Chapter 42: Accusation

Selene’s POV

"That can’t be true, Selene. You’re just making this up. It’s not possible," Lucian said to me.

"I’m not just telling you an observation. I know she’s the one who did it," I replied.

He stood up from the bed where he’d been sitting beside me. "Enough! How are you sure of this? This is an accusation."

"I’m sure because she’s the only one with a motive. She was supposed to be your Luna ... the one carrying your child ... but..."

"Enough, Selene. Don’t cross the line."

Lucian was getting angry already, like he always did. But I didn’t care anymore. He needed to hear the truth.

"This is a mother crashing out over her dead child. You don’t know what it means to carry a life inside you and lose it, so just investigate ... but I stand by what I know," I said, my voice cracking with rage.

"What do you mean? Wasn’t I the father? I’m just as hurt," he said.

"Then you have to look into what I’m saying," I finally said, and held my peace.

But I wasn’t planning to let this slide. I wasn’t going to watch this go down the drain like Leah’s murder. Like Freya’s. No.

"Okay, I’ll look into it. I promise. But calm down in the meantime."

I didn’t answer him. He actually expected a mother who’d just had a miscarriage ... whose life had been targeted ... to calm down and stay still.

Lucian held me by the shoulders and pulled me into him, patting my back. "I’m sorry, Selene. This shouldn’t have happened."

Then he left my room to go do whatever the hell he wanted to do. I wasn’t sure he was going to follow through on anything. He hadn’t even believed me to begin with. So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I couldn’t even open my phone. Messages poured in from everywhere ... condolences for a child that had been locked inside my womb, a child that could have meant redemption for all of us.

The only person I responded to immediately was Mr. Cipher. He’d sent a long message, and it was heartfelt. It made me cry even harder.

Then there was the stupidity of social media. People using someone else’s tragedy to create content. How disrespectful and disgusting could they be?

They said that after all the baby showers I had hosted, I still lost the child. "There’s no hope for an outcast whore," one comment read.

That shit sent me over the edge.

I stepped out of my room in a rage and went looking for that pretentious bitch.

She was standing in the hallway that led to the council chambers.

"It’s you. It was you." I grabbed Tessa by the collar of her dress. I wasn’t choking her ... but I wanted her to feel me.

"Selene, let me go! What are you saying?" she said, putting on that wide-eyed innocent act.

"You’re a murderer. You’ve been murdering people from the very beginning," I screamed, my voice filling the entire hallway.

Guards flooded the space almost instantly, pulling me away from her, prying my fingers from her collar.

"Arrest her ... she’s a killer, a jealous bitch," Tessa said, straightening her clothes with that irritating composure. "I know you’re angry and upset that you lost your child, but things happen. We’re deeply sorry for your loss."

I shook off the grip of the guards and launched forward, driving a blow straight into her face. It connected before anyone could stop me ... unexpected and clean. Blood appeared on her lips. The guards grabbed both my arms this time and locked them tight.

"I’m letting this slide because you’re mourning. Mind yourself, Selene," Tessa said, wiping the blood from her mouth.

"What are you going to do? Kill me too? Like you did to Leah? Like you did to Freya? Now my child? I was your target as well, but I’m still standing here ... unfortunately for you."

"Enough. Guards, please take her away before I do something to a mourning mother that we’ll all regret," Tessa said coolly.

They started dragging me back toward my room.

"Your judgment is coming, Tessa!" I screamed as they hauled me down the corridor. "And it’ll be a nightmare you’ll never wake up from!"

They shoved me into my room and locked the door behind me. The rage inside me hadn’t been satisfied. The only thing that would give me any sense of peace was the moment I saw Tessa face what she deserved. She was the one who did it, and I wasn’t hearing anything else.

Then the door clicked open. It was one of the guards.

"You’re needed at the council now. Courtesy of the king and the elders," he said.

I stood up, dressed myself properly, and walked out with him.

I stood before the council.

The presiding elder spoke in the presence of the Alpha and Beta: "We’ve heard you’ve been causing a disturbance over an accusation. Make your plea."

As he finished speaking, Tessa entered. They’d called her in too, positioning us both before the council.

I pointed directly at her. "She’s the one who killed my baby. She caused the fire that almost killed me in my sleep."

Every camera in the room went up. I didn’t care. I didn’t care if I looked unhinged. She had done too much for me to hold my tongue.

"How do you claim this? Do you have proof?" the elder asked.

"Yes," I said. My heart was pounding hard ... I was surrounded by people, standing before a council that had once judged me falsely and thrown me into prison. But on second thought, I wasn’t afraid of them anymore. This council, this so-called justice ... I’d been wounded by it enough to stop fearing it.

"She came to me once, about a month before I became pregnant. She told me to get my hands off Lucian and threatened to make my life a living hell if I didn’t."

The entire room gasped.

"Is that true, Tessa?" the elder asked.

Of course she wouldn’t admit it. Defaulters never did ... not even when justice was staring them in the face.

"She’s accusing me falsely, sir. She has no proof. I have no reason to do what she’s claiming," Tessa said.

I laughed ... loudly, deliberately. "Sir, she’s a liar and a..."

"Enough!" The elder cut me off sharply. "I didn’t ask you to speak. Alpha, the floor is yours."

Lucian’s voice was measured but firm. "This was my child too, and since the fire clearly didn’t start on its own ... I was there, I saw it ... we will conduct a separate, thorough investigation. I will come down with full force on whoever is found guilty. In the meantime, the movement of both parties ... Tessa and Selene ... is to be restricted."

It was stamped and approved.

"The king forgot to add something, and I’ll be doing it on his behalf," Kael said, stepping forward.

"There is to be no physical contact between the two of you until the investigation is concluded. Any violation will be treated as a separate offence," he stated.

The council was dismissed.

We went our separate ways, but one thing was clear in my mind as I walked out of that room ... I was going to prove Tessa guilty. She had crossed the line this time, and I wasn’t going to rest until everyone saw exactly who she was.