My father stepped forward, his face unreadable, but my mother’s was twisted with grief and fury.
"How can we believe a liar and a murderer?" my father snarled. "Even the Moonstone showed it was you!" His hand shot out, gripping my throat.
I gasped. My lungs burned, my vision blurred.
"Would the Moonstone lie?!" he bellowed. "Why won't you just tell us the truth?! You're evil—you deserve to die!"
I didn’t fight back. I just stared at him, the man who once called me his daughter.
Then I smiled bitterly.
"Then kill me," I rasped. "Isn’t that what you want? The murderer dead?"
His hands trembled against my skin. Then, suddenly, he released me, and I collapsed onto the marble floor, gasping for air.
"Kill you?" His voice was steel. "No. You deserve to suffer for what you've done. I won’t let a Hansen get away with murder—not even my own blood. As Alpha of Redmoon, I will see that justice is served."
I pushed myself up, my limbs weak but my resolve burning.