Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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“Each of these crimes was witnessed by myself, or a member of my family, but in case any doubts their authenticity I will now ask Luna Avery to give her version of events p>
I tried to hide my surprise at being called to the stand, as it were. My unpreparedness was on full display as I stumbled through what I had observed when Dierdra had come to the pack as a ‘rescued’ rogue. Then I recounted the instances where I had caught Dierdra meeting in secret with the Silvermoon Luna, and I believed through her, the Rogue King.
At first I felt irritation at Gideon for putting me on the spot like this. It overrode my desire to spare his feelings in my recounting of the facts. As my words slowed to a stop, I saw the reason why he hadn’t warned me that I would be called as a witness.
My halting, hesitant statements had lent authenticity to my statement in a way that a prepared speech could not have. I could see that my words carried weight with the Pack Leaders, who now turned to each other with exclamations of dismay.
My final accusation hung in the air.
“I have reason to believe that the mate mark that Dierdra wears is not genuine, and that she used a false mark to impersonate Gideon’s true mate and earn his trust p>
Still, the matter was not finished. According to pack law, Dierdra now had a chance to explain herself, and she chose to start by trying to refute my claim that her mate mark wasn’t genuine.
“Avery has run a campaign intent on maligning me from the start!” She pointed her finger at me directly, She was jealous that I am Gideon’s mate and not hers! That is why she has spread these abominable lies and planted false notes to try and make me look like the traitor, but she is the one with questionable ties to Silvermoon Pack and the Rogue King, not me p>
Confusion gathered around the room.
Gideon stepped forward and the babble of voices quieted to listen to what he had to say.
“Reveal your mark,” he commanded. Angrily, Dierdra did as requested, yanking the collar of her dress to the side and revealing the large mark on her neck which glowed with an Alpha’s aura.
It was impressively realistic. Even I, who had reason to believe it was forged, found it deceptively convincing.
For a second I worried that Gideon was not actually going to be able to convince the Pack Elders that the removal of Dierdra was well-founded.
That is, until he pulled something from his pants.
I gasped, as I saw the object I had long ago though I would never spy again.
The vial of antidote that I had brewed on our wedding night so long ago.
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Chapter 222
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“We all know that no true wolf’s mark can be hidden without their consent,” Gideon said with a dark smile, “So, if your mark is genuine, then drinking this should have no effect p>
A wary, caged expression came over Dierdra’s face as she eyed the brown bottle in Gideon’s hand, outstretched towards her. She reached for it and then, with a quick flick, smacked her hand beneath Gideon’s outstretched one.
“Oops!” She gasped, as the delicate glass flew up in the air.
I inhaled sharply, watching as it flew up, up into the air and then hurtled back towards the flagstone floor. That was the end of that. There would be no way of proving she was a fraud now.
Already I could picture the Pack Elders demanding that Dierdra be reinstated as Luna. I would be demoted and declaimed, and all would go back to how it was.
And then the unthinkable happened.
Gideon moved so fast I could barely see it. It seemed as though one moment he had been standing there, and the next he was several feet away…
holding the vial. He had snagged it inches from the floor.
It was so impressive that a few people in the audience clapped.
Not Dierdra, however. She went deathly white.
“Since you seem to be having difficulty,” Gideon intoned with all the harsh inevitability of an arctic “allow me to help you.” 1
And then with that same, incredible speed, he had grabbed Dierdra by the jaw, tipped her head back, and emptied the contents of the bottle into her open mouth. 1
Long seconds passed. Dierdra wrenched herself out of Gideon’s grasp with a glare and a growl. She whirled towards him, tendons in her neck straining with rage.
Which allowed for the perfect angle for the light falling through the windows to stream across her mark as it flickered and disappeared, and all hell broke loose in the Pack Meeting.
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Chapter 223
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