The realization hit her like a slap.

She had no winning move left.

Grinding her teeth, Claire could only swallow her anger and force herself to remain silent. Every word she wanted to say died in her throat, while resentment burned fiercely in her chest. Addison had completely turned the tables, shutting down her greatest leverage and refusing to let Claire take another step forward with ease.

The guests’ gazes shifted between the two women. At first they looked puzzled, but as the pieces slowly fell into place, realization dawned across their faces. The atmosphere around the banquet table subtly changed.

Like the Eastern Alphas, they leaned back in silence, their eyes darting between Claire and Addison with barely concealed curiosity, as though they had suddenly found themselves watching the opening act of an entertaining spectacle.

Several couldn’t resist stealing hopeful glances at the Eastern Alphas, silently urging them to reveal whatever history they clearly knew about Claire and Addison. Yet the Eastern Alphas remained unmoved.

They merely swirled the wine in their glasses and took unhurried sips, refusing to acknowledge the questioning looks directed at them. None of them were foolish enough to insert themselves into a confrontation that was growing sharper with every exchange.

The moment anyone chose a side or spoke out of turn, they would become the next target.

After all, only someone utterly oblivious could fail to feel the hostility hanging over the table. Though both women still wore pleasant smiles, the air between them had already turned razor-sharp, their polite words concealing blows meant to wound rather than converse.

Addison let out a quiet chuckle, a mocking gleam flickering in her eyes as they settled on Claire.

The color instantly rose to Claire’s cheeks.

She knew.

Just from that look alone, Claire realized Addison had seen straight through her carefully rehearsed fa?ade and the innocent act she had tried so hard to maintain. For the briefest moment, she felt utterly ridiculous, as though every calculated move she had made had been exposed under Addison’s unwavering gaze.

“You bet…” Addison replied, her smile widening just enough to make the words sting.

She couldn’t openly declare her hostility toward Claire, not here, not in front of the kingdom’s most influential figures, but there were countless ways to sharpen a blade without ever drawing it. A few carefully chosen words, a knowing smile, and a subtle implication were more than enough.

The quick-witted would understand exactly what she meant. They would recognize that the warmth between the two cousins was nothing more than a carefully maintained illusion, and sooner or later, they would begin choosing sides.

This was merely Addison’s opening move.

She needed allies, and there was no better way to reveal hidden loyalties than by exposing a fault line for everyone to see. Those eager to earn her favor would inevitably distance themselves from Claire, or even undermine her outright, just to prove where their allegiance lay.

As for those too dull to notice the undercurrent, they would simply assume Addison was teasing her cousin, acting like a spoiled yet mischievous princess who enjoyed putting Claire on the spot. After all, almost no one truly knew Addison.

Hidden away by the royal family since birth, then stolen from them before she ever entered the public eye, she had remained little more than a rumor for most of her life. This banquet was one of the first times the kingdom had seen the real Princess Addison.

To outsiders, her playful smile and sharp tongue could easily be mistaken for youthful willfulness — a harmless princess indulging in a little mischief.

Only those with keen eyes could see the truth.

Every smile she gave Claire concealed a blade, and every seemingly innocent remark was another deliberate cut.

To reinforce Addison’s words, the Alpha King let out a hearty laugh, as though he had been in on the joke from the very beginning. Looking at Addison with unmistakable fatherly affection, he shook his head with an indulgent smile.

“Forgive my daughter. She can be quite capricious at times.”

His lighthearted remark instantly shifted the atmosphere.

Those who hadn’t understood the subtle exchange finally laughed along, naturally steering the conversation toward their own daughters and sisters — the pampered young she-wolves of noble families who were often mischievous, stubborn, or delightfully willful.

Among the higher-ranking packs, daughters were treasured and spoiled, so the Alpha King’s explanation sounded perfectly reasonable. No one thought to question it further.

Just like that, the topic was buried.

More importantly, Claire’s opening vanished.

The stage she had painstakingly tried to claim for herself disappeared beneath her feet. Any chance of continuing to paint herself as the victim or subtly advertise her own virtues before the gathered Alphas, Elders, and ministers had been effortlessly cut off.

Claire slowly clenched her fists until her nails dug painfully into her palms, forcing herself to swallow the hatred threatening to spill across her face. Her chest tightened with fury as she shot Addison a venomous glare sharp enough to kill.

Addison noticed it immediately.

But instead of looking away or pretending not to see, she met Claire’s gaze head-on, completely unshaken. The corners of her lips curled into a faint, knowing smile as she calmly lifted her wine glass toward Claire in a silent toast.

It was a blatant provocation.

A smug, wordless victory.

As if she were deliberately rubbing salt into Claire’s already bleeding wound, daring her to make another move.

Claire’s expression nearly cracked.

Her blood boiled, her jaw tightened, and the hatred raging inside her swelled to the point where she could barely keep her composure. Yet in front of everyone present, she had no choice but to grit her teeth, force a smile, and swallow every ounce of her humiliation.

Although Addison’s actions were subtle, their impact was devastatingly effective.

The banquet continued as though nothing had happened, yet every time Claire tried to insert herself into a conversation, someone would effortlessly shut the door in her face. Sometimes it was Addison who smoothly redirected the topic. Other times it was Zion, Maxwell, or Levi, each one seamlessly steering the discussion elsewhere before Claire could even finish opening her mouth.

It was as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.

No signals were exchanged. No words were needed.

They simply understood Addison’s intentions so well that they instinctively fell into step with her, cutting off every opportunity Claire had to steal the spotlight or regain control of the gathering. Each attempt ended the same way — ignored, redirected, or buried beneath a new topic before it could take root.

Watching the scene unfold, the Alpha King silently nodded in approval.

A trace of satisfaction flickered across his eyes as he looked at his future sons-in-laws. They understood Addison better than anyone. They could read her thoughts from the smallest glance, anticipate her intentions without being told, and support her without making their coordination obvious. That silent understanding was far more valuable than empty declarations of loyalty.

Even Leon eventually caught on.

At first, he merely observed, but before long he began joining in. Every now and then, he would casually throw out a veiled remark that sounded harmless on the surface.

“Some people should learn to measure themselves before trying to reach for things that were never meant to be theirs. Ambition is admirable, but overestimating your own worth only invites humiliation.”

He never looked at Claire.

He never mentioned her name.

Yet everyone with half a brain knew exactly who he was talking about.

Each seemingly casual comment struck Claire like a slap across the face, causing the muscles around her smile to twitch while the fury in her chest surged higher and higher. She wanted nothing more than to lash out, but doing so would only expose herself as the target of Leon’s words.

What surprised everyone, however, wasn’t Claire’s reaction.

It was Leon’s.

Zion, Maxwell, and Levi exchanged subtle glances before looking at Leon with newfound surprise. None of them had expected him to catch on so quickly, much less play along so naturally. Without anyone asking him to, Leon had become another wall blocking Claire’s every attempt to worm her way back into the center of attention.

“Alpha Zion, I didn’t know that damned cat could actually be useful once in a while. Turns out that razor-sharp tongue of his isn’t just for picking fights; it finally found a worthwhile target.”

Levi sent the teasing remark through their mindlink, lowering his head to hide the grin tugging at his lips. At that moment, he genuinely wanted to give Leon a thumbs-up.

The results were impossible to miss.

Claire’s expression cycled through several shades before the color completely drained from her face. She lowered her head, desperately trying to hide it, but Levi still caught the faint redness creeping into the corners of her eyes.

If anyone else had seen it, they might have mistaken it for heartbreak.

Levi wasn’t fooled.

To him, it was the same old performance.

The pitiful, wronged woman.

The helpless victim.