Chapter 0432

Hannah

The crowd murmured as I entered the Alpha Council chambers, my all-female security team flanking me, Viona close behind. As we proceeded down the aisle, I heard whispers and sneers from some of the men in the audience. Their eyes raked over me and my team unabashedly, despite the court setting.

"Look at that, a girl's night out," one muttered, eliciting chuckles from his companions. Another voice carried across the room, "I wonder if she's here to bake us all cookies."

I gritted my teeth but held my head high, resisting the urge to retort. Their words were pathetic attempts to provoke me, and I had more pressing matters to attend to. Today was my cousin Alvin's trial before the Alpha Council.

Approaching the front, I saw Alvin seated beside his lawyer, looking smug. But when his eyes met mine, a flicker of fear crossed his face before his arrogant mask returned. Good.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped in the center of the room, where the Alpha Council sat around a semicircular panel. Every Alpha was present except one; Drake, understandably, was exempt due to his history with me.

As I stood before them, the room fell silent. An Alpha at the center leaned forward, his cold gray eyes appraising me.

"Luna Hannah," he said, gesturing. "Welcome—"

"It's Alpha Hannah now," I corrected. Viona stiffened beside me; a snicker rippled through the audience.

The Alpha set his jaw but nodded. "My apologies, Alpha Hannah. Let us continue."

Taking a breath, I turned to the Council. "Honorable members of the Alpha Council, I stand before you to accuse my cousin, Alvin, of intentionally poisoning me in an attempt to kill the Silvermoon heir. With your permission, I would like to call my first witness. Jen, please step forward."

Jen approached, looking nervous and small in the neat button-down and trousers I'd provided her hours earlier. She usually wore only oversized hoodies.

"Jen, can you please tell the Council your online alias?"

She swallowed hard, her eyes darting around. "WhiteRabbit," she finally said. I saw Alvin's shoulders tense.

"Thank you, Jen," I said with a warm smile. "Now, could you please tell the Council about your history with Alvin? Starting from the beginning."

She nodded, her voice trembling. "Alvin contacted me a few years ago—said he had a job for me. He provided diet pills and instructed me to sell them to Alpha Hannah."

Jen paused, then continued, "I needed the money, so I took the job. It wasn't until two years later that I tested a pill and found contraceptives inside." She shook her head, her pale face paling further. "I didn't know why he wanted to give his cousin contraceptives. I knew it was wrong, though, and I told him. But he told me to keep selling or he would report me to the Alpha of Darkmoon."

"And did you keep any record of your interactions with my cousin?" I prompted.

"Yes," Jen replied, producing her phone. "I saved all our text messages. I knew… I knew what we were doing was wrong, and I wanted proof in case things went south."

She read a message: "Keep selling or I'll make sure you get locked up in the grimiest cell in Darkmoon," it said. "And that's assuming I don't decide to take you as my own prisoner. I wonder which would be worse… to become my slave, or for a pretty little thing like you to be thrown in a Darkmoon prison with lots of other males to fight over you."

I suppressed a shudder; even the crowd murmured nervously. Turning to the Council, ignoring my cousin's stare, I said, "I believe the evidence my witness presented speaks for itself, Alphas."