Chapter 19

Jack Dawson was like any other werebear. He preferred the deep woods. He didn't go into the bigger cities and towns. He kept to the smaller towns if he needed something; he would venture out if ordered but usually in his realm, sometimes to other towns that didn't have significant populations.
Ordering online was his thing; they kept apartments in different little towns to stay in if there was a need when traveling. Each apartment was fully furnished and had internet and television to keep up with the times. Werebears did not ever stay in hotels. Too many people, too many smells associated with people.
He looked over at the she-wolf sitting next to him in his jeep. Her hands were bound in front of her, and she sat with resolve; it was like she was going to her executioner. Maybe she was she had done some pretty nasty things, some of which he believed she might have been tricked into at first; that didn't explain her later actions, though.
He didn't talk to her; he felt no need to do so. If his silence adds some anxiety to her punishment, so be it.
They arrived in good time; two of the Kings guards and a servant met them at the back entrance. The guards took the female, and the servant took the one bag that Jack allowed her to have. He would not see her again till the morning when the King would sentence her.
Once he was inside, one of the king's servants motioned for Jack to follow him to the king's private chambers. Once there, he bowed and then sat next to the King by a large fireplace.
"Now, Jack, please show me the evidence and tell me all you know. I will go to the female personally to gain the rest of the information; I will find it if she has any more."
Jack flinched a little; the King has a unique ability to look into your heart and soul. It can be very invasive and can even be very painful if it is met with resistance.
Jack began with the physical evidence, and then they talked for two long hours before the King was satisfied that he had enough evidence to clean out the Rising Moon Pack.
"Your Highness, I have to say that I feel there is a lot more to the situation than meets the eye; I still think that Alpha Michael had or still has a benefactor. "
"I looked at the financials before; there was no way he could get something this complex and lucrative off the ground, not without an original loan or at the very least a partnership with a wealthier person."
"Jack, I want to tell you this again, so we are very clear on this; I want every guilty party punished in that pack, I want those who knew but did nothing, I want those that did the smallest of things right up to the ring leaders. I want you to bring me that Alpha Michael shit smear directly before me, unharmed."
"Yes, my King, it will be done as ordered. What of the innocent?"
"If there is any, escort them here, or if there is another pack they wish to go to, then take them there."
"Now, if you will excuse me, Jack, I have to talk to that she-wolf and see if we can get some more answers."
________________________
Lily was taken to a small cell of a room. The guards pulled her inside, put her suitcase at her feet, and then locked her in the room.
The room consisted of a small bed, big enough for one person, a small dresser, and a mirror. There was one small shelf under the barred window. The glass in the window was milky, it would let light in, but you couldn't see out of it. Everything was grey. The floor was the hard stone of a slightly darker grey.
When she sat down on the bed, she had a feeling she was going to be here a long time. She started to put the things she was allowed to bring away with a sigh. There was a hook on the back of the door; other than the small dresser, there was nowhere else to put clothing. Not that she brought a lot with her anyway.
When she opened the top dresser drawer, she found two towels, two washcloths, three candles, and a candle holder. Nothing to light them with, though. Once she was done, she kept the suitcase under the bed for extra storage. She sat down on the bed with nothing else to do. She noted that the room had no light source other than the window.
She heard the key in the lock and stood up; a tiny older woman came. She carried a tray; it had a cup of tea, a bowl of soup, and a sandwich. She placed it on her bed and pointed to the candle,
“The candle will be lit once every night; you will only be given the three candles to last you for the month; you live in the dark if you run out.”
The old woman opened the door and slammed it behind her; Lily could hear the key in the lock; she looked down at the food with a sigh.
She went to the door and knocked on it; another key in the lock, and a guard came inside.
"I was just wondering about using the bathroom.?"
The guard looked at her without emotion on his face. He said, "Eat first," without letting her say anything more; he was back on his side of the door, locking it.
She sat down to eat with a sigh, finally noticing that they didn’t give her any utensils to eat with.

________________________
The spy sat down in the woods just outside of the borders of Alpha Duncan’s Pack territory. He was waiting for the informer to meet him. He almost was caught once when he got a little too close. He gets the creeps when he is here; this pack is challenging and always on alert. One missed a step, and he will have to do a lot of explaining.
The informer, well, not an informer, more like they were holding his son hostage for a little while. He didn't hear the guy come up next to him; the informer was silent as a ghost.
"I don't have anything to report other than something is going on with the werebears. Their leader is a good friend of our Alpha. He has been here twice. Usually, he doesn't travel this far south of his clan. Unless it is important."
"The female you seek is with our Alpha. No one in the pack has seen either one for almost a week now." Marco the Beta is doing all the work for the Alpha in his absence."
"That is all I have for now." Then he disappeared into the forest as silent as he came.
The spy didn't waste any time getting out of there. The informer was on the verge of saving his son and loyalty to his Alpha and pack. He knew that the informer would become more difficult; his son was always in trouble, that is how they found out about his father; the kid was always blabbering away about everything and anything.
If they kill the kid, they lose the father. However, they could only use the kid for so long. If that father starts to suspect that his son is not in any danger and is the mastermind who thought all this up, then the father isn't going to be happy.
As it was already, he suspected that the informer was holding back information, only telling them enough to be interested and not enough to do any damage. Alpha Michael isn't going to be happy about this. He has a feeling that his next orders regarding the informer are going to be to kill him.
____________________________
When Lily was done eating, the guard kept his promise and took her to the toilet. That is what it was a small hole in the wall, with a curtain for a door, no sink—nothing but a toilet and a lightbulb on the ceiling with a string.
One small roll of toilet paper sat on the floor next to the toilet. The curtain didn't go down to the floor; she could see the guard’s boots just on the other side. Mortified, she did her business as quickly as possible and then informed the guards that she was done.
She thought she was going back to the room when she was done. Instead, the guards brought her to a double door, they knocked once, and the doors opened, inside was another guard. This one looked at her in pity. She held her head up higher. She didn't need anyone's pity.
The guard brought her into a big circular room made of stone, there were windows, but there wasn't any glass in them, just long white with gold trim curtains. The only thing in the room were two chairs facing each other in the very center of the room; there was a massive fire roaring in the fireplace on the other end of the room.
There was another door opposite the one she came through; the guard sat her down in one of the chairs, and vines came out of nowhere, restraining her to the chair so she couldn't move.
She sat straight like a lady; she was determined not to show the fear she was feeling; she didn't have much of anything left. They’d taken everything they could from her; all she had left was her defiance to live, no matter what. No one will take that away from her or her wolf, Zinnia.
Zinnia had been quiet of late; they both were resigned to the fact that it was time to tell everything and let the chips fall where they may; she knew she was messed up and did some terrible things; Zinnia went crazy there for a while after they killed their mates, Leo and his wolf Zack.
She started to tear up again and forced it back; the guard had left, and she was alone in this room; the only sounds that could be heard were the cracks and pops of the fireplace. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever this was to begin.