Chapter 11 Truth and Lies
The world tilted sideways.
Elena’s words hung in the air like poison. Alpha compulsion. Three days before the claim. A secret meeting with my father.
Through the bond, I felt Kael’s shock and rage crashing into me like waves. He had not expected this or prepared for this specific lie.
Because it was a lie. It had to be.
“That is not true,” Kael snarled, his eyes flooding gold. “I never met with Marcus Blackwood privately. I never discussed using compulsion on Sera. This is a complete fabrication.”
“Can you prove it?” Victor asked smoothly. “Can you account for every moment of those three days? Can you provide witnesses to your whereabouts at all times?”
Kael’s silence was damning. Of course, he could not. No one could account for every single moment.
Elder Thaddeus raised his hand for silence. “These are serious accusations, Miss Cross. Do you have evidence to support this claim?”
Elena pulled a folded paper from her jacket. “I have a letter. Written by Alpha Marcus to a mutual acquaintance, describing his meeting with the Alpha King. He discusses how Kael promised to use his dominance to make Sera accept the bond, regardless of her true feelings.”
My father stepped forward, his expression triumphant. “That letter is genuine. I wrote it myself. The Alpha King promised me he would use whatever means necessary to make my daughter compliant. He needed heirs desperately, and he did not care about her consent.”
“You are lying,” I said, my voice cutting through the noise. “You are both lying.”
“Am I?” Marcus turned to me with false concern. “Think carefully, daughter. Did the Alpha King not summon you to his office the night you arrived? Did his wolf not attack you, bite you, mark you with violence? Did you not spend days terrified of him before your heat began?”
Each word was carefully chosen. Each one is technically true but twisted to paint a false picture.
“Yes, but…”
“And during your heat, when you were most vulnerable, most desperate for an alpha’s touch, did he not claim you? Did he not take advantage of your weakened state to form a permanent bond?”
“That is not how it happened,” I protested, but doubt rippled through the gathered wolves. I could see it in their faces. The story Marcus told made sense to them. A desperate king, a vulnerable omega, a bond formed through manipulation.
Elder Thaddeus turned to Kael. “Alpha King Thorne, how do you answer these accusations?”
“They are lies,” Kael said flatly. “I never met privately with Marcus Blackwood. I never discussed using compulsion. And I gave Sera multiple chances to walk away. I told her she could refuse me at any point.”
“While she was terrified of you,” Elena interjected. “While she believed refusing would mean death or returning to her abusive father. That is not a real choice. That is coercion disguised as consent.”
The accusation was so close to my own fears that it stole my breath. Had I truly chosen freely? Or had I simply picked the less terrible option?
No. I knew the truth. I had chosen Kael because I wanted to. Because something in me recognised something in him. Because broken things understood each other.
But how could I prove that to people determined to believe otherwise?
“I call my witness,” I said suddenly. “Mora, step forward.”
The healer moved into the centre of the clearing, her sharp green eyes taking in everything.
“Mora,” Elder Thaddeus said, “you have treated Luna Sera since her arrival. You examined her after the test and after the claiming. In your professional opinion, does she show signs of compulsion or manipulation?”
Mora was silent for a long moment. “She shows signs of trauma. Deep trauma from years of abuse. She shows signs of fear and anxiety. But compulsion?” She shook her head slowly. “No. I have treated many omegas who were forced into bonds against their will. They have a hollowness in their eyes. An absence of self. Sera has many wounds, but that particular wound is not among them.”
Relief flooded through me, but Elder Thaddeus looked unconvinced. “Trauma can mask compulsion. Fear can look like compliance. This is not conclusive.”
“Then test the bond itself,” Mora suggested. “A bond formed through compulsion is shallow. Fragile. It does not have the depth of a true mating. Allow me to examine their bond through healer magic. I will know if it is genuine or forced.”
Victor’s expression flickered with something that might have been concern. “Healer magic is not admissible as evidence. It is too subjective, too open to interpretation.”
“Since when do you dictate trial procedures, Victor?” Garrett spoke up for the first time, his deep voice carrying authority. “Elder Thaddeus is the judge here. Not you.”
Elder Thaddeus considered. “I will allow the examination. But I reserve the right to weigh the evidence as I see fit.”
Mora approached me and Kael me, gesturing for us to join hands. When our palms touched, the bond flared to life between us, visible to everyone as a shimmering golden thread connecting our chests.
Mora placed one hand over mine, one over Kael’s, and closed her eyes. The air around us began to glow with soft white light.
Through the bond, I felt Kael’s love for me. His fear of losing me. His determination to protect me. His guilt over every moment he had hurt me. His hope for our future. Everything lay bare for Mora to examine.
And I realised she would see everything. Including his memories of Isabelle. His grief. His first love.
“Do not hide from her,” I whispered to Kael. “Let her see it all. The truth will prove we are real.”
Minutes passed. Mora’s expression remained neutral, unreadable. Finally, she opened her eyes and stepped back.
“Well?” Elder Thaddeus demanded. “What did you find?”
“I found a bond deeper than any I have examined in fifty years,” Mora said slowly. “Complex. Built on shared pain and mutual understanding. There is fear in it, yes. But also trust. Respect. And love. Real love, not the shallow obsession that comes from compulsion.”
Hope surged in my chest, but Mora was not finished.
“However,” she continued, and my heart sank. “I also found evidence of alpha dominance used during the bonding. The Alpha King’s wolf was in full control during the claiming. His dominance was overwhelming. So while I believe Luna Sera thinks she chose freely, I cannot say with certainty that her omega instincts did not override her rational mind in that moment.”
“That is absurd,” Lyra burst out. “Dominance is part of every mating. That does not make it forced.”
“Perhaps not,” Elder Thaddeus said. “But it raises a reasonable doubt about the validity of her choice. If her omega was in heat and overwhelmed by alpha dominance, can we truly say she consented? Or did her biology betray her?”
Through the bond, I felt Kael’s world crumbling. He had used his dominance during the claiming. He could not deny it. And now that truth was being used to destroy us.
“There is one way to know for certain,” Victor said, his voice deceptively gentle. “Remove the bond temporarily. Give Luna Sera twenty-four hours without the influence of the mating connection. If she still chooses the Alpha King after that time, free from his dominance and her omega’s bond-madness, then the choice is genuine.”
“You cannot temporarily remove a mating bond,” Kael growled. “It does not work that way.”
“Actually,” Mora said reluctantly, “there is a way. Ancient healer magic can suppress a bond for a short time without severing it permanently. It is painful and dangerous, but possible.”
“Then I propose we do exactly that,” Elder Thaddeus decided. “The bond will be suppressed for twenty-four hours. Luna Sera will be isolated from all influences—no contact with the Alpha King, no contact with her father, no contact with anyone who might sway her decision. At the end of that time, she will choose. And her choice will be final and binding.”
“This is madness,” Garrett protested. “You are putting her through unnecessary pain and trauma for political theatre.”
“I am ensuring her choice is genuine,” Elder Thaddeus corrected coldly. “Unless you believe she cannot make the right decision without the bond influencing her?”
It was another trap. Protesting made us look guilty. Like we feared what Sera would choose without the bond.
I met Kael’s eyes. Through the bond, I felt his devastation. His terror. His absolute certainty that once the bond was suppressed, I would realise I had made a terrible mistake.
“Do it,” I said clearly. “Suppress the bond. Give me twenty-four hours alone. I will prove my choice is real.”
“Sera, no,” Kael reached for me. “You do not understand. Suppressing a bond is agony. Like having your soul torn in half. And once it is gone, even temporarily, you will feel the absence. The emptiness. It might change—”
“It will not change anything,” I interrupted. “I chose you before the bond existed, Kael. I will choose you after it is suppressed. And I will choose you every day after that.”
Elder Thaddeus nodded. “Then it is decided. Mora, prepare the suppression ritual. We begin immediately.”
As Mora started gathering materials, Victor leaned close to my father and whispered something. Marcus smiled—the cruel, satisfied smile I remembered from childhood.
And through the bond, in the seconds before it would be ripped away, Kael sent me one final message.
A memory. Not his. Mine.
My own memory from three nights ago, viewed through his eyes.
Me standing before his wolf in the heat sanctuary. Terrified but determined.
Me saying, “I am not afraid of you.”
And his wolf’s response, the one I had not heard because I was too focused on surviving.
“Then you are the one. The one who can save me.”
Kael had not chosen me.
His wolf had chosen me first.
Before the bond. Before the heat. Before everything.
And now I had to prove I had chosen him too.