Page 207 of Maksym

He turned back to Maddie. “You agreed to remain for the Black Harvest Moon Festival.”

“I agreed to stay because I believed I was among friends.”

“But you agreed.”

“Yes.”

“Nobody forced you to stay.”

“I was manipulated into staying.”

“I asked whether anyone forced you.”

Maddie leaned forward slightly. “If you mean did someone drag me by the hair before the drugging and altar, no. If you mean did people lie, isolate me, tamper with my phone, drug my wine, bind me to an altar, and try to rip out my mate bond, then yes, I’d say force showed up eventually.”

The truth spell did not stir in rebuke.

The prosecutor’s jaw tightened.

“You testified that Prince Nikolay had previously treated you with coldness.”

“Yes.”

“With disdain.”

“Yes.”

“He humiliated you publicly.”

“He hurt me publicly. I won’t help you make it prettier.”

“Did he or did he not make you feel unwanted?”

“He did.”

“And being among wolves felt comfortable to you, did it not?”

“I’m a wolf. Running with wolves felt good. That doesn’t mean I wanted Sage Lynch.”

“You admired Ironwood’s traditions.”

“I admired what I was shown before I knew what they were hiding.”

“Before you changed your mind.”

Maddie’s expression went still.

There were moments when a witness became dangerous not because she shouted, but because she stopped needing to be liked. Maddie found that place then. I saw it settle over her. Not cold exactly, but clear.

“I didn’t change my mind at the altar,” she said. “I found out what their minds had been all along.”

The counsel’s nostrils flared.

“You were bound, yes, but rituals may involve restraints for safety. Especially when powerful magic is being performed.”

“Whose safety?”

He blinked. “The participants.”