Driven to ruin, their bloodlines stripped of territory and their elders cast from the cliffs?

The gathered wolves helped Vesper to her feet, voices rising in agreement—they were going to report me for switching ritual works.

Kael wasted no time. He'd already summoned someone from the Trial Council.

"I'm filing a formal challenge. Someone switched scent-paintings and stole another contestant's craft!"

Vesper hung her head, the picture of wounded innocence—as if she'd suffered some unimaginable injustice at the fangs of her own kind.

The Council Adjudicators' expressions turned grave.

"The entire crafting process was conducted under ward-view," one of them said. "It would be impossible for anyone to switch works."

Vesper's head snapped up, eyes reddening as she fixed her gaze on the long-haired she-wolf at the front of the panel. Her voice trembled with righteous fury.

"Lorekeeper Elowen, you're bound by old alliance to Selene's mother. Of course you'd take her side. But none of us even named who did this, and you're already rushing to shield her. Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Kael's tone went cold, dominance radiating off every word. "Lorekeeper Elowen, my pack offered five million in tribute to this Rite Trial. Not so I could watch you Council wolves play favorites and pull strings in the shadows. My tribute goes to someone who actually deserves recognition."

The other young wolves began to murmur.

"So one of the Adjudicators is allied with Selene's pack? No wonder she had the chance to switch paintings!"

"Disgusting tactics. And she calls herself high-born? More like a parasite feeding off common wolves!"

Vesper lifted her chin, defiant. "I demand a scent-trace review of all competition entries. And I demand that Lorekeeper Elowen—who's clearly involved in a cover-up—step down immediately!"

Lorekeeper Elowen hadn't spoken. But I did.

"On what grounds are you demanding a review?" My voice cut through the noise. "And on what grounds are you demanding Lorekeeper Elowen step down?"

"Based on nothing but your baseless speculation, do you have any idea how much extra burden you're dumping on the Council servants?"

"You keep going on about being some poor outsider from a struggling pack, but you don't seem to have any problem making life hell for wolves who actually work for their standing."

"Yes, Lorekeeper Elowen is my mother's ally. But she hasn't shielded me in any way. If you want her removed, you'd better come with warded evidence."

Vesper could slander me all she wanted—it was nothing but empty accusations.

But dragging an innocent she-wolf into this? That was unforgivable.

Lorekeeper Elowen's mate, Rowan, suffered from blood-rot sickness. He survived on healer treatments.

She'd refused my mother's offer to help cover the costs, insisting she'd manage the hundreds in monthly healing stores herself.

That was why she treasured every position, every side duty. Never complained. Never asked for pity.

I wasn't about to let Vesper's little performance destroy her.

The moment I defended Lorekeeper Elowen, Kael let out a laugh. "Touched a nerve, did we?"

"What's wrong—afraid we'll dig up proof of your dirty little swap once we start tracing scents?"

Vesper's hands balled into fists, her expression shifting to one of barely contained anguish.

"All I wanted was for you to return my prize tribute so I could pay my training dues and stay with the pack. But you've pushed me too far. Now you have to face the consequences!"

She pulled out a ritual-stone and sent word to the Pack Integrity Council.

"I'm filing a formal challenge under my true name. During the territory Rite Trial, Selene Ashford colluded with Adjudicator Elowen Nightbriar to switch my artwork and steal first place in the preliminaries. I demand Lorekeeper Elowen's immediate removal and the return of what's rightfully mine!"

The other young wolves erupted in howls, all of them waiting to watch me crash and burn.

The Moonstream exploded with glowing threads:

【This is amazing! The heroine is so fierce!】

【Finally made the call! They're sending territory investigators!】

【The villainess is about to be destroyed!】

Kael regarded me with ice in his eyes.

"Before the Council Elders send someone down, I'll give you one last chance to come clean."

Vesper adopted a tone of false concern. "Once this spreads through the territories, you'll lose a lot more than some little preliminary title."

The Moonstream showered her with praise:

【The heroine is such an angel—still giving the villainess a chance even now.】

[Our sweet girl is just too pure-hearted. She keeps refusing the Alpha's courtship advances because of his claiming intent with another.]

[These two precious souls cannot complete their bond because of that wretched curse-bearer. The Alpha has to navigate pack law just to offer her tribute gifts, and even then, she only reluctantly accepts them.]

These Moonstream comments made me seriously question whether these watchers shared a single functioning mind between them.

If Vesper were truly as pure-hearted as they claimed, why would she entangle herself with Kael knowing full well he had declared claiming intent toward another?

Her so-called "refusals" were nothing but the oldest courtship game in wolf history.

One breath of her scent—layered with rare oils, moon-blessed fabrics, and imported herbs not a single affordable item among them—told you everything. The ancestors only knew how much tribute that fool Kael had poured into her.

And they actually believed she needed the Trial prize stores for her initiation fees? The sheer stupidity was dragging down the collective instincts of our entire territory.

I regarded them with cold indifference and stated once more:

"I would never stoop to swapping ritual paintings for a title—let alone for a mere preliminary round."

The young wolves gathered around us began to waver.

"She speaks truth. This Trial is only territory-level. Selene has always competed at the Cross-Territory Rite Invitational level."

"Her pack controls vast hunting grounds, and she has already made her name across multiple territories. Why would she need to swap paintings?"

"What would she even gain from such dishonor?"

Doubt flickered across Kael's face. He glanced at me, something uncertain in his amber eyes.

Vesper's lips curled into a mocking smile. She jabbed a claw-tipped finger toward my face.

"Do I need to spell it out for all of you?"

"It is obviously for the guaranteed bloodline placement!"

Her voice turned icy as winter wind. "You all think this Trial is just about rankings and tribute prizes. But the finals champion receives a guaranteed place among the Elder Packs across the great waters!"

"That is something no amount of Trial victories can buy!"

A collective gasp rippled through the gathered wolves, their ears pricking forward.

Kael's gaze hardened with disgust. "Even if you claw your way into an elite pack through dirty tricks, you will not survive the season. Besides—" His eyes glinted like cold steel. "Your true nature is about to be exposed for all to scent."

When my expression remained unchanged, he pointed at me, his voice dripping with contempt.

"You will not howl until you see the burial stones!"

A group of uniformed Council investigators approached, one of them holding a warded memory-stone. "This contains the ward-view recording of the entire painting ritual and submission. We are here to make everything public before the pack."

The lead investigator turned to me. "You are Selene Ashford, the one who was reported, correct? I will ask you one final time—did you swap another wolf's ritual painting to secure the guaranteed bloodline placement?"

Triumph gleamed in Vesper's and Kael's eyes. They were practically salivating, hackles raised in anticipation, waiting for the ward-view to play and watch me crumble before the pack.

I rolled my eyes and spread my hands toward the Council staff.

"I was granted accelerated initiation into the Elder ranks last year. Why would I swap paintings just to receive placement I already possess?"