Chapter 70 Evidence and Accusations
The bell chimed, signalling the end of the recess.
Young Sera walked back into the main conference hall with Kael beside her and her pack behind her. The room felt different now. Heavier. Every Alpha present understood that what happened in the next hours would reshape werewolf politics for years to come.
Victor Kane sat in his original position, flanked by his own warriors. But young Sera noticed something had changed. The Alphas who had stood with him earlier now kept their distance. No one wanted to be associated with him if the murder charges proved true.
Richard Stone called the session to order, his elderly face grave. “We have examined the evidence presented by Alpha King Kael Thorne regarding the murder of his mate, Isabelle. The forensic team has verified the authenticity of the documents. The witnesses have been interviewed under compulsion to tell the truth. I will now present the findings to the full council.”
He spread papers across the table where everyone could see them. Bank records showing large withdrawals from Victor’s accounts. Communication logs intercepted by Northern Kingdom intelligence. Testimony from three separate witnesses who had overheard Victor planning the assassination.
“The evidence is substantial and credible,” Richard continued. “Financial records show Victor Kane made payments totalling five hundred thousand dollars to known assassins in the weeks before Isabelle’s death. Communication intercepts show him discussing timing and opportunity with intermediaries. And witness testimony places him at meetings where the assassination was planned in detail.”
Victor’s expression remained calm but young Sera noticed his hands gripping the armrests of his chair tightly. White knuckles betraying the tension his face refused to show.
“Victor Kane, you are formally charged with conspiracy to commit murder, murder of a Luna Queen, and crimes against pack law. How do you plead?”
The room held its breath.
Victor stood slowly, commanding attention even in this moment of accusation. “I plead not guilty. These so-called evidence pieces are fabrications. Kael has had years to manufacture documents and bribe witnesses. This is revenge for losing his mate, nothing more. He cannot accept that Isabelle’s death was the work of rogues, so he invented a conspiracy to give his grief meaning.”
“The forensic team verified the documents,” Kael said coldly. “They are not fabrications.”
“Forensic teams can be fooled and or bribed. You have money and power, Kael. Enough to make evidence appear real when it is not.”
“What about the witnesses?” Maria Santos asked. “Three separate wolves testified under truth compulsion. Are you claiming all three were lying?”
“I am claiming all three were coerced or mistaken. Truth compulsion prevents intentional lies, but it does not prevent honest mistakes. If someone believes a false memory is true, they will speak it as truth even under compulsion.”
Victor was skilled at this. Young Sera could see him planting doubt in the minds of the Alphas who were uncertain. Making them question the evidence even when it was solid.
“Let us hear from the witnesses directly,” Katherine Williams suggested. “Bring them before the council. Let us judge their credibility ourselves.”
Richard nodded and gestured to the guards stationed at the doors. They left and returned minutes later with three wolves. Two males and one female, all looking nervous about speaking before so many powerful Alphas.
The first witness was a young male named James, a low-ranking member of Victor’s own pack. He stood before the council with shaking hands.
“Tell us what you heard,” Richard instructed.
James swallowed hard. “I was working in the kitchens at Alpha Kane’s estate. He held a private meeting in the room above the kitchens. The ventilation system carries sound. I heard him talking with two other men about a problem that needed to be solved. About an Alpha King who was becoming too powerful and needed to be weakened. They discussed killing his mate. Making it look like rogues. Timing it for maximum impact.”
“When was this meeting?” David Chen asked.
“Six weeks before Luna Queen Isabelle died. I remember because it was right after Alpha Kane returned from a summit where Kael had blocked one of his political proposals.”
“Why did you not report what you heard immediately?” Victor challenged. “Why wait years to come forward?”
James looked terrified but answered. “Because you are my Alpha. Because speaking against you would have meant my death. I only came forward when Northern Kingdom agents contacted me and offered protection. Offered me a chance to tell the truth without being killed for it.”
“So you were bribed,” Victor said. “Offered safety in exchange for testimony that supports Kael’s narrative.”
“I was offered protection in exchange for truth. That is not the same as being bribed.”
The second witness was brought forward. A female named Rebecca who had worked as a courier between territories. She testified about carrying sealed messages from Victor to known assassins. About being paid extra to forget what she had delivered and to whom.
“I did not know what was in the messages,” Rebecca said. “But I knew they were sensitive. Knew they were dangerous. When Northern Kingdom investigators showed me copies of those messages, I recognised the handwriting. Recognised the seal. They were authentic.”
“You recognised handwriting from years ago?” Victor scoffed. “Convenient memory.”
“I have copies of other messages I delivered for you. We can compare the handwriting right now if you want.”
Victor’s expression tightened slightly but he said nothing.
The third witness was the most damaging. A wolf named Marcus who had been one of Victor’s top warriors until he was injured and forced into retirement.
“I was in the room when Alpha Kane planned the assassination,” Marcus testified. “I was one of three warriors assigned to coordinate logistics. We hired the assassins. Provided them with information about Isabelle’s schedule and security protocols. Created the diversion that allowed them access to the Northern Kingdom territory. I did these things because I was following orders. Because I believed my Alpha when he said it was necessary for the greater good of werewolf society.”
“Why betray me now?” Victor asked, his calm facade cracking slightly. “After years of loyal service?”
“Because I am dying,” Marcus said quietly. “I have maybe six months left. Cancer that even werewolf healing cannot cure. And I do not want to die with this on my conscience. I do not want my last act in this world to be protecting a murderer. So I told the truth. Gave Northern Kingdom investigators everything they needed to build this case. And I will testify to it under any compulsion or verification they want to use.”
The room was silent as Marcus finished speaking. Even the Alphas who had been sceptical of the evidence looked troubled now.
“These witnesses could still be lying or mistaken,” Victor insisted, but his voice had lost some of its earlier confidence. “This is not enough to condemn me based on—”
“There is more,” Kael interrupted, standing. “Garrett, bring in the final piece of evidence.”
Garrett left the room and returned with a small wooden box. He placed it on the table in front of the council and opened it carefully.
Inside was a knife. Silver blade, bone handle, covered in old dried blood.
“This is the weapon that killed Isabelle,” Kael said, his voice tight with controlled emotion. “We recovered it from the assassin’s body after he was killed resisting arrest. The blood on the blade matches Isabelle’s DNA. The handle has fingerprints. Not the assassin’s fingerprints. Someone else handled this knife before it was used.”
Richard Stone pulled out a forensic report and read through it. His expression grew darker with each line.
“The fingerprints on this weapon belong to Victor Kane,” Richard said quietly. “DNA analysis confirms it beyond a reasonable doubt. Victor, you personally handled the weapon that killed Luna Queen Isabelle.”
The room erupted. Alphas shouting. The Warriors are moving from hands to weapons. The facade of civilised political discourse shatters under the weight of evidence that could not be denied or explained away.
Victor stood abruptly, his chair falling backwards. “This is a setup! Kael planted my fingerprints somehow! He—”
“How?” Kael demanded, his grey eyes blazing. “How did I get your fingerprints on a weapon that was in an assassin’s hands years before I ever knew who killed my mate? How did I manufacture forensic evidence that passed verification by three independent labs? Explain that, Victor. Explain how I framed you so thoroughly that physical evidence exists where it should not.”
Victor had no answer. For the first time since the summit began, he looked genuinely rattled.
“You did it,” young Sera said, standing. “You killed Isabelle. You destabilised Kael’s wolf intentionally. You tried to destroy the Northern Kingdom. And now, when caught, you are doing exactly what my father did. Claiming everyone else is lying. Claiming evidence is fake. Refusing to accept responsibility for your actions.”
“You know nothing,” Victor snarled at her. “You are a child playing at leadership. You—”
“I know enough,” young Sera interrupted. “I know what it looks like when a powerful man refuses to admit guilt. I lived with that for eighteen years. Watched my father deny his abuse even when the evidence was written on my skin. You are the same. Different crimes, same refusal to face consequences.”
Victor’s face darkened with rage. “You dare compare me to—”
A commotion at the door cut him off. Guards burst into the room, looking panicked.
“The prisoner has escaped,” one guard gasped. “Marcus Blackwood. He broke out of his cell. Killed two guards. He is somewhere in the building.”
Young Sera felt ice flood her veins. Her father. Loose. Hunting.
I will destroy everything you love.
“Find him,” Richard commanded. “Lock down the building. No one in or out until he is recaptured.”
Warriors scattered, moving to secure exits and search for Marcus. But young Sera knew with terrible certainty where her father would go.
He would not run. Running was not his style.
He would come for her. Would try to fulfil his threat. Would hurt her or the people she loved as his final act of revenge.
“We need to move,” Garrett said urgently, already positioning himself between young Sera and the door. “Get her somewhere secure.”
“The basement vault,” Richard suggested. “It is silver-lined and defensible. She will be safe there.”
“No,” young Sera said firmly. “I am not hiding while my father hunts my pack. I am not letting him terrorise everyone because I am too scared to face him.”
“You are not trained for this,” Lyra protested. “Marcus is a full Alpha in rage mode. He will kill you.”
“Then train me right now. Give me a weapon. Tell me what to do. But I am not hiding. Not anymore. Not ever again.”
Kael looked at young Sera for a long moment, clearly torn between protecting her and respecting her choice.
“Give her a silver knife,” Kael said finally to Lyra. “Show her where to strike if he attacks. But she stays surrounded by warriors at all times. Understood?”
Lyra pulled a silver blade from her belt and handed it to young Sera. “If he comes at you, go for the throat or the heart. Silver will slow his healing. Give us time to intervene. But do not try to fight him alone. Your job is to survive long enough for help to arrive.”
Young Sera took the knife, feeling the weight of it in her hand. She had never held a real weapon before. Never imagined she would need to defend herself with lethal force against her own father.
But Marcus had stopped being her father the first time he raised his fist against her.
Now he was just a threat. A dangerous wolf who needed to be stopped.
The building’s alarm system began wailing. Lights flickered. Then went completely dark as someone cut the power.
Marcus was not just escaping. He was hunting in the darkness where wolves had an advantage over anyone unprepared.
“Stay together,” Garrett commanded, his voice cutting through the darkness. “Wolves with night vision lead. Everyone else follows closely. Do not separate under any circumstances.”
They moved as a unit through the darkened halls. Young Sera stayed in the centre of the protective formation, Kai on one side and Maya on the other. Warriors with better night vision led the way, calling out directions.
A scream echoed from somewhere ahead. Then the sound of fighting. Snarling and crashing as wolves collided.
“He is hunting the search parties,” Kael said grimly. “Picking off isolated wolves. We need to find him before he kills more people.”
“Or before he finds what he is really looking for,” young Sera said quietly.
Me. Her father was looking for her. Using the chaos and darkness to hunt his own daughter.
They turned a corner and found the first body. A young warrior from Richard’s pack, throat torn out. Dead eyes staring at nothing.
Maya made a small sound of distress. Kai pulled her closer, shielding her from the sight.
“Keep moving,” Garrett urged. “Do not stop. Do not look too long. Just keep moving.”
Another scream. Closer this time. Then Marcus’s voice, distorted by partial shift, echoed through the halls.
“Little Sera. I know you are here. I can smell you. Smell your fear. You cannot hide from me. You never could.”
Young Sera’s hands shook but she kept moving forward with her pack. Kept the silver knife ready. Kept her breathing steady despite the terror crawling up her spine.
“You thought you could defy me,” Marcus’s voice continued from somewhere in the darkness. “Thought you could stand in front of all those Alphas and make me look weak. But you are still the same worthless girl you always were. Still weak. Still nothing without me.”
“Do not listen to him,” Kai whispered. “He is trying to draw you out. Trying to make you react emotionally.”
Young Sera knew that. Knew Marcus was using psychological warfare the same way he always had. But knowing did not make the words hurt less.
They reached a wider corridor where emergency lighting provided some illumination. And there, standing in the centre of the hall with blood on his hands and murder in his eyes, was Marcus Blackwood.
He had partially shifted. Claws extended. Canines lengthened. Eyes glowing with predatory focus. He looked every inch the dangerous Alpha, not the abusive father young Sera remembered.
“There you are,” Marcus said, his voice rough and inhuman. “My disappointing daughter. Standing behind warriors like you has no right to protection. Like you matter.”
“She matters more than you ever will,” Kael said, stepping forward to position himself between Marcus and young Sera. “And you are not touching her.”
“You think you can stop me? I am her father. I have rights to her that you will never have.”
“You gave up those rights when you sold her. When you beat her. When you proved yourself unworthy of being called a father.”
Marcus laughed, the sound wrong and broken. “Rights? This is not about rights. This is about control. About teaching a disobedient child that there are consequences for defiance.”
He moved. Faster than young Sera expected. Faster than should be possible for a wolf his age.
He was not coming for Kael. Was not attacking the obvious threat.
He was coming for Maya.
The small omega stood slightly separated from the group. An easy target. A way to hurt young Sera without having to go through the warriors protecting her directly.
Marcus’s claws were aimed at Maya’s throat. One strike would kill her.
Time seemed to slow as young Sera watched her father move toward the omega who had become her friend. The girl who had brought her tea and comfort. Who had sat with her during the hardest moments. Who deserved protection, not violence.
Young Sera moved without thinking.
She threw herself between Marcus and Maya, the silver knife clutched in her hand, acting on instinct and training that was only days old.
The world narrowed to one moment. One choice. One terrible necessity.
The knife found its mark.
Buried itself in Marcus Blackwood’s chest as his momentum carried him forward onto the blade.
Father and daughter locked eyes for one frozen instant.
Surprise. Pain. Recognition that she had actually done it. Actually struck back after eighteen years of taking his violence without resistance.
“You…” Marcus gasped, blood bubbling from his lips. “You stabbed me.”
“Yes,” young Sera said, her voice shaking but clear. “And I would do it again. And again. As many times as necessary to protect the people I love. You taught me to survive. You just never expected me to survive you.”
Marcus stumbled backwards, the silver knife still embedded in his chest. Silver poisoning is spreading through his system, preventing his wolf from healing the wound.
He looked at young Sera with hatred and something that might have been respect. Then he collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.
The Warriors rushed forward. Mora appeared and knelt beside Marcus, checking for vitals.
“He is alive,” Mora said. “Barely. The silver is killing him slowly. We can save him if we act fast. Or we can let him die.”
Everyone looked at young Sera. Waiting for her decision. Waiting for the Luna Queen to choose life or death for the man who had terrorised her for eighteen years.
Young Sera looked down at her father bleeding on the floor. At the man who had called her worthless. Who had sold her like property. Who had just tried to murder her friend.
She could let him die. Could let the silver do its work. Could watch the life drain from his eyes and know he would never hurt anyone again.
But that would make her like him. Would make her someone who chose death over justice.
“Save him,” young Sera said quietly. “Save him so he can stand trial. So he can face consequences for every crime he commits. So every omega who suffered abuse can see that even powerful Alphas face justice. Save him. But lock him somewhere he can never hurt anyone again.”
Mora nodded and began working immediately, pulling the silver knife free and applying pressure to the wound.
Young Sera turned away, unable to watch. Unable to process what she had just done.
She had stabbed her own father.
Had chosen violence to protect Maya.
Had become exactly what she needed to be in that moment, even if it terrified her.
Kai caught her as her legs gave out. “I have you. You did the right thing. You saved Maya. You saved all of us.”
Young Sera looked at her hands. At the blood staining her palms. Her father’s blood.
The mark on her right palm was barely visible beneath the red.
She chose us. Now we choose life. For her.
She had chosen life. Had chosen to save Marcus even after he tried to kill Maya. Had chosen justice over revenge.
Her grandmother would have been proud.
Even if young Sera felt like she was going to be sick.
The crisis was contained. Marcus was being treated and would survive to face trial. But the summit was far from over.
Victor Kane still stood accused. And now young Sera stood covered in her father’s blood, having just proven she was capable of violence when necessary.
Proven she was capable of leading.
Even when it broke her heart.