“No,” I whimper, shaking my head. The betrayal is too much. My vision blurs. I shove away from him. “You’re not my father,” I choke out.
The room falls silent again, tension pressing down on my chest.
“Cleo,” he pleads once more, voice cracking. His desperation doesn’t move me anymore. My knees weaken, and I nearly crumble. Zayn is there by my side, his touch grounding me as he takes my hand.
Linda, silent until now, stands, her expression horrified. “Joseph?” she whispers.
My father turns to her, fear and guilt on his face. Linda’s eyes search his for answers but only find betrayal.
“How could you?” she asks. “All these years, and you kept this from me?”
“I had no choice,” he stammers. “I was doing it for our pack.”
“And what about our bond? Us? Your daughter!” Linda asks. “Did you think about what this would do to her? To us?”
My father looks at me, visibly shaken. It’s clear he knows he’s been caught.
“I did it for us—for the pack! She was taking everything!” he exclaims, voice hollow.
Zayn steps forward. “And here,” he says, holding up another paper, “is the proof. The original title of the pack, signed over to Cleo by Clara.” He turns to my father. “She was three steps ahead of you. She signed off on it the day before you forced her before my father. That’s why my father agreed to witness. Clara no longer owned the pack. Cleo did. And this document was just another Alpha Dane used to blackmail you. What he didn’t know was that Greyson had the original, which Clara gave him for safekeeping.”
The evidence is overwhelming. The room is thick with betrayal. My father collapses to his knees, defeated.
“This wedding will not proceed. And as ordered by a founding council member.” Greyson looks at Zayn, who nods. His gaze watches me.
“Arrest them!” Greyson orders.
Dane tries to speak, but the murmurs grow louder, turning against him.
“Arrest them,” someone shouts. The officers, once hesitant, move forward toward my father, Samuel, and Dane. As Zayn passes Lydia— “And her!” Zayn nods.
“What?” Linda stands abruptly. “We had nothing to do with this!” she yells as officers approach Lydia.
“You had nothing to do with this. But your daughter had her mate Deacon attempt to rape Cleo. Everyone here has seen the footage.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Why would she do that?” Linda asks, looking around. “Right, sweetie?”
“Because Samuel was forcing her to marry Boyd’s other son,” Maya says. Lydia stands in outrage.
“You!” Lydia screeches.
“Deacon wasn’t just your mate, Lydia. You got him killed for that stunt!” Maya screams.
Linda looks between them. “Whose mate?”
“Deacon!” they shout.
Deacon had two mates, and both were going to let him rape me?
“All because you thought you could disgrace Cleo and convince her father to hand the pack to you!” Maya snarls.
Linda shakes her head. “No. Lydia wouldn’t. Tell them she has it wrong.”
“Go on, Lydia,” Zayn tells her. “The only reason you aren’t dead is because you helped Cleo last night when Boyd tried thesame thing. Maya is willing to testify. Lie all you want, but the verdicts are out,” Zayn says, pointing to the cameras.
Lydia falls back into her seat.
“Lydia?” Linda asks. Lydia waves her off. Linda turns her anger to Samuel. “You were going to sell our daughter off!” she screams.
