One Night

Chapter 164

Audrey

Blood and bonfires and chanting suddenly turned into champagne and dancing and laughter.

I was suddenly thrust out of Fiona’s memories, my mind reeling from the force of it. The world tilted, and I st**ed. backwards, stumbling over my own heels. My shoulder hit the floor, the impact jarring me back to the present.

Fiona stumbled back as well, collapsing to the floor with a cry. The music screeched to a halt, and the party fell into an eerie silence. All eyes were on us now.

“What… What just happened?” Fiona gasped, clutching her head. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear. “What the hell did you do to me?”

I tried to speak, but my head was pounding. I could taste blood in my mouth, and I slowly lifted my hand, my fingers tenderly touching my upper lip. When I pulled them away and they were stained red, I quickly realized that my nose had begun bleeding at some point during my little adventure into Fiona’s mind.

The room

swam before my eyes as I struggled to process what I had seen in Fiona’s memories.

Two baby girls swapped in the night… Coldclaw… A so-called prophecy… A bl**dy ritual with a knife made of a carved ivory

handle.

“Fiona,” I hissed. “You”

Before I could finish, Claudia was suddenly rushing to Fiona’s side, her face twisted with concern “Fiona, darling, are you alright? What happened?” Claudia looked up at me, noting the blood running down my lip, and her expression cycled between worry, confusion, and anger.

Fiona shook her head, looking dazed. “I… I don’t know. It’s all foggy. But she…” Her hand trembled as she pointed at me. upper lip curling back to reveal sharp fangs. “She did something to me. I can feel it. She’s a freak who slipped into my mind Messed with my memories!”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. People began to back away from me, their faces a mixture of fear and disgust. I could hear whispers starting to spread through the room.

“Did you hear that?”

“She read Fiona’s mind?”

“How is that possible?”

“Freak..”

Edwin was suddenly at my side, helping me to my feet. His arm around my waist steadied me as I swayed-slightly, and his scent soothed some of my tension. I felt a ripple of pride work its way down our bond, followed by his gentle voice.

“You did it… What did you see?”

**was now sobbing into her mother’s shoulder. Well,

Claudia looked up at me, her face ashen as she clutched Fiona-who Claudia wasn’t really her mother, was she?

“Audrey, what did you do to my daughter…?”

My daughter.. Oh, Claudia. She really had no idea. Not a clue that her real daughter was likely dead, or at least very, very far away by now.

**

**

Chapter 164

Audrey

Blood and bonfires and chanting suddenly turned into champagne and dancing and laughter.

I was suddenly thrust out of Fiona’s memories, my mind reeling from the force of it. The world tilted, and I sta**red backwards, stumbling over my own heels. My shoulder hit the floor, the impact jarring me back to the present.

Fiona stumbled back as well, collapsing to the floor with a cry. The music screeched to a halt, and the party fell into an eerie silence. All eyes were on us now.

“What… What just happened?” Fiona gasped, clutching her head. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear. “What the hell did you do to me?”

I tried to speak, but my head was pounding, I could taste blood in my mouth, and I slowly lified my hand, my fingers tenderly touching my upper lip. When I pulled them away and they were stained red, I quickly realized that my nose had begun bleeding at some point during my little adventure into Fiona’s mind.

The room swam before my eyes as I struggled to process what I had seen in Fiona’s memories.

Two baby girls swapped in the night… Coldclaw. A so-called prophecy.. A bl**dy ritual with a knife made of a carved ivory handle.

“Fiona,” I hissed. “You…”

Before I could finish, Claudia was suddenly rushing to Fiona’s side, her face twisted with concern. “Fiona, darling, are you alright? What happened?” Claudia looked up at me, noting the blood running down my lip, and her expression cycled between worry, confusion, and anger.

mind! Fiona shook her head, looking dazed. “I… I don’t know. It’s all foggy. But she..” Her hand trembled as she pointed at me, upper lip curling back to reveal sharp fangs. “She did something to me. I can feel it. She’s a freak who slipped into my Messed with my memories!”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. People began to back away from me, their faces a mixture of fear and disgust, I could hear whispers starting to spread through the room.

“Did you hear that?”

“She read Fiona’s mind?”

“How is that possible?”

“Freak…”

Edwin was suddenly at my side, helping me to my feet. His arm around my waist steadied me as I swayed slightly, and his scent soothed some of my tension. I felt a ripple of pride work its way down our bond, followed by his gentle voice.

“You did it. What did you

Claudia looked up at me, her face ashen as she clutched Fiona-who was now sobbing into her mother’s shoulder. Well, Claudia wasn’t really her mother, was she?

“Audrey, what did you do to my daughter…?”

My daughter. Oh, Claudia. She really had no idea. Not a clue that her real daughter was likely dead, or at least very, very far away by now.

*

*

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. The truth had to come out, no matter how unbelievable it might sound. “I. I saw Fiona’s memories,” I said, my voice shaky but growing stronger with each word. “And what I saw…” I looked at Fiona, who had stopped sobbing, her eyes now wide with realization.

“Why don’t you tell them, Fiona?” I asked. “Tell them what happened on the night of your eighteenth birthday. What you

did.”

The room fell silent again, all eyes turning to Fiona. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but no words came out. Nothing other than: “L. I don’t.”

1 scoffed, turning away

“Fiona is not Claudia’s biological daughter, “I said, pointing a shaking finger at her. “She was switched at birth by her real mother, who was working for Coldclaw. Claudia’s true daughter was sent away.”

Murmurs of disbelief swept through the crowd. Fiona’s face had gone pale, her eyes wide with shock and fury.

“That’s ridiculous!” she sputtered. “You’re lying!”

I shook my head, pressing on. “Fiona has been training with Coldclaw for years. They want her to marry Edwin and combine Coldclaw and Crescent pack. She killed Martha, her biological mother, as a final ritual. And I forced myself to meet Fiona’s eyes. “She tried to kill me, too, because I stood in the way of her so-called ‘prophecy”

I turned slowly, meeting Claudia’s gaze now. “I didn’t just fall off that balcony at your party, Claudia. I swallowed hard. “Fiona pushed me.”

Somehow, Claudia’s face went even more ashen than before. She blinked slowly, dazedly, and I could practically see the gears turning behind her eyes as she turned to look at Fiona. At the killer who she thought was her daughter.

“T-This is nonsense!” Fiona shouted, struggling to her feet. “Y-You can’t possibly believe her! She probably hit her head during the fall!TM

I shook my head. “All these years, Coldclaw misled you into believing that you were the Silver Wolf,” I explained. “But you aren’t, Fiona.”

Her eyes widened. “No, I-”

“I am the Silver Wolf”

Fiona’s face paled. I closed my eyes, feeling a surge of power course through me. When I opened them again, I knew they were glowing silver. With trembling hands, I pushed back my hair, revealing the silver streak I had hidden for so long.

“I am the Silver Star,” I said. “And I speak the truth.”

My words were met with complete and utter silence. No one moved a muscle-not even Claudia, although her eyes slid to

Edwin.

“It’s true,” he said. “Audrey is the Silver Star. Fiona is a fraud who is actively working to carry out Goldclaw’s plan to dominate all the packs.”

Only then did a gasp ripple across the room; perhaps people would not entirely believe me, the strange girl with silver eyes and silver hair, but Edwin, the Alpha of Crescent…. No one would dare go against his word.

“You little-

Fiona took a st**ing step forward, pale hands reaching for my throat, fangs and eyes flashing

Edwin’s arms tightened around me, pulling me back. Even the crowd behind me stepped back, murmuring. They didn’t fear me anymore. They feared her. She had killed once and had savored every drop of blood. She would happily kill again

08:36 Sat, Sep 21

Chapter 161

But through it all, Claudia stood still, her mouth hanging open. I turned to her, trying my best to convey all of my sympathy

into my gaze.

“I’m sorry, Claudia,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I’m sorry that your daughter was taken from you!

Claudia’s throat bobbed. “No. She wasn’t.” Slowly, she approached, her gaze fixed on the locket around my neck. Her hand reached out, touching it gently.

“This locket…” she whispered, “I had one just like this made for my daughter. I put it around her neck the night she was born. One night, it was gone. I thought it must have gotten lost, but.

Her eyes met mine, filled with a mixture of hope and disbelief. “But here it is.”

My wolf stirred inside of me again. “Mother. She is our mother. I know it’s her.”

As I looked up at Claudia, I knew that she felt it, too.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I looked at Claudia-at my mother. My voice trembled as I spoke the word I had longed to say for so long

“Mom?”

Claudia’s face crumpled, and suddenly her arms were around me. Fiona shrieked somewhere, but I hardly heard it over my own s**bs. I clung to her, to my mother, feeling years of longing and loss pouring out of me. We were both crying, holding onto each other as if we might disappear if we let go.

“My baby,” Claudia whispered, stroking my hair. “My beautiful girl. I always knew… The moment I met you, I knew that you were special to me…”

“I felt it, too,” I said through my tears. “The first time we met, I felt it. I never stopped feeling it.”

As we held each other, I became aware of the room around us again. The party guests were watching in stunned silence, many of them wiping away tears of their own.

Fiona stood off to the side, her face red with fury. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, and she was trembling with

rage.

Edwin stepped forward, his face grim. “Fiona, you need to come with me. We have a lot to discuss.”

But before he could reach her, Claudia suddenly shouted, “No!” She turned to face Edwin, one arm still around me. “She’s my daughter, too.”