Violet
"Lord Calder!" Ila called out. "The state we found her in makes this very difficult to believe. She was barely conscious and on the verge of death from rejection sickness—"
"Your Supre Alpha, along with the rest of us will be able to tell if the witness lies or not. This is not your turn to speak," Lord Calder hissed at Ila, dashing what was left of my hope.
No...
I didn’t do this!
Damon turned toward the Shadowpine delegation and gestured. "Reiva. Please step forward."
A woman rose from her seat and my breath caught in my throat.
I knew her.
I had seen her in the pack a few tis. She did have two children.
But the woman who stood now looked like a shadow of forr herself.
Her dark hair hung limp around a face that looked like it had been carved from grief. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, ringed with dark circles from what would have been prolonged crying and sleepless nights. Her face was gaunt and her clothes hung loose on a fra smaller than I rembered.
She clutched tightly at her chest as she moved forward, each step seeming to take enormous effort.
When she reached the open space, her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest as if sothing inside her had been physically torn away.
"My babies..." Her voice was raw with anguish as her eyes started to water. "My sweet, sweet, babies."
Sothing cold settled in my stomach.
"Please," she gasped, her voice breaking. "Please, I just need... I need justice for my babies..."
The raw agony in her voice sent ice through my veins.
This felt too real to be pretence.
"Is this wolf even in any state to speak about anything?" Lord Calder’s voice trickled to my ears, almost muffled.
The woman’s hands trembled as she raised her head. Tears stread down her face as she looked up at him. "My... they were only five and seven..." Her head lowered and she broke into even more sobs.
Damon leaned down, resting a hand on her back. "Reiva..."
She sniffed, trying to steady her breathing. "I... I took them into the woods—to play—just—just for a few hours. I... I—I left them briefly by the river to go gather herbs and..." Her voice cracked and she slowly shook her head, her tear-streaked face contorting as her lips opened to let out a strained cry.
’No... what is this?’
’What is happening?’
"When I—when I—" Her back straightened and she raised her head to gulp in air, before wiping her nose to clear the snot dripping into her mouth. "When I ca back. There was blood—so much blood. And—and she was there..." Her body trembled as her eyes drifted to et mine.
I could not breathe.
"She was—she was there. Standing over them. Their little bodies torn apart..." She ripped her hands from her chest and covered her face, muffled sobs tearing from her throat as she hunched over, yelling out a guttural cry, "She was covered in their blood! Pieces! There were pieces!"
She dissolved into sobs, her entire body shaking.
My mouth opened, but no sound ca out. The accusation was so outrageous, so utterly insane, that my mind couldn’t imdiately process it.
The woman’s grief was so raw, so real that it filled the entire hall like a living thing. I felt it press against my skin, its intensify stealing the air from my lungs and suffocating .
She was not lying.
She believed I had killed her children.
Like she had actually seen it.
And for one terrible, horrifying mont, I questioned myself, wondering if I had truly done that to her children. Had I lost consciousness at so point? Or maybe the pain from the rejection sickness had driven to—
No.
No!
I did not do this.
I would never do this!
It never happened!
But the doubt had taken root, and I felt it spreading like poison through my thoughts.
"This—this is a lie." My voice shook even as I said those words. "I never—"
"You see?" Damon’s voice carried over mine. "Even she cannot fully deny it. She knows what she did."
"I didn’t do it!" The words ca out stronger now, my fear and anger burning away the doubt. "This has all been put together!"
My eyes swept across the Supre Alphas, searching for any sign that they saw through this deception. Most looked uncertain, disturbed. A few were watching with clear suspicion.
"Trust , Calder," Lady Palisa spoke up, shifting in her seat to face the older Supre Alpha. "Regardless of what Kael’s beta said earlier, this girl is capable."
"Palisa," Kael grumbled, and the Supre Alpha beside him latched their hand onto his, shaking their head to prevent him from standing.
"Palisa," Lord Calder growled, glaring heatedly at her.
"I do not understand what sorcery is at play here, but she clearly isn’t an Oga." The wretched demon smirked at before turning back to address the others. "There is sothing fundantally different about this one. I am sure you all noticed it the mont she entered."
"She has a point," another one of them spoke up, his eyes narrowing at . "This one seems... unusual."
Palisa nodded. "Yes, yes. Everything about her is wrong. Her scent is wrong. Her very presence is wrong." She paused deliberately and her gaze trailed to Damon. "Don’t you agree, Alpha Damon? Surely you must have noticed sothing different about her?"
Damon’s eyes fixed on and for a brief mont, I could see the vivid guilt and confusion that flashed within his eyes.
It made even more angry.
THIS BASTARD KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING!
And the next words he spouted were pure filth!
"She is different now. Completely different. I don’t know how, but she has changed—"
"Stop lying!" The words exploded from before I could stop them. My hands flew to my chest. "There is nothing wrong with !"
User Comments
0 comments from readers