Chapter 8
1062 Words
Venessa’s POV
Alesha was dragged in wearing silver chains, her wrists raw and bleeding. They had whipped her just enough to make a point. As I took in the sight of her bruised skin and trembling body, a bitter realization settled in my chest.
Denzel had gone easy on me.
No one had laid a hand on me. I had been locked away, starved, broken emotionally but untouched. Seeing Alesha like this made the difference painfully clear. Partial treatment. Undeniable.
“Alesha Clarke, what do you have to say in your defence?” Gamma Rayon asked.
The pack Elders sat in silence, watching. They were not allowed to speak when the Alpha was present only observe. Their faces were grim, haunted. These were the same people who had once ordered my execution by guillotine. Seeing them now made my stomach churn.
Alesha shook her head violently and broke down, sobbing.
“Please, Alpha,” she cried. “I was framed.”
Denzel’s jaw tightened as he shook his head slowly.
“By who, Alesha?” he asked coldly. “Don’t tell me it was Venessa just like you told the Luna. You claimed you saw her carrying something wrapped in blue fabric into her room after she cleaned Luna Jalisa’s chambers. The blue fabric was found. There was no necklace inside it.”
His voice sharpened. “Then you implied she sold it. Given your reputation, we might have believed you. The evidence appeared to support your story. But I thank the Goddess we searched your room.”
The crowd murmured.
“Why did you take it?” he demanded. “Why did you let Jalisa suffer and lose her child? You confirmed her pregnancy. You confirmed the miscarriage. How could you be so cold toward your Luna?”
Rage burned in his eyes. Even knowing the pregnancy was fictitious, I could see the pain tearing through him. Losing a child real or not had shaken him.
“I believe Alesha,” Jalisa sobbed suddenly. “The necklace went missing the very day Venessa cleaned my room. She was alone.”
Denzel shook his head again.
“I’ll tell you why I can’t believe Alesha’s lies,” he said firmly. “I was there the entire time Venessa was in your room. I stayed until she gathered our dirty clothes and left. She never went near your dresser. She never touched your jewellery.”
Jalisa froze.
“Then… why did she say she was alone?” Jalisa asked quietly.
Denzel nodded once. “Loyalty. She didn’t want to mention my name.”
He was right.
Tonya wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into a tight hug. Around us, the pack looked at me differently now with respect. With shame.
“Why did you do this?” Denzel asked Alesha harshly. “Why frame Venessa for a crime you committed? I see nothing but malice here. You have no use for that necklace. Why do you hate her so much that you wanted to destroy her?”
Alesha collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She crawled toward Jalisa, clutching at the Luna’s skirts, begging.
Jalisa was speechless.
It was… beautiful.
“So this is what we looked like up there,” Nyla purred in my head.
I ignored her.
My own trial flashed through my mind people throwing objects at me, Jalisa sobbing dramatically about her baby, demanding I be whipped. Denzel had stopped it. Jalisa had accused him of having feelings for me.
I wondered what awaited Alesha now.
“Alesha,” Denzel said, his tone final. “You caused harm to a member of staff you personally disliked. As a result, my wife lost her child.”
My breath caught.
“A life for a life.”
I gasped. That wasn’t what he had done to me.
He had been partial.
Did he care for me even back then?
“You understand the importance of an heir,” he continued coldly. “Yet you chose to create conflict. You confirmed her pregnancy. You confirmed her miscarriage. You are wicked.”
His voice cut like steel. “If you truly cared about your Luna, you would have found a way to return the heirloom quietly and prevent complications. Instead, you pursued your vendetta.”
“You chose your hatred for Venessa Gordon over the health of your Luna. You intentionally caused us to lose a child—an heir. And for that, you will die.”
Alesha screamed, sobbing hysterically, turning desperately to Jalisa.
“Save me! Please!”
Jalisa said nothing.
It was exquisite.
For Jalisa to save Alesha, she would have to admit the pregnancy was a lie. That would cost her the pack’s respect and possibly her position. Even though her heart belonged to Beta Mark, she loved being Luna too much.
So she stayed silent.
She watched Alesha grovel at her feet.
“Why should she interfere, Alesha?” Denzel asked sharply. “You cost her her child.”
Alesha shook her head frantically.
“Wait for it, Venessa,” Nyla purred. “She’s about to expose the Luna to save herself.”
My pulse quickened.
“By noon today,” Denzel announced, “you will be taken to the silver guillotine. Your head will be severed. That is how traitors are executed. You will die for causing the death of my unborn child.”
Gasps erupted around us.
I remembered my own trial again how merciful he had been with me. Now I understood. Denzel had cared. Maybe he hadn’t hated me after all.
And now I finally understood why Jalisa resented him so deeply.
“Alpha please!” Alesha screamed when Jalisa refused to help her.
“Take her away,” Jalisa said coldly.
I stared at her in disbelief. If Alesha survived this, Jalisa would lose a powerful ally and my life would become much easier.
“Alpha!” Alesha shrieked as she was dragged away. “It was the Luna’s idea! She wasn’t even pregnant!”
The crowd gasped in shock.
“Take her away!” Jalisa shouted sharply.
“Please, Alpha I’ll confess!” Alesha cried.
Denzel raised a hand, stopping the guards. He turned toward her slowly, his expression unreadable, and waved the guards back.
She was about to betray her mistress.
And I was ready to watch the world burn.
- Writer
