Page 46 of The Forbidden Alpha

Giftless. I’d heard it whispered my whole life and never once let myself define it, because defining it meant admitting what everyone already knew: I didn’t have a second soul, and I was proof the Goddess’s split had gone wrong. A woman with no gift was evidence. That was the difference between what I’d feared they’d call me and what Ethan had just called me instead, in front of every Alpha at that table.

Before Ethan could say another word, the Alpha with gray-streaked hair—the one with violet eyes—rose to his feet, his chair scraping against the stone. He looked at the doors at the far end of the hall.

The heavy iron doors groaned, and my gaze locked on Shane. He was handcuffed and being dragged forward by two Enforcers. A gasp ripped from my lips at the sight of him. His lip was split fresh to match mine, and a few new dark bruises marred his face, one on his cheekbone and the other on his eye. One eye was swollen nearly shut, making the cold, calculating look in the other stand out more.

He was a wreck of bruises and split skin, cuffed in silver that dimmed the rank that made him a god in every room I’d ever shared with him. I sat at the Alpha Table, unchained, wolfless, and somehow the freer of the two. The irony made me want to laugh, but as his eye found mine, something inside me lurched. Despite the wounds and the silver around his wrists, he didn’t look like a prisoner. He carried himself like a man who held all the cards. Behind him, Doctor James filed in, a weary expression on his face. He was dressed in his white coat, holding his leather physician’s bag in hand.

“The Table has noted the record of your mate, Alpha Ethan,” Hannes growled, his voice a low tremor. “Behold, the Half Moon Kingdom’s heir. Instead of discussing the safety of the border lines and new protocols to put into place to protect from rogues, we are here for this.”

Ethan leaned forward. “You should be down on your knees, Hannes, thanking the Goddess that I am even allowing a trial. I’m a breath away from ripping his throat out and painting this table with his blood. If you want to talk about borders, we can talk about where your kingdom ends and my graveyard begins. Otherwise, sit down.”

Hannes cleared his throat and leaned back.

Shane was brought forth to the table and forced into the chair directly across from me. His mother inhaled sharply, but his gaze remained on me—a mix of ownership and righteous fury. The law couldn’t touch him, and the trial was nothing more than a formality.

I was in a different territory, with the King as my mate, yet I was still that small, wolfless girl with a debt to Half Moon.

“Bring in the first witnesses. Let us see if she followed the heir, or if the heir followed a lie.”

“Watch yourself, Hannes,” Ethan growled beside me. The Alphas closest to us straightened in their seats.

Alpha Hannes took his seat as the doors opened. My jaw dropped as Beka stepped into the Hall. She wore a high-collared dress of muted gray, the fabric modest and slightly too large for her, making her look fragile and small. Her blond hair was pulled back in a simple, loose braid, and her eyes were rimmed red.

Heads turned as she walked through the crowd and took her place, standing at the table on the right. She didn’t look at the Alpha who had called her forward; she only looked at me, her lip curling before she dropped her head as if in shame.

“Beka Ruduro, Half Moon. I’m Adea and Shane’s classmate at Lycan Academy. I swear to speak only truth on the Goddess herself. Adea has always had a thing for him,” Beka whispered, casting a tearful look at Shane. “Even though she knew he was seeing me. She wouldn’t stop approaching him. She’d follow him into lecture halls. I thought it was just a crush. I never thought she’d try to seduce him into taking her to the Mating Festival.”

The stone under Ethan’s fist cracked and began to crumble. I balled my hands as her lies fell over the crowd. Some gave me accusatory glances, while others considered her so-called truth. A low rumble started in my mate’s chest. Beka’s tearful facade faltered.

Beka stepped back, crying softly. She had turned my trauma into a desperate girl’s fantasy. The heat of their judgment burned, and for a second, I wanted to look away. But no. I wouldn’t let them win. My silence would only be Shane’s shield. I’d be damned if my silence would be used to sharpen his weapon.

“The Table recognizes the witness,” Alpha Hannes said.

Alpha Jaxon stood next, his gaze traveling over the crowd.

“Next witness, Mavelin of Half Moon.”

My heart stalled.

The crowd parted as Mavy stepped forward. She wasn’t wearing a costume like Beka. She was in her tactical gear, looking like she’d been pulled straight from the Academy grounds. She didn’t look at Shane, and she didn’t look at me. Her silver eyes were fixed on the grain of the onyx table.

She took her place standing at the table. The silence in the Hall grew heavy, the walls seeming to close in on me as she took the stand against me. Every breath felt like I was inhaling glass.

“Mavelin. Daughter of Alpha Jaxon and sister to the heir.”

She finally looked up, but her gaze still didn’t find me. It darted around the room, searching for an exit the way something trapped does. She hadn’t come to see me last night. She hadn’t sought me out this morning. The silence she’d maintained since my dance with Ethan felt like barbed wire around my throat.

“Tell the Table what you saw.”

Mavy’s hands trembled. Her silver eyes flickered to me for a fraction of a second, then back to the floor.

“I saw what I always saw—friendship,” she whispered. The words were steady, rehearsed. “After her dance with Ethan, they’d slipped away to be alone. They’ve always had… an understanding.”

The Hall grew colder as her words of betrayal stabbed me in the heart. The woman I had called my sister—the only person I’d always given the benefit of the doubt—had watched me drown for years. Now, she stood at the witness table, ignoring the bruises and my split lip, to describe my assault as a willing choice.

“Did you follow them?” Hannes pushed, his violet eyes narrowed as he leaned forward.

Mavy swallowed hard, her head moving with the action. “I did. She didn’t fight him. She… held his hand and led him toward the stone wall.”