Chapter Twenty-Six
The Taunt
Hazel POV
Helena didn't take him fully.
She didn't need to.
Magnus's body jerked once—subtle, almost imperceptible—like a marionette whose strings had been tugged just enough to remind everyone who held them. His shoulders relaxed into a posture that wasn't his. His spine straightened. His chin lifted.
Not confidence, ownership
His smile sharpened into something older, meaner, satisfied.
The forest felt it.
Roots tightened beneath the soil, leaves stilled mid-rustle. Even the moonlight seemed to thin, as though unwilling to shine too brightly on what wore Magnus's skin now.
I felt her attention slide back to me.
It crawled.
"Oh, don't look so surprised," Helena said lightly, Magnus's voice warped into something silkier, crueler. "I didn't come all this way just to watch you scream. It's not over yet. You've had your showdown and entertainment. My turn."
My grip tightened on my blade. The metal hummed, reacting to my pulse. Power hissed under my skin, lightning itching to be unleashed—but Helene held herself taut inside me, coiled and waiting.
"Patience little one, she warned. She wants you to break. Impudent little bitch."
Helena's gaze drifted lazily to Caleb.
And then she laughed.
A soft, delighted sound—too intimate for the violence hanging in the air.
"How fascinating," she murmured. "You're staring at him like you just learned the sky is blue. Wonder if you'll still feel the same way when I let you in on a little secret."
My chest tightened, breath catching painfully between ribs.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
Helena tilted Magnus's head, mockingly thoughtful. "Oh, darling. Really? After all that?" Her eyes flicked between us. "Why does Caleb look shocked? Why is Lucien silent?"
My heart stuttered.
She smiled wider.
"Selene told him already. As for Lucien, he knew from records"
The words didn't just land.
They cut.
I snapped my head toward Caleb so fast the world blurred. The forest streaked past in shadow and silver until all I could see was him.
His face—
Gods, his face—
Not confusion.
Not denial.
Recognition, regret, shame.
I turned to Lucien then,"You too? Really? Wow."
Something inside me went cold. Sharp. Final.
"You—" My voice cracked, sound breaking apart before it fully formed as I turned back to Caleb, "You knew?"
Caleb's mouth opened.
Closed.
That pause—barely a heartbeat—was enough to tear something loose in my chest.
Helena tsked. "Careful, Alpha. Silence looks an awful lot like guilt."
My vision tunneled. The edges of the world darkened as rage flooded in, hot and blinding, buzzing beneath my skin like a storm looking for ground.
"She told you," Helena continued conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "Not the details, of course. Selene's always been… selective with truth. But the bones of it? Oh yes."
My hands shook, Not from fear. From restraint.
Selene.
That name burned like acid.
"And before you ask," Helena added sweetly, her gaze turning inward—straight through skin, through bone, into my soul—"yes. Helene knew too."
The world stopped.
Inside me, Helene went utterly still.
I felt it—felt her freeze like prey caught in a spotlight, power locking down so tightly it hurt.
My breath came sharp, ragged. "Is that true?"
Silence.
Too long.
The forest seemed to lean in, waiting.
Helene finally spoke, her voice tight, controlled, raw in a way I had never heard before.
"I knew Magnus was involved. I did not know when. Or how far. Or that Selene hid it from you. I tried to tell you, some days ago. You said you needed to rest."
A fissure split straight through my chest.
Helena laughed again—openly delighted now. "Oh, this is delicious. Three people you trusted. Three liars. All standing so close you could taste them."
"Shut up," I snarled, lightning snapping down my arms, scorching bark where it kissed the ground.
She ignored me.
"Did you think it was coincidence?" Helena continued. "That truths circled you but never landed? That everyone decided—independently, I'm sure—to protect you?"
Her gaze sharpened on Caleb and Lucien.
"He knew," she said plainly.
"He knew too,"
Then she turned inward again, voice lowering, savoring each word.
"She knew."
My knees threatened to give.
Power surged, wild and furious, reacting to betrayal like a wounded animal. My blade trembled, crackling with energy that begged to be unleashed. Flora tried to steady me, tried to reach—but the damage was already done.
"Hazel, calm down, you need to calm down."
"You all—" I choked, the words tearing out of me. "You all decided I didn't deserve the truth?"
Caleb stepped toward me, one hand lifted, eyes frantic. "Hazel—"
"Don't," I snapped.
Lightning exploded across my skin, snapping the air between us. "Don't say my name like you didn't just stand there knowing my family's blood was on his hands."
Adam surged violently inside him. I felt it—felt his desperation, his guilt, his grief pushing through the bond like a plea.
It only made it worse.
Helena watched us unravel with open satisfaction, head tilted, eyes glowing faintly red.
"And now," she purred, "you finally see it. Power isn't just about strength, Hazel Thornblood. It's about who gets to decide what you're allowed to know."
She leaned closer, Magnus's lips curving.
"And everyone decided against you."
Something broke.
Not outward.
Inward.
Helene surged forward—toward Helena—
From me.
"Enough!"
Her power wrapped around mine, grounding and fierce, protective in a way that felt like hands on my spine holding me upright. I felt her grip Helena—not physically, but spiritually—closing around something ancient and vile.
Helena hissed, the sound sharp and animal.
"Oh?" Helene snapped as she pulled harder. "You've grown."
The connection burned—white-hot, searing through nerves and soul alike. The air screamed. The ground cracked beneath Magnus's feet.
Helena recoiled violently, her presence snapping back like a severed thread.
Magnus staggered, gasping, eyes clearing just enough for panic to flicker through them.
Helena fled.
Vanished.
Magnus collapsed to one knee, hands braced in the dirt, breath tearing out of him like he'd been dragged back from drowning.
And in the sudden, ringing silence—
I turned slowly to Caleb.
My heart hurt too much to rage.
Too much to scream.
"You knew," I said quietly.
Two words.
Final.
His face crumpled.
And that—
That hurt worse than any confession.