Chapter 67

Sebastian’s POV

Rosalie was the girl that was screaming in the kitchen when she found her brother’s dead body. Magnolia killed her brother and tried to frame Sebastian for the crimes. He hadn’t seen this girl since so he assumed Magnolia allowed her to take a leave of absence, or maybe even let her go. He couldn’t believe she was standing before them as Magnolia’s key witness though.

Surely Magnolia didn’t pay her to go against him like this?

Rosalie looked nervous as she scanned the courtroom. Her eyes found Magnolia and her entire body tensed. Something was going on that Sebastian didn’t know about and the thought was irritating. One look at Hannah’s confused face showed that this whole thing had to have been a giant lie from the beginning.

“Please state your name,” The judge ordered her.

“Rosalie…” she said. Her voice was soft and quivered as she spoke. “Rosalie Parker.”

“And what is your business at the palace?” He asked.

She was hesitant for a moment; she was really nervous.

“I’m a maid…” she said hesitantly. “I came here with my brother…”

“Your brother is also a servant at the palace?” The judge asked.

She tensed again and she gazed down to the floor.

“He was…” she whispered. “He is no longer alive.”

“What caused his death?” The judge asked.

Her body stilled for a moment; she turned and gazed up at Sebastian. The pale blues of her eyes darkened till they were nearly black. It must have been her wolf taking over; he could see the fury and the pain crossing her features. Her brows furrowed together as she glared at him.

She still believed that Sebastian was the one that killed her brother. That must have been how Magnolia convinced her to go against him. She was out for blood, and she was going to get it any way she could.

She was grieving the loss of her brother; Sebastian couldn’t be upset with her for that or blame her for her actions going forward. However, Magnolia was taking advantage of her, and he could be pissed off at that.

He broke his eye contact with her and glared at Magnolia who was giving him a sly grin in return. She knew what she was doing. It was sickening.

“I see…” the judge said, she didn’t have to answer for him to know what she meant. He cleared his throat and shuffled through some of the papers on his podium. “Magnolia mentioned that you went to her because you saw something you feared you shouldn’t have?”

Rosalie finally turned away from Sebastian to face the judge.

“Yes,” she answered. “I saw the Luna Queen taking something from the Alpha King. I got a weird feeling when I saw the item and it frightened me.”

“Walk me through the events of that night,” the judge told her.

“I was completing my nightly duties when I heard them yelling. I hear them yelling a lot, but this time it seemed particularly bad. I was told by her handmaiden to leave them be, but I was curious and a little frightened. I hid away, watching from afar. Luna Queen was screaming and crying, and I could hear Alpha King shifting and growling. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but knowing what he did to my brother and all the other servants, I could only assume the worse…”

Her voice trailed off as she choked back a sob.

“Take your time,” Magnolia said with fake sincerity, prompting Sebastian to roll his eyes.

“Afterwards they got quiet. I thought maybe she was dead, just like he killed his ex-luna. He ended up leaving the palace and then shortly after she ran from the living room and toward the stairs. She was covered in blood; her blood.”

“Why do you think that was?” The judge asked. “What do you think happened?”

“I don’t know…” she breathed, glancing over at Hannah. “But she had a tooth mark on her neck. I’m assuming he bit into her with his teeth.”

“You think he marked her?” The judge asked, raising his eyebrows. “After all that fighting?”

She glanced up at the judge.

“I know what I saw,” she insisted. “It was teeth marks.”

The judge motioned for a guard that stood near Hannah. Before Sebastian could protest, the guard was pulling Hannah’s hair away from her neck, twisting her head in the process. Hannah winced in pain from the sudden movements of her body and a pained moan came from her lips.

The guard revealed the mark that Sebastian left on her neck for the courtroom to see. The judge studied it for a moment before turning back to Rosalie.

“Seems you were right,” the judge finally said after a pause. “Luna Queen Hannah was indeed marked.”

Magnolia scoffed in disgust, but humor danced in her eyes as she leaned back in her seat, taking in the events unfolding before her.

“What happened after you saw her mark and she went upstairs?” The judge asked.

“She went to her room, the one she shares with Sebastian. I went to see if she was okay, against my better judgment. When I opened the door, she was holding something she grabbed from his nightstand. It looked like a big wand with a dark blue crystal on top of it. I got a strange feeling upon seeing it. It was dark and had mysterious energy that I didn’t particularly like. So, I left her alone and went to find Queen Magnolia.”

“Thank you for your time; you can sit down now,” the judge told her.

She turned slightly and caught the eyes of Sebastian one last time before going back to her seat. Sebastian felt almost sick to his stomach; he knew Hannah didn’t steal that scepter and that Rosalie was lying to get back at him for killing her brother. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to prove that just yet. He needed to find that scepter.

Hannah had tears streaming down her face as she stared down at her hands. She was probably thinking it was all over for her. It was clear that she had no more fight left in her and his heart tugged painfully for her. He could only imagine what she must have been feeling at that moment.

Not only was she in physical pain, but she was also in emotional and mental pain too. Magnolia seemed to be having a field day with these events.

“I’m going to kill her…” Eric growled.

Sebastian could feel himself about to lose control and he needed something to distract him before he completely lost it. He focused on Hannah and her features. Bruises or not, she was still so beautiful to him. Her scent was all over the courtroom and that was the only thing keeping him calm at that moment.

He noticed Magnolia and Jack were whispering something to the judge and the judge looked almost uncertain for a little while as they spoke. Sebastian stood so he could intervene in their conversation. He had to do something before they sentenced Hannah to a lifetime in prison. Or worse. Death.

Just as the judge stood from the podium, about to sentence Hannah, the courtroom doors swung open.

Everyone turned to see Dr. Davis standing in the doorway. He was breathless and panting; as he worked to catch his breath, a low growl escaped from the back of Sebastian’s throat.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Eric growled.

Dr. Davis scanned the courtroom before his eyes landed on Hannah. His eyes widened and he stared at her with shock; appalled at her appearance. Before Sebastian could say anything, Dr. Davis spoke first.

“Hannah…” he breathed, still trying to catch his breath. “It’s your brother. He’s missing.”