Chapter 3: When Trust Shattered

"I've never seen that bracelet before."

My voice echoed through the silent hall.

It was the truth.

I had no idea how Selena's bracelet had ended up beneath the floorboards of my cottage.

The captain placed it carefully on a velvet cloth.

"It was hidden under a loose wooden plank in the bedroom."

Hidden.

The word settled over the room like a dark cloud.

Selena covered her mouth, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I begged them not to take it," she whispered. "It was a gift from my mother."

The whispers started again.

"Why would it be in Lyra's house?"

"That can't be a coincidence."

"There has to be an explanation."

I searched the crowd, hoping—praying—someone would speak up for me.

No one did.

Not even the few people who had watched me grow up.

Their silence was louder than any accusation.

I turned to Kael.

"You know me."

He looked at the bracelet, then back at me.

"I do."

"Then say something."

His jaw tightened.

"I want to believe you."

The words struck harder than a slap.

Want.

Not do.

"I don't need you to want to believe me," I said, tears burning my eyes. "I need you to trust me."

His blue eyes filled with conflict.

"I can't ignore what's in front of me."

"And you think I can?" My voice cracked. "Someone planted that bracelet!"

Selena let out a frightened sob.

"She's lying..."

"I am not!" I snapped, my patience finally breaking.

The sharpness in my voice made Selena flinch dramatically, shrinking behind Kael once again.

Kael instinctively reached back to steady her.

That small gesture shattered something inside me.

Not because he was helping someone who looked terrified.

But because, for the first time in ten years...

He hadn't reached for me.

He reached for her.

Elder Marcus stepped forward, his face grim.

"Until this investigation is complete, the wedding cannot continue."

The words sucked every bit of warmth from the room.

The musicians quietly lowered their instruments.

The priest closed the ceremonial book.

The white roses decorating the aisle suddenly looked like flowers laid on a grave.

On the grave of my happiness.

"I'm innocent," I whispered.

No one answered.

The captain cleared his throat again.

"There is... one more thing."

A guard handed him a small leather pouch.

My stomach dropped.

"What now?"

He untied the string and emptied the contents onto the table.

A rusted iron key.

A folded map.

And...

A black hooded cloak.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Selena stared at the cloak, her breathing quickening.

"That's it..." she cried. "That's what he wore! The man who brought me food!"

I shook my head so hard my vision blurred.

"No."

The captain looked at me.

"These were found in the same place as the bracelet."

"No!"

I backed away, my entire body trembling.

"I've never seen any of those things before."

"Enough!"

The booming voice belonged to Beta Ronan, Kael's second-in-command.

He stepped forward, glaring at me.

"How much more evidence do you need before you stop lying?"

I stared at him.

Ronan had never liked me.

Even after Kael and I became mates, he had remained distant, polite only because he had to be.

Now there was open contempt in his eyes.

Kael raised a hand.

"Ronan."

But the Beta continued.

"She's the daughter of a traitor. Deception runs in her blood."

The words sliced through me.

For years I had lived with that label.

Traitor's daughter.

No matter what I achieved...

No matter how kind I tried to be...

Some people would always see my father's shadow instead of me.

"I am not my father," I said quietly.

"And your father wasn't a traitor either."

The hall fell silent.

It was the first time I had ever defended him in public.

"He died protecting this pack," I continued, my voice shaking but steady. "You condemned him without proof, just as you're condemning me now."

Some of the older pack members lowered their eyes.

Others looked uncomfortable.

But Ronan only scoffed.

"Convenient words."

I looked back at Kael.

"You once told me never to carry shame for my father's name."

A flicker of pain crossed his face.

"You told me justice mattered more than rumors."

"I remember."

"Then where is that justice now?"

He closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them again, the warmth I loved was buried beneath the weight of responsibility.

"As Alpha, I can't ignore evidence."

My heart broke.

Not because he called himself Alpha.

But because he didn't answer as my mate.

He answered as my judge.

Two guards stepped toward me.

"Lyra Blackwood," Elder Marcus announced solemnly, "until the council completes its investigation, you are to remain under pack custody."

Cold metal cuffs clicked around my wrists.

The sound echoed through the hall.

No one protested.

Not even Kael.

I looked down at the silver cuffs, then slowly raised my eyes to meet his.

"If I walk away now..." I asked softly, "will you come after me as my mate... or as your prisoner?"

His lips parted.

No words came.

That silence gave me my answer.

The guards led me toward the grand doors.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

As I crossed the aisle that was meant to lead me to my future husband, I passed the white roses scattered across the floor.

Only hours earlier, I had imagined walking this path as a bride.

Now...

I walked it in chains.

Just before the doors closed behind me, I heard Selena's quiet sob.

Then her trembling voice drifted through the hall.

"Kael..."

A pause.

"I'm scared."

His reply was gentle.

"You don't have to be anymore."

The doors slammed shut.

And with them...

The last piece of my heart fell apart.