Chapter 11
The testimony took four hours.
I told them everything. The cellar. The starvation. The silver chains. The exposure circle. Every word was measured, deliberate, and devastating.
But the moment that shattered the courtroom's composure came when Nikolai took the stand.
"When we found Princess Volkov," my brother said, his healer's calm barely containing his rage, "she was chained with silver to an iron post in a clearing with no protection. She was in her third trimester with twins. The silver had been burning through her skin for approximately forty minutes. Her wolf was completely suppressed—not just by the binding curse, but by the chains themselves."
"The twins?" the Arbiter asked.
"Dying." Nikolai's voice cracked—the first time I'd ever heard it break. "Their heart rates were dropping. Another twenty minutes and we would have been recovering bodies, not family."
The gallery erupted. Shouts, gasps, growls from wolves whose most basic instinct—protect the young—had been violated by what they were hearing.
Kael sat frozen at his table, his face gray. He wasn't looking at the Arbiters or the crowd. He was looking at me. And in his eyes, I finally saw it—not pity, not guilt.
Horror. True, complete horror at what had been done in his name.
"Did you know about any of this, Alpha Blackwood?" The lead Arbiter's voice cut through the chaos.
Kael stood slowly. "No. I was told she left willingly. I had no knowledge—"
"Then you are either complicit or incompetent," the Arbiter said flatly. "Neither speaks well for a Dominion Claim."
"Objection!" Kael's lawyer stood. "The actions of others cannot—"
"The actions of his MOTHER," Viktor interrupted, standing, "performed by his ENFORCERS, within his TERRITORY, while he served as ALPHA. He was either complicit or so negligent that he allowed a pregnant woman under his protection to be tortured and nearly killed. Either way, this court cannot place children in that environment."
"There's more." I stood, my heart pounding. This was the part I'd been waiting for. "I request permission to submit additional evidence regarding the Luna of Bloodmoon."
The Arbiters conferred briefly. "Granted."
I produced the documents Viktor's team had compiled—medical records, genetic analyses, testimony from the Bloodmoon alchemist who'd been silenced.
"The child currently recognized as Kael Blackwood's heir—the child born of Luna Mira Blackwood—is not his. Genetic testing confirms the child is a rogue hybrid, conceived during an assault." I let that sink in. "Alpha Blackwood knowingly claimed a non-biological child as his own while simultaneously denying his actual biological children."
The courtroom exploded.
Mira stood in the gallery, her face white, the child in her arms beginning to wail from the noise. "THAT'S A LIE!" she screamed. "SHE'S LYING—"
"Silence in the gallery!" The Arbiter's command carried Alpha-level weight, pressing even the crowd into their seats. "One more outburst and you'll be removed."
Mira sat, trembling, clutching her child. Vivian beside her had gone completely still—a predator assessing whether to fight or flee.
"Alpha Blackwood." The lead Arbiter's glacial eyes fixed on Kael. "Is this true? Did you knowingly claim a non-biological child while abandoning your biological offspring?"
The entire chamber held its breath.
Kael closed his eyes. His shoulders dropped. And in a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "Yes."
The second Arbiter shook his head slowly. The third was already writing.
"This Council will recess for one hour to deliberate," the lead Arbiter announced. "All parties remain available."
As the Arbiters filed out, the courtroom erupted into chaos. Mira was screaming at Kael—"You PROMISED! You swore you'd never tell!"—while Vivian sat motionless, her world crumbling around her.
Viktor placed his hand on my shoulder. "It's done, Serena. It's over."
I watched Kael sitting alone at his table, his head in his hands, while the woman he'd destroyed me for screeched blame at him.
"Not yet," I said quietly. "There's one more thing I need to do."
I told them everything. The cellar. The starvation. The silver chains. The exposure circle. Every word was measured, deliberate, and devastating.
But the moment that shattered the courtroom's composure came when Nikolai took the stand.
"When we found Princess Volkov," my brother said, his healer's calm barely containing his rage, "she was chained with silver to an iron post in a clearing with no protection. She was in her third trimester with twins. The silver had been burning through her skin for approximately forty minutes. Her wolf was completely suppressed—not just by the binding curse, but by the chains themselves."
"The twins?" the Arbiter asked.
"Dying." Nikolai's voice cracked—the first time I'd ever heard it break. "Their heart rates were dropping. Another twenty minutes and we would have been recovering bodies, not family."
The gallery erupted. Shouts, gasps, growls from wolves whose most basic instinct—protect the young—had been violated by what they were hearing.
Kael sat frozen at his table, his face gray. He wasn't looking at the Arbiters or the crowd. He was looking at me. And in his eyes, I finally saw it—not pity, not guilt.
Horror. True, complete horror at what had been done in his name.
"Did you know about any of this, Alpha Blackwood?" The lead Arbiter's voice cut through the chaos.
Kael stood slowly. "No. I was told she left willingly. I had no knowledge—"
"Then you are either complicit or incompetent," the Arbiter said flatly. "Neither speaks well for a Dominion Claim."
"Objection!" Kael's lawyer stood. "The actions of others cannot—"
"The actions of his MOTHER," Viktor interrupted, standing, "performed by his ENFORCERS, within his TERRITORY, while he served as ALPHA. He was either complicit or so negligent that he allowed a pregnant woman under his protection to be tortured and nearly killed. Either way, this court cannot place children in that environment."
"There's more." I stood, my heart pounding. This was the part I'd been waiting for. "I request permission to submit additional evidence regarding the Luna of Bloodmoon."
The Arbiters conferred briefly. "Granted."
I produced the documents Viktor's team had compiled—medical records, genetic analyses, testimony from the Bloodmoon alchemist who'd been silenced.
"The child currently recognized as Kael Blackwood's heir—the child born of Luna Mira Blackwood—is not his. Genetic testing confirms the child is a rogue hybrid, conceived during an assault." I let that sink in. "Alpha Blackwood knowingly claimed a non-biological child as his own while simultaneously denying his actual biological children."
The courtroom exploded.
Mira stood in the gallery, her face white, the child in her arms beginning to wail from the noise. "THAT'S A LIE!" she screamed. "SHE'S LYING—"
"Silence in the gallery!" The Arbiter's command carried Alpha-level weight, pressing even the crowd into their seats. "One more outburst and you'll be removed."
Mira sat, trembling, clutching her child. Vivian beside her had gone completely still—a predator assessing whether to fight or flee.
"Alpha Blackwood." The lead Arbiter's glacial eyes fixed on Kael. "Is this true? Did you knowingly claim a non-biological child while abandoning your biological offspring?"
The entire chamber held its breath.
Kael closed his eyes. His shoulders dropped. And in a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "Yes."
The second Arbiter shook his head slowly. The third was already writing.
"This Council will recess for one hour to deliberate," the lead Arbiter announced. "All parties remain available."
As the Arbiters filed out, the courtroom erupted into chaos. Mira was screaming at Kael—"You PROMISED! You swore you'd never tell!"—while Vivian sat motionless, her world crumbling around her.
Viktor placed his hand on my shoulder. "It's done, Serena. It's over."
I watched Kael sitting alone at his table, his head in his hands, while the woman he'd destroyed me for screeched blame at him.
"Not yet," I said quietly. "There's one more thing I need to do."