Chapter 125: Unmasked
“Ryder, it’s fake! All those photos are fake!” Milana broke into loud, jagged sobs. She spun toward Zoriana, her face twisted in rage. “Did you bring these? You fabricated these photos of me just to try and snatch my mate back. You bitch!”
Ryder sat motionless, his face appearing as if it were carved from stone. “Fine. If the photos are fabricated, explain this.”
He pressed a button, and a recording of Milana’s voice filled the room: “Oh, daddy, I miss your big fat cock—”
“Don’t believe any of it! It’s AI-generated, mimicking my voice!” Milana sobbed louder, her body trembling. “Ryder, you know I love you. I’m carrying your pup. I would never—”
Ryder sighed and turned on the projector. The sharp, rhythmic sound of skin slapping skin filled the office. In the recording, Milana was on top of the a man, her back facing his chest, her face on full display. The room was unmistakably the same one seen in every photograph.
Her breast bouncing fast as he was thrusting in her relentlessly.
“Who is your best customer? Who’s fucking you the best, my dirty slut?” the man groaned, squeezing her breast.
“You... You’re the best... Oh, yes... fuck my pussy raw,” Milana moaned on screen.
“Switch it off!” Milana shrieked, falling to her knees. “Ryder, stop watching this filth. It isn’t real... stop torturing me!”
Ryder smirked. “Of course. I should know better than to accuse my innocent, sweet mate. Zoriana obviously fabricated everything to get revenge.”
His voice was so smooth that even Zoriana raised an eyebrow. For a second, she wondered if Ryder was becoming even more delusional. But then, his lips curled into a wicked smile.
“My Beta also extracted some interesting footage. Was he framing you as well?”
A new recording played. The lights in the VIP lounge of the Silver Moonlight pack house were dimmed, but the person bent over the couch was unmistakably Milana, with Alpha Fabian thrusting into her from behind.
Milana screamed shrilly, like a wounded bird, before mumbling, “Your Beta conspired with Zoriana to destroy me.”
“Matteo is loyal to me,” Ryder countered coldly. “I also heard the recording of Fabian explaining the meaning of your delicate tattoo—and your plan to kill Zoriana and kidnap Aella. What a coincidence that Aella was kidnapped, and when I checked the meaning of that flower, it matched Fabian’s words perfectly.”
Milana froze, caught off guard. She crawled toward Ryder, trying to hug his knees. “Forget the mistakes of my past. I had no other choice! Fabian... he threatened my life. He threatened the life of our pup.”
Ryder pushed her away in disgust. His calm mask finally cracked, and he rose to his feet, his fury exploding. “Milana, I could have forgiven you for working as a whore to pay your bills. But fucking a guest Alpha under my roof? Spying for the Royal Beta? And the bond? It’s a fucking joke. I blew up my entire life for our bond... I abandoned my wife, my beautiful Luna, for a connection that didn't even exist. You used a potion to fake a mate bond, and I destroyed everything for something that wasn't even real.”
“Ryder, please... I love you... I’m carrying your pup,” Milana wept.
“My pup? I’m not even sure it’s mine anymore. For using black magic alone, you should be executed. For the kidnapping, the murder plot, for setting the Morning Star pack on fire... I could go on, but I don’t want to waste my breath on a lowlife like you.”
“Ryder, the pup is yours, and he needs his mother! Please spare me. Give me another chance. You used to love me so much; you can love me again.”
Ryder looked at her as if she were dirt beneath his boots. He couldn't believe he had worshiped this snake, believed her over his Luna, and catered to her every whim. What a fool I was.
“You aren't fit to be a mother. You aren't even fit to clean my shoes with your tongue. I regret rescuing you; I should have left you that day to be torn apart by rogues.” He laughed darkly. “But I suppose even that rogue ambush was staged by you to meet me. Fuck, I am an idiot.”
Guards entered the study.
“Take her to the dungeon,” Ryder commanded. “She shall be cared for until the pup is born. After that—execution.”
Milana thrashed in the guards' grip. “No! You can’t do this to me! You spoiled brats were born with silver spoons, surrounded by hundreds of Omegas ready to wipe your asses. You don’t know what it’s like to claw your way out of poverty! When you don’t have meat on the table every day... when you have no options... you take every opportunity!”
Zoriana could no longer stay quiet. “We always have a choice, Milana. You could have worked, saved for an education. Even after the brothel, you could have studied. You could have been a doctor, a lawyer, a council member—you could have earned money and power honestly. But you chose the easy path: snatching someone else’s mate to become a Luna.”
“You bitch! It’s easy for you to talk when you’re the heiress to one of the richest packs! Fuck you! Fuck you all!” Milana cursed and screamed until the guards dragged her away.
“Do you think she actually has allies left?” Ryder asked, turning to Zoriana.
Zoriana sighed. “She paid vampires; they won’t give a damn about her now. She was a spy for Karel, but he’ll gladly discard her. She was an underdog, Ryder. She doesn't know anything important enough to save her.”
After spending an hour more in Ryder’s office Zoriana left. Justice had been served at Silver Moonlight, but Zoriana didn't feel like celebrating. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, her eyes fixed on the road leading back to the Royal Court. It was time to stop being the auditor and start being the executioner.