Chapter 95 Pity and Fear
Maureen Laskovic:
The files were spread across the desk in front of me.
Every page. Every name. Every plan.
I stood there for a long moment, staring at the proof of betrayal written in Cassian’s own hand. Vuk was not in the Hall. And that meant this was mine to handle.
Mine.
I did not hesitate.
“Summon him,” I ordered.
The guards moved at once.
When Cassian entered the Hall, he walked in like he always did — chin high, shoulders back, as if he still believed he had power here.
I did not give him time to speak.
“Kneel.”
The word echoed.
He stopped.
His eyes narrowed at me, insult flashing across his face. For a moment, I thought he might refuse.
Then he looked around.
At the guards.
At the council members watching.
Slowly, stiffly, he dropped to his knees in the center of the Hall.
“My lady…” he began carefully. “Have you summoned me to disgrace me?”
I did not answer.
The maid at my side stepped forward and placed a glove in my hand.
I slid it on slowly.
Deliberately.
Then I descended the steps from the throne.
Each step felt heavier than the last. Not from doubt — but from rage I was forcing myself to control.
I stopped in front of him.
For a second, I simply looked at him.
At the man who thought he could move in my home like a shadow.
The man who thought I would never see him.
My hand moved before he could blink.
The crack of the slap rang through the Hall.
His head snapped to the side.
Gasps rippled behind us.
He turned back toward me, shock burning in his eyes. His mouth opened — that tongueless, ruined mouth straining to form words —
I struck him again.
And again.
And again.
Each blow sharper than the last.
“My lady!” he forced out hoarsely. “Care to explain why I’m being punished?”
Explain?
Explain?
I leaned down slightly so we were face to face.
“You sent Celeste to spy on me,” I said, my voice low but shaking with fury. “You dared to plant someone in my household.”
His eyes flickered.
Just slightly.
“And not only that,” I continued, louder now, so the Hall could hear me clearly, “you plotted against my husband. Against your Alpha.”
Murmurs broke out.
Cassian straightened as much as he could from his knees.
“Without evidence, this is—”
I did not let him finish.
I turned sharply and signaled to the guards.
They brought the stack of files forward.
I took them myself.
Then I threw them at his chest.
The papers hit him and scattered across the marble floor, sliding in every direction.
“Your evidence,” I said coldly.
The Hall fell silent.
“Every meeting. Every secret message. Every pathetic attempt to undermine the Alpha.”
His face drained of color as he recognized his own handwriting scattered at his knees.
I stepped closer, my shadow falling over him.
“You thought I would not find out?” I asked quietly. “You thought I was blind?”
For the first time since he entered the Hall—
He looked afraid.
“You do not send spies into my home,” I continued, my voice rising despite myself. “You do not lay hands on those under my protection. And you do not conspire against my husband while standing under his roof.”
I stared down at him.
“Are you aware of what you’ve done?”
He was silent for a long second.
Then, slowly, “Yes.”
A small chuckle followed.
Then another.
“After everything…” he muttered hoarsely. “Fuck.”
Before the guards could react, he pushed to his feet.
Gasps filled the Hall as he turned, not to me—but to the elders seated above.
“So what if I planned treason?” he spat. “And what? You sit there on your carved chairs pretending to be wise while the creature you call Alpha destroys everything around him!”
The Hall erupted in whispers.
“He is meant to protect!” Cassian shouted. “But he kills! He takes! He ruins! Just like his father—the devil himself!”
My blood ran cold.
“Stand up for once in your coward lives and say the truth!” he roared at the elders. “Your Alpha is nothing but a devil in wolf’s clothing!”
I did not remember moving.
By the time he finished speaking, my hand had already struck him.
The crack echoed like thunder.
“You will not speak of my husband in that tone!” I shouted. “Do you understand me?!”
He looked at me, cheek reddening, and then—
He burst into laughter.
Wild. Bitter. Almost unhinged.
“Of course,” he mocked.
I stepped back slowly, forcing myself to breathe.
Then I turned to face the elders and judges.
“You have seen today the mastermind behind the evil creeping through this pack,” I said steadily. “Him. A traitor. A conspirator.”
I paused.
“And a rapist.”
The word dropped heavy into the Hall.
Cassian’s laughter stopped.
“Rapist?” one of the elders demanded sharply. “Who?”
“Who else are we discussing?” I replied coldly.
Cassian’s face twisted. “What lie is this now?”
“And where did you get this information?” another elder pressed. “From the sky?”
I did not look at them.
“Bring her in.”
The doors opened.
Celeste stepped inside.
She looked fragile. Pale. Bruises faintly visible beneath the soft fabric she wore. She leaned slightly on a guard for support.
The moment Cassian saw her—
He flinched.
Just barely.
But I saw it.
I turned to Celeste gently.
“Speak,” I said. “Tell the Hall what happened.”
Her voice trembled as she began.
“He forced me to spy on the Luna,” she whispered. “Every day he demanded reports. When I refused… when I told him I could not betray her anymore… he locked me in his chamber.”
Cassian shook his head instantly. “This is madness.”
She continued, tears sliding down her face.
“He said if I did not obey, he would make sure no one would ever believe me. He said I belonged to him. That I was nothing.”
“That is a lie!” Cassian snapped. “I never touched her!”
Celeste’s breathing grew uneven.
“He tore my dress,” she said softly. “He held me down. I begged him to stop. I told him I would do whatever he wanted. I just wanted him to stop.”
The Hall was silent now.
Every eye on her.
“He laughed,” she added weakly. “He said no one would choose a servant over him.”
Cassian’s face darkened with fury. “I would never lie with someone like her!”
The insult hung in the air.
Celeste recoiled as if struck.
“My lord…” she whispered brokenly. “Why are you lying?”
He turned toward the elders desperately. “This is a setup! She is twisting everything! Yes, I questioned her loyalty! Yes, I disciplined her for incompetence! But I did not touch her!”
Celeste began to cry harder.
“He said if I spoke, he would kill me,” she added. “He said he would say I seduced him. That I was desperate for power.”
“That is not true!” Cassian roared.
“He threatened to burn my family’s grave site,” she continued through sobs. “He said he would make me watch.”
Murmurs rose.
Cassian looked genuinely shaken now. “I never said that! This is insanity!”
I studied him carefully.
He looked angry.
Desperate.
But it was Celeste who looked shattered.
Bruised.
Bleeding the night she arrived at our gates.
I stepped forward slowly.
“You deny forcing her?” I asked.
“Yes!” he barked. “I deny it!”
“You deny beating her?”
“I disciplined her!” he corrected angrily. “She was spying poorly! She was failing!”
The admission echoed.
A ripple of shock spread through the Hall.
“You admit you ordered her to spy,” I said quietly.
His mouth snapped shut.
Too late.
Celeste covered her face and wept.
“He said I was property,” she whispered. “That no one would care if I disappeared.”
Cassian lunged forward as if to shout again, but the guards seized him this time.
“I did not rape her!” he roared, struggling. “I may hate your husband, but I am not that!”
His voice cracked at the end.
The elders exchanged uneasy looks.
And I stood there—
Heart pounding.
Fury burning.
Watching a man dig his own grave with every word he spoke.