Chapter 36

Mila’s gut twisted hard when she saw where they were keeping Rori. They’d completed isolated him in a disused bank vault. He’d made no effort to escape, of course.

Mila wanted to rush to him and hug him close. The guards attempted to block her way once more. She snarled, ready to kill.

“Let her pass.” Kody commanded forcefully.

Mila sprinted forward. Her poor little Rori. He was sitting still, his thin, branchlike arms hugging his knees. When he saw her, he stretched his arms forward, reaching for her as she rushed him.

His body was hard as stone. Like Jed’s it had no give against Mila’s gentleness, but when he hugged her back, he felt fragile.

He was making a high-pitched crooning noise. He was crying.

Mila lifted him up in her arms, cradling him against her body. She turned to glare at the wolf guards. “I’m taking him.”

Kody took a step back, having no intention of stopping her. He glared daggers at the guards, daring them to disagree. Foolishly, they did.

“You can’t just take him. The tribunal will start soon.”

Rori was shaking terribly. He clung to his adoptive mother tightly like a child and his boney tail wrapped around her waist. He made no response to the trial other than to continue to weep in Mila’s ear.

“He is a child and my responsibility.” Mila hissed, baring her teeth.

The guards met her glare, but they flinched slightly. Even if she was small, she was powerful and now she was a mother. If she were a wolf, she would be a prized pack member. It warred with their instincts to stop her now.

Fortunately for them, the alphas came then. Kiara was shadowing her mother and father, but Mila’s eyes narrowed in on her the moment they appeared. Kiara, beautiful and blond, standing a foot taller than Mila held herself like a princess.

Kiara’s lips pulled into a smug little smile when she saw Rori and Mila. Mila’s small stature as she stood against the behemoth wolves. No intimidating Jed backing her. Only the small Rori who was crying without sign of stopping.

Her gaze slid over to Kody, turning instantly admiring. He was taller than she and still quite nude. He was truly something to look at. If that was all it was, Mila wouldn’t have felt quite so awful.

She felt that she understood Kiara in that moment, seeing that look on her face. It was a look that Mila had seen many times before on the faces of other women. It was a very human expression.

Yes, she thought, they are no better than the humans.

For years, Mila had watched human society. She had been an impartial observer of all manner of conflict that had happened. Fights for power, love, land, religion, hate.

She hadn’t been required to hold an opinion of the humans. Ae hadn’t ever asked. They were the guards that were merely there to watch.

But since becoming a separate entity, Mila had developed herself as a singular being. She had come to the conclusion that the humans were faulty creatures. Despite having so little physical ability, they had become apex predators on the surface owing entirely to intelligence.

Intelligence was not infallible, however. They were so easy swayed by emotion. Natural fear of things that were different, stemming from self-preservation turned to racism. Politics turned to greed. Religion turned to radicalization. All ridiculous, foolhardy reasons for strife.

Mila could make a case for the wolves being fearful of outsiders. She was stronger than she’d realized and between Jed and Rori, there could be genuine physical disadvantages. If they feared them for reasons of safety, she might have been able to sympathize.

With the guards, that might very well be the case. As they stood on either side of Mila, guiding her and Rori toward the tribunal, their eyes darted nervously down at her. A true fear.

Now, seeing the way Kiara’s eyes followed Kody, overlooking Mila and Rori, Mila understood. The she-wolf had preyed on the unease of her fellows. She, herself didn’t fear the threat outsiders presented, she’d merely used it as an excuse.

This entire thing was a plot. She didn’t care about the loss of the elder. She didn’t fear Rori, Mila, or the witches. Kiara’s eyes reflected nothing but greed. She wanted Kody. And because she couldn’t physically stand against Mila, she had used her people.

Mila hadn’t thought for a moment that Rori was truly responsible, but she hadn’t been certain about the witches. She’d like to think she wasn’t fooled by Kimber’s kindness, but she couldn’t have been entirely sure.

Now, as they stepped up to designated area for the trial, Mila knew for certain, this entire thing was a sham.



Mila released a long, low hiss. Rori’s cries cut short, stiffening as he sensed the change in her. He opened his eyes, turning his head to blink at the scene that awaited them.

They were in an open town square. The grass had been trimmed and several tables and chairs had been placed to simulate a court room with the alphas taking seats where they could observe their packs and look over the accused.

An omega male brought clothes for Kody who began changing next to the table. His gaze hardly left Mila’s guards, ready in case anyone tried something against her and Rori. He sat down dutifully next to his father, Kiara taking a spot on his other side. He was plainly ignoring her, his jaw tight, though she continued to glance at him amorously.

Kody’s mother was merely a beta so she was not invited to sit next to her husband and child. She being soothed by a number of elder females, having evidentially taken the death very hard. Even with her eyes red and wet with tears, she glanced toward Mila sympathetically. She was a mother, after all.

The little bit of kindness wasn’t enough to ebb Mila’s anger though because a moment later more guards brought out the witches.

Kimber and her coven were chained. Their normally dreamy expressions were downcast. Their loose, pretty dresses were dirty and rumpled. A couple of them were crying, all of their faces contorting from the pain as they were led rather forcefully into the square.

The wolves guiding them had to wear thick gloves of leather to avoid contact with the chains. The chains were slightly blackened with age, making it clear from a glance that they were pure silver. Underneath, the witches’ skin was an angry red with bright blisters forming, their thin dresses inadequate protection. They were being burned.

To add to the insult, behind the alpha’s tables, large beams at be erected. Beams with loops for the chains and pyres being placed around them. All around the stoic alphas, the betas and omegas were being gathered into a mob. The trial not even started, but it was clear to all what the verdict was to be.

Truly, no better than the humans. This was only dressed up as a tribunal, it was to end with a witch burning.