Chapter 208: Glass House
Astrid's POV
I held myself together as I locked gazes with Giselle. She knew I heard her words. She probably spoke it out loud to make sure that I would hear her.
"Does it even matter who she is? As long as she's a member of the Shadowfang Pack, for sure she could help us. If we want to impress their Alpha, we must at least impress her first." I heard someone whisper.
However, Giselle only laughed, stealing everyone's attention. "She's just a mistress, she had no influence over the affairs of the Shadowfang Pack. It would be better if you just go directly to the Alpha instead of wasting your time with her." I forced back a smile when I heard her words. She had no idea just how much influence I had here ever since I became the Pack's acting beta.
"Astrid," Giselle's voice, laced with venom, cut through the air. "She's just a mistress, after all. A temporary distraction a fleeting fancy. For sure the Alpha will get bored of her just like how the previous Alphas she dated did."
I've been holding myself together, trying my best to ignore Giselle's words and avoid making a scene in front of the guests.
However, when I heard what she had just said, my vision darkened, and I finally snapped.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.
"Giselle," I began, my voice trembling with barely contained fury. "You have no right—"
But before I could unleash the torrent of words building inside of me, a female's voice, sharp and clear, cut through the air.
"Giselle," a pregnant woman stood up from the crowd. "Don't you dare speak of mistresses," she spoke, her voice low and dangerous. "You of all people, should know better than to throw stones in a glass house."
I stared at the woman who spoke, wondering why she stood up for me when this had nothing to do with her.
Her words hung heavy in the air. Everybody seemed to hold their breath, the murmur of conversation fading into a hushed silence.
Giselle's face once flushed with indignation, paled as the weight of Vanessa's words sunk in.
Where is Giselle's sting? Where is the audacity she held in shaming me? The moment that the woman spoke up, Giselle was instantly reduced to ashes.
"For a moment there, I thought she was describing herself," I spoke up, adding fuel to the fire.
I was stunned into silence when the woman suddenly laughed at my words. Her laughs came from the pit of her stomach. She really found my words so hilarious.
Giselle's face turned red as a tomato as she stared at us, unable to say a word. The woman's words really drove into her with a chilling precision, breaking Giselle's facade.
Everyone who was so interested in me turned their interest on her and started talking about her.
"What a hypocrite, she speaks about the others without looking on herself first. Didn't she just got pregnant by an Alpha that is not her mate? In fact her husband now was still married with someone else when she got pregnant."
"It doesn't matter whether the wife cheated. It's clear that the husband cheated first."
"A mistress shaming another mistress. Oh how shameful!"
Whispers flooded on top of one another, and the tides turned against Giselle. Giselle could only fume in silence, unable to defend herself from the words of the crowd.
"Come here, sit with me," the woman
gave me a huge smile as she laced her arm around mine and pulled me from the crowd. "I'm Vanessa and you are Astrid, right?" she asked me as she pulled me away.
I forced a smile on my face. I felt uncomfortable with how close she was to me. I've only met her now. "That's right," I answered her.
Vanessa looked nice; out of all the people here, she was the only one who stood up for me. I think that's enough to label her as a good person.
"I heard so much about you, but I'm sure that's not the same for me. Well, I'm Vanessa the Luna of Crimsonbane Pack," Vanessa introduced herself.
My eyes widened in realization. She's that Luna! I've heard some things about her in the past.
I think when I was still the Luna, she wasn't yet the Luna of their Pack, which is why I am unfamiliar with her.
She must have become the Luna of the Crimsonbane Pack after I stepped down as the Silvermoon Pack's Luna.
My brows shot up when I had another realization again. Crimsonbane Pack, isn't that where Giselle stayed before?
If that's the case, it really explains Giselle's reaction and why Vanessa stood up for me.
"You don't have to tell me anything, but I think I already know what Giselle did to you," Vanessa uttered close to my ear. "I know what kind of person Giselle is. You cannot trust
her, especially if your mate is an
Alpha."
I gulped when I heard her accurate words. She seems to know Giselle very well. What exactly did Giselle do when she was staying in the Crimsonbane Pack? "Mommy!" a small feminine voice brought me back to my thoughts.
When I looked down, I saw a little girl rush down between Luna Vanessa's legs. "Mommy, I'm sleepy," the little girl spoke with tired eyes.
"Just wait for a little while, honey. Mommy is already tired and sleepy too," Vanessa placed a hand over her pregnant belly as she answered. "Look! Daddy is coming!" The little girl suddenly beamed excitedly as she pointed out a finger.