291 Martha’s Verdict

    Lucian

    My father rose slowly from his seat, his presencemanding. The hall fell into a thick, reverent silence as he fixed his gaze on the man shackled before him.

    “ric Moongrove,” he began, voice calm-but brimming with disgust, “you are a sick, twisted bastard.”

    ric didn’t flinch, but his jaw tightened.

    “You coveted my wife for her wealth. And when you couldn’t have her, you murdered her. Just so you could force yourwife into my life to finish what you started-kill my son and me, and take everything. The money.

    The title. The ind.”

    He paused, eyes hardening.

    “But let me tell you a secret, ric. One you didn’t know. If all Alpha Mark-bearing Nighthorns die, there will be no Alpha left on Mooncrest. None. And every Alpha Mark on this ind-all of them-will fade.

    Because they are all tied to our bloodline.”

    Gasps rippled through the hall.

    “You would’ve turned this ind into a feral wastnd. All for greed. All because you couldn’t stand being

    what you are-a failure from Emberridge pretending to be royalty.”

    He stepped closer, his voice lowering like thunder before a storm.

    “You say Martha is your wife. Yet you don’t bear her mark.”

    Murmurs echoed as ric’s empty neck proved the truth.

    “You abused her. Tortured her. Used her. She was never your mate-you just used her name, her

    connection, and her pain to gather sympathy and power.”

    My father’s voice broke slightly, only for a second. Then heposed himself.

    “You sent her to me damaged. Scarred. You ckmailed her, drained her finances to fund a rebellion. And

    even now, you stand here with the audacity to act like you were wronged.”

    He shook his head.

    “You imed the Moongroves were stripped of Alpha status by the Nighthorns. But here’s the truth: you never had it to begin with. Your bloodline is not from Mooncrest. The Nighthorns gave your ancestorsnd

    out of kindness. Nothing more. You are not a descendant. You were never one of us. Goldenpeak has neve r produced an Alpha. Only arrogance.”

    The silence in the room was absolute. ric’s eye burned with fury, but it held no defense.

    “I should sentence you to death,” My father said. “And that’s what you deserve.”

     291 Martha’s Verdict

    He turned toward Martha.

    + Points

    “But instead, I’ll leave your fate in the hands of the one person you wronged the most-the woman you imed as a wife while making her life a living hell.”

    He stepped back, reached for Martha’s hand, and kissed it. Then he nodded to her, gently urging her to

    rise.

    Martha stood.

    ric’s eye lit with rage, but she only smiled-cool, calm, and deadly.

    A slow, satisfied smirk curved on her lips.

    This was her moment.

    And she wasn’t going to waste it.

    Martha stood with a calm fury thatmanded the entire hall’s attention. Her voice was clear, controlled

    -and final.

    “Tom ric Moongrove,” she said, eyes locked on him. “You’ve been a cancer, rotting through the lives of too many for far too long.”

    She paused, and for a moment, I wondered what else she might say.

    “I wish I had something to say to you. But I don’t,” she continued, her tone razor-sharp. “I feel nothing for you-not hate, not anger. Just nothing. And I won’t waste my breath on someone as hollow as you.”

    ric sat in chains, one eye fixed on her, but it was clear he hadn’t expected this level of poise.

    “Death would be a mercy,” she said. “And you don’t deserve mercy.”

    Her voice grew louder, filled with righteous weight.

    “So here’s your punishment. You will be stripped of your wolf-your strength, your pride, your identity. A silver ring will be embedded in your spine publicly, for all to witness. The same way you dragged others into shame, you’ll be dragged into it now.”

    She took a breath, her gaze never leaving him.

    “You’ll spend the rest of your life in the Eastern Prison. Torture, Hardbor. Day in, day out. The same suffering you inflicted on women and girls who never had the power to stop you-now, you’ll live it.”

    Her voice never cracked. It didn’t need to.

    “You’ll be trained like you trained us-only this time, the pain won’t end in promotion or power. It’ll end in humiliation. In silence. In oblivion. And every second of your suffering will be public.”

    Then, quietly, she sat.

    And the look on her face said everything. She wasn’t just delivering a sentence-she was reiming her

    life.

    I looked at tiei anu sav

    As if triggered by the loss of everything, ric began tough-high, bitter, and hollow. Madness cracked at the edge of it as the guards dragged him away.

    But no one paid him any mind.

    His relevance had ended.

    Later, outside the sentencing hall, Alpha Sam Lawless approached us with a firm handshake and a proud

    grin.

    “Well done,” he said, eyes shifting between me and Mara. “That was… instructive. I’ve seen a lot of verdicts in my time, but that-what your Luna delivered-that was justice.”

    “I’ll be sure to tell her you said so,” I said.

    Mark turned to Mara and softened. “I think it’s time I returned to Mistwood. The cleanup’s far from over on

    my end.”

    Mara smiled, her hand brushing her belly. “Come visit after the baby is born. We’ll sign the trade deal then

    -when there’s less blood in the air.”

    Markughed. “I’ll hold you to that. I’ll look forward to it.”

    He gave us a final respectful nod, then stepped away, his guards nking him as he disappeared into the

    crowd.

    For the first time in a long time, the weight in my chest lifted.

    The threats were gone. The traitors judged. The past burned down.

    Now, there was only forward.

    And we were finally free to build something better.

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