothing.

My heart rate spiked, the back of my neck prickling. I knew Veronique was also watching.

I didn’t think. I just moved toward the first object my eyes caught—the decorative daggers hung on the wall.

In an instant, the murmuring stopped as I grabbed one.

Caesar’s laughter died in his throat.

I placed my ring finger on the circular desk and brought the dagger down.

The pain was searing, but I bit down on my lip until it bled. Tears sprang to my eyes, the severed digit already throbbing with a pulse of its own.

I grabbed the finger, the ring still stuck on it, and tossed it at Caesar.

"Here’s your ring back. Keep the finger as a souvenir. It’s the last thing you’ll ever get from me." My voice was steady, even as the edges of my vision darkened from the agony.

Caesar looked between me and the finger as if I’d gone mad.

Maybe I had.

>"That’s my girl," Kaia’s voice rang, proud. The pain receded just a little.

But not enough. I looked at my still-bleeding hand, stumbling.

He was suddenly behind me, one arm banding firm around my waist, the other wrapping a handkerchief over my trembling hand. His touch was surprisingly careful as his large palm covered the bleeding stump, engulfing it completely.

Coolness poured from him, dulling the agony clawing at me.

At first, I thought it was adrenaline, but it was his heartbeat—slow and deliberate, resonating through his chest pressed against my back. Each thrum bled into me, drowning out the ringing in my ears, smoothing the jagged edges of pain until there was nothing left but rhythm. It was like standing inside a fortress, the storm locked out.

Gasps rippled through the chamber. Murmurs rose, but none dared speak too loud. They had seen what I’d done. Now they saw who stood with me.

Vladimir’s lips dipped close enough for me alone to hear. "You’ve made your point." The words were edged with something warm.

When he pulled back, his icy gaze swept the chamber.

"This meeting is adjourned."

The authority in his voice brooked no argument.

Chairs scraped back hastily as Alphas rose—some murmuring, others watching in uneasy silence. Caesar sat frozen, his eyes wide, face drained of color as if he’d been struck.

The severed finger lay on the polished desk before him, the ring gleaming mockingly.

His eyes followed me out of the room, brimming with utter shock that he alone had refused to rise with the rest of them. For a moment, I could have sworn I caught a flash of genuine pain, akin to regret.

But his expression curdled, souring. His jaw clenched, plucking my severed ring finger. Slipping of the ring, he kept his glare on me as secured in his pocket.

Like some trophy.

I heart lurched and tore my eyes off him. The searing agony pulsed through what was left of my finger, giving me something to occupy my mind. I bit back a whimper, refusing to let it show that it hurt like hell.