*Ellie's POV*

Cold air hits my naked skin like a slap. I jolt awake, every nerve screaming as consciousness crashes over me. My head throbs where something struck me, and dirt clings to my bare shoulders.

Naked. I'm completely naked.

Panic claws up my throat as I scramble to sit up, dead leaves crackling beneath me. Where are my clothes? Where am I? The forest around me looks wrongtoo dark, too quiet.

A groan comes from beside me. I whip my head around and freeze.

A man lies next to me, equally naked, his dark hair matted with blood. I don't recognize his face, but the scent hits me like a punch to the gut.

Rogue.

'No. No, no, no.'

I scramble backward, my bare skin scraping against rough bark. This isn't possible. I was walking to the road. I was leaving. I was

"God... What do we have here?"

A harsh voice cuts through my panic like a blade. I look up to see a stocky man with black hair emerging from the treeline with three pack warriors, their faces hard with disgust.

"Marcus!" Relief floods through me. "Thank the goddess. Someone attacked me"

"Attacked?" His cold blue eyes rake over my naked form with obvious disgust. "Is that what you call this, Luna?"

"What?" I grab at fallen leaves, trying to cover myself. "I don't understand. Someone hit me. I was unconscious"

"You were caught," Marcus says flatly, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "Running away with your lover."

The words hit me like physical blows. "My what? No! I've never seen this man before in my life!"

The rogue beside me stirs, sitting up slowly. Blood trickles from a gash on his forehead, but his eyes are alert. Too alert for someone who should be unconscious.

"Ellie," he says, his voice rough but intimate. "Baby, are you alright?"

Ice shoots through my veins. "Don't call me that! I don't know you!"

But he looks at me with such familiarity, such intimate concern, that doubt creeps into the warriors' faces. Marcus's lips curl into a cruel smile.

"Enough." Marcus signals to his men. "Cover them up. Alpha Luke is waiting."

One of the warriors throws a rough blanket at me. I wrap it around myself with shaking hands, my mind racing. This is wrong. All of this is wrong.

"Marcus, please," I beg as they haul me to my feet. "You know me. You know I would never"

"I know what I see," he cuts me off, his voice filled with righteous anger. "The Alpha's wife, naked in the woods with a rogue like a whore."

The roguewhoever he issays nothing as they bind his hands. But his eyes find mine, and something in them makes my blood run cold.

This isn't random. This is planned!

The walk back to the packhouse feels endless. Warriors flank us on all sides, their disgust radiating like heat. Word travels fast in our packby the time we reach the main grounds, crowds have gathered.

They stare at me wrapped in that degrading blanket, whispers following in our wake.

"The Luna, running off with a rogue..."

"Always knew something was off about her..."

"Poor Alpha Luke..."

Each word is a lash against my skin. I keep my head high, but inside I'm screaming. This isn't real. This can't be happening.

Luke waits on the packhouse steps, his face carved from stone. Behind him stands Vivienne, her hand resting protectively on her stomach in a gesture that makes my heart stop.

"Alpha," Marcus calls out formally, his chest puffed with pride. "We found them three miles north, exactly where the anonymous tip suggested."

"Anonymous tip?" I stare at Luke in desperation. "What tip? Luke, please, you have to listen to me"

"Silence." His Alpha command slams into me, forcing my mouth shut. The betrayal cuts deeper than any blade. He won't even let me speak.

The pack council assembles rapidly. Elder Lawrence steps forward, his weathered face grave. "Alpha Luke, what are the charges?"

"Adultery," Luke's voice carries across the silent crowd. "Abandonment of pack duties. Conspiracy with a rogue enemy."

"No!" The word tears from my throat despite his command. "Luke, you know me! You know I would never"

"The evidence will speak," Luke says coldly, his green eyes never meeting mine.

Elder Lawrence nods solemnly. "Luna Eleanor Blake, you stand accused of grave crimes against this pack. How do you answer?"

My heart hammers against my ribs. "Innocent. I'm completely innocent."

"Then swear it," Luke commands, his voice ringing with authority. "Swear by the Moon Goddess that you speak the truth about these charges."

The sacred oath. No wolf can lie under Selene's witness without facing divine punishment. I straighten my spine, meeting his eyes directly.

"I swear by the Moon Goddess Selene that I am innocent of all charges," I declare, my voice carrying to every corner of the assembly. "I swear I have never committed adultery. I swear I have never conspired with rogues. I swear I have never betrayed this pack or my Alpha."

The words ring with divine truth, blessed by the goddess herself. A murmur runs through the crowdthe oath is sacred, unbreakable.

But Luke's expression doesn't change. "The witnesses will now testify."

Elder Lawrence gestures to the rogue. "State your name and testimony."

The rogue straightens, his voice carrying clearly across the silent crowd. "My name is Kane Rivers. I'm here to tell the truth about my relationship with Eleanor Blake."

My blood turns to ice.

"Six months ago, Luna Eleanor came to me in secret," Kane continues, his eyes never leaving mine. "She was desperate, lonely. She told me her husband no longer wanted her, that their marriage was cold and empty."

"LIAR!" I scream, my voice raw. "I've never seen you before!"

But Kane continues as if I hadn't spoken.

"At first, I resisted her. She was the Alpha's wifeit was...forbidden. But she was so persistent, so willing to give herself to me completely."

The crowd gasps. Several pack members look away in disgust. My heart pounds so hard I think it might burst.

"She would meet me at the old oak tree near the northern border," Kane says, his voice growing stronger. "Every week for months. She told me she loved me, that she wanted to leave with me and start fresh where no one knew her shame."

I am completely frozen-- what a detailed story.

"Lying...he is lying..." I turn desperately to Luke. "Please, you have to believe me! I've never betrayed you!"

Kane reaches into his pocket and pulls out something that makes my world stop spinning. My silver braceletthe one Luke gave me for our first anniversary. The one that should be locked in my jewelry box.

"She gave me this as proof of her love," Kane says, holding it up for everyone to see. "Said it represented her commitment to our future together."

The crowd erupts in shocked whispers. Luke's face goes white, then red with rage. I know how this looksthe bracelet is unmistakably mine, engraved with our initials.

"That's impossible," I whisper, my voice breaking. "I never gave that to anyone. Someone stole it from my room!"

But who will believe me now? The evidence is damning. The setup is perfect.

Elder Lawrence calls for quiet. "The second witness will now testify."

Escort Marcus steps forward, his face grim with duty. "I led the search party that found them. Acting on an anonymous tip, we tracked them to a clearing three miles north of our territory."

His cold blue eyes find mine, holding no sympathy. "I found Luna Eleanor and the rogue Kane naked together. There was evidence of a struggleperhaps the rogue tried to force her to continue when she changed her mind."

"No!" I shake my head violently. "That's not what happened! Someone attacked me! I was unconscious!"

"The Luna appeared disoriented," Marcus continues, his voice clinical. "She claimed not to know the rogue, but their positioning and the rogue's familiarity with her suggested otherwise."

Each word is a nail in my coffin. The crowd's whispers grow louder, more condemning. I can see the judgment in their faces, the disgust, the betrayal.

"I was telling the truth!" I shout desperately. "I don't know him! Someone set this up!"

"Also," Marcus adds, his voice carrying a note of righteous anger, "when we discovered them, the rogue immediately showed concern for the Luna's wellbeing, calling her by intimate pet names. Their familiarity was... unmistakable."

I stare at Marcus in horror. He's twisting everything, making innocent moments sound damning.

"The evidence is clear," Marcus concludes. "Luna Eleanor Blake conspired with this rogue to abandon her duties and betray her Alpha. I witnessed their guilt with my own eyes."

The silence that follows is deafening. I look around desperately, searching for even one face that might show doubt, sympathy, anything. Elder Lawrence looks troubled, his weathered hands clasped tightly, but he doesn't speak. Uncle Nathan's face shows only disgust.

"The evidence is overwhelming," Nathan declares. "The Blake family disowns this shameful creature."

"Nathan" Lawrence starts, but Luke cuts him off.

"Luke," I whisper, my voice breaking. "Please. Look at me. Really look at me. You know I wouldn't do this. You know who I am."

For just a moment, something flickers in his green eyes. Doubt? Regret? But then his gaze hardens again, and I realize the truth with crushing clarity.

He wants to believe I'm guilty. It makes everything easierhis affair with Vivienne, his desire to be rid of me, his need for an heir she might give him.

"I've heard enough," Luke declares, his voice final as a death sentence. "Eleanor Blake, you are guilty of adultery and conspiracy. I sentence you to imprisonment pending execution."

As the silver cuffs snap around my wrists, burning my skin like acid, I realize this was never about truth or justice.

This is an execution disguised as a trial.

And the man I loved is going to watch me die.