You Want My Crown Fine Take the Trash Too (by Mountain River) novel Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Once the two pack leaders had departed, a serene stillness enveloped the hall, a welcome reprieve from the earlier tension. The air, thick with the remnants of their heated discussions, began to clear, and I was just about to lose myself in the pages of my book once more when one of the guards re-entered, his demeanor noticeably uneasy.

“Ms. Luneborn,” he began, shifting uncomfortably on his feet, “the clerk from the jewelry shop is outside. He claims he has come to confess his sins and is begging to see you, no matter the cost…”

I blinked, momentarily taken aback, before the memory of that haughty clerk flooded back to me. His arrogance had been palpable, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted this sudden display of humility.

Donovan, leaning casually against the wall, shot me a sly grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Let him in. I’m quite intrigued to hear what sort of ‘confession’ he has prepared for us.”

A moment later, the clerk stumbled through the doorway, his movements awkward and desperate, as if he were crawling on his hands and knees. When he finally reached my feet, he collapsed, dropping to his knees and weeping uncontrollably.

“Forgive me, Ms. Luneborn!” he wailed, his voice thick with despair. “I was blind not to recognize your true worth! Please, you are kind and merciful—spare my worthless life!”

In a frantic gesture, he fumbled a heavy pouch from his coat, lifting it with trembling hands as if it were the weight of the world. “This is everything I’ve saved over the years. I offer it all to you. Please, forgive me!”

Watching him grovel so pitifully before me was almost surreal. It was hard to reconcile this pathetic figure with the arrogant clerk I had encountered in the jewelry shop just days before.

Donovan remained silent, his expression unreadable as he took a sip from his cup, leaving the decision entirely in my hands.

I regarded the man with a cool detachment, my voice steady as I asked, “Do you truly believe I need your money?”

He flinched at my words, his entire body trembling as he erupted into even louder sobs. “No, no, of course not! I was wrong! I deserve whatever punishment you deem fit for me!”

A flicker of amusement crossed my mind as I recalled our last encounter. “You didn’t seem so humble when you were siding with Julia just the other day.”

He scrambled to defend himself, his voice rising in desperation. “I had no choice, Ms. Luneborn! Julia had the Alpha’s backing and could practically do whatever she wanted! If I didn’t obey, my shop would have been destroyed by dawn! My entire family relies on that store. I simply couldn’t afford to defy her!”

There was a sincerity in his eyes that I couldn’t dismiss. I understood the fear that drove him to betray his principles. In his position, standing against an Alpha-backed bully was akin to signing his own death warrant. Yet, he had chosen the path of least resistance, aiding her out of sheer terror.

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