Chapter 60: Lying Slut!
Liora’s POV
Yes, Iris didn’t deserve the triplets, but neither did Amelia. I glanced at Iris, whose expression remained confused, her eyes darting between Amelia and the triplets, her brows furrowed as if trying to piece together a puzzle she didn’t understand.
Shortly, the priest maintained control as raised his hands and called out, "Silence, please! We must address this claim with the respect it demands." His voice was nearly drowned out by the rising murmurs voices in the crowd. Pack members whispers turning into shouts of words.
"Whore!" a woman called out from the crowd.
"Lying slut!" Said by a man. "You are a disgrace. I wouldn’t raise a child like you." He added.
"You think you can ruin this day?" another spat, her eyes blazing with scorn. "Wrong move child."
"Pathetic wench, crawling for power!" a grizzled elder muttered, shaking his head.
"Disgrace to the pack!" shouted a young warrior, tossing a crumpled trash at Amelia.
"Shame on you, trying to trap the alphas!" a mother sneered, clutching her child. "You don’t even fit in."
"Lowly schemer!"
"Desperate harlot!"
"You’ll pay for this!" The curses kept coming. Their faces filled with outrage.
Amelia tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hair was disheveled, some strands clinging to her wet face as the triplets Cade, Zane, and Kael stayed, their faces unreadable.
Amelia’s claim was like a bombshell, yes, but it was also a crack in the perfect facade of this wedding. If what she said appeared to be true, a supreme alpha impregnating an unmated woman was no small matter, it was a mandate that could shift destinies, rewrite futures.
The chaos was becoming too much now. In order not to act left out, I stepped out from behind the pillar as I stormed toward her in fury.
"What are you doing, Amelia?" I snapped, my voice cutting through the crowd. I stopped a few feet from her, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Why are you trying to ruin this union? You must have gotten pregnant by some low-ranking werewolf, and now you’re trying to pin it on the triplets!" She said nothing. Her tears fell faster now as if my words had shattered something inside her. Well, I do not care.
The crowd’s reaction was immediate and brutal as a woman approached, her face twisted with disgust at Amelia. "Whore! Are you not ashamed?" the woman spat, her voice carrying over the growing clamor.
Another pack member, a burly man with a grizzled beard, threw an empty goblet, which clattered against the floor near Amelia’s feet. More insults came from different people, a chorus of condemnation raining down on her. "Liar!" "Disgrace!" "You should be punished!" Another said as she pushed Amelia.
Amelia’s knees buckled slightly, but she caught herself. She didn’t deserve my sympathy. Why should I empathize with her? Well, all I am interested in is for my own interest and goals, nothing more. Her hurt and emotions are not valid to me.
Suddenly, a booming voice cut through the chaos, silencing the crowd in an instant. "Enough!" Alpha King Darius’s voice rose from his throne. His eyes burning with a fury that made even me take a step back. His alpha presence pressing down on every soul in the room. "Guards!" he called, pointing at Amelia. "Bring her forward!"
Two burly guards, their armor clanking as they moved swiftly through the crowd. They seized Amelia by the arms, their grips firm and cruel, as they dragged her toward the front him, her tear-streaked face turned downward as she couldn’t look up to Darius. The crowd parted, their murmurs quieter now. When the guards stopped before Darius, they forced Amelia to her knees.
Darius stepped down from his throne stage and was now standing in front of her. He towered over Amelia as he leaned forward. Without warning, his hand lashed out, landing on Amelia’s cheek in a slap, sending Amelia fall to the side, her hand flying to her face as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The crowd gasped, some leaning forward eagerly, others recoiling with no sympathy.
"How dare you interrupt this sacred ceremony?" Darius’s voice growled. He straightened, his eyes sweeping over the crowd as he addressed them. "This is the work of an enemy, someone seeking to undermine the significance of this union!" His voice rose, commanding absolute attention. "They wish to sow discord, to weaken our pack at its most pivotal moment!"
"Yes!" The crowd roared in agreement, others nodded fervently. I glanced at my father, seated a few rows back. His smile was gone now as he caught my eye for a moment.
Just then, Darius turned back to Amelia, his expression cold. "Take her to the dungeon," he ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument. At least she will join Lucas there.
The guards hauled Amelia to her feet, her body limp in their grasp. She didn’t cry out, didn’t plead too, but her eyes darted towards Iris and towards me one last time. The guards dragged her away, her footsteps fading as the heavy doors at the back of the hall slammed shut behind her.
Darius raised his hands, his presence commanding order once more. "The ceremony will continue!" he declared. The priest stepped forward again as he finally found his words. "Let us resume this union," he said, his voice almost hesitant.
The triplets turned back to Iris, who stood frozen at the altar. She still looked like someone who wasn’t in her right state of mind. Of course, she wasn’t as the priest read the sacred oath.
Once done, he proclaimed them husband and wife. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore. The sight of the triplets getting the sacred blessings from the priest, even after Amelia’s claim, was a knife twisting in my chest.
Just as I turned to leave, I heard a male familiar voice behind my back,
"Isn’t it fun to see you humiliated this way?" The voice said.