Lunara and her father exchanged glances, seemingly unable to believe what they had just heard. Emma could see the fear and surprise flickering in their eyes. Perhaps everything was finally beginning to make sense to them.

"You almost gave a fourteen-winter-old pup to wolves older than her own father—the same way you deceive young she-wolves across the territory," Brandon said, breaking the silence that had crept into the hall.

"I don’t know what you are talking about!" Mrs. Nazar said annoyingly and tried to walk out of the hall.

"Seize her!" Ashley shouted angrily. Some security warriors walked swiftly towards her and stopped her immediately. They forced her to sit down and surrounded her to make sure she didn’t escape.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked the security warriors that surrounded her.

"I don’t give young she-wolves to older wolves! I don’t even know the Prince. This is my first time seeing him—let me go!" she kept yelling.

"You know exactly what he’s talking about," a voice said.

Emma looked up and saw him—her second savior in Springfield Territory, Mr. Crabtree. The wolf who had once helped her by pretending she was experiencing moon-cycle bleeding just to buy her time. She had called him earlier after his release from the dungeon, but he refused to be a witness, burdened by guilt over what had happened. Still, Emma had assured him that nothing would happen to him since he did not engage with minors.

"Mrs. Nazar, I told you to stop using minors to entertain wolves, yet you still had me arrested instead of heeding my advice. Now you see the consequences of your actions."

"I don’t know you," she said, trying to deny him. A murmur rippled through the hall.

"You know me too well. I was the one who told Mrs. Yoone she was unwell—and you confirmed it." He backed up his claim by producing a picture.

"This virtuous young wolf refused to entertain me even after I spent all my silver coins. I wish other young wolves would emulate her," he said, pointing at Emma.

"That reminds me," Brandon said. "Mrs. Yoone, you claimed Emma was your pup, right?"

"No, she’s not! Daniel coerced me into saying that. He threatened to kill me and my sick mother if I refused. Please... I’m sorry!" she continued to plead for mercy.

"Keep your mouth shut. Arrest her too," Ashley said, pointing at her.

A few minutes later, Brandon continued with his questioning.

"Daniel Greens, I learned that the he-wolves sitting behind you are here to testify against Emma. Can we hear from them?" Brandon

asked.

Daniel turned reluctantly and signaled one of them to stand up and give his testimony. The he-wolf stood up and grinned as though he was excited to be in the throne hall.

"How old are you?" He asked him.

"I’m forty-one winters old, my Prince. It’s nice to finally set my eyes on you. I have heard a lot of good things about you," he grinned. Brandon ignored him and continued his question.

"I understand you are here to testify against Emma Ashford. What do you know about her?"

"Who is Emma Ashford?" he asked, tilting his head with complete innocence.

The hall fell silent for a heartbeat... then erupted into laughter. Wolves broke into roars of amusement, some clutching their chests while others wiped tears from their eyes, as though they had just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

He couldn’t ignore it anymore. He had learned the hard way that if he didn’t take his time, he would end up arrested like the other she-wolves.

Brandon slowly turned his head toward him. The laughter in the hall thinned out, dying like a flame smothered beneath cold ash. Silence crept back in—heavy, suffocating, and uneasy.

Then Brandon raised his hand and pointed directly at him, slow and deliberate, as though passing judgment on a wolf who had already chosen his fate.

"Go on."

"Honestly, I don’t know her. I’m just seeing her for the first time. It’s Lunara that I know very well," he shook his head and glanced at a he-wolf sitting beside him. "Maybe he knows her. He has been bragging that he slept with her."

"I don’t. It’s Lunara I bragged about!"

"Shut up," Lunara snapped. "I don’t even know you."

The he-wolf shot her a warning look. "You know me. You and your father, Daniel Greens, invited me the same way you invited those she-wolves," he said, pointing toward Lunara’s moonallies.

They all chorused together, "No, we came as moonallies."

A heavy silence settled over the hall, stretching long enough to make every wolf aware of it. Lunara and her father exchanged a look of quiet disappointment, their expressions hard to miss.

Brandon subtly signaled the spokeswolf

to continue, and the man quickly rose to his feet. But before he could utter a word, the king lifted a hand, stopping him mid-motion. With a small wave, he motioned for him to sit back down.

Then the king cleared his throat, the sound cutting cleanly through the silence, drawing every eye back to him.

"Emma Ashford, it pains my heart that she wanted to give you to he-wolves at a very tender age. I promise you she is going to face the full wrath of the law. Wolves like her are one of the problems we have in this kingdom. But unfortunately, her action left a big stain on your record and we, the royal pack, will take exception. We will never be associated with that. This is the only reason I cannot accept you as Moon Prince Brandon’s bride," the king said in a final, unwavering tone.

There will be no need to ask you if you have anything to say about Lunara Greens. We raise her and I’m sure she has a clean record." There was semi-jubilation among Lunara’s moonallies.

"I’ll just go ahead and give my verdict and count on your cooperation."

"No, my High Alpha King," Ashley protested. "She must speak."

"Do you have anything to say Emma Ashford?" the King asked.

"Yes, my High Alpha King," she said, rising boldly from her seat. There was no fear in her eyes...only steady confidence...because her father , mother , and sibling stood behind her and her mate was present in the hall.

All eyes turned to her again, including Lunara and her parents. She caught a flicker of satisfaction in Lunara’s gaze, clearly pleased by the king’s words about her record being stained while Lunara’s remained clean.

"We all have stains," she said.

"Some just hide theirs better."

Her gaze swept the hall.

"A he-wolf stands among you—quick to judge, quick to condemn..."

She paused.

"Yet behind closed doors, he is far worse than the wolves he shames."

Not only that...he deflowered his moonpup’s desperate bride, gave her crowns of silver to leave the territory and fix a fake hymen so his moonpup wouldn’t find out that his desperate fated bride had been deflowered on their mating moon.

"A saint... without a stain."

A faint, humorless smile touched her lips.

"Or so you all believe."

All the wolves in the hall murmured. She turned and signaled them to calm down because she was not done yet. The excitement she saw in Lunara’s eyes disappeared immediately. Only she, the king, and Brandon understood her clearly, but others did not.

"A killer walks freely on the surface of the pack, knowing fully well that another is in a dungeon for a crime he committed! He is a saint without a stain on his record in the eyes of every wolf!

"You want the truth?" she said.

She lifted the memory card.

"Then watch what wolves do behind closed doors and get away with it because no one saw them."

She opened her laptop bag and took out a memory card her mother sent to her. She turned, looked at Penny, and crooked her fingers.

"Please come."

She stood up and began to walk towards her. All heads turned and focused on her. Theresa stood up immediately and narrowed her eyes as if she had seen her before.

"Her mother is in a dungeon for a crime she didn’t commit. One of the saints among us without stains on their records killed her sibling Jason and went scot-free. Her innocent mother couldn’t take care of her because she was paying for a crime she did not commit. Everything is on this memory card."

Brandon beckoned the spokesman and whispered into his ear when she took her laptop out of the bag.

"Let me have it," he said to her. She passed the memory card to him through Penny. Theresa kept standing and staring unbelievably at her. Her precious future moon Luna tried to calm her down by pulling the tip of her cloth gently. She took her hand off her cloth angrily.

"Daniel, who’s that pup?" Theresa asked, still glancing at Penny as she walked toward Emma. A flicker of curiosity tightened in her chest—something about the girl didn’t sit right with her.

"Theresa, stop asking questions. The wolves are paying attention," Daniel said, his tone low and warning, eyes scanning the hall as if measuring every stare.

"Who is she?" Theresa pressed again, unable to let it go. Her gaze lingered, suspicion quietly building as Penny drew closer.

"I don’t know," he whispered. Unease crept in—too many unknowns, too many hidden dangers.

And yet... out of everything in that hall, she was the only thing he couldn’t ignore.