His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 37

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Kael said at last, his voice breaking the silence that had settled over the corridor.

"Challenging someone isn't illegal. It may not happen as often as it once did in Silver Mane, but it is still a recognised right, is it not?"

For the first time since Alpha Victor arrived, Kael lifted his gaze from the prison cell and looked directly at him.

The movement was small, yet it sent a chill down Alpha Victor's spine. His back was already damp with sweat.

Had it been anyone else asking the question, he could have dismissed it with a few carefully chosen words and moved on.

But Prince Kael was not someone he could brush aside. The prince had asked a question, which meant he expected an answer.

After a long pause, Alpha Victor finally spoke. "Our rules have undergone several reforms in recent years. Challenges without proper grounds are no longer encouraged. Ivy initiated the challenge without a valid reason and seriously injured Emma in the process. A punishment was necessary."

Kael remained silent for a moment, as though weighing every word. Then he asked, "What you mean is that Ivy had no reason to challenge your daughter?"

The question made Alpha Victor hesitate. His eyes instinctively drifted toward the prison cell where Ivy sat curled against the wall. She had not moved since they arrived. In the dim light she looked almost lifeless, so still that only the faint rise and fall of her shoulders proved otherwise.

"There wasn't truly a reason behind it," Alpha Victor said. "Ivy has never gotten along with Emma. Her emotions got the better of her and things escalated."

The explanation sounded reasonable enough, but Luke's expression tightened the moment the words left his father's mouth. He had remained silent until now, trusting Alpha Victor to handle the conversation, yet he could not ignore the implication hidden within those few sentences. Without thinking, he reached forward and tugged lightly at his father's sleeve.

Alpha Victor glanced sideways. Luke was staring at him with an unmistakable frown.

The gesture was subtle, but the meaning behind it was clear.

Within a few short sentences, Alpha Victor had shifted the entire blame onto Ivy while presenting Emma as a victim who had done nothing wrong.

Luke did not agree with that version of events.

He was worried about Emma and angry at Ivy for allowing matters to spiral so far out of control, but he never believed Ivy had acted without reason.

Emma might not be entirely at fault, yet that did not automatically mean Ivy had exploded for no cause at all.

Luke strongly believed there was a misunderstanding somewhere in the middle, something nobody had bothered to untangle before the situation reached this point.

Unfortunately, Alpha Victor was not a man who welcomed opposing opinions once he had made up his mind. Luke had learned that lesson years ago.

That was why he chose silence. He had planned to wait a few days before approaching his father again.

At the very least, he wanted Ivy released from the cell. What disturbed him now was not the punishment itself but the way his father was speaking about her.

Punishing Ivy before hearing her side of the story was unfair, but Luke could understand how his parents arrived at that decision. Presenting her as a malicious and unreasonable person in front of a royal prince who had travelled all this way to see her was something else entirely.

Especially after everything she had suffered in the capital, it felt unnecessarily cruel.

Alpha Victor discreetly pulled his coat free from Luke's grip and turned his attention back on Kael. The prince had not moved his gaze away from them and the silent exchange between father and son had not escaped him.

Kael remained still in his wheelchair, his expression unreadable beneath the dim prison lights. Yet the weight of his gaze lingered heavily on Alpha Victor's shoulders, making it difficult to breathe.

"Does your son think the same, Alpha Victor?" Kael asked, tilting his head to look directly at Luke.

The question came without warning.

Luke tensed, his entire body going rigid like a tight wound rope. He wasn't used to being at a disadvantageous position during confrontations. Throughout his life, he had been the one others yielded to. Yet, standing before Kael felt entirely different.

Even though Kael was in a wheelchair and Luke stood far taller in comparison, that proud gaze of a Lycan prince felt heavy on his head, as if he was being looked down upon.

His jaw clenched in resistance.

He disagreed with his father. Deep down he knew Alpha Victor had painted the situation unfairly. But disagreement and public defiance were not the same thing.

No matter what he thought, he couldn't openly disagree with his father in front of outsiders. Especially not someone of such high prestige.

So, even though every nerve in his body was against it, he still nodded stiffly. "It is exactly as father said. Ivy challenged Emma without sufficient -"

"...reason."

The muffled whisper drifted through the corridor before he could finish. It was so faint, it could pass as an illusion. Until a few seconds later, the frozen, curled up body within the cell, slowly unfurled into existence and lifted her head.

Ivy's movements were sluggish, as though every joint in her body had rusted from disuse. Dark strands of hair clung to her pale face while exhaustion hollowed out her features. She looked less like a young woman and more like a ghost lingering within the shadows.

"I had a reason," Ivy repeated, her voice lacking strength. "You just never asked what it was."

Luke felt something unpleasant twist inside his chest because, despite everything that had happened, she was right.

No one had asked. Not him. Not Luna Doris. Not Alpha Victor.

The challenge had been issued, Emma had collapsed, and everyone had rushed to protect her. Somewhere in the chaos, Ivy's side of the story had ceased to matter.

Alpha Victor's expression darkened. "Enough."

The authority in his voice echoed over the stone walls, but Ivy showed little to no reaction.

She remained seated on the mattress, her tired gaze fixed somewhere beyond the bars. It was difficult to tell whether she was looking at her father, at Kael, or simply through them all.

"You have already caused enough trouble," Alpha Victor continued. "Do not make this situation worse by inventing excuses."

A faint sound escaped her lips. It took a minute for everyone to realise that she had laughed. The sound was dry and exhausted, carrying a heavy bitterness.

It was anything but pleasant.

"Excuses?" she murmured. "How could I possibly make this any worse?"

Using the wall for support, she slowly pushed herself upright. The effort alone seemed enough to drain what little strength remained in her body.

Her knees nearly buckled before she steadied herself against the cold stone, breathing carefully through the dizziness.

Yet despite her condition, there was something unyielding in her eyes that had not been there before.

For the first time since arriving, Kael's expression shifted.

His fingers tightened around the armrest of his wheelchair. The movement was subtle enough to escape most people's notice, but Leon caught it immediately.

After years of serving at Kael's side, he had long since learned to recognize even the smallest changes in the prince's demeanor.

The storm-grey eyes that usually remained calm and unreadable stirred for the first time that night.

Leon straightened slightly and followed his gaze, turning his attention towards the prison cell.

Inside, Ivy was struggling to stand.

The movement itself was slow and awkward. One hand braced against the wall while the other pressed against the edge of the mattress for support. Yet the moment her feet touched the floor, something seemed to shift in the atmosphere.

Yet the moment her feet touched the floor, something seemed to change.