001: The Confession

HANNAH’S POV

I stood before the pack elders, my wrists bound in the cold grip of silver shackles. The metal bit into my skin, but the pain barely registered in my mind. My heart pounded so loudly that it drowned out the low murmur of the council members as they conferred among themselves.

I could feel the weight of the other pack members' judgmental gazes pressing down on me, a suffocating force that left me struggling to breathe.

The elder in charge, a stern old man with a face weathered by years of harsh decisions, finally turned his cold gaze toward me. His eyes, dark and unreadable, locked onto mine. The air in the room grew heavier as he spoke, his voice carrying the finality of a death knell.

"Do you confess to the crime you’ve been accused of?" he asked, his tone devoid of any emotion, as if my fate was already sealed in his mind.

I swallowed hard, feeling the dryness in my throat, and nodded. "Yes," I whispered, the word barely escaping my lips. "I did it. I killed her."

The room erupted into an uproar, with many calling for my immediate beheading and worse. I could see the disgust in their eyes, the way they recoiled from me as if I were something vile, something less than human. But could I blame them? No. I already knew what I was getting myself into before this moment, so whatever was happening was a welcome reaction.

A moment passed, and my confession hung in the air like a dark cloud. I knew there was no going back now.

The elder’s voice cut through the noise once more. "For willingly confessing to your crime, we, the council of elders, hereby sentence you to life imprisonment with hard labor," he declared, his tone as cold and unforgiving as the shackles that bound me.

The world around me seemed to blur as the sentence echoed in my ears. Faces twisted into satisfied smiles, whispers of my disgrace filling the room. But all I could think about was Coby and the night that had led me to this defining moment.

*Flashback to two nights ago*

It had been Coby’s pre-Alpha ceremony, a night meant for joy, celebration, and hope for the future. I remembered dressing for the occasion, my hands trembling with excitement as I smoothed the fabric of my red velvet gown.

The air in the pack house had been thick with the scent of pine and burning wood, mingling with the distant sound of music and laughter from the invited guests and pack members alike. My heart had swelled with pride and love as I imagined the future Coby and I were stepping into together.

But then, a sense of unease crept in as the night progressed. Coby was nowhere to be found after we welcomed the guests and declared the celebration open.

“Hey, have you seen Coby?” I asked one of the guests he was speaking with earlier, but he shook his head, not seeming to know where he was.

My heart quickened, not yet in fear but in concern, as I left the lively party behind and made my way through the dimly lit corridors of the pack house. Each step echoed softly against the walls, the sound of my heels tapping on the polished floor like a countdown.

I couldn’t help but smile to myself, remembering how Coby and I had discovered we were mates on my eighteenth birthday. The memory was vivid—the way he’d looked at me as if I were the only person in the world, and how we had claimed each other that very night.

After our mating, we had become inseparable, a couple envied by the entire pack. I could still recall the envious glances from the other girls, the way they whispered about how lucky I was. And I had felt lucky—so incredibly lucky to have him, to be loved by him.

The thought of becoming his Luna had made me blush with happiness, my heart bursting with the certainty that all my dreams were coming true.

As I hurried down the hallway toward Coby’s study, my thoughts briefly turned to my family. My mother, who had died giving birth to me, and my father, who had raised me with all the love and care in the world until his own tragic death on my sixteenth birthday.

Cecilia, my stepmother, and Vivian, my stepsister, had stayed with me after that, and we had formed a new kind of family. Vivian, who was slightly older than me, was my best friend, my confidante, the one who cheered me on when I found out Coby Brady was my mate.

Though she is yet to find her own mate, I had always thought she would find happiness with Andrew, Coby’s Beta, even though they were constantly bickering like an old married couple. But as I neared Coby’s study, all thoughts of Vivian and Andrew faded, replaced by a growing sense of dread.

I heard voices—Coby’s voice, but it was strained, filled with something I couldn’t quite place. My heart leaped into my throat, and I quickened my pace.

When I reached the door, I didn’t bother knocking. I pushed it open, stepping inside with a mixture of urgency and confusion. The sight that greeted me froze the blood in my veins.

There, lying in a pool of blood, was a young female servant. Her lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, and for a moment, all I could do was stare back, horrified.

The room spun around me, the world tilting on its axis. Coby, standing just a few feet away, turned toward me, his face pale and eyes wide with fear.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice trembling with something I had never heard from him before—pure, unadulterated fear.

“I… I couldn’t find you at the party,” I stammered, my voice barely my own. “I thought you might be here, but…” My words trailed off as I looked back at the body on the floor, bile rising in my throat. “Coby, what happened?”

His face was pale, his hands shaking as he ran them through his short brown hair. “It was an accident,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Elise… she came to bring me a drink, but she slipped. She hit her head on the table. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Why didn’t you call for help?” I demanded, my voice rising with panic. “Why didn’t you try to save her?”

Coby’s eyes were wild with desperation, and I could see the fear in them, a fear that painted a picture of probable guilt. “I’m going to be Alpha,” he pleaded, his voice cracking. “No one will believe it was an accident. If anyone finds out, I’ll lose everything. We’ll lose everything.”

My mind raced, trying to find a way out, a way to protect him, to protect us. But there was no way to hide something like this. I knew it, and so did he.

“We can’t cover this up,” I said, my voice trembling with the weight of reality. But before I could say anything more, the sound of approaching footsteps reached our ears. The door burst open, and three guards entered, their eyes widening as they took in the scene.

“What happened here?” one of them demanded, his voice sharp, his gaze flickering between Coby and me suspiciously.

For a split second, I saw the fear in Coby’s eyes—the fear of losing everything, the fear of what would happen if the truth came out. And in that moment, I made a decision. One that would change everything.

“I pushed her,” I said, the lie slipping from my lips as smoothly as if it were the truth. “It was an accident, but it was my fault.”

Coby’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide with shock, his mouth opening in disbelief. I leaned in close, whispering so only he could hear, “Don’t say anything. Meet me later… in prison.”

He stared at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and sorrow. But he nodded, ever so slightly, understanding the sacrifice I was making.

The guards moved in, taking me by the arms, their grips firm and unyielding. As they led me away, I felt the full weight of what I had done settle over me, heavy and suffocating.

I didn’t look back at Coby as they pulled me from the room. I couldn’t. My heart was already breaking, but this was the only way. The only way to save him, to save the future we had dreamed of, even if it meant losing everything else.