<h4>Chapter 206: Justice Is Done</h4>


    The public execution grounds had not been used in years.


    At dawn, the vast stone za of the capital city was already filled with people. Nobles stood besidemoners. Warriors in full armor lined the perimeter, their grim expressions.


    Whispers spread through the crowd like a restless current, heavy with anticipation and unease. Everyone knew who would die today.


    Lady Ava Stone. The former royal aide from one of the noble families. The woman was once trusted within the pce walls. And now, the traitor who had nearly torn the kingdom apart from within.


    At the center of the grounds stood a raised ancient stone tform. Runes were carved deep into its surface. Two iron posts rose from the stone, enchanted chains hanging between them, pulsing faintly with suppressive energy meant to restrain even the strongest werewolf.


    Archmage Uriel stood at the front of the tform with that cold and resolute expression he wouldn’t normally wear. Beside him was Beta Simon, d in ck armor, who held a scroll in his hands, sealed with the royal crest.


    There was no mercy in this ce.


    Ava was dragged forward by two guards, her wrists bound in enchanted restraints. Her hair was wild, her once elegant attire torn and stained. Yet despite everything, there was a strange light in her eyes, sharp and feverish.


    Sheughed as she was forced onto the tform. Not a nervousugh, not fear but something unhinged.


    The crowd fell into silence as Simon stepped forward and unrolled the scroll. His voice carried clearly across the grounds, steady and unwavering.


    “Ava Stone of the Moonlight Pack,” he began, “you stand used of treason against the crown, conspiracy against the Alpha King, maniption of the royal court, attempted murder, abuse of forbidden magic, and endangerment of the kingdom and its people.”


    A murmur rippled through the crowd.


    Simon continued, “Your crimes have been documented, witnessed, and verified. Today, they will beid bare before all.”


    Uriel lifted his staff and struck it once against the stone. Light red.


    Illusions bloomed into the air above the tform. Scenes yed out in painful rity. How Ava whispered lies into the ears of nobles, poisoning alliances and manipting events from the shadows, like her secret dealings to poison and manipte Princess Ri and the Queen Mother.


    Gasps echoed across the grounds.


    Ava tilted her head back andughed louder.


    “So dramatic,” she mocked. “You always loved theatrics, Uriel.”


    Uriel did not respond.


    Simon moved to the next illusion. The image shifted. Ava standing alone in a chamber, speaking to herself, her eyes wild.


    “I am the one meant to stand beside him.” Another scene followed. Ava sabotaging protections. Ava allowing danger to creep closer to the royal family. Ava smiling as chaos unfolded.


    The crowd erupted into shouts of anger.


    “Treasonous witch!”


    “She endangered the Alpha King!”


    “She deserves death!”


    Ava turned her head slowly, eyes zing as she drank in their fury.


    “Look at you all,” she sneered. “So eager to judge. So eager to condemn.”


    She twisted against the chains and spat at the stone near Uriel’s feet.


    “You think you’re righteous?” she hissed. “You think any of you are innocent?”


    Simon’s jaw tightened.


    Ava suddenlyughed again, louder, sharper.


    “Where is he?” she demanded. “Where is the Alpha King?”


    Her gaze swept the crowd wildly. “Is he hiding? Too afraid to watch me die?”


    Uriel stepped forward atst.


    “The presence of the Alpha King is not required for your execution,” he said calmly. “He has more important things to attend to.”


    That was when something inside Ava snappedpletely.


    Herughter turned shrill and unrestrained. “Oh, Uriel,” she crooned. “You were always blind.”


    She leaned forward against the chains, eyes locking onto him. “Do you know what I did for you?” she shouted. “Do you know what I sacrificed?”


    Uriel’s expression did not change, but his grip on his staff tightened.


    “I brought you and Rizza together,” Ava screamed. “I bent fate itself so you could be mates. Fated mates. I gave you everything.”


    The crowd gasped.


    “And you know why?” Ava continued, voice cracking with manic delight. “So I could have him. Gavriel was always meant to be mine.”


    She threw her head back,ughing wildly. “I gave you a mate and love so I could take the crown.”


    Uriel’s eyes darkened.


    “You lost yourself,” he said quietly.


    “I found myself,” Ava shrieked. “You were useless, Uriel. Weak. Always hiding behind rules and morality.”


    She red at him with venom. “I was willing to burn the world for him.”


    Her gaze swept across the crowd.


    “And now?” she shouted. “Now everything is perfect. The kingdom sees me. I am the one who should be your Luna.”


    Silence followed her deration.


    Then the crowd erupted in fury.


    “You are mad!”


    “She is insane!”


    “Traitor!”


    Simon raised his hand,manding silence.


    “Ava,” he said firmly, “you have confessed openly. Your fate is sealed.”


    The chains tightened, glowing brighter as Ava struggled against them. She snarled, her voice lowering into something feral. “You think death scares me? I would die a thousand times for him.”


    Uriel raised his staff.


    “The sentence for your crimes,” he dered, “is execution by lunar decree. You will die as a criminal of our kind, stripped of name, title, and legacy.”


    For the first time, fear flickered across Ava’s face. Just briefly. Then she screamed. The runes ignited, power surging through the tform. Ava’s screams echoed across the execution grounds as the magic took hold, suppressing her wolf, her strength, her very essence.


    She thrashed, cursed,ughed, and cried all at once.


    “I was meant to be Luna!” she screamed. “I was meant to rule!”


    Simon stepped forward, his voice final.


    “Justice is done.”


    Uriel brought his staff down.


    Light red and Ava’s scream cut short. The magic surged once more, then faded into silence.


    When the light cleared, the tform stood empty. No body remained. Only ashes scattered across the stone, carried away by the morning wind. The crowd stood frozen, the weight of the moment settling heavily over them.


    Uriel lowered his staff, shoulders tense but steady.


    Simon turned to the people.


    “Let this be known,” he dered. “Treason will never be tolerated. The crown stands. The kingdom endures.”