Chapter 389: Judgment Beneath the Crescent

Chapter 388: Judgment Beneath the Crescent

At the same time

Silence ruled the clearing.

Not the comfortable kind — not the quiet that came with snowfall or distant wind — but the kind that pressed into the lungs and made every heartbeat feel too loud.

Orion’s gaze locked onto Holly.

There was no warmth in his eyes like she hoped for. No acknowledgment that she was his. What stared back at her was cold focus, sharpened into something dangerous and predatory.

The kind of stare that made prey forget how to breathe.

A ripple of unease moved through everyone gathered, trainees and examiners alike. Someone swallowed audibly. Another muttered under their breath, barely loud enough to carry.

"Holly’s in trouble."

Holly heard it.

Her bravado wavered like a flame in sudden wind.

She straightened instinctively, shoulders pulling tight, jaw locking as though posture alone could protect her. The bandages binding her wrists seemed suddenly heavier.

"I—I didn’t do anything," she blurted, the words tumbling out fast and loud. "It wasn’t my fault. I swear. I didn’t do anything wrong."

Orion took a measured step forward.

The snow crunched softly beneath his boots, the sound somehow louder than a shout in the stillness.

The air shifted with him — pressure thickening, presence rolling outward in slow, heavy waves. It made the hairs along spines rise. Even the examiners subtly adjusted their footing, instinctively granting him space.

The circle around Holly loosened without anyone consciously deciding it.

One step back.

Another.

Until she stood alone.

Holly kept talking, her voice climbing with panic. "Sophia is a demon! I am sure of it. No one else seemed to know that she is. She’s using a strange magic on all of you, especially you, Orion." Then suddenly her words took a different turn. "We were attacked and there was nothing I could do. Nothing! I couldn’t save her even if I wanted to—"

Orion’s jaw tightened.

A faint wince crossed his face — a reaction to her lies.

"No," he said quietly.

The single word cut through her frantic babbling like a blade.

She faltered for half a breath — then continued anyway, desperation flooding back in. "You have to believe me. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t plan anything. I didn’t hurt her—"

Orion closed the distance in a blink, his face scrunching in disgust as that familiar sensation — the one that came whenever someone lied — overcame him.

One moment he was three steps away.

The next, he was directly in front of her.

Holly’s breath caught violently in her throat, and she fell silent.

His hands lifted.

For a fraction of a second, his fingers hovered near her neck, and he thought of taking the life out of her.

The entire clearing froze in shock.

Muscles locked. Wolves bristled beneath skin. Several trainees felt their hearts slam painfully against their ribs.

Even Holly went silent.

Orion stared at her throat — at the fragile pulse fluttering beneath her skin — before something restrained him. His hands slowly curled into fists and dropped back to his sides.

Control returned, but barely.

His voice, when he spoke, was calm.

"You know I hate lies," he said quietly. "You know exactly what they do to me."

His eyes lifted to hers again, piercing and unforgiving. "And yet you keep lying anyway."

Holly swallowed hard.

Her lips parted — but nothing came out.

Orion tilted his head slightly. "Tell me something, Holly."

"Did you plan for Sophia to die?"

A sharp intake of breath rippled through the gathered trainees.

Nia stiffened violently. Laia’s fingers curled into fists so tight her knuckles whitened. Micah’s jaw clenched.

Holly stared at Orion as if the words hadn’t registered.

Her mouth opened.

Closed.

Opened again.

"It’s not my fault," she whispered finally, her voice cracking. "It’s not—"

Orion laughed then — a dark, humorless laugh edged with something that made several people flinch instinctively.

"The only reason you’re still standing," he said softly, "is because I don’t hit females."

The weight of that statement settled heavily into the air.

Holly’s face drained of color.

Orion stepped closer again — just enough that she had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. His voice lowered further, becoming lethal in its restraint.

"I don’t have time for your stories," he continued. "I don’t care about your justifications. I’m asking you one question."

His eyes burned into hers.

"Did you leave my mate to die?"

The word mate rippled through the clearing, and it rang in Holly’s ears. She hated it. Orion was bewitched. She wanted to tell him, wanted to shout it out — but she kept quiet instead.

Holly’s throat worked visibly. Her breath hitched. Her eyes darted briefly to the faces around her — to Nia’s barely restrained fury, to Laia’s shaking rage, to the cold judgment in the examiners’ expressions.

There was nowhere to run.

Nowhere to hide.

Seconds stretched into minutes.

Finally—

She nodded.

It was small but unmistakable.

"Yes," she whispered. "I did."

Gasps broke out around the clearing.

Rage surged visibly through several bodies. Nia surged forward a step before Micah caught her arm. Laia let out a broken sound somewhere between a sob and a snarl.

Holly lifted her chin slightly, fear and defiance warring in her eyes. "But I had a reason. She’s a—"

The words barely left her mouth before Orion’s lips curved into a dark smile.

"So that’s it," he murmured. "That’s your excuse."

He straightened fully, stepping back half a pace. The movement gave the illusion of distance — but the threat remained suffocating.

"I got what I needed from you," Orion said coolly.

Holly blinked. "W-what...?"

His voice hardened into command. "From this moment forward, you are no longer recognized as a member of this pack."

Everyone turned to him in shock.

Holly’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You can’t—"

"You will leave with nothing but the clothes on your body," Orion continued, cutting her off effortlessly. "You shall have no escort or protection. No food at all either. I don’t care how you survive."

Her breathing became erratic. "You can’t send me out there alone—"

Orion’s gaze sharpened dangerously.

"But whether you leave whole or not," he added quietly, "depends entirely on what condition my mate is found in."

Holly froze.

The meaning landed clearly.

"If Sophia has even one injury," Orion said calmly, "no matter how small, you will pay for it."