Her heart skipped as she listened to the accusation thrown at her mates. Could they have truly killed Eliza? The thought made her chest ache, yet it did not make sense to her. This morning, she had spoken to them and they had all agreed to hand Eliza over to Marcus after the harvest moon party. There had been no anger, no threat, nothing that spoke of murder.

Angela slowly looked at her friends and saw the same shock written on their faces. None of them spoke because none of them knew what to say. Her mind raced, and then it hit her. Miss Valois could be lying. She could be playing one of her cruel games again.

She forced herself to calm down. Her mates would never think of killing, let alone carry it out. They had made an agreement with her father, and breaking it would bring consequences they all knew too well. They would not risk that, not for anything.

"Why should I believe everything you just said?" Angela asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She refused to fall for the woman’s tricks. Even if Miss Valois was truly Renn’s mother, it did not mean she always spoke the truth. This felt like one of those moments where she would lie just to get what she wanted.

Angela felt foolish for almost believing her. The thought of her mates hearing this made her feel ashamed.

"Are you doubting me?" Miss Valois asked, clearly not surprised. She knew very well how hard it was for anyone to believe her, especially when the accusation was against alphas. She stepped forward with a sly smile. "You should learn to trust me. Trust between us is very important."

"Why should we trust you?" Hailey stepped forward, her voice shaking with pain. It hurt her deeply knowing that her own sister was behind all this chaos. "You have betrayed us many times, even when you had the chance to stop everything."

"You think I wanted to hurt my son?" Miss Valois snapped. "You think I did all this for myself?"

"It is obvious that you did," Hailey said firmly. "I have seen you choose yourself over everyone again and again. This is not the first time, and I will not fall for your guilt games."

"You are not making any sense, Miss Valois," Angela said, shaking her head. She was done listening to lies born from jealousy toward her mates. "And I will not stand here while you speak lies about them."

She turned to leave, then stopped. There was still one thing she needed to say. It was time to put the woman in her place.

"Miss Valois, I know you are Renn’s mother, but stay away from us, especially from him. He does not want you around, and I hope you understand that." Her voice hardened. "The next time you cross any of my mates, I will not show mercy again. I promise you, the next funeral will be yours."

The horror in her eyes spoke louder than words ever could. Miss Valois took a slow step back, her hand going to her face, still marked with the bruises Angela had given her weeks ago. Fear flickered in her gaze, raw and exposed, and for the first time she looked small.

"Enjoy the party," Angela said with a faint smile as she turned away, walking off with Seraphina by her side.

"Stay away from us. You do not deserve us," Hailey said before turning her back on her own sister. Her heart shattered as she walked away, breaking into pieces at the thought that Miss Valois had become the very monster they had all feared. Nothing was ever going to be the same again, not for her and not for Renn, but they would find a way to face it together. She trusted that his mate would help him heal from this painful moment that would change his life forever.

As Hailey walked back to meet her friends, her mind refused to stay quiet. One question kept pushing its way into her thoughts, refusing to be ignored. Could the boys have done something to Eliza? She wanted to believe her sister was only lying, but this felt different, heavier than a lie, and it demanded answers. The boys had been acting strange these past few days, especially Renn and Kaito, and the thought made her chest tighten.

"I think she is saying all this just to turn you against them," Seraphina said carefully, unsure if it was the right thing to say. She only wanted to calm the tension before her friend began to think the worst. "There is no way they would do that. The boys are not capable of it."

Her words faded when a memory surfaced without warning. Seraphina remembered the day she had moved to the academy with them, remembered how Kaito had bitten the sales guy, and how Alex had said the man was never going to survive.

"What happened?" Angela asked, her brows pulling together as confusion crossed her face.

"I am just thinking about everything that has happened," Seraphina said softly. "Can we talk about all this tomorrow and not tonight?"

"Why? I am going to ask them about it tonight," Angela insisted. She could not pretend this never happened, especially after the way Kaito had annoyed her earlier. "If they did nothing wrong, then there is no need to panic. What do you think, Hailey?"

"I will go with Seraphina," Hailey replied quietly.

"Hmmm," Angela grumbled. She decided to let it slide just for tonight. By morning, she would wake them up with the question whether they liked it or not. Together, they moved through the crowd until they found a good spot where they could see clearly. The coronation had already begun, and two of the alphas had been crowned. Taros was receiving his crown, and next would be Renn.

"I cannot believe we almost missed everything," Hailey said loudly. Even though she raised her voice, only Angela heard her clearly. Seraphina tried to listen too, but the noise around them swallowed every sound.

Angela watched with pride as the crown made of leaves was placed on Renn’s head and the elder announced him as the king of the East. The air filled with clapping, howling, and chants as everyone broke into dance. In that moment, she could not stay angry for long. She found herself smiling and clapping along, her eyes fixed on the stage. Her mates deserved their place as alphas, and she was proud of them.

"Now that you have all been crowned, you know who comes next," the elder said once the noise began to fade. The place fell silent as everyone tried to understand his words. "So when are we expecting to see the chosen one?"

Angela felt her heart skip when she sensed her mates turning to look in her direction. Slowly, others followed their gaze, trying to see what had caught their attention.

Quickly, Angela bent down to adjust her heels. It was only an act, but it helped her stay hidden. Through the mind link, she spoke sharply to her mates, telling them to stop staring because people were starting to notice.

"Is she here?" Alpha Gerald asked. Angela still remembered his rough voice.

"Why are you all looking over there?" Kaito’s father asked, his eyes searching the crowd with care.

"Bastards," Angela muttered under her breath, her face twisting with stress. She wished she could disappear right then and there. If she could, she would have left the place without looking back.