Helga sat in the witness chair, arms crossed, chin lifted in defiance. Her wrists were bound with silver cuffs. Her expression was smug—half amusement, half contempt.
Across the chamber, Nova sat beside Finric, the soft white of her cloak glowing faintly under the torchlight. The bruising around her neck was very visible, and Helga's gaze flicked toward it once, then curled into a cruel smile.
Every eye in the chamber flicks between them. Nova swallowed, a slight flicker of sadness as she watched, trying to understand Helga.
Corvin Thane, the prosecutor, stood. His voice was measured, deliberate. "Helga Beatrice Emberhide, you understand that you stand accused of aggravated assault, conspiracy, and multiple violations of Shadowclaw law?"
Helga tilted her head, eyes narrowing with boredom. "Yeah," she said flatly.
"Let's start with the assault," Corvin continued. "You attacked Nova Moonveil on the training grounds. The match had been called."
A smirk tugged at Helga's mouth. "She was asking for it. Her little act didn't work on me."
A murmur rippled through the benches.
"You were in wolf form. She was not," Corvin pressed. "You struck from behind. Do you deny that?"
"No." Her grin widened. "She wanted to play soldier, so I gave her a real fight. That's all."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Corvin's tone stayed calm. "You were aware, then, that she was a guest under protection? From Ashbane?"
Helga laughed — low, jagged, the sound of glass cracking under a boot.
"Oh, I knew exactly who she was. Ashbane's little mistake. The bastard her father should have drowned at birth. A whore's daughter born from a king too weak to keep his cock or his crown in order."
Gasps tore through the chamber. Finric's hand flexed against the table. Jax's knuckles blanched around the gavel.
Helga didn't care. She leaned forward, eyes glittering.
"She walked in here like the Moon Goddess hand-delivered her," she spat. "Like her dead slut of a mother wasn't carved open in front of her. Like she wasn't born from filth and treason. That girl is the reason that whole cursed family ripped itself apart."
Her lip curled into a sneer.
"And she thought she could come here and fuck her way to the top just like her mother did. Don't pretend you didn't see the way men stared. She loved it. Basked in it. Even our Alpha couldn't look away. She's been playing all of you since the minute she slithered through those gates."
Nova didn't move — but the hem of her cloak twisted slowly between her fingers.
Corvin's voice was steady, but the tightness in his jaw betrayed him.
"You knew she was a guest under Shadowclaw protection. And still you attacked her."
Helga leaned back.
"Protection?" She spat the word like it tasted rotten. "She didn't deserve that. She needed a reminder. The Alpha found her in chains in Ashbane because that's exactly where she belonged."
A ripple of horror tore through the courtroom.
Nova didn't react to Helga's words. But then she said chains. That one hit something she didn't even realize was still raw.
She felt a quick and sharp fear in her chest. The memory tucked under that word. Her brows pulled together, confusion flickering first — why this woman hated her with a level of obsession. She couldn't think of any interaction she'd had with Helga before that battle.
It didn't make sense.
Fin was doing his best to keep his emotions in check but felt her and wanted to comfort her. He surged that into her in that moment through their matebond and spoke to her through their mindlink.
Fin: She's out of her mind. You did nothing to her Nova. None of this is your fault. Sometimes people can be cruel.
Nova swallowed once, quietly, and held herself steady. No tears. No cracks. She didn't trust herself to mindlink back.
Corvin's voice cut through the tension, low and controlled. "What was your intent when you struck her?"
Helga's smile curled — slow, delighted with her own cruelty.
"To remind her what she is. A whore's mistake. A luna who should have died by sword but instead went for another throne. She used her looks and her body to climb. Like mother, like daughter. She liked the attention. If I'd do it again, I'd have shifted sooner catching her by surprise and ripped her throat out."
The entire courtroom went still. Then the sound of chairs scraping and the muffled noise of shocked voices filled the chamber. Bloodmoon's aura flared—a barely leashed growl rumbling from deep in his chest.
Corvin took a slow step closer. "You said something else earlier," he said. "You said, 'the rest of us.' Who did you mean by that?"
Helga's grin returned, feral now. "You think I'm the only one who sees what's coming?" She leaned forward in her seat, eyes flicking to Nova like a predator sighting prey. "The rebellion's coming. The rebel king will rise. Your little queen's blood will be the spark that starts it."
The noise that followed was explosive. Half the gallery rose to their feet.
"Order!" Jax thundered, the sound of the gavel cracking through the chaos.
Helga only smiled wider, savoring it.
Corvin waited for the noise to die before speaking again, his voice as cold as the steel glint in his eyes. "You refer to Riven Ashbane as the rebel king?"
"You heard me," she said.
"And you corresponded with him—or his sister?"
"With her," Helga spat. "Princess Meredith. She's a true royal. She is supposed to be our queen and everyone feels it. Not some bastard slave pretending to be one."
The chamber bristled — a collective inhale edged.
Rex's head turned toward his father. No words.
None needed.
His eyes said everything.
They convict her… or I'll handle it myself.
And from the way Alpha Redmoon's jaw locked, from the way his aura rolled out like a rising storm, it was clear: He wouldn't stop him.
"Helga," Corvin said, "you claim you acted on instinct. But your statements—" he glanced down at his parchment "—'I'd have ripped her throat out,' 'she didn't deserve protection,' 'she used her looks to climb'—sound very deliberate to me."
She scoffed. "Instinct and intent are the same when you're born for battle."
"Ah." His voice was smooth as silk. "And you were under the influence of enhancement serum that day, correct?"
Helga smirked. "Everyone uses it. I'm just honest about it. Don't act surprised."
Corvin smiled faintly. "So, you admit to breaking combat law. You admit to deliberate aggression against a protected guest. And now—treason. Quite a day for honesty."
Helga glared. "You think this trial matters? You think killing me changes anything? Meredith told us this would happen. She said Shadowclaw would rot from the inside. She said the true crown would rise again."
Her voice rose, ringing through the chamber. "You can chain me, but you can't stop it. The rebellion will come. You'll see your queen burn."
Corvin turned away. "No further questions."
Helga smiled razor-sharp and locked onto Nova.
"Oh… did it hurt?" she cooed, voice dripping with poison.
"I heard you lost your little bastard. Just like your mother did when she was poisoned carrying another one of Ashbane's mistakes."
It took a second for those words to hit. No one spoke, shock? The audacity? No one had expected her to say that.
Nova's breath caught—but she didn't look away. She had already known somehow. She felt an emptiness, a different ache of sadness inside her when she woke and knew something had happened. She'd already connected that.
A tear slid down her cheek, betraying her composure.
Unintentional, and unable to stop it.
But to the courtroom, that was confirmation.
Gasps erupted in the chamber.
"Take her out," Jax ordered, his voice like ice.
The guards stepped forward instantly.
Marra's hand flew to her mouth, tears already spilling. Balen put his arm around his daughter, who had just gone through a miscarriage. Redmoon for the first time, lost his composure. His expression hardened.
Elle's eyes flooded, her whole body trembling. She wanted to comfort her friend, but she couldn't at that moment.
Helga twisted her body, struggling against the guards, hatred burning like wildfire. She tilted her head, delighting in the horror she was causing.
"I heard your mother couldn't even scream, it hurt that bad. She bled out on the floor… just like you did."
Helga's grin stretched wider, sick and triumphant.
"But you?" she sneered. "You're the little whore's rat with nine lives."
"Get her out!" Fin said standing, his alpha aura hitting the entire room.
Helga kept going gasping through his Aura.
"He was a bastard and would have been the son of your Gamma. Not yours."
Her gaze flicked toward Jax with vicious glee.
The room erupted in gasps—shocked, furious at the way she spoke to Fin and her words. But not in the way Helga thought. Obviously it would have been the Gamma's. Nova had only been with the Alpha for two weeks. She was Jax's mate for months.
Jax's eyes flashed gold, fighting his wolf for control.
Helga straightened, smiling like death itself.
As they dragged her from the stand, Helga's eyes locked on Nova one last time, hate boiling in her veins. "Third time will be the charm. Your punishment for seducing an Alpha already betrothed."
The door slammed behind her, echoing through the chamber.
None of the elders breathed. They knew Nova was with Jax, and then went to Fin. Most of them advised against it, but after seeing ceremony, they knew they had been wrong. She was meant to be their queen and they all felt it. There was no question. And they had failed her.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Fin kissed Nova's hand, gently wiping another silent tear with his thumb. His own eyes were red.
No one moved, but everyone was moved. Almost brought to tears feeling it.
Fin swallowed his emotions, clearing his throat and steading himself.
"Either this jury convicts her, or I do. She dies today." Fin said.