Chapter 3

Victoria's POV

"I… I didn't…" I choked out, but the words were strangled in my throat as his grip tightened around my neck.

The pressure was unbearable. It felt as though my neck would snap at any moment under his terrifying strength. His dark aura pressed me against the wall, making it impossible for me to move. Tears began rolling down my cheeks as I struggled desperately to breathe.

"Do not lie to me, murderer!" the man roared, his pitch-black eyes burning with hatred. "I found you kneeling beside my wife's body, covered in her blood! And you expect me to believe you're innocent?"

I shook my head weakly, desperately gasping for air. My hands wrapped around his thick wrist as I tried to pull his fingers away from my throat, but it was useless. I was completely at his mercy.

Through my blurry vision, I could see several guards standing near the doorway. More people were gathering outside, drawn by Vanessa's earlier screams.

Then I saw my father.

Alpha Timothy stood at the front of the crowd, his face twisted with anger and embarrassment. Beside him was my stepmother, Lady Martha, who looked at me with disgust. Vanessa stood a little distance away, watching everything.

And do you know what hurt the most? My own father didn't even look concerned that I was being strangled right in front of him.

"Your Majesty, please!" Alpha Timothy stepped forward, bowing his head respectfully. "That girl is nothing but a useless maid, the biggest mistake of my past! If she killed the Queen, our pack had nothing to do with it. We will gladly help you execute her!"

My heart broke all over again.

Seriously? His own daughter was being accused of murder, and instead of asking what had happened, he was already offering to help kill her?

"Shut up!" the Alpha King roared.

A terrifying wave of Alpha pressure swept through the bedroom, forcing my father and several other wolves to their knees. Even the guards lowered their heads under the weight of his power.

The King brought his face closer to mine, his sharp claws digging deeper into my neck.

"Death is too easy for you," he whispered coldly. "You took my wife. You took my unborn child. I will make you suffer for what you've done."

"I didn't…" I struggled to speak. "Please… I found her… like that…"

"She's lying, Your Majesty!"

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted us.

It was Vanessa.

I forced my eyes toward her and saw her stepping forward, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

"Your Majesty, please don't believe her!" Vanessa sobbed, pressing a trembling hand against her chest. "I saw everything!"

The Alpha King turned toward her.

"What did you see?" he demanded.

"I went to the Queen's bedroom because I wanted to personally welcome Her Majesty to our pack," Vanessa began. "But when I got there, I heard strange noises coming from inside. I opened the door to check, and that was when I saw Victoria attacking the Queen!"

My eyes widened.

What the hell was she talking about?

"She was hitting Her Majesty with a metal rod!" Vanessa cried. "The Queen was already on the floor, begging her to stop, but Victoria wouldn't listen!"

Gasps filled the bedroom.

"That's a lie!" I tried to protest, but the King's grip around my throat made it almost impossible for me to speak.

"Where is the weapon?" the Alpha King demanded.

Vanessa immediately pointed toward the floor beside the bed.

"There, Your Majesty! That's what she used!"

Everyone turned toward where she was pointing. Lying near the edge of the bloodstained carpet was a heavy metal rod. Its thick end was covered in dark red blood.

My heart skipped a beat.

Where the hell had that come from?

I hadn't noticed it when I rushed toward the Queen. I had been too terrified by the sight of her bleeding to pay attention to anything else.

"She dropped it when she saw me!" Vanessa continued, her voice trembling with fake fear. "I was terrified that she would attack me too, so I ran toward the door and started screaming for help!"

I stared at her in complete disbelief.

How could someone lie so easily?

"Why?" the King suddenly whispered, turning toward me.

His grip loosened slightly, allowing me to draw some air into my burning lungs.

"Why would you do something so cruel to my wife?"

I shook my head desperately. "Your Majesty, please… I didn't kill her. When I entered the room, Vanessa was already here! She was standing beside the bed! I only came because Mrs. Agnes told me the Queen needed me!"

"That's a lie!" Vanessa cried immediately. "Your Majesty, she's only trying to blame me because she's jealous of me!"

"Jealous?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"Yes!" Vanessa sobbed. "She's hated me since we were children! And now she's trying to drag me into her crime!"

"Enough!" the King roared.

His voice silenced everyone.

For a moment, his pitch-black eyes flickered with something other than anger.

Pain.

"My wife was human," he whispered, his voice breaking. "She had no wolf to protect her. She trusted the people in this pack to keep her safe."

His gaze moved toward the Queen's lifeless body.

"She was carrying my child…" His voice trembled. "We were supposed to raise our baby together."

Tears gathered in his eyes, and despite everything that was happening to me, I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He had lost his wife and unborn child in the same afternoon.

But I hadn't killed them!

"Your Majesty…" I whispered. "Please believe me…"

He turned toward me again, his expression twisting with rage.

"YOU MURDERED MY FAMILY!"

Before I could defend myself, he violently threw me across the bedroom.

I screamed as my body slammed against the stone wall. A sharp, blinding pain exploded through my back and ribs, and I collapsed onto the floor, gasping desperately for breath.

I tried to push myself up, but another terrible pain shot through my ribs, forcing me back down. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

Through my blurry vision, I watched the Alpha King walk toward the Queen and drop to his knees beside her.

"Evelyn…" he whispered, gathering her lifeless body into his arms.

His large hands trembled as he gently brushed a strand of hair away from her pale face.

"Baby, please… wake up."

The room fell silent.

Then his broad shoulders began to shake.

He was crying.

The most powerful Alpha in the kingdom was sobbing like a man whose entire world had been destroyed.

"Evelyn, please don't leave me…" he cried, holding her tightly against his chest. "Please… I can't lose you too…"

I felt tears rolling down my cheeks as I watched him. It was heartbreaking, but I was also terrified because this grieving man believed I was responsible for his pain.

I painfully turned my head, and my eyes landed on Vanessa.

She was standing beside Lady Martha, pretending to wipe tears from her cheeks. But when our eyes met, her lips slowly curved into a small, wicked smile.

My stomach dropped.

Had she killed the Queen herself? Or had she simply found the body before I arrived and decided to use the opportunity to destroy me?

I didn't know. All I knew was that she had been standing in that bedroom before I entered, and now she was lying to everyone about what had happened.

"Father…" I called weakly.

Alpha Timothy turned toward me, his expression filled with disgust.

"Please…" I whispered, struggling to breathe. "I didn't do it. You have to believe me."

He stared at me for a moment before looking away.

"Don't call me your father," he said coldly. "I have no daughter who would commit such a terrible crime."

Those words hurt almost as much as the pain in my broken body.

Even now? Even when my life was hanging by a thread, he couldn't find it in his heart to believe me?

Then, slowly, the Alpha King's sobbing stopped.

He gently lowered his wife's body onto the floor and brushed his fingers across her cheek one last time before standing up.

His eyes were still wet with tears, but his expression had changed into something much more frightening.

The entire bedroom seemed to grow darker as his Alpha aura spread through the air. Even my father lowered his head.

The King slowly turned toward me.

My heart pounded wildly.

"Your Majesty…" I whispered, trying desperately to sit up. "Please…"

But he didn't let me finish.

"Guards!"

Two royal guards immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty!"

The Alpha King pointed a trembling finger directly at me.

"Take her out," he ordered, his deep voice echoing through the bedroom.

My heart stopped.

"Your Majesty, please! I didn't kill her!"

His expression didn't change.

"Take her away and have her executed," the Alpha King ordered coldly.