Luna Forsaken (Arya and James) novel Chapter 33

33 The Trial Without Proof: Guilty Before the Words

Arya’s POV

The Union representative, the lead official, stood slowly.

The hall quieted, immediately.

Not out of respect for James.

Out of respect for authority.

The official’s face was cold and unreadable.

“We will not be signing the agreement,” he said.

The words dropped like stones.

A wave of shock spread.

“What?”

“No!”

“Please,”

James’s head snapped toward him.

“Wait,” James said sharply. “This is a temporary disruption. We will resolve it.”

The official didn’t blink.

“It seems the Nightwind pack is not under control,” he said calmly. “And it seems you do

not yet know how to run a pack.”

James’s nostrils flared.

“This is an isolated incident,

“1

The official cut him off.

“If you cannot protect your Luna,” he said, glancing toward the direction Leah had been

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taken, “and your child, then you will fail as an Alpha.”

The hall erupted again.

“That’s unfair!”

“Someone framed her!”

“Give us time!”

The official raised his hand slightly, and the Union guards shifted forward.

Instant silence.

His eyes bored into James.

“Giving you certification to own a pack you are not qualified to lead would be wrong,” he

said flatly.

James’s jaw clenched so hard I thought it might crack.

The official turned.

His colleagues rose.

They walked away.

Union guards formed around them as they moved toward the doors.

The hall burst into chaos.

“No!”

“Come back!”

“Please!”

James stepped forward, voice sharp. “You can’t,”

The official didn’t stop walking.

The doors opened.

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The Union officials left.

And the sound of them leaving felt like a door slamming shut on the pack’s future.

A roar of panic followed.

People shouted. Chairs scraped. Some pack members surged forward, as if they could physically stop the Union from leaving.

Guards blocked them.

James stood rigid, eyes blazing, chest rising hard.

And then Marcel moved.

Fast.

He grabbed James by the collar.

The whole hall gasped.

James’s hands lifted instinctively, not to fight, but to hold back his own rage.

Marcel yanked him closer, face inches from his.

“You will give me answers,” Marcel snarled, voice low and dangerous. “You will catch who

did this to my daughter.”

James’s eyes flashed.

“Let go,” James growled.

Marcel’s grip tightened.

“You lost the Union tonight,” Marcel hissed. “And you think you can speak to me like I’m

your equal?”

James’s voice was a warning. “Marcel.”

Marcel shoved him back slightly, still gripping his collar.

“You will fix this,” Marcel said. “Or I will.”

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A collective shudder went through the hall.

Rebecca rose slowly, smiling like she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Bring the kitchen staff,” Rebecca ordered.

Officers moved instantly.

The doors at the side of the hall opened, and two women were dragged in.

Dragged, because they could barely walk.

Their faces were swollen. Lips split. One had blood on her chin. The other’s hair was half

loose, scalp red like someone had yanked her by it repeatedly.

They were thrown onto the floor in front of Marcel, James, and the elite table.

The hall fell into a hungry hush.

I stared at them.

My stomach tightened.

I knew them.

Lisa.

And Margaret.

I knew them because I had once pulled them out of suffering, hungry and shaking in the

wilderness shortly after we established the pack.

I remembered their eyes then, desperate, grateful.

Now their eyes were wild with fear.

One of them sobbed immediately.

“We’ll confess!” she screamed. “We’ll confess!”

The other cried, voice cracking, “Please! Stop! We’ll say it!”

Marcel’s eyes narrowed. “Say it.”

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James’s jaw was clenched, his face storm-dark.

Rebecca stepped forward, her smile bright with cruelty.

“Who poisoned the Luna?” she demanded.

Lisa sobbed violently, hands shaking as she lifted them like she was begging the whole

hall.

“It was Arya!” she screamed.

The hall erupted.

Gasps. Shouts. Angry murmurs.

I froze.

For one sharp second, my body didn’t understand what my ears had heard.

Then Margaret sobbed too, nodding frantically like she was terrified the wrong hesitation

would get her killed.

“She told us!” Margaret cried. “She told us to poison Luna Leah!”

My breath hitched.

I stepped forward without thinking.

“You’re lying,” I said, voice sharp.

Lisa screamed, louder, like she needed to drown out my denial.

“We had no choice!” she cried. “She said we owed her! She said she brought us in, and she

could end us!”

Margaret nodded wildly, tears streaming down her face.

“She said Alpha James won’t do anything about it!” Margaret screamed. “She said he won’t

protect us either, so we better obey!”

The hall exploded.

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“Wicked!”

“Of course!”

“Rogue trash!”

People began yelling in waves, like the accusation gave them permission to hate me

openly.

I stared at Lisa and Margaret.

My head shook slowly, as if my body was trying to force reality back into place.

“No,” I said. “No. I never,”

I looked at James.

My eyes pleaded without me wanting them to.

Because surely, surely, he would see it.

Surely he would know I would never do something like that.

Surely he would recognise the truth in my face.

James stared at me.

His eyes were cold.

Not love.

Not trust.

Not even uncertainty.

Just a hard, shut door.

My throat tightened.

I turned back to the women.

“When did I say that?” I demanded. “When?”

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