The atmosphere in the High Court of the White Wolf Clan was suffocating. The eyes of the ancient wolf-gods glared down from the pillars, judging her.
Silver shackles bit into Charlotte's wrists, searing her skin with rhythmic jolts of electricity.
She walked toward the dock with her head held high, each step steady and graceful.
She didn't look like a criminal awaiting judgment; she looked like a queen surveying her domain.
"Call the witness!" the Chief Justice barked, shattering the silence.
A gaunt, pale woman stumbled onto the stand. It was Charlotte's supposed best friend—Elena Whitebrook.
She couldn't even bring herself to look up, her body trembling with sheer terror.
"I... I'm here to testify against Charlotte," Elena whispered, her voice barely audible but sharp as a blade.
"She knew she wasn't the King's chosen heir, and she couldn't handle it. Before the murder, she preyed on my loyalty, making me buy high-grade suppressants on the black market. Later, I saw her spiking the King's meals with them..."
"She told me it was a supplement to help his health. But yesterday, she seized her chance... and she killed him. "
"Afterward, she threatened my family to force me to destroy the evidence while she went to change her clothes, pretending she'd just arrived."
The gallery erupted. A wave of uproar and curses crashed over the room.
"And that's not all!" Magnus roared, slamming a stack of photos and receipts onto the desk in front of Charlotte.
"We found the half-burned bloody clothes in a hidden compartment in your room, along with the black market vouchers. "
"Any last words, Charlotte? Or has the high-and-mighty princess finally lost her tongue?"
Arguments were useless. Instead, Charlotte locked eyes with Elena. She caught the slightest glitch in Elena's composure.
Though Elena was lying through her teeth, her fingers were tapping a strange, rhythmic pattern against her knees.
Tap, pause, double tap.
It was their secret signal—binary code.
Charlotte's pupils contracted as her mind raced to translate the frequency: [101001... family... kidnapped...].
There it was. An almost imperceptible smirk touched Charlotte's lips. Elena wasn't a traitor; she was a victim sending out a distress flare.
"Charlotte, do you have a defense?" the judge demanded coldly.
Charlotte turned her head, looking Magnus straight in the eye with a gaze like a frozen blade.
"Evidence can be faked, and testimony can be coerced. Since you've already written the ending to this little farce, why bother asking the star of your little show for her opinion?"
"Enough of this insolence!" The judge slammed his gavel."
"By the laws of the White Wolf Clan, Charlotte is found guilty of regicide and treason. "
"At tonight's full moon, she shall be taken to the altar for the 'Red Moon Sacrifice.' She is to be bled out as an offering to the late King's spirit.!"
"Death! Death to the traitor!" the mob shrieked, their roars nearly shaking the roof off the building.
Two massive guards grabbed Charlotte, dragging her toward the doors. Outside, an angry crowd had already gathered, raining stones and spit down upon her.
As the moon began its ascent, Charlotte was shoved onto the towering altar.
The executioner raised a silver dagger that caught the moonlight with a lethal shimmer, while his assistants hauled over heavy silver chains to pin her to the central totem.
Under the veil of her long hair, Charlotte's lips curled upward. Her fingers gave a subtle flick inside the mechanism of her handcuffs.
A soft click echoed, drowned out by the discordant ritual music.
Charlotte stood tall and straight against the execution rack, staring at the rising moon with an eerie, knowing look.
Just as the dagger lunged for her heart, the silver chains behind her fell away with a sharp clank.
The world slowed to a rhythmic thrum.
The blade was barely an inch from her heart, the venomous burn of the silver already stinging her skin.
Suddenly, Charlotte's body contorted at an impossible angle, arching backward as the chains slid off her like dead snakes.
"What?!" the executioner gasped, but he was already too late.
Charlotte caught his wrist, the sound of bone snapping echoed through the clearing, and she snatched the silver dagger.
In a blur of silver lightning, she lunged toward the VIP observation deck.
She wasn't running for the exit. She was going straight for the prize—Valeria's beloved younger sister.
"Get away from her!" Magnus screamed, a vein throbbed in his temple.
Charlotte pinned the young wolf-girl against her, the silver handcuffs she'd just shed now twisted into a jagged point against the girl's carotid artery. "Take a step and she's dead."
"Father, help me!" the ten-year-old girl sobbed, terrified by the sudden turn of events.
"Don't you touch her!" Magnus bellowed.
"Charlotte! Let her go!" Valeria was shaking with rage, her mask of saintly patience shattering.
"Valeria, if you want your sister alive, back off." Charlotte backed away slowly, using the girl as a shield.
She knew that despite their posturing, in this rigid hierarchy, the lives of the "royal" bloodline outweighed everything else.
The moment she hit the shadows at the edge of the square, Charlotte gave the girl a shove. "Better luck next time!"
She bolted into the forest, her newly awakened Alpha reflexes pushing her body to its absolute limit.
She knew the moment she let the hostage go, the real life-or-death race had begun.
Behind her, dozens of powerful dark shapes tore through the brush. The woods echoed with the deafening, bloodthirsty howls of the pack.
Charlotte leaped between the massive trees, trying to mask her scent. But the White Wolf trackers were legendary. The elite enforcers were gaining on her like a shadow.
BANG!
Charlotte let out a muffled grunt as a bullet tore through her side. Searing pain flooded her senses, and warm blood began to drip onto the dry leaves.
Up ahead was the cliffside. Below it, the Dragon River roared and churned like a hungry beast.
Charlotte skidded to the edge, turning back to face the approaching guards.
"You're out of road, Charlotte!" The hunters had arrived—dozens of massive wolves, their jaws dripping, forming a deadly semicircle around her.
Charlotte wiped the blood from her lip and gave Valeria one last, mocking look.
"I decide how my story ends."
With that, she spun around and plunged into the abyss of the raging rapids.
Bullets peppered the night sky, following her into the water. Valeria sprinted to the edge, but there was nothing left but the crashing spray.
"I want her found!" Valeria screamed, her voice cracking with fury. "Dead or alive! Scour the entire island! If anyone gets in your way, kill them!"