MAEVE'S POV
She stepped out of the crowd, her movements slow but indisputably regal. Her face was twisted in a sneer, hatred burning in her dark eyes.
She was exactly as I remembered. Only older. Thinner. So thin that it was a wonder she could still stand.
"Mother," Ivan called, snapping out of his reverie. He rushed to her side, holding her frail shoulders. "You should be in bed."
"I was," she said coolly, her tone filled with spite. "Until I received word that a wedding crasher had entered the hall."
Her wicked gaze snapped back to me. Five years ago, the mere sight of her glare would have sent me into tears.
I would have flinched, bracing for the inevitable blows. Lydia Cross had an iron fist. And her strikes lasted for hours.
My nostrils flared with rage as memories of her abuse resurfaced.
"You've got some nerve showing up here after all this time, Maeve Oakes."
I smiled at her. A smug, knowing smile.
"Nice to see you too, Lydia. You look exactly as I last remember."
Her expression hardened.
"Save the pretense, you lying, two-faced whore." She spat the words at me, her body trembling with rage.
"Your health, Mother," Ivan warned.
She turned to him, giving him a sharp look.
"I don't know what she's told you, but it's all a lie." Her voice was cold and cutting. "There's no way that boy at her side is yours. She's only trying to manipulate you—to pin another man's bastard on you. She's nothing more than a gold digger."
My vision went red. I dared her to say it again.
"Call my son a bastard one more time," I snarled, stepping forward, my voice low and full of warning.
I was done. Done with the backhanded attacks. Done with their lies. Done letting them speak about my child like he was nothing.
Lydia lifted her chin, staring at me with pure loathing.
"Get out of my home," she snapped, her voice filled with venom. She pointed directly at Asha. "Take your child and leave. You are not welcome here."
I held my ground.
"You can't make me leave." My voice was low, but authoritative.
I was not the weak girl she had once tormented. I was a Luna now. A healer. A mother. And I wasn't backing down.
"Until I get what I came for, I'm staying right here."
The murmurs rose again, hushed whispers filling the air. Asha didn't say a word the entire time. He just held on to my side, clinging tighter the louder the hall got.
I had prepared him for this — not the full truth, obviously, but enough to get him through it. I told him we were playing a role, like a story or a pretend show.
That today was going to feel confusing, but it wasn't real. That the man standing on the altar might say things or act like he knew him, but he didn't.
I told him Devon was his father, and no matter what he heard today, no matter what anyone claimed, that wouldn't change.
I made it clear it was all make-believe — a performance we had to do for something important. And Asha, bless his heart, believed me.
He nodded at the time and promised he'd follow my lead, even if he didn't fully understand. That's all I needed from him — trust.
"Enough." Ivan's voice of quiet irritation cut through the noise.
He turned to me, his expression carefully concealed.
"You want a private audience with me?" He remained calm. Controlled. Almost unfazed. "Fine."
"No, Ivan." Lydia gripped his arm, her frail fingers clawing into his sleeve.
"What are you so afraid of?" I scoffed, a laugh escaping my lips. "Are you scared that I've returned to reclaim my place beside your son? Guess again. I'm not here to live among your brooding lot of sadistic vipers. The only reason I've come is to address an urgent matter—and to break the mating bond between me and Ivan."
"Lies!" Lydia bellowed, her grating voice sharp enough to pierce glass. "If that were true, you wouldn't have brought your spawn along with you! You're up to something. Whatever it is, you won't get it."
She turned to the nearest guards, snapping out a sharp command.
"Get rid of her. You have ten seconds to throw her out."
The guards immediately moved to do her bidding, stepping toward me with purposeful strides.
But before they could lay a single hand on me, I straightened my spine and spoke in a voice that echoed across the hall.
"Is this how you treat the Moon Healer—after she's traveled all this way to honor your invitation?"
A ripple of shocked gasps spread through the crowd.
"What? What did you just say?" Ivan's deep voice tightened, a sliver of a scowl on his face.
I met his stunned gaze.
"I am the Moon Healer," I repeated, louder this time. "The very one you extended an official invitation to."
"That's impossible," he growled, as though to physically reject the idea. "There's no way you're the Moon Healer."
"I am."
As evidence, I reached into my purse and pulled out the royal summons. I held it up for everyone to see. The whispers intensified.
"She's telling the truth."
"That's Maeve—the destined mate of the future Alpha! She's the Moon Healer?"
"How does she have a son for him? Why did it take her this long to return?"
The air buzzed with speculation, the tension doubling in the hall by the second. And then Revierrie stepped forward. The priest's presence alone was enough to silence the room.
He moved as calmly as the wind. All eyes followed him as he approached me.
"May I see the summons?" he requested, extending his hand.
I nodded once and passed it to him. He studied the parchment in silence, his keen gaze flickering across the words.
When he returned it to me, something had shifted in his eyes. A look of fascination. A look reserved for something rare.
"It seems you are telling the truth after all," Revierrie said at last. "You are the healer. The best in the city, apparently."
"Bullshit!" Serena snapped, her voice vibrating with rage.
"There's no way she's the healer," Lydia added, looking both pissed and perplexed.
Revierrie ignored them both. Instead, he turned to Ivan and spoke with quiet authority.
"Maeve is the healer you summoned. Whether we like it or not, she is the Luna's only hope for survival. I advise you to put your grievances aside for now and prioritize your mother's health. As for the boy—" his gaze flickered briefly to Asha "—we will conduct a DNA test to confirm his parentage."
A dead silence followed.
And then—
"You've got to be kidding me!" Serena screamed, gripping handfuls of her perfectly styled hair. Her fancy updo collapsed into a wild mess. "A DNA test? There's no fucking way that's happening!"
Her entire body jerked around to face me, her movements erratic. Her eyes—wild. Red with tears.
"You!" she shrieked, her voice nearly cracking. "There's no way I'm letting you take away everything I've built since you've been gone! I'd rather kill you first than let you take it all away!"
Before anyone could react, she lunged. It happened so fast. The flash of white wedding silk. The blur of her manicured claws. The snarled promise of violence.
But before she could lay a single scratch on me—Ivan caught her.
His fingers clamped around her arm like a vice. With one swift, forceful movement, he yanked her backward. Serena stumbled, her breath hitching in shock.
And then, with a chilling coldness, Ivan turned her toward the guards.
"Detain her," he ordered.
His tone empty. Devoid of emotions. Deadly. Gasps rang through the hall. Even I was taken aback.
What was he playing at? He had to have an angle.
Serena panicked. Her entire body went rigid as the guards stepped in. She thrashed violently, her voice rising into a wail.
"Ivan! Don't do this!" Her desperate plea rang out, but Ivan didn't even look at her. Didn't acknowledge her. Didn't care.
Instead, he turned back to Revierrie, his voice controlled.
"We will proceed with the healer," he declared. "And in the meantime, conduct the DNA test on the boy."