Chapter 148: The Night of Reckoning II

"Before we proceed," Alpha Malachi drawled, his aura as steep as his voice, "Let me give you all a warning. If anyone ever thinks, or even attempts, to leave this room without my permission...I would make them rue the day they were born."

They were all trapped now. There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide for them all. They could only sit still and keep breathing as silently as they could, with their heads lowered as Malachi began walking around the room, moving between the seats and making everyone feel even more uncomfortable than they already were.

Selene also did the same.

She knew she would be in deep shit the moment Malachi starts to ask her questions about Della. Whatever it was, that was making the Barretts tell the truth — she still couldn’t figure it out.

Had it also affected her? Would the truth come out of her tongue too if she were asked?!

What could it be? There had to be something, and some way to stop it!

Could it be...the food they’d all been served this evening? Different maids prepare their food, but it’s being done in the same large kitchen. Could someone have sprinkled some kind of... truth powder into their meals? No, there’s no way.

She trusted Sienna very much, and Sienna was always there twenty-four seven whenever Selene’s meals were being prepared from start to finish. Maybe this truth powder was only sprinkled into the Barretts’ food, after all, they had no solid, loyal servants that would be willing to watch everything about them all the time.

"During the Sovereign Moon Ceremony," Malachi started again, and everyone began to swallow, "The Banner of this Pack tore seconds after it was lifted into the wind, and it came back crashing down in front of everyone. Lady Selene Vale of Nightveil accused Della in front of everyone, and Della was most definitely found with Moonfire particles in her fingertips — the same ones that had been found on the banner itself. Then, Lady Beatrice stepped out, saying she had seen Della trying to escape and had confronted her... after which Della attacked her. One witness, the late seamstress, claimed to have seen Della sneaking into the Workrooms that afternoon, and another, a maid on duty that same afternoon claimed Della was never in the Workrooms. Also, Lady Beatrice failed to give a clear distinction of exactly where she had seen Della, and how a wolfless Rotblood would have beaten a full-grown Alpha she-Wolf." Malachi turned toward Ravaryn, "Is that account correct?"

"Yes, my Alpha," The man nodded once.

"Good," He turned back to the nobles, "Now, I would like Lady Beatrice to give us her own account. Tell us the story of everything that happened that night...from your own perspective,"

Beatrice still had the mad look in her eyes, and she had been grinding her nails against each other with one eye twitching uncontrollably. But the moment she heard her name, the maniacal expression vanished and she slowly looked up at everyone.

Her lips quivered, and she glanced down at Leopold who hadn’t been able to look up ever since his brother looked at him with those eyes.

Useless idiot.

"I have spent the whole afternoon working and preparing for the sacred night with the maids—" She cleared her throat and opened her mouth again, "The Moon was out, and the Ceremony was underway when I noticed Della around the work-preparation wing acting all suspicious with a sack around her shoulders, and I confronted her. It turned out she was trying to escape, and I tried to stop her but then she attacked me. That is all I know,"

"You noticed Della acting all suspicious, you say?" Malachi asked.

"...yes," She cleared her throat again, her nails biting into her palms.

Her throat wasn’t working the way she wanted it to. Almost like it was beginning to grow a mind of its own, and now she was starting to panic because she could tell that whatever had made her brother and mother reveal the truth might be happening to her.

"You noticed Della... acting all suspicious?" Malachi repeated, closing the distance between them.

Beatrice opened her mouth to say yes again, but she couldn’t. Her lips were forming words that she hated, one that was making her eyes twitch even faster. She bit down on her tongue till she could taste blood, and clenched her jaw hard.

"Answer me, Lady Beatrice. What exactly did you notice?" Malachi was now standing right in front of her.

"I—" SHIT! "I was with Lady Selene, and Selene was the one who noticed Della,"

She quickly clamped down on her tongue again.

"With...Selene?" Malachi asked slowly.

"Yes,"

"Why?!" He stepped even closer, his eyes holding hers like a strong magnet, "Tell me why you were with Selene that night,"

A tear rolled down the side of Beatrice’s face as her lips parted again, "We were together because...we had just finished tampering with the..." She tried to close her eyes and look away from him, but her eyes refused to listen, "With the Pack banner,"

Another collective gasp shot all across the room.

Next to her, Leopold was shaking like a spineless leaf.

"You mean the one that tore during the ceremony?"

"Yes," Beatrice’s eyes twitched again.

"And then, you two framed the whole incident on Della?"

"Yes,"

"Does that also mean... Della never attacked you that night?"

"No," Beatrice’s jaw worked again, and now she just wanted to rip out her tongue, "She never attacked me. Instead, Selene and I banded up and beat her up,"

Malachi’s eyes slowly lifted up and stared at a particular someone standing by the darkest place in the room. Something intense hovered between their gaze, then Cassian looked away first.

He was guilty. He already knew that.

Because he had witnessed everything that night after he had followed Della, and refused to say a word about it.

"Where did you get the Moonfire Particles you used on the Banner that night?" Malachi asked again.

Beatrice finally looked down this time. She didn’t even realise all this while that she had her fists right, it was right there in the open sitting on her palm, "It was—" Her veins strained hard against her neck as she tried to stop the words from coming out.

"Where??!" Malachi growled this time.

"It was given to me by my father," She confessed.

Selene couldn’t hear it anymore. She had to save herself. Whatever it was that the Barretts had ingested before coming into this room, she would not let them get her into trouble.

She had to save herself!

"Alpha," She shot to her feet, her eyes wide with practised panic and fear, "I am being framed for things I never did!"

Malachi didn’t look at her immediately. He simply let her words echo through one ear, and then left through the other.

"And I have someone who can testify for me!"

"Really?" He finally looked in her direction, and one side of his lips twitched into something cruel, "Have them called into this room, and let them testify for you,"