Silence engulfed the room.

The only sound was the manic clicking of cameras.

The flash froze the moment: the fearsome Bloodmoon Wolf King, his billion-dollar face inches from mine, demanding to know why I offered a mere three thousand bucks.

I glanced at the line of professional cameras outside the security cordon.

Streaming live for the world to see.

I felt the impending doom. That was going to be bad.

"Talk." Frederick's grip on my chin was firm, his calloused fingers rough against my skin, sending a jolt through me.

He did not care about the onlookers.

To him, it was just me and that ridiculous sum of money.

"You weren't so tight-fisted last night in bed, begging me to speed up."

His voice was a low murmur, meant for my ears only. "Ms. Jameson, so you're into getting things for free, huh?"

My cheeks burned with a sudden flush.

It had to be the intense cedar scent coming off him!

"Release her!" Arthur's voice boomed as he knocked Frederick's hand away, standing over me like a protective lion. "Ignore this beast's lies!"

He stared down the camera, his voice shaking but determined. "This is defamation! A shameless insult!! My sister's been groomed in the finest aristocratic traditions since she was a kid; she's never even held a man's hand!"

I hid behind him, my guilt overwhelming.

Brother, stop. Please. You're only making it worse, I thought.

Arthur gestured at the cash on the table, his sneer cutting. "You claim she paid for you? That's a laugh!

"She's high society, you're just an animal! Why would she even look your way?

"This money, this note, you made it all up! You spun a dirty lie to clear your name, tarnishing my sister's reputation!"

The chatter of the live stream audience buzzed in the background.

"Good heavens, Mr. Jameson is spot on! How could someone like Miss Rosalie ever fall for a werewolf?"

"The Alpha King has no shame. Rape is one thing, but spreading filthy rumors is another level!"

"Yet, if you look at the Wolf King's build, those legs, I might be tempted to shell out three grand myself."

The tide of public opinion was turning in favor of the "victim."

Frederick did not offer any excuses.

He simply took his time adjusting his cuffs, eyeing me with a mocking gaze.

His eyes bore into me like a hunter watching a rabbit in its final throes.

"Innocent?" he chuckled with amusement, taking a step closer.

His presence was so intense that it made the cops around us instinctively back away.

"If you're all so convinced she's a victim," he gestured to the love bite on my neck, his voice dripping with nonchalance:

"Perhaps you'd like to weigh in.

"The marks of coercion and the signs of desire are worlds apart.

"The scratches her nails left on my back last night haven't even begun to heal."

The room erupted into chaos!

Reporters swarmed us, microphones thrust in our direction.

"Mr. Wolf King! Are you suggesting this was a mutual affair?"

"Miss Rosalie! How do you respond?"

Arthur was visibly trembling with rage, his eyes filled with a mix of pain and hope as he looked at me. "Rosalie! Tell them! Did he force you?!"

I parted my lips.

If I spoke the truth, Arthur would be devastated, our family's stocks would nosedive, and I would be the world's biggest joke.

Lie?

I locked eyes with Frederick.

His golden irises were a tempest, silently threatening: if I lied, he would spill every last detail.

I was trapped, with no good way out.

In the end, I chose the most cowardly and contemptible response.

I hung my head, biting my lip fiercely, silent.

By default.

To Arthur, my silence was the quiet of a victim.

To Frederick, it was the ultimate betrayal.

"Alright then," The light in Frederick's eyes extinguished.

He turned away, his voice as icy as the grave. "Since you won't confess.

"Then we'll just have to prove it."

He gestured to the nearby hospital, "We'll do the injury check right now.

"Let the doctor declare to the world whether she was 'coerced'."

Arthur was momentarily taken aback, then ecstatic.

To him, the Alpha King was on a path to self-destruction!

"Alright! Let's do the check!" Arthur clutched my hand and declared to the cameras:

"Let the media be our witness! If the exam shows my sister was assaulted, the Alpha King of Bloodmoon Wolf Kingdom will step down!"

Frederick's lips twisted into a chilling smirk.

That smile sent a jolt through my heart.

"If it turns out-" he locked eyes with me, emphasizing every syllable. "That she was willing, even took pleasure in it.

"Then Arthur, you'll have to present your sister as a peace offering, and she'll marry me."

Arthur was resolute: "You have my word!"

I was speechless.

I just wanted to disappear.

Seriously.

Didn't anyone care what I thought?

Arthur dragged me along like I was heading to the gallows, toward the examination room.

Thirty minutes later.

The examination room door swung open.

The doctor emerged, report in hand, his face beaded with sweat and his gaze shifty.

"Out with it!" Arthur lunged forward, seizing his collar, "What does it say?!"

The doctor gulped, his body shaking.

Seeing his face, I grasped why he was petrified.

He was Arthur's college chum, bankrolled by the Jameson family for a decade.

If he spoke the truth.

If he said Ms. Jameson willingly paid for male company.

Arthur would keel over from shock, the family honor in ruins.

In that circle, where mutual interests reigned, truth was trivial. Appearances were everything.

So, he spun the lie that would save face for the family. "There's evidence of drugs."

The doctor's whisper was like a clap of thunder.

I snapped my head up, staring at him in utter disbelief.

The doctor shut his eyes and took the plunge.

"The blood test revealed a high dose of hallucinogens. Miss Rosalie was taken advantage of while unconscious."

The room exploded.

The last thread of sanity in my head snapped. That was the end.

We were supposed to safeguard our family's good name, but instead, we were pushing Frederick toward his doom.

The crowd gasped and murmured in shock.

Flashbulbs popped, relentless and blinding.

The live feed went wild.

Sensational headlines were already brewing: [Wolf King's Drug-Fueled Assault,] [Tragedy Befalls Wealthy Heiress.]

"I knew it," Arthur's grip on the doctor loosened, his eyes bloodshot with fury.

He was the picture of unbridled rage.

"I knew it was you, you monster!!"

In a flash, he grabbed a high-powered rifle, racked the bolt, and aimed it straight at Frederick's forehead.

"I'll kill you!!

"Everyone, ready! Fire!! Light these werewolves up!!"

Chaos reigned.

Dozens of special ops encircled the Werewolf Guards.

I was trembling with fear, desperate to break through and explain: "It's not true! Brother! The doctor's lying! I was willing!!"

However, my voice was trapped inside me.

Because Frederick was smiling.

Amidst the sea of guns, the scorn of the internet, and the label of "rapist" hanging over him, he just chuckled, a low, menacing sound that sent shivers down anyone's spine.

The two cops nearest to him could barely stand, their hands shaking too much to aim.

"Alright," Frederick said, lifting his head.

His eyes, once icy and golden, then morphed into the vertical slits of a predator, filled with a wild, murderous rage.

He ignored the cops, ignored Arthur.

His gaze was fixed on me.

Step by step, he advanced.

"Halt! I'll shoot if you move!" Arthur bellowed, finger twitching on the trigger, but the Wolf King's presence was too overwhelming, his hand shaking too much to fire.

Frederick did not even flinch.

He walked right up to me, as if the guns pointed at him were nothing but toys.

The overpowering aura that surrounded him was like a net, suffocating and inescapable.

Tears streamed down my face as I looked at him, helpless.

I wanted to deny it, to flee.

However, Frederick gave me no chance.

With a rough swipe, he erased the blood from my lips.

"Rosalie," he uttered my name, and this time it was not in jest; it was an accusation.

"So, you want to pin a rapist's badge on me?"

He leaned in close, his breath hot on my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"If I don't live up to the crime you've crafted for me, wouldn't that disappoint Jameson's elaborate schemes?"

My heart skipped a beat.

In a dizzying moment, before the eyes of everyone, he snatched me up, slinging me over his shoulder as if I were just spoils of war.

"Ah!!" My scream pierced the air.

"Release her!!" Arthur's voice was frantic as he fired his gun.

"Da da da!"

Gunfire erupted.

Shadows darted past: Werewolf Guards, too quick to see, intercepting the bullets.

Chaos erupted.

Screams, gunshots, and the crash of breaking glass filled the air.

Frederick, with me in tow, sent the special ops officer flying through a window with a single kick, the man's heavy body shattering the glass like a thrown doll.

The fury of the Alpha King was unstoppable.

He strode through the debris, crunching glass beneath his boots as he exited the police station.

"Arthur! Save me!!" My plea was desperate.

However, Arthur was pinned down, bleeding and struggling against two werewolves, forced to watch me being carried away in despair.

"Rosalie!!"

His shout was muffled as the door closed behind me.

Outside, the engine of a black bulletproof Hummer roared to life.

Frederick flung open the door and tossed me into the back seat without a shred of gentleness.

I landed hard on the leather, and before I could right myself, he was on top of me.

The door slammed shut.

Locked in with him, his presence was all-consuming.

Huddled in the corner, I watched as the man before me shed his false front, and terror engulfed me.

The car lurched forward, the force slamming me against the seat.

Frederick loosened his tie, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light of the carriage.

He watched me tremble, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"Quit looking around, no one's coming to save you."

He seized my ankle, yanking my retreating leg back, spreading it, stripping down my skirt.

"Why the tears?" His fingers brushed against my sensitive skin.

"The doctor claimed I drugged you before, well-"

He pressed his body against mine, his eyes ablaze with desire and anger.

"Let's give him a real show, let you beg me for closeness while you're wide awake."