Attack

My heart sinks.

What bad luck I have. Runa tries to stop the warriors.

“The Lady is still improper! If you will just wait outside for her to get dres—”

They don't let her speak, shoving her to the floor immediately. They're even rougher with me, grabbing my arms and pushing me so I walk.

I don't bother to struggle; it's no use anyway.

I am taken into a carriage while Runa screams bloody hell after us.

The carriage begins to move in the direction if the courts.

My heart is pounding fiercely. How had everything turned upside down so suddenly?

One moment, I'm sure I can evade all the unfortunate in my last life; the next, I am labelled a criminal.

The warriors take me to the lycan courts where many have gathered to watch the spectacle.

Lots of whispers are flying around. They're talking about how callous I am.

Having slept with one man and tried to seduce the other before he mysteriously disappeared.

What should I do?

I'm losing my own mind thinking of how to escape this situation. Nothing comes up.

I might as well say goodbye to my revenge.

When we arrive, the first thing I notice is Lily. She's standing near to the throne where my own mate sits, whispering something to him.

Seeing that the proceedings are about to begin, she hurriedly leaves for her seat.

So their affair started long before that day…

I see.

I have no chance to even take in this new information as I'm immediately pushed forward and made to kneel before the king— my mate.

I can feel my wolf scratching underneath my skin for him; wanting him more every second.

The feeling disgusts me and I bite down hard on my lips to get my senses back.

“May the proceedings begin.” An announcer says.

“Madeline Gus, Luna-to-be of Ker, you've been charged with adultery. Not only this, but you were last seen with Fred, alpha of the Black Bear Clan. Do you plead guilty to any of these?”

Adultery? Well that's rich, considering my own mate had betrayed me just before the coronation day.

And I am certain it wasn't just that one day. Seeing them here today, I'm sure it started way back, right under my nose.

I look up from the ground with defiance. “No. I do not plead guilty.”

The entire court goes into a short uproar. Everyone wants to see me gone, locked up in a cell like a common rogue criminal.

But I will not stand for it.

“Shall we call a witness then?” The announcer sneers. Instead of answering his question, I look up to my mate who I expect to at least stand up for me.

Wouldn't it have been best to have a private questioning rather than this?

Disgracing me in the public…

Damien's eyes are cold. Maybe he truly wanted me dead from the very beginning.

I gulp down my sorrow and face the announcer again.

“Call whoever you wish!”

I was not going down without a fight.

Immediately, they send for the carriage driver from last night and the person who claimed to see me with the Black Bear alpha.

A messenger returns immediately; there's sweat on his forehead.

“My lord, the carriage driver was found hanging from a noose. He wrote this letter, claiming to have been consumed by guilt for lying against the Luna!”

What?

I try to see this letter but it's handed over to the announcer and then to Damien.

I watch my mate's face turn from blank to sour to embarrassed.

“How is this possible?” Damien hisses, as though he really wanted the adultery charge to be true.

I'm internally bruised by this but pretend like all is well.

“So where's the other witness?! The bear clan is on our neck, waiting for an explanation?! How is it that you were last seen with him, Lady Madeline? What were you even doing on the balcony alone?!”

Damien is losing his mind.

So this is it…

He wanted someone to pin the Bear Alpha's death on. He had not even begun to reign yet and already, he had made enemies.

Perhaps, something good did come out of last night's encounter.

Before I can respond to his question, the sound of a very loud horn blows through the palace.

That's not just any horn.

It's a warning sound. The palace is under attack.

Immediately, my “brave” and wonderful mate shrieks in alarm, rallying the guards and telling them to protect him.

The entire court is in disarray with onlookers running for cover.

Could this be the bears?

I'm in chains and left on the ground, without any help at all. I begin to crawl slowly to a small, dark corner.

Shouts ensue outside the palace and I can feel my own heart pulsating.

“Where is that incompetent king?!” Booms a loud voice.

“Where is he?! My brother was killed under your watch and you dare to do nothing about it?!”

Indeed, it is the Bears.

I see Damien put on a brave facade and growl at the huge hunk of a man. There's tension in the air.

“You do not speak to the king like that!” Cries an elder with a vicious tongue.

The Bear shifter spits in his direction. “He has not been crowned king yet…I can very well snap off his head and take this throne for myself!”

Damien hisses madly at him, “I will like to see you try.”

The tension reaches all new heights. I watch in silence, hoping Damien will get the beating he deserves.

But my hopes turn into mush.

In the next instant, the Bear shifter’s eyes roam the fearful court wolves. His golden, fierce eyes immediately meet mine and a callous smile appears on his face.

“I do not have to physically hit you then, my king.” He laughs, stretching the last two words in mockery.

In a flash too fast for me to comprehend, I'm whisked off the floor and into the arms of this mad man.

“I will take this Luna of yours until you bring me the head of whoever killed my brother!”

The entire court goes silent. No one notices it, but I do.

Damien is relieved. He will willingly let me go, so long as his throne remains fine.

“Very well,” my mate says. “You may take her.”