Chapter 112

Violet

I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t even pretend to consider it.

“You’ll have to prove your case without insulting an alpha of my country, though it's rather clear that you don't have much of one. Her signature is on the page.” Then, with a smug glance in my direction, he added, “And there’s no way you’ll be getting the High Priest to overrule me this time.”

I bit back a smile, keeping my expression completely neutral. It was so hard to do, but the whole backup plan relied on how stupidly petty and predictable Owen was.

Beside me, my legal team exchanged looks, their hesitation loud in the silence. They looked like they were trying to figure out what to say. I caught the gaze of the leader of my legal team.

I nodded at him. His eyes widened, and I nodded again.

If Owen was going to play these games, if Lucas was going to refuse to just bow out gracefully, then there was no reason to hold back.

The honorless did not deserve mercy. He worked his jaw before looking back at the others and nodding. Theodore sat back. The other lawyers started rearranging documents. I took a slow breath, steadying myself. The main lawyer was still not speaking. His fingers curled against his notes. He didn’t want to. None of them did. They were worried about me—about my pride, about what this would cost me personally.

But my pride didn’t matter. Darkmoon mattered, and while this man didn't usually rely on the grittiest, dirtiest parts of the law, of circumstances, to make his case, he knew how.

When he opened his eyes, he was like an entirely different man. A vicious, blood thirsty warrior. He looked at Owen.

“Very well. Are we at leave to begin our counter?"

Owen cocked an eyebrow. "I scarcely know how you have one."

"Are we at leave or does the defense have more to say?" He asked again.

Owen worked his jaw. He glanced at me then my lawyer before looking back at Lucas's lawyer.

"The defense has nothing else, Your Majesty."

Owen lifted his chin then nodded. "Fine."

"The plaintiff calls Alpha Lucas of Twining River to the stand.”

Owen tensed, his smirk faltering just for a second before his expression darkened. “That’s unnecessary.”

“Alpha Lucas was marked as a witness on both the plaintiff and defense's behalf. Given the nature of the case, he is a principal party and is legally required to testify.”

Owen’s jaw flexed. He looked at the gallery of judges.

"You cannot force someone to testify."

"In cases regarding significant change in social, governance, and economic matters, every person on the prepared witness lists are required to testify if called," one of the judges said.

Owen narrowed his eyes. "I have already done away with the noble vanity laws."

"This is common founding law, Your Majesty."

He set his jaw. I could tell he had the urge to ignore it, but if he did, the judges would overrule him. He'd be held in contempt of his own court and how fucking embarrassing would that be? Getting his sovereignty restricted because he wanted to be petty.

He glared at me and remained silent, but he had no way around it. The fact that he thought this was so bad was more than amusing. By the time we were done, he was going to be a seething, boiling pot of petty idiocy.

Lucas’s attorney stood, clearly rattled, and turned to his client. I felt Lucas look at me, but I didn't look at him. I didn't need to. I knew he didn’t want to be up there. He wouldn’t have even been on the list if it was required due to Darkmoon's economic importance. He thought this would be easy. That Owen would hand him what he wanted without a fight.

"Very well. Alpha Lucas come up to take the stand."

Lucas rose from his seat and made his way to the witness stand. And as soon as he sat down, the judge acting as the bailiff swore him in. He grimaced at being forced to swear an oath, even if it wasn't magical compulsion.

He shouldn't have started this if he wasn't prepared for it.

Again, he looked at me, and I stared right through him.

Then, my attorney’s voice cut through the tense silence like a knife.

“Let’s talk about Nora.”

Lucas stiffened in his seat, his fingers clenching around the arms of the witness chair as my lead attorney prowled toward him like a predator.

"Let’s go back to the beginning," my attorney said, his voice smooth and unrelenting.

"I thought we were talking about the contract. Nora doesn't have anything to do with it."

"The counsel will only ask relevant questions," Owen said.

"Given that Nora is pregnant with Alpha Lucas's child and would thus benefit greatly if Alpha Lucas were to gain control of Darkmoon, perhaps to even become Luna of Darkmoon, her part to play in this is relevant. She is the definition of an interested party."

Owen scoffed. "She wasn't involved at the time of the signing of the contract."

"How can we be assured of that if we not ask the questions?"

Owen sat up. "I do not find her to be a relevant party."

"But she is an interest party," my lawyer said and turned back to Lucas. "But I believe Your Majesty is asking me to get to the heart of her part to play, so I will skip the lead up."

Lucas straightened his shoulders, forcing his expression into something neutral. But I saw it—the slight twitch in his jaw, the way his hands flexed before he stilled them. He was nervous.

"My relationship with Nora isn’t relevant to this case," he said, voice tight.

"Oh, but it is," my attorney countered easily. "Did you or did you not know Nora, intimately, before you were married to my client?"

Lucas's eyes widened. He glanced at Owen, but Owen set his jaw.

"We knew each other from Twining River."

"Intimately?" My lawyer pressed.

"We were friends."

"Why did you sleep with Nora the night of Darkmoon's celebration?"

He flushed and glanced at Owen before clearing his throat.

"That's no relevant."

"So you admit to cheating on my client the night that Darkmoon and Twining River were meant to be celebrating unity."

"I--"

"Those tapes have already been submitted, certifying that you indeed took your friend back to the hotel room you had been sharing with your wife to have sex at the same time that my client was branded with the mark of the unwanted."

The image of the brand on my arm appeared on the screen, the video of me downstairs as it appeared and the surveillance of the common area of the suite we'd shared. Lucas had barely waited until the door was closed behind them to lift Nora up. His hands were everywhere, yanking up her dress. I could almost feel the mark burning its way onto my arm the way it had that night when he thrust into her.

"Given your enthusiasm in this video, I ask again, what was your relationship with Nora before you married Violet? Do remember you are under oath."

Lucas shut his mouth. "I don't have to answer that."

My lawyer smiled, coldly. "No, but your lack of answer is certainly suspicious. Were you in contact with Nora over the course of your marriage with my client?"

"No."

"And why is that? Surely friends stay in contact?"

He set his jaw. "I don't have to answer that."

He nodded. "When was the last time you saw Nora before the night of the celebration?"

Lucas glared at him. "Before I married Violet."

"Was it before you started dating my client?"

He said nothing, and the faintest flutter of trepidation went through me. I breathed, and breathed and breathed, keeping my expression neutral. Observing.

It was as if I had stepped outside of my body to watch. Emotions churned and raged in me, but I knew from the look on Lucas and Owen's faces that they had no idea what I was feeling.

Good.

Let them think I found out before them. Let them think I knew.

"For what reason did you not go through a mate confirmation ceremony with my client?"

"We had one. A private one."

"There are no records of it, meaning that no priest was present. Per the photos and prior testimony, Twining River set it up, hosted it, and you had not requested a priest's presence."

Before Lucas could formulate a response, the heavy doors to the courtroom swung open. A flurry of movement drew everyone's attention as my secondary attorney rushed in, gripping a thick folder of documents. He moved quickly, passing copies to my lead attorney and the judges' panel before placing one in front of me.

I frowned, flipping the pages open. The moment my eyes landed on the first line, my breath caught. The words blurred for a second as I processed what I was seeing.

What?