Sera's POV
They slammed me down on the stone platform so hard my teeth rattled.
"Stay down," Commander Drake growled, his boot pressing between my shoulder blades.
I couldn't breathe. The cold stone pressed against my cheek, and all around me, hundreds of pack members watched. Waiting. Hungry for my punishment.
"Bring forward the victim," Alpha Blackthorn commanded.
The crowd parted. My stomach dropped.
Two healers carried a small boy on a stretcher—the Alpha's grandson, little Toby. He was only five years old. His skin looked gray, sweat soaking his dark hair. His breathing came in short, painful gasps.
"No," I whispered. "No, please—"
Even from here, I could smell it. Wolfsbane. The poison was killing him slowly.
"This child," Alpha Blackthorn's voice shook with rage, "drank juice at this afternoon's celebration. Within an hour, he collapsed. Our healers confirmed wolfsbane poisoning. Someone wanted to murder my grandson."
The crowd roared with anger.
"It wasn't me!" I screamed, trying to lift my head. Drake's boot pressed harder. "I love Toby! I used to read him stories when I visited the pack house—"
"Silence!" Alpha Blackthorn slammed his fist on the throne's arm. "Commander Drake. Present your evidence."
Drake finally lifted his boot. I gasped for air, pushing up to my knees. My hands instinctively covered my belly. Six weeks pregnant, barely showing, but I needed to protect this baby. It was all I had left.
Drake held up the glass vial they'd found in my cottage. "This vial was discovered hidden beneath the floorboards in Miss Ashwood's kitchen. It contains wolfsbane residue. Her scent is all over it."
"I've never seen that vial before!" My voice cracked. "Someone planted it! Please, you have to believe me—"
"We also found this." Another guard stepped forward holding a small cloth. Dark stains covered it. "Wolfsbane residue on a kitchen towel from Miss Ashwood's cottage. The scent matches the poison in the boy's system perfectly."
My mind raced. This was impossible. I'd been in my cottage all afternoon, hiding from the celebration. Nobody had visited except—
Wait.
This morning. I'd gone to collect herbs from the pack gardens. When I returned, my door was unlocked. I'd thought I'd forgotten to lock it, but what if someone had broken in?
"The evidence was planted!" I looked desperately at Alpha Blackthorn. "This morning I was gone for maybe an hour. Someone broke into my cottage and planted those things!"
"Convenient excuse," Vivienne said coldly. My stepmother stepped forward, her beautiful face twisted with disgust. "You were gone this morning because you were at the pack house kitchens. Multiple servants saw you."
"I was getting herbs for tea! That's all!"
"Was it?" Vivienne's smile was cruel. "Or were you poisoning a child because you're jealous? Because your mate chose your sister over you? Because you're too weak and wolfless to be anyone's Luna?"
The words hit like knives. Around me, pack members nodded in agreement.
"Margaret," Drake called. "Step forward."
The servant girl who'd spoken earlier moved to the platform. She still wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Tell the Alpha what you saw," Drake ordered.
Margaret's voice shook. "I saw Miss Sera in the kitchen this afternoon. Around three o'clock. She was near the drink preparation area. She looked... nervous. Guilty."
"I was nervous because I don't belong there!" I protested. "I was getting herbs and everyone was staring at me like I was dirt! That's why I looked nervous!"
"Did you see her put anything in the drinks?" Alpha Blackthorn asked Margaret.
Margaret hesitated. For one second, I thought she might tell the truth.
"I... I'm not sure. But she was very close to where we were preparing the children's juice."
"Liar!" I lunged toward her, but guards grabbed my arms. "Margaret, please! You know I didn't do anything!"
But Margaret backed away, head down.
"Any other witnesses?" Alpha Blackthorn asked.
Silence. Nobody spoke up for me. Not one person.
My father stood behind the Alpha's throne, jaw clenched so tight I could see muscles jumping. But he didn't say a word.
"Dad," I called to him. "Please. You're my father. Tell them I couldn't do this. Tell them—"
Vivienne's hand landed on his shoulder. She leaned close, whispering something in his ear. Whatever she said made him flinch.
He looked at me. Our eyes met.
And my father—the man who raised me, who used to call me his little moon—looked away.
Something inside me cracked.
"I have something to say." Celeste's soft voice carried across the crowd.
She stepped forward, one hand on her pregnant belly. Tears streamed down her perfect face. She looked like a grieving angel.
"Celeste, no," I whispered. "Please don't do this."
My stepsister walked to the center of the platform. She faced the crowd, not me.
"I didn't want to believe it," Celeste said, her voice breaking beautifully. "Sera is my sister. Half-sister, but still. We grew up together. I loved her despite... despite her condition."
Condition. Like being wolfless was a disease.
"But after Marcus chose me as his mate, Sera changed." Celeste wiped her tears. "She became angry. Bitter. She said terrible things."
"That's not true!" I struggled against the guards. "I never—"
"She told me she'd make everyone pay," Celeste continued, her voice rising. "She said the pack would regret treating her like she was worthless. She said—" Celeste's voice dropped to a horrified whisper, "—she said innocent people would suffer for her pain."
The crowd gasped.
"Liar!" I screamed. "I never said that! Celeste, why are you doing this?!"
But Celeste turned to me, and for just a second—so fast nobody else saw—she smiled.
The same smile from earlier. Cold. Victorious.
Then her face crumpled again. "I'm so sorry, Sera. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to give you a chance to confess. But I can't let a child die for your jealousy."
"This is enough," Alpha Blackthorn declared. "The evidence is overwhelming. Sera Ashwood, you are—"
"Wait!" A voice rang out from the crowd.
Everyone turned. A young woman pushed through—Luna, my only friend. Relief flooded through me.
"Luna!" I called. "Tell them! Tell them I was with you earlier, tell them—"
But Luna's face was pale. Scared. She looked at me, then at the guards, then at Alpha Blackthorn.
"I..." Luna's voice shook. "I'm sorry, Sera. I saw you acting strange too. I thought you were just upset about Marcus, but now..." She backed away. "I'm so sorry."
No. Not Luna too.
"You're lying," I whispered. "Luna, you're my friend. You know me. Why would you—"
But Luna disappeared back into the crowd, and I understood.
They'd gotten to her. Threatened her. Paid her. Something.
Everyone had abandoned me.
"The verdict is clear," Alpha Blackthorn said. "Sera Ashwood, you are guilty of attempted murder through wolfsbane poisoning. The sentence is—"
"She's also pregnant," Vivienne interrupted smoothly. "She claims the pup is Marcus's. Claims she trapped an Alpha heir with lies."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Shocked. Disgusted.
Marcus stepped forward, his face a mask of ice. "That's impossible. I never—"
He stopped. We both knew it was a lie. Six weeks ago, before he chose Celeste, we'd been together. The baby was his.
But he wouldn't admit it. Not here. Not with everyone watching.
"Even if I did," Marcus said coldly, "she's wolfless. Any pup would be worthless. Weak. Better off—"
He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
Better off dead.
The rejection pain from earlier flared fresh in my chest. The mate bond, still connected because I'd never accepted his rejection, burned like fire.
"Three crimes," Alpha Blackthorn declared. "Attempted murder. False witness. And attempting to trap an Alpha heir with pregnancy lies. The punishment is three scars—one for each crime—and permanent exile to the Outcast Lands."
No. The Outcast Lands were where rogues lived. Where exiled wolves went to die.
"Please," I begged. "Please, I'm pregnant. The baby is innocent. Even if you think I'm guilty, don't punish my pup—"
"There is no pup," Vivienne said firmly. "Just another lie."
"Then examine me!" I screamed. "Have a healer examine me right now! Prove I'm pregnant!"
For a moment, Alpha Blackthorn hesitated.
"No need," Celeste said quickly. "She's lying. She's desperate. She'll say anything to avoid punishment."
"I agree," Marcus added. "My father shouldn't waste time on her games."
Alpha Blackthorn nodded slowly. "Very well. Bring the silver blades."
Three guards moved toward the ceremonial fire where three silver blades heated until they glowed red-hot. The smell of burning metal filled the air.
They were really going to do this.
Scar me. Exile me. Leave me to die.
And nobody—not my father, not my former mate, not even my friend—would stop them.
The guards grabbed my arms, forcing me flat on the stone. I fought, screaming, kicking, but I was too weak. Too human compared to their wolf strength.
"Hold her head still," Commander Drake ordered.
Someone grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. The scarred side of my face pressed against cold stone.
Through the crowd, I saw little Toby on his stretcher, still struggling to breathe. Still dying from poison I didn't give him.
And I saw Celeste, standing beside Marcus, one hand on her pregnant belly.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She was smiling.
"Wait," a voice said. Old. Female. Powerful.
Everyone froze.
An ancient woman hobbled forward from the crowd—Elder Mira, the pack seer. She was so old nobody knew her real age. Her eyes were clouded white, but somehow she moved through the crowd like she could see everything.
"Elder Mira," Alpha Blackthorn said respectfully. "Do you have something to add?"
The old woman stopped beside me. She bent down, her gnarled hand touching my belly.
I felt warmth spread through my stomach. Magic. Ancient and powerful.
Elder Mira's blind eyes went wide.
"She's pregnant," the seer said clearly. "Six weeks along. The pup carries Alpha bloodline."
The crowd erupted in shocked whispers.
Marcus's face went white. Celeste's smile vanished.
"The child is real," Elder Mira continued. "And it carries something else. Something I haven't sensed in many years." Her hand trembled on my belly. "Power. Great power."
Hope exploded in my chest. "See? I wasn't lying! The baby is real! Marcus, tell them—"
But Marcus's face hardened. "Then it's not mine. She must have been with someone else. A wolfless woman can't carry a powerful pup."
"Liar!" I screamed. "You know you're the father! You know—"
Elder Mira stood slowly. She looked at Alpha Blackthorn with those blind eyes.
"The judgment is yours, Alpha," she said quietly. "But know this: the child is innocent. Whatever the mother's crimes, the pup has done nothing wrong."
Then the old woman turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Alpha Blackthorn's face was stone. "The child's existence doesn't change the mother's crimes. She attempted to murder my grandson. She will be punished."
"No!" I thrashed in the guards' grip. "Please! If not for me, then for the baby! Don't kill an innocent—"
"The sentence stands," Alpha Blackthorn declared. "Three scars. Permanent exile. Execute the punishment."
Commander Drake picked up the first glowing blade.
I locked eyes with Celeste one last time. She mouthed two words, so subtle nobody else saw:
Thank you.
Thank me? For what?
Then I understood.
This was what she'd wanted all along. Not just Marcus. Not just the Luna position.
She wanted me gone. Dead. Erased.
And she'd gotten her wish.
The first blade touched my face.
And I started screaming.