Chapter 115: Chapter 115 Truth in Ironridge
Julian’s POV
Roxanne’s desperate lies hold no weight with me anymore. If she thinks stalling will save her skin, she has another thing coming.
When Caleb showed up, I ordered him to collect Elena from her room and escort her straight to Seraphina’s place. I cannot afford to leave my daughter here where Dorian might snatch her. That bastard knows every secret path into my territory, making him a constant threat to everyone I care about.
My fingers clamped around Roxanne’s arm like steel traps as I hauled her from the house. She shrieked behind me, her feet catching on every stone and root, but I refused to ease my pace. Her pathetic struggling meant nothing. She twisted and clawed like a cornered beast, yet my strength dwarfed hers completely. The rage coursing through my veins had burned away every last shred of mercy I possessed.
We cut through the Fang territory at breakneck speed. The handful of members loitering outside lifted their heads, faces freezing in pure terror. They witnessed the volcanic fury blazing in my eyes, the untamed savagery of their Alpha unleashed, and immediately dropped their gazes while scrambling backward. Horror painted their features, but none dared question my actions. Not a single soul attempted to block our path.
As we approached the heart of our land, more figures emerged. They poured from their homes like moths drawn to flame. Word spread faster than wildfire through our community. Soon a massive, silent crowd trailed behind us, magnetized by the unfolding drama. Hundreds of witnesses gathered to observe whatever justice was about to unfold.
"Julian, please stop this madness!" Roxanne continued pleading, tears carving muddy tracks down her dirt-stained cheeks. I blocked out her voice entirely. Her desperate begging had become meaningless noise. Every tug she made against my grip, every anguished cry she released, only stoked the inferno consuming my patience.
I dragged her directly to the stone steps fronting the Packhouse entrance. This sacred ground represented the beating heart of our territory, where all major gatherings took place.
Upon reaching the platform, I released my grip without warning. Roxanne crashed to the ground with a bone-jarring impact that echoed off the surrounding walls.
My father came sprinting toward us then, several high-ranking Fang members flanking him. The growing commotion must have reached his ears.
"Julian! What in the Moon Goddess’s name has gotten into you? End this spectacle immediately!" he commanded.
I rotated slowly, pinning him with my stare. No need to fully shift when I could simply unleash the beast lurking beneath my skin. My wolf pressed against the surface, radiating the absolute authority of Alpha dominance. The crushing weight of my command struck him like a physical assault.
He froze mid-stride. His shoulders sagged in defeat. Even as my father, he had no choice but to bow before his Alpha son. His head dropped in unwilling submission, defeat etching lines across his weathered face.
I straightened to my full height, scanning the enormous crowd now encircling the entire courtyard. Oppressive silence blanketed the scene, broken only by Roxanne’s broken sobbing.
"Hear me now!" My voice erupted like thunder, sharp and commanding, reverberating off the Packhouse’s stone facade. "What transpires here today serves as warning to anyone foolish enough to betray me or challenge my authority!"
My mother forced her way through the crowd’s front ranks. Her gaze bounced between my father’s defeated posture and Roxanne trembling on the ground.
"Julian, what is happening here?" she demanded, voice thick with bewilderment and rising panic.
Rather than address her directly, I spoke to the assembled Fang. They needed to hear every damning detail laid bare.
"Five years past," I began, my tone dropping to dangerous levels, "Seraphina delivered twins. She held only one child before the other vanished from the birthing room. We remained ignorant of this theft until recent days."
I paused, allowing the devastating truth to penetrate their understanding.
"Our search led nowhere distant," I snarled, eyes burning into Roxanne. "We discovered that Roxanne herself orchestrated my daughter’s kidnapping."
Before I could continue, my mother’s voice sliced through the stillness with razor-sharp fury.
"Julian, enough! Those are vicious lies! Roxanne would never commit such evil!"
I noticed other Fang members nodding agreement with my mother. They had known Roxanne for years, believing in her gentle nature. She had deceived them all, just as she had fooled me.
"Do not dare defend this snake," I warned. "Anyone supporting her must share her guilt. You have been blind to her true nature. I possess irrefutable evidence. Proof that Elena is not Roxanne’s biological child. Elena belongs to me and Seraphina!"
A wave of gasps and stunned murmurs rippled through the crowd. The revelation proved too massive, too shocking for immediate comprehension.
My father found his voice first. "Julian, surely that cannot be possible," he protested weakly.
I glared down at Roxanne, who now wept openly, her entire frame convulsing with violent tremors.
"She employed forbidden magic!" I accused, extending a rigid finger toward her crumpled form. "Dark sorcery concealed my daughter’s true scent, hiding reality from me and our Fang. All these years, I never suspected the child I was raising was actually mine."
Roxanne screamed up at me, tears streaming freely. "None of this is true! These are fabricated lies! You simply want me gone now that your mate has returned. You want to play hero by reuniting Seraphina with my daughter, but you are spinning falsehoods!"
"Holden!" I barked at the Head Warrior positioned nearby. "Fetch the silver restraints! Immediately!"
Roxanne heard my command and her crying ceased instantly.
"No! Please no!" she shrieked, scrambling backwards across the stones, desperately seeking escape.
I gestured to two female warriors. They moved with lethal efficiency, seizing her arms and forcing her prone against the cold ground. She fought wildly, but found herself completely trapped.
Holden arrived swiftly, carrying thick, gleaming chains. They wrapped around her wrists before securing across her chest.
Roxanne’s screams pierced the air, a horrific sound as her flesh began burning. The silver started smoking against her skin. She thrashed violently, shrieking until her throat went raw.
I knelt beside her, ignoring her agonized cries.
"Your story about poisoning Elena or whatever other lies you spun means nothing to me," I hissed directly into her ear. "Nothing will deter me. I will break you completely, then grant you the slowest, most excruciating death possible for the torture you inflicted upon my mate."
"Elena will never forgive this betrayal!" she choked through her pain. "I am the only mother she has ever known. She will despise you for murdering me!"
"She will move past you," I stated with icy finality. "Elena is young enough to adapt. Eventually, she will embrace Seraphina as her true mother and erase all memory of the woman who stole her."
I grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her face toward mine. "I might consider granting you a merciful end, Roxanne. Simply confess your complete involvement with Dorian."
Standing upright, I addressed the Fang once more. They needed to witness her complete exposure.
"Dorian murdered those two innocent children," I announced loudly. "Roxanne collaborated with him. She served as his willing accomplice."
I surveyed the sea of shocked faces surrounding us.
"So tell me now," I demanded. "Do any of you still believe she deserves salvation?"
Absolute silence answered me. Every head bowed in acknowledgment. They finally recognized the monster hiding among them.
Roxanne released one final, ragged scream filled with pure hatred and desperate rage that cut through even the silver’s burning agony.
"Seraphina deserved every moment of suffering!" she shrieked, blood and tears staining her ravaged face. "Why does Seraphina receive everything while I lose it all? I only wanted to mother your child. But I lost my baby while Seraphina birthed two!"
