Chapter 113: The Trial
Dominic
As if the situation weren’t bad enough, Irina arrives to make me feel even worse and worsen our situation. Once again, I get the feeling that she thinks she rules the place. Our uncle has given her an important role.
“Is everything ready?” asks Oscar, before we can speak with her, not that I’m in the mood too, anyway.
“It seems our brother is missing,” Kurt whispers, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
“Pay attention, this is about to start,” adds the old alpha, and Irina smiles as she approaches us. She looks at Maddie with disgust, from head to toe, taking in her torn jeans, dirty coat, and messy hair. Irina is wearing one of those tight dresses that show off her figure. Kurt growls at her disdainful look, and I’m caught between panic and horror.
My mind drifts to that terrible scene with her, one that’s burned into my skin and my mind. But Irina loses interest in my mate and focuses on us, especially me.
“My alphas… we saw each other recently, and you promised to return. Where have you been?” she asks with a smile.
“Wanting to stay as far away from you as possible,” my wolf growls.
“What are you up to, Irina? What are you trying to achieve with all this?” Kurt asks.
“Me? My goal is always to help the pack, especially my alphas,” she replies, moving closer to me. I take a step back as best as I can, struggling against the ropes; my stomach churns.
“You’re supporting Oscar, aren’t you? He wants to get rid of us! Tell the truth,” I gasp. She’s standing in front of me, running her hands over my chest. I’m bound with ropes soaked in wolfsbane, but I’d rather have a thousand injections of that stuff than have this woman near me.
“I support the pack, and I’d rather support you, both of you. We were having such a good time, weren’t we, Dominic?” she whispers as we hear Maddie scream.
“Get away from him! Don’t touch him!” she yells, and my wolf howls.
“Mate is defending us and is jealous,” says my wolf, satisfied. Irina looks at her and laughs.
“Oh, girl… the things this handsome dark-haired man and I have done together. Do you really think you can compete with a she-wolf?” she responds.
“Don’t listen to anything she says, Maddie! Don’t believe a word!” Kurt shouts. I’m going to vomit from the stress, and then we hear someone call for us, and we are inside the hall. Irina slaps my ass and whispers to me:
“We’ll see each other soon, Alpha. We’ll finish what we started…” she says seductively, then, walking, swaying her hips and sending me flirtatious looks. Goddess, if this is my fate, I’d rather die. They hurry me along, but I see my mate looking distraught, and all I want is to comfort her.
“What was that? That woman…” she retorts.
“Trust us, mate. I know nothing has gone the way we wanted, but please, don’t lose faith in us,” I plead, and she nods. I hate everything that’s happening, but what I hate more is seeing Maddie suffer.
We enter the great hall. There are more people than last time, and I immediately spot the men of the council off to one side, dressed in their formal suits, with serious expressions and their alpha airs. Damn them!
“Like they didn’t plan this beforehand? What a load of crap,” Kurt growls, and he’s right. There’s no way they didn’t plan this well in advance, but we had no choice but to come. I see Lionel standing off to the side with Robin. They were still searching for Liam at the temple, but if he’s not here, the beta must have escaped.
A man from the council is already speaking in the center. It seems we arrived late. They had everything prepared!
“This has been a failure, as the council already predicted! A mere human cannot be Luna. The world of wolves is separate from the world of humans for a reason!” the councilman shouts, while my uncle claps. Irina stands next to him, searching for someone with her eyes. Would it be Logan?
“They started without us! Our uncle deliberately left us out,” Kurt shouts in my head.
“If we don’t start staking our claim, those bastards will get ahead of us,” I reply. I shove the guards holding me and push my way to the center of the stage.
“That’s not true! Our Luna survived the rite. She’s not a wolf, but she’s survived all this time!” I shout, and the pack members stare at me. Some pack members express surprise at seeing me tied up like an animal, while the councilmen attempt to regain control.
“Wait your turn to speak, boy. You’ll get your chance,” one of them says, but I interrupt him.
“I’m an alpha! I’m the son of my father and mother, who worked hard to build this pack and provided you with shelter and safety,” I roar, feeling my brother at my side. Maddie must be next to him.
“Nephew,” my uncle threatens, but I continue.
“Someone unjustly subjected our mate, who is human, to a rite she wasn’t meant to endure or suffer through, even though we had already accepted her and no law obligated her to do so.” And Madeleine has shown great strength. She survived the rite! She stands before us now, safe and sound, after enduring the Black Forest,” I declare loudly. I hear gasps of surprise, and some point at our mate in shock.
“The Black Forest… that’s the most dangerous place around here! A human survived alone in the Black Forest?”
“Incredible!”
“That’s right, and not only that, but wolves from other packs tried to prevent her from succeeding, and yet she survived,” I proclaim, and now more murmurs rise.
“The human survived because you helped her! You interfered with the rite!” one councilman shouts.
“We helped her because other wolves had kidnapped her and our beta!” my brother yells. The uproar grows. I can see in the faces of the pack members that they’re confused, yet deeply surprised by what I’m saying.
Not only was it incredible what our mate had done, but the fact that another pack had interfered was simply inconceivable, at least for some. However, the council is obsessed with their sick crusade to ruin us.
“Alpha Oscar himself caught you in the act, helping her! If it’s true that the human survived and passed the rite, where’s the proof?” shouts one councilman, while my uncle nods, waiting to see how things unfold before acting.
“Show us proof of what you’re saying, or we will accuse you of interfering in a sacred rite,” one elder yells.
“There’s proof that other packs interfered in the rite at the ancient temple!” Kurt shouts. I feel my mate trembling, and it breaks my heart that she has to endure this.
“The temple has remained abandoned for decades,” another councilman declares. What these boys are saying is lies!” another councilman declares. I see Irina whispering to those around her, no doubt spreading more lies.
“Show us the proof, or you will all be accused, and she will be considered a traitor! She will face the full weight of our wrath!” a councilman rises and shouts above the crowd. I fear our words and our truth won’t be enough when suddenly another voice rings out, clear and commanding, as if they’ve just arrived.
“I have the proof right here, in my hands.”