Hazel was trying to figure out what was true.
The former maid dropped to her knees in the middle of the hall.
She pressed her forehead to the floor and spoke in a loud, shaky voice.
“I am sorry for doing unforgivable things,” she cried.
“Please forgive me for the confusion I have caused.”
Everyone stared at her in surprise.
No one understood what she meant yet.
Sarah lifted her head and pointed at Hazel.
“Guards, seize her!”
Two guards stepped forward at once.
They grabbed Hazel’s arms again.
Hazel’s eyes went wide.
“What did I do?” she asked, her voice small.
She could not understand why this was happening.
Scarlett stood a few steps away with a beautiful, pleased smile on her lips.
The sight of that smile made Hazel’s stomach turn cold.
Scarlett and Sarah working together could only mean trouble.
Neither of them had ever been good people.
Luna Charlotte clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms.
Tears filled her eyes, but she forced them back and said nothing.
Before Sarah could say more, Ryan stood up from his seat.
He walked straight toward Hazel.
His eyes looked sad—the kind of sad that Hazel hated seeing on his face.
“Tell me, Hazel,” he said in a low voice.
“What other secrets are they hiding from me?”
Hazel’s tears spilt over.
She shook her head hard.
“I have no secrets,” she said.
Her voice broke.
She looked around at everyone in the hall.
“You know all my secrets, Ryan. You know everything.”
Ryan’s frown grew deeper.
His face turned cold and hard.
“Fine,” he said.
“Since you don’t want to tell me, I hope you prove yourself.” He turned and walked away without looking back.
“Ryan?!” Hazel called after him.
He did not stop.
He did not even turn his head.
“Wow…” Hazel whispered in disbelief. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Her chest suddenly felt empty.
Someone in the crowd let out a mean laugh.
“What’s going on here? Ryan, she said?” the person mocked in a high voice.
More laughter followed.
“I don’t even know if she really thought Ryan would mark her! What wishful thinking!”
The cruel words bounced around the hall.
Hazel stood frozen while the guards still held her arms.
After Ryan sat down again, Sarah rose to her feet.
She looked at Hazel with a helpless expression that did not match her eyes.
“Hazel, dear,” she said slowly.
“You are not the biological daughter of Alpha Gabriel.”
It felt like cold water had been poured over Hazel’s head.
“What?” she whispered.
She turned quickly toward her mother.
Luna Charlotte looked away.
Tears ran down her cheeks, but she still said nothing.
Emily’s brows shot up.
She folded her arms tightly across her chest.
“What type of bullshit is that?” Emily asked.
Her voice was sharp.
She had never liked that Hazel was weak, but this was something she could not accept so easily.
Whispers exploded through the hall.
“No wonder she never shifted…”
“No wonder she stayed human under the full moon…”
“That explains everything!”
People nodded as if the words made perfect sense to them.
Luna Charlotte finally spoke.
Her voice shook.
“Do you have any proof?” she asked Sarah.
Hazel and she share the same family scent, and they look alike in many ways.
Lady Mira, the High Priest, turned her calm eyes on Sarah.
She still stood tall with her cane in hand.
That was exactly what brought her here!
“All Alpha babies are examined by me,” Lady Mira said.
“Are you saying I did not do my job well?”
Sarah smiled as if she had prepared for this exact question.
She shook her head respectfully.
“I was also there the night Luna Charlotte first gave birth. After you examined the baby and gave her back to us, something happened later that night.”
“The Luna suddenly fainted. I had to put the baby in a safe place so I could take care of the Luna. When the Luna woke up, I went to check on the baby… and I…I noticed something strange.”
Gasps filled the room.
Lady Mira raised one brow.
“What was wrong with the baby?”
Scarlett rolled her eyes, but Sarah stayed calm.
“The baby’s hair was already long,” Sarah said.
“And I had a strange feeling I could not explain. But I did not pay close attention because the baby still looked similar enough to confuse me.”
Lady Mira’s cane hit the floor hard.
The sound made everyone flinch.
“Why did you not tell me?” the High Priest demanded.
Her voice was cold.
She was known for always standing on the side of truth.
She held the rank of fourth-in-command under the Werewolf King.
Sarah sighed.
“That is why I stayed so protective of the Alpha’s daughter for years. I was afraid the baby had been switched. But when the child showed no strange signs, I decided to close my eyes to it.”
“What makes you suddenly speak now?” Lady Mira asked.
Sarah’s smile widened.
“My instinct was right the moment she failed to shift on her first night… and every night after that.”
People exchanged looks.
Even Hazel looked lost and nervous.
She had no idea this was coming.
Lady Mira still looked like a brick wall.
She raised her brow again.
“So? How is that an excuse? My own son is a late bloomer.”
Sarah quickly bowed low.
“It is not only that, my lady. We can try the family bond ritual on her. She is not the daughter of—”
“Go straight to the point!” Lady Mira hit her cane on the floor a second time.
“You are wasting my time, young lady!”
The whole hall shivered at the sound.
Alpha Gabriel glanced at the High Priest and let out a sigh.
He had known she was angry from the moment she refused to sit down.
It had taken everything he had to bring her to Blackwood Pack tonight.
She had been at the big meeting in Basileia and still almost did not come.
No one knew exactly where her anger came from.
Sarah dropped to both knees and pressed her forehead to the floor once more.
“High Priest,” she said in a clear voice that carried to every corner of the hall, “I am sorry to tell you that Hazel is a witch!”