Chapter 46: The Judgment

Azura’s POV

I don’t know how I got here. The last thing I remember was sinking to the floor in my room, the cold stone biting into my skin, my breath trapped in my throat like a jagged rock. Then, it was like someone blinked, and suddenly I was sitting at the far end of the long, oppressive oak table in the council chamber.

Actually, it was the second council chamber, the one used for extremely important information.

My hands were resting on the polished wood, but I couldn’t feel the table. I couldn’t feel anything. My eyes were fixed on the rough grain of the wood, trying to focus on a tiny scratch near my knuckles just to keep from fading away completely.

The air in the chamber was freezing, smelling of stale torches and fear.

I felt broken.

Not just sad, not just hurt, but shattered, as if a glass mirror dropped onto concrete. Every muscle in my body ached from tension, and my head felt light, dizzy, as if I were floating just above my own body, watching this happen to someone else.

My mind kept trying to picture Amanda’s face, her sweet smile, the flower she had been holding, but the memory was clouded, fading fast, replaced by a cold, dark void.

At the head of the table sat Rhydor. He looked like a statue, perfectly still, perfectly calm, his eyes empty of any emotion. He wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t looking at anyone. He was just... there. Beside him, in the shadows near the wall, Genevieve stood with her arms crossed tight over her chest, her jaw set so hard it looked like it might snap.

The murmurs of the elders around the table sounded like buzzing bees, annoying and distant. I didn’t care what they were saying. Nothing mattered anymore.

"A body was discovered days ago at the northern border," Rhydor’s voice boomed, calm and terrifyingly detached. "The wolf died under... unnatural circumstances. The wounds were unlike anything our healers have ever seen."

A heavy pause settled over the room, followed by a wave of nervous whispers from the elders. I just kept staring at the scratch on the table.

"Yesterday morning," Rhydor continued, his voice lowering, "three children were taken from the stream. In broad daylight. While under guard."

The murmurs turned into panicked gasps. I felt the weight of every eye in the room shift away from Rhydor and onto me. I knew they were looking at me, blaming me, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head.

Elder Cassius stood up, his face twisted in a sneer. "Unnatural deaths. Missing children. And when did these horrors begin, Alpha?" He paused, making sure everyone was listening. "Forgive me for speaking plainly, but... wasn’t it after she became the Luna of our pack?"

Nails dug into my palms as I clenched my fists, which were now under the table. My jaw was so tight my teeth ached. I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me tremble. I kept my eyes down, breathing slowly, ignoring the spike of hatred in my chest.

"If you have evidence, Cassius, present it," Genevieve’s voice cut through the air like a knife, sharp and dangerous. "If all you have is fear, then sit down and be silent."

Cassius sat back, a disgusting smirk playing on his lips, knowing he had already planted the seed of doubt.

Then, the heavy doors opened.

Isadora walked in. Her steps were soft, slow, and deliberate, designed to make her look gentle and harmless. She was dressed in white, making her look like an angel in a room full of demons. She bowed deeply to Rhydor, then to the elders, her head staying down a moment too long.

Hatred, hot and furious, surged through me, overpowering the numbness for just a second. I knew her footsteps. I knew the way she moved. My hands tightened into fists on my lap, my knuckles turning white.

"Forgive the interruption, Alpha. Elders," Isadora said, her voice soft, trembling just enough to sound scared. "I... I hesitated to come. But I cannot stay silent when the pack is in danger."

I forced myself to look up, just for a second. I saw Rhydor looking at her, and his cold, empty statue face, softened just a fraction. It was barely visible, but I saw it. The sight felt like a physical blow to my chest, a sharp, searing pain that made it hard to breathe.

"Speak," Rhydor commanded.

Isadora took a deep breath, acting as if she were gathering immense courage. "I do not wish to cast blame. Truly, I don’t. But... I must tell you what I witnessed during the Luna trial."

She glanced at me with a pained, sorrowful expression, acting the part of the innocent victim perfectly. "When Azura fought me that day... I felt something. Not her wolf. Something else. Something... dark. Cold. It watched me through her eyes."

Gasps erupted around the table. My heart began to pound against my ribs, heavy and fast. I started feeling uneasy inside me, sensing the danger, feeling the lies, but I kept my face blank.

"Perhaps I was mistaken," Isadora said, her voice softening with false doubt. "Perhaps it was just my own fear." She wrung her hands, her gaze dropping to the table. "But I can’t forget it." She let the silence stretch, then looked up, her eyes full of a pained, knowing dread.

"And now... the rumours of the children taken from right under our noses. The very day she took them outside the walls, without permission, without a care for their safety..." Her words faded into a helpless, telling silence. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Elder Morgana, the only female elder, spoke up, her voice angry and accusing. "Three children vanished. While she was there."

Isadora shook her head, tears filling her eyes, tears that I knew were fake. "I don’t want to believe she planned it. But what if... what if she brought it? What if whatever darkness follows her... is using her?" She looked at Rhydor, her expression pleading. "I only want the pack to be safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted."

Something inside me snapped. A roaring, screaming anger that had been bubbling under the surface broke through. I wanted to scream at her, to jump across the table and tear the mask of innocence off her face. But I didn’t move. I stayed silent.

"Enough of this," Genevieve said, stepping forward. She looked furious, ready to fight the entire room. "You sit here, inventing shadows and calling them threats. Azura has done nothing but protect those children. She loves them more than any of you have loved anything in your miserable, comfortable lives."

"And yet they disappeared under her watch," Cassius sneered.

"They disappeared under our watch," Genevieve stepped closer, her voice dangerous. "Under the Alpha’s guard. Under this pack’s protection. If you want to cast blame, start with yourselves."

She turned to Rhydor, her eyes blazing. "Do something. You’re the Alpha. You can’t just sit there and let them tear her apart with baseless accusations."

A heavy silence filled the room. I slowly lifted my head, looking at Rhydor. I was waiting for him to defend me. I was waiting for him to say I was his Luna, and he trusted me.

But his face was cold. Empty. Emotionless. He was looking right at me, but it was like looking at a stranger.

"What they say... isn’t without merit," Rhydor said, his voice low, deliberate, and icy.

The breath trapped in my chest. My heart stuttered, then stopped, then started again with a painful, slow throb. Disbelief, followed immediately by a white-hot rage, crashed over me.

"These incidents began after she became Luna," Rhydor continued, cold as death. "The timing is... undeniable."

"You cannot be serious," Genevieve’s voice was shaking with fury.

"I am stating facts," Rhydor said. "Not an accusation. But fact." He looked directly into my eyes. "If there is an explanation, now is the time to give it."

Something inside me broke. Not a crack, but a clean, final snap.

I stood up. My chair screamed against the stone floor, loud in the quiet room. Every face turned to stare.

"You think I did this," I said, my voice quiet, but trembling with a fury that felt like it might burn the room down.

No one answered. The elders looked away, not wanting to meet my gaze.

"You think I would hurt them," I said, my voice growing louder, cracking with emotion. "The children I fed when they were starving. The ones I held when they screamed in the night. The same children who are the only family I have ever known."

I looked around the table, meeting each elder’s gaze, forcing them to see the pain and rage in my eyes. "You think I would take Amanda? The little girl who called me ’Mama’ when she thought no one was listening?"

My hands were shaking violently, so I clenched them into fists, digging my nails into my skin, using the pain to stay grounded.

I turned to Rhydor and stepped closer to him."And you," I said, my voice low, "you just sit there, silent and cold, judging me."

His jaw tightened, a muscle in his cheek twitching, but he said nothing. He just watched me with those dead, empty eyes.

"You never wanted me," I whispered, the words deadly. "You made that clear. But I thought... I thought you were at least just..."

Still nothing from him.

I let out a bitter, harsh laugh. "But you’re not. You call yourself an Alpha, but you won’t protect the innocent standing right in front of you." I looked at Isadora, and she flinched, her innocent act slipping for just a second.

I turned back to the council. "My children are missing. And you all sit here... playing politics."

With that, I walked to the door. I didn’t care if they tried to grab me.

"You can waste your time talking," I said to the room, not looking back. "I’ll waste mine finding my children."

I shoved the door open and let it slam behind me. The bang shook the whole hallway.

The hallway was cold and dark, with torches flickering on the walls, casting dancing shadows. My hands were still shaking, and my breath was coming in short, sharp gasps. I was trying so hard not to break, not to crumble right there in the hallway.

I stopped walking after ten steps, my back pressed against the cold stone wall. I heard voices through the heavy door, muffled but loud enough to understand.

"She didn’t even deny it!" I heard Elder Morgana scream.

"Guilty. Clear as day," Cassius added.

My hands clenched into fists, the rage returning, stronger now.

"You’re all fools," I heard Genevieve shout.

Then, silence.

I waited. I hoped Rhydor would say something. Anything. I hoped he would defend me. But there was nothing. Just silence.

I closed my eyes, the weight of the betrayal crushing me.

The door behind me opened, and I heard Genevieve’s footsteps rushing toward me.

"Azura..."

"Don’t," I whispered, my voice breaking.

I started walking faster, the vision in my eyes blurring with tears I refused to let fall. Genevieve followed me, calling my name, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t talk. I just had to get away.

I reached my room and slammed the door, locking it behind me. I stood with my back against the door, my chest heaving, fighting for air.

"Azura. Open the door," Genevieve’s voice came through the thick wood, muffled and worried.

I didn’t answer.

"Azura!" she knocked harder, but I ignored her.

I pushed away from the door, my legs trembling, and stumbled toward the large mirror on the wall. I looked at my reflection. I was wearing the Luna robes, a title I never wanted, a title that felt like a curse. I saw a broken woman, a mate who was despised by her mate, and children who were stolen because I was too weak to protect them.

"I failed them," I whispered to the reflection, my voice cracking.

"I failed them!" I screamed, the rage finally overtaking the despair.

I slammed my fist into the mirror, expecting the glass to shatter. But it didn’t. The mirror held, but the impact sent a shockwave through my arm.

"I FAILED THEM!" I screamed again, a raw, primal sound that tore through my throat.

And then, something happened.

The air in the room suddenly vibrated, a high-pitched hum that made my teeth ache. I watched in disbelief as the mirror didn’t just crack from my fist, it cracked from the rage exploding out of me. The glass fractured in a spiderweb pattern, and then, with a loud boom, the windows in my room exploded outward, glass raining down into the courtyard below.

I gasped, stumbling back, my eyes wide with shock. I felt something inside me tear loose, a wave of raw, blinding energy.

And then my legs gave out, my strength entirely gone.

From where I was lying, I couldn’t see what was happening outside, but I heard the door burst open. Someone rushed in and tried to pull me up from the floor.

It was Genevieve.

"What have you done, child? I told you to control it," she whispered, holding me tight as I began to tremble, the sheer exhaustion taking over.