Page 103 of Her Second-Hand Mate

We’d discussed this at length before the hearing. I was willing to try to avoid disclosing this part of Heather’s attack unless asked directly, but he was adamant about finally coming clean and letting go of the shame. I was so proud of him.

King David cleared his throat, “Luna Penelope, could you please elaborate on that?”

“Well,” I took a deep breath. “When Dominic collapsed at the Alpha Summit in February of 2018, everyone assumed it was due to Cassandra’s death, but the truth of the matter is that his collapse had happened two hours before her accident.

He’d lost consciousness because of the pain of being betrayed by his mate. Heather finally provided the missing piece of the puzzle that day in the nursery, by telling me that Cassie had slept with Alpha Anderson that night.”

Gasps and the sound of chairs scraping the floor followed my statement.

“Block the door,” the King told the guards as he leveled a male who had stood up with a mean look.

I assumed that was Anderson. He looked familiar. David nodded at me to continue.

“Her cheating had enraged Heather, who was already carrying a torch for Dominic back then, so much, that she caused the accident by attacking Cassie while she was driving. Cassandra had ingested wolfsbane in her drinks that night, so the plant that facilitated the infidelity also made it impossible for her wolf to heal her and she succumbed to her injuries.”

“What happened next on that day in your son's nursery, Luna Penelope?”

“I finally made my move. I had a silver dagger taped under the bed,” I was in the middle of explaining when David held up a hand.

“Why did you have a silver dagger under your bed? In your pup’s room?”

I suddenly felt very self-conscious, “Another thing my Nana insisted on. I have an arsenal of silver weapons hidden all around my house.”

“Smart female,” he lifted his eyebrows, clearly impressed by Nana’s foresight. “Please continue.”

“I stabbed her in the heart, and as she fell, she stabbed me in the side. I woke up in the hospital four days later.”

David glanced at Dominic, and then turned back to me.

“One last question, Luna. What were you thinking about as you were struggling with her?”

The command forced me to think back to those agonizing moments. Dominic tried getting up but David subtly shook his head at him.

“I was thinking about my mate. I was worried about leaving Gabriel motherless like I had been. I was thinking about how heartbroken Dominic would be if I died. I knew that he loves me so much that he wouldn’t survive my death, not even for Gabriel,” I admitted with tears in my eyes. “So I had to fight, for Dominic. And I’m not sorry I killed her. I feel zero guilt and my wolf is proud of me,” I added for good measure.

I’d sensed how careful Dominic was being with me these last weeks. I knew he worried about my mental state, afraid that the blood on my hands was haunting me.

He could rest easy now, since we all knew it was impossible to lie under command. Somehow, David had known my mate needed this. He’d have my eternal gratitude for asking that last question.

“Thank you, Luna. You may return to your seat. The Crown now calls JD Anderson, the Yosemite pack Alpha, to the stand.”

The male reluctantly made his way to the front. The atmosphere in the courtroom was more tense than I’d ever experienced before.

“Phillips, Scott,” David urged again.

When all three were standing in front of Anderson, they commanded him together, like they had done with Dominic.

“Alpha Anderson, tell us about your relationship with Cassandra Hedge.”

The male hesitated before he replied, “Cassandra and I had a fling when she was still an unmated member of my pack.”

“What doesa flingconsist of in your pack?” David asked, the disgust in his face plain for all to see.

I knew that the Colorado pack was as strict as the one in Utah when it came to relationships between wolves who weren't each other's fated mates.

“We, uh, were bedmates for a while.”

“You had sex with her?”

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