Chapter 3

Over the next two days, I had my Beta, Aiden, gather all of my medical files, dating back to my birth. Every physical examination report had been double-encrypted and certified by both the Pack's private hospital and a top-tier witch coven.

Every single document proved the same fact: it was physically impossible for me to have assaulted or forcibly marked Selena. I certainly didn't possess the male anatomy required to do what she claimed.

But I wanted far more than that. I signed a seven-figure contract with a private investigator. Three days. I wanted a complete record of her movements for the past three months.

The return on my investment came faster than I expected.

Unsurprisingly, on the very night she claimed I had brutally assaulted her in my office, she was in bed with a rogue in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel.

She was draped over the rogue's shoulders, their movements captured with damning clarity.

But another piece of information was what truly made my fingers pause. The truth was, Selena's depravity and greed far exceeded my imagination.

Her phone's communication logs had been decrypted. Over the past two months, she had over four hundred calls with an encrypted number.

The number belonged to a man named Damien, once a high-ranking executive in the Blackstone Group whom my father had personally promoted. When I took over, he was the first to kneel and swear fealty.

The very next year, he sold the Pack's core secrets to a rival, costing us an entire northern mining territory.

When I found out, I crippled one of his legs in the dungeons below the packhouse. But, in light of his past service, I allowed him to remain as a low-level security guard.

I thought he would have learned his lesson, but I had underestimated him. Now he had tangled himself up with Selena. Still, it wasn't hard to understand. After all, his hatred for me was bone-deep.

Shortly after my legal team took over the case, Damien posted a video. He sat in a wheelchair, the empty pant leg where his limb should have been deliberately folded and aimed at the camera.

He sat there, facing the camera, his eyes red and his voice choked with emotion.

"I was once the closest person to Raven. I watched him grow up. I treated him like a younger brother."

"But that night, I saw him drag Selena into his private office with my own eyes. She was crying, begging for mercy."

"I tried to rush over and stop him." His hand trembled as he pointed to his severed leg. "He didn't just threaten me with his Alpha presence, telling me if I dared to leak a single word, he would kill my entire family! He also destroyed my leg."

"A creature like that doesn't deserve to live under the light of the Moon Goddess!"

The werewolf network instantly descended into a frenzy.

[We have a witness and physical evidence! Send this perverted rapist to the electric chair!]

[Scum who uses power to prey on Omegas must go to hell!]

[What is the High Council waiting for? For him to rape someone else?]

The entire web was calling for my death.

For the second time, the Chairman of the High Council forcibly summoned me to the Council building.

This time, he didn't bother with pleasantries. He sat in the main seat, his eyes burning with unconcealed fury as he looked at me.

"Raven."

"I gave you time. Now you tell me, what in the world are you playing at?"

"Fourteen Pack Alphas have co-signed a petition demanding your immediate execution. Three border territories are using your case as a pretext to rebel."

He took a step closer.

"Are you treating a Council inquiry as some personal publicity stunt? You've thrown the entire kingdom's commercial order and hierarchical laws into chaos!"

"Respected Chairman, I only need one stage." My voice was quiet.

"There's an unwritten rule in the werewolf world. As long as an Omega cries loud enough, they can nail any Alpha to a pillar of shame. If I suppress this with a few words today, there will be a second Selena tomorrow, and then a third."

"We Alphas, who have bled and fought for our positions, will eventually become fair game for anyone to attack."

"Since this scandal has already pushed Blackstone into the spotlight, I am formally requesting that the Council grant me a public trial of the highest level. I want to confront my accuser face-to-face, in front of the live cameras of the entire web."

The Chairman's oppressive aura receded slightly. "Are you saying this sex scandal isn't sensational enough? You have to turn it into a national circus?"

I dropped to one knee, assuming a perfectly standard posture of submission. "I am merely exercising my legal right to a public defense, Chairman. Bringing the truth to light is the only way to uphold the authority of the Alphas."

The vast trial hall fell into a suffocating silence. After a long moment, the Chairman let out a cold snort. "The Council approves. The consequences will be your own to bear."

The moment the notice was issued, the entire werewolf social network crashed. The public trial would be broadcast live across the network, with unrestricted camera access.

Selena thought the Council's public trial was a direct ticket to my guillotine. She eagerly posted a celebratory photo on Wolf-Gram, holding a glass of premium champagne.

The caption read: "Tomorrow, that monster will go to hell before the Moon Goddess. Justice will prevail!"

The post was flooded with likes and supportive comments.

I, however, smiled at the photo. The same fools cheering for her today would be the ones tearing her to shreds tomorrow.

I couldn't wait to see how an Omega who built her case on tears and public opinion would survive a backlash of that magnitude.

The night before the trial, a video call came through.

On the screen, Chloe was sobbing so hard her shoulders shook, her desperation almost palpable. "Sis, this is too risky! What if the entire court believes her tears?"

"All werewolves think Omegas are weak and need protection! As long as she puts on that pitiful act, they'll nail the crime to you!"

I raised my hand, my fingertips touching her face through the screen.

"Chloe, listen to me."

"Omegas need protection because the Moon Goddess created them with gentler strength and sensitive souls."

"But the Moon Goddess also created female Alphas. And we never need anyone's protection."

"Because we are the ones who make the rules."