Author’s POV
“What on earth are you talking about?” Annabella asked, still shocked. “What are you accusing me of?”
“Pregnant mothers usually protect their unborn children first. You didn’t do that. Coupled with the fact that your pregnancy has not appeared to progress since we got married, I find it very suspicious,” he said curtly.
“Are you calling me a liar? Have you forgotten about the night we spent together?”
Something in his face shifted. “Till today, my memories from that night are still hazy. I don’t know what you did, but I don’t think that it’s right that you have memories to a night that seems to be blurred out of my memory!” His voice raised in pitch, and for the first time ever since she had known the triplets, this was the first time she had seen Scott, the most quiet of all three, actually angered about something.
And it was scary.
At a loss for words, Annabella thought that it was finally a good time for her to turn to her contingency plan. She made her face sad, and rubbed her empty womb. “I had a miscarriage, Scott. And you weren’t there for me-”
“Do you really think I am a fool, Anna?” He shook his head, eyes burning with anger. “Admit the truth now while you still have the chance. I know you were never pregnant.”
She nearly stumbled back. “W-What?”
“Stop lying. I was merely keeping quiet so I could see just how long you’d out up with this charade. The women that have been attending to you are trained midwives. From the moment you wouldn’t let them come near you to check the baby, they because suspicious. Or did you think that no one would find the cloths you use to soak up your monthly bleeding?”
Annabella knew at that point that she was in deep trouble. Everything she had been planning, was now crumbling down before her own eyes like ash. “Scott, please-”
“I should have you thrown in a dungeon for this. But, since Aunt Trudy was the one who had such faith in you, I’ll let her decide your fate.”
“No! Please-Please! I only did it because I loved you and wanted to be with you. I only did what Agatha told me to do. I didn’t mean any harm, please!” She fell to her knees, begging him as tears started to fall out of her eyes. A scandal like this would ruin her family. Yes, her mother had been a former Luna of the pack, but no one cares about that anymore. This was going to bury them underground for good.
Two guards came into the study and started to carry her away, but Scott stopped them. She thought that this was his way of showing mercy, and she had started thanking him as relief washed over her.
“Find Agatha too. Take both of them to the Luna. They will both answer for their schemes,” he added, before allowing them to drag her away.
“Please!” she shouted as she was getting carried away. She struggled against the men, but there was no way she could beat them. Panicked light shone in her eyes, evidence of her tattered ruse. “Show mercy!”
–
A meeting was called to take care of the case between Annabella and Scott. Agatha had also been brought in for questioning as well. The woman had also tried ro deny the allegations, but like most cowards when they saw that they no longer had any more ground to burrow into, she admitted to helping Annabella carry out her plans.
Even the former Luna of the pack, who looked far younger than expected, also came for the meeting. She had only one eye, but it was enough to convey her disappointment.
“You have disgraced me, Annabella,” she said in a calm, quiet voice that carried across the room with authority. “I had so much faith in you, such high hopes, and this is what you do with that privilege?” Even though her words were piercing, her body didn’t tremble. She sat elegantly in her seat, not even looking at her daughter.
The hall had never been so full of people. The triplets and Lucy sat at one side, the accuseds sat on the other. As expected, the Luna of Moonstruck Pack, doused in her usual glory, sat at the center of it all, regarding each person present with a gaze as serious as a silver blade. Directly opposite her, a little further from the rest seated, was where Annabella’s mother, Yen Fang, sat.
Yen was seen as one of the most powerful women of Moonstruck once upon a time, but she stepped down after her husband lost in a duel to Trudy’s now late husband, the Alpha of Moonstruck, close to a decade ago. As for her eye, no one actually knew the true story behind how she lost it. Some said that she lived as a rogue for a while before meeting the love of her life, who ended up being an Alpha during his prime. Others said that she had lost her eye in one of the random rogue attacks that jad befallen a distant pack, as no one really knew her true origins. There were many more tales surrounding her eye, but none came to the actual truth.
In her black and red dress, one could still see the traces of regality in her aura. Her crow-black hair had been turned into an elaborate hairdo that sat on the crown of her head.
The sobbing of Annabella filled the entire hall, almost confusing people as to who was really the accuser and who was the accused. The woman was crying so fervently that mucus dripped out of her nose and coated her upper lip.
“What is this that I’m hearing today, Annabella? Did you actually lie to us about your pregnancy?” asked the Luna, leaning slightly forward in her seat. “Please tell me that all this is some sort of elaborate joke that all of you are playing.”
“No, Aunt. This is not a joke,” said Scott glaring at Annabella. “You forced this woman on me like she was a saint. I told you I wasn’t interested, but you insisted that I give her a chance. For once, I just wanted to listen to you, and look at what’s happened. Not only have I been taken for a fool, but my time and energy have both been wasted on this liar.”
The Luna took one breath to fully assimilate the words of her nephew. Much like Annabella, she had never seen him so infuriated before, and the sight of him in such a state deeply unsettled her. “Scott, I need you to calm down-”
“No I will not!” He bellowed, eyes flashing gold with power. “I will not calm down until this liar tells the truth.” He pointed at Annabella with one of his long, shaking fingers. He looked pained, and felt the part as well. It hadn’t been easy for him to try and make things work with her, but he had put his pride aside for the sake of his aunt, and because . . . his mate had chosen his brother.
And look where his decisions had gotten him. He was married to a woman who had been lying to him from the very start.
But he wasn’t done, he turned to Agatha, who sat shaking with fear. Beads of sweat rolled down her face, almost making her look as though she had been sprayed with a water hose on the face.
“And you, what was your reason for being a whole part of this ruse? You knew she wasn’t pregnant and yet you lied. Why?”
The woman shook her head, clamping her lips shut.
“Tell me!” Scott commanded, and the depth of his voice sent ripples through the air.
“I . . . I can’t,” she said, still shaking. Since she had been dragged out of her room in the early hours of the morning, her hair was still undone. The reddish-brown locks fell over her shoulders, framing her face. Even now, she still held on to the beauty of her youth.
“You heard my nephew, Agatha,” said the Luna. “Why did you lie to us? Is this how you repay our kindness for taking you into this pack despite your origins?”
The woman’s eyes went wide with fear. Her mouth fell down in a soundless cry. “No. No! It’s not that, I swear it.”
“You have broken my trust, Agatha. Your words mean nothing now.”
Tears started falling out of the woman’s eyes. “Please . . . at least, before you pass judgement, let me atone for my sins.”
“You have broken a sacred rule, Agatha. You lied before the face of the Luna of this pack. I would have you exiled before I listen to another word out of your mouth.”
“Please . . . Luna. I know I have done wrong, and I accept whatever punishment lies in store, but I . . . have to say this. I am tired of holding it inside.” She turned to Lucy, who sat beside her mate. The young woman’s face expressed discomfort at being sought out by Agatha. “I have something to tell you, Lucy. About your family.”
Seeing that no one was against her speech, she opened her mouth to talk, to reveal the secret she had carried with her for years. “Lucy. Your mother and I used to be friends, as you remember. But, things started to fall apart . . .”
–
When Agatha was done recounting her tale, Lucy shot up to her feet, shaking with barely constrained fury as tears fell down her face. “You . . . you killed them. You’re the reason they’re dead.”
Agatha’s head drooped low, and her hair seemed to try and curtain her shame. “I only wanted to survive-”
“You’re a monster!” Lucy interjected. “If you could do such a thing to someone who was like a sister to you . . . you have no conscience.” She wiped the tears off her face with her forearm. “You deserve to rot in hell for all the lives you took!”
Seth tried to anchor her, to bring down her fury, but she wasn’t having it at all. She pulled her hand away from him, before walking out of the hall. But ever the persistent man, he chased after her, his shoes making soft sounds against the tiled floor.
“I always wondered why you came to our pack on such a strange day. I would have never thought that my own brother-in-law helped you escape. You will be thrown into the dungeons, Agatha. I will not have liars and cowards roaming about freely in my pack.”
At this point, Agatha knew that there was no point begging. She was known for who she really was, now. More tears rolled down her cheeks. At least the truth had set her free in some way. Hopefully, somewhere, up above in the skies, the woman who was once her best friend could forgive her for her terrible sins.
She looked up at those who had taken up the role of judge and jury, accepting her fate. “My daughter was innocent,” she said to all those who still cared to listen. Even if death met her at this point, at least her heart was a little lighter. Blood would always be on her hands, and she couldn’t change that. “I hope she still lives, despite my terrible mistake.” She got up to her feet as the guards came to take her away. “Tessa . . . my little angel.”