Page 34 of The Barren Luna

“Can you tell us a little bit about your former daughter-in-law, Luna Regina Haines?” So many words in that sentence were shots fired at Catherine’s pride.

“Well, she and my late son Henry, God rest his soul,” she started sniffling but David’s face remained impassive, “were mated about five years ago. As soon as he brought her to our pack,I - ” she stuttered, and I hoped to God it was the command preventing her from lying, “I always got the feeling she thought she was better than anyone else,” she finally found a way to express her opinion without technically lying.

“I’m sorry for your loss. What prompted that impression?”

“Thank you. I don’t – I’m not sure. It was her general demeanor.”

“Hm. And did you two have a good relationship?”

“No. It was cold at best.”

“Who was the one causing the tension in the relationship?”

Catherine just sat there with her mouth pursed, childishly refusing to answer.

“Ms. Giles, a she-wolf of your age and rank should know how unhealthy it is for the body to receive several consecutive commands,” David warned.

“Alright! I was the one always criticizing her and reprimanding her for minor things. But she was weird! She didn’t care about what the pack thought, and seemed content to never bear my son an heir! My son was suffering, and his reputation was suffering, and all she cared about was her recipes and her friends. I wanted grandpups, I wanted an heir for my son, and now he is dead in the ground, and she is the one that killed him!” she pointed a shriveled, accusing finger at me. “I demand the worst punishment available for her, mate killer!”

By some miracle, I remained composed and held her gaze without showing any of the turmoil I felt. She wasn’t wrong – he was dead because of me, and Iwasa mate killer. I really didn’t see any way around that fact.

“The punishment of any defendant in the Royal Court is not for you to determine, Ms. Giles. Now, back to the issue of your late son. Were you aware that he was planning to take a concubine?”

“I was the one who suggested it! His barren mate wasn’t going to get pregnant any time soon, someone had to do something about it.”

“What makes you think Luna Regina was the barren one?”

Her eye twitched. “Well, I felt that it couldn’t have been my son.”

“May I remind you that your son failed to impregnate two she-wolves, one of whom got pregnant by her stepbrother on their first attempt?”

Catherine’s eyes flashed black and her claws dug into the armrest. I didn’t know what she had hoped to achieve with her testimony, but I was sure this wasn't it.

“It’s fine if you don’t answer that. I have another question for you. You yourself only gave birth once, five years into your mating, so how did your situation differ from Luna Regina’s?” the question delivered the final nail in her coffin. She lifted her chin in defiance but remained silent.

“Respond,” he roared, and blood started trickling from her nose.

“It didn’t. My situation was no different. I just hated her so much, and I was jealous of her because she took my son and my title,” she said, defeated.

“What happened when you visited her in the dungeon?”

“I backhanded her and split her lip open with my ring. I wish I could have done worse, but I didn’t want to hurt my son,” she recited in a monotone voice, her eyes empty and the blood still dripping from her left nostril.

Everyone looked at her true, evil face with disgust. The King dismissed her and nodded at a guard to escort her out. I didn’t care whether she got medical assistance or not.

The next witness was an Omega whose name I learned was Marla. She testified about the filth I was forced to live in in the dungeon, how Liam and Lucy brought her in to clean up,how she tended to my wounds, and how horrific they were. She also testified that, at some point, I had stopped eating, and she was tasked with force-feeding me mashed food. I honestly didn’t even remember that, nor did I recognize her.

Then they called Jessie to the stand, and she described what it was like when Henry brought me home, the house arrest, his behaving like we were a loving couple while I was scared out of my mind. She told the Court about how I threw myself out of the window and how Henry commanded me not to hurt myself. Everyone gasped at the fact that he had, once more, commanded me, but I was numb at this point.

Before leaving the stand, Jessie added that she had heard Henry telling me something about his other command, but explained that she didn’t know what that had been about. She just couldn't stop thinking about it, since it proved to her that he had commanded me before.

When we adjourned for the day, I felt utterly drained. I just wanted to go to bed and not mull over everything I'd heard today. I also didn’t want to think about the fact that tomorrow would be the last day of the trial, the day on which I would probably be called up to testify, after which the gathered pack leaders would decide my fate.

14 - Ginny

Lucy was in my room with me, helping me get ready for the last day of trial, as Laura stood guard by the window. It felt wrong to be chatting about dresses and accessories as if I were getting ready for a date and not my potential doom.

Lucy, however, was relentless, “You need to look put together, Ginny. So they can really see you.”

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