Chapter 37

Mila remained standing, holding Rori to her. She glared at the alphas openly, Kody not immune to her ire. Their friendship only went so far.

“The witches and the wendigo are accused of the murder of an elder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit genocide, and harming a pregnant female.” An alpha from one of the other packs stated coldly from his position at the table.

He was perhaps the second eldest male of all the packs present. His hair was entirely grey and his blue eyes swept over the crowd with only mild interest. Perhaps he’d been chosen to speak because he was impartial. He hadn’t made a move toward any particular faction, neither welcoming nor unhospitable to the outsiders.

“And as mother of the accused, the mermaid is under suspicion as well.” Kiara chimed in.

Though Kody turned a glare on the female and several of the alphas looked annoyed at her intrusion, the crowd of onlookers writhed. Nearly every wolf was in attendance. They stood around the procession in a ring, a near solid wall of bodies.

Every one of them was dressed in either white or black, colors of mourning. At the charges, they bristled and snarled. It was clear that outside of their sorrow, they were being whipped into a frenzy. They’d come here being promised blood.

The elder male cleared his throat. “Having waited until the majority of warriors were sent away, the witches and the wendigo instigated trouble with the pregnancy of a female, endangering the lives of her and her litter. They then poisoned the tea of a most esteemed elder of the Blood Moon Pack using the deadly toxin, wolfsbane which caused instant death.”

Mila’s chin lifted. “What evidence is there that they had anything to do with Winnie’s labor?”

She felt a shove from someone behind her, knocking her forward a step. They crowd snarled maliciously. They were not interested in hearing her argue the charges.

The elder alpha’s pale blue eyes skittered around, looking disapproving. “Discomfort during labor is not uncommon, particularly for first time mothers. It can be more trying for omegas in particular due to their smaller stature. Our midwives are well versed in how to handle such matters. However, on this occasion, outsiders were called in to ‘assist’. Most unusual, I’m sure you will agree.”

Grumbles went through the crowd. Several midwives were looking a little miffed. Clearly, they were disgruntled at being cast aside in favor of witches.

Mila barked out a hollow laugh. “I’m sorry? You mean to say that your evidence is purely conjecture?”

She knew that Winnie were in attendance, she wouldn’t have been able to stay quiet during this. Winnie was the one that had shown most interest in the witches from the start. She was the one that requested their help.

Winnie was still in the labor room though. The birth had been arduous, it was only expected that she not be able to leave just yet. Dillon, no doubt, was with her at the moment as well. He was surely being treated for his wounds.

“I believe that it was at the request of Winnie herself that the witches were brought in. She specifically asked that Rori contact them should anything happen to her while I was away. There were witnesses to this.” Mila spoke each word clearly, seeking out every friend of Winnie she could in the crowd.

If they were honest, they couldn’t deny Winnie’s interest in the witches, regardless of their own feelings. Winnie was a strong advocate for welcoming outsiders.

“That may be,” the male continued. “It is fairly clear to all that the omega had been seduced by the witches beforehand.”

Mila felt Rori squeeze her uncomfortably tight. They were both trying to hold themselves and each other back. This accusation was preposterous and entirely conjecture.

“You mean to imply that they were planning from the start to betray her trust? Without any evidance at all?” Mila’s voice raised sarcastically.

How was it possible that they could say these things with straight faces?

The old alpha waved his hand dismissively as though that were enough. “They have all conspired to betray the kindness shown to them by the former elder. One who kindly opened their arms to you when you were starving and sick. They have planned to expose us to outside dangers and destroy us.”

Not so impartial after all. Mila glared snarled, her muscles bunching to attack. “As you have pointed out, it was she that allowed my and my child’s stay among your kind. What possible motivation could we have to harm her of all people?”

“It is well known that the most vulnerable of us are the elders and expecting females. It makes sense to weaken us by harming our most highly treasured and easily targeted members.” Kiara butted in again and this time Mila could hear a small ring to her voice.

It occurred to Mila then that Kiara was using a mild version of the alpha’s tenor to speak. She used it as a subtle reminder that she was in charge. The other alphas were not sensitive to the sound of one of their own, but as she opened her mouth, the crowd became more bloodthirsty. They roiled with more violent energy. She was keeping them angry so they wouldn’t think clearly and the alphas were responding to the distress of their kin.

It was a rather clever strategy, Mila had to admit. She was using it so carefully. It didn’t even feel like a command from an alpha and those most susceptible were those that belonged to her pack or already felt extreme distrust for the outsiders.

Mila’s eyes shifted toward Kody, looking to see if he’d noticed. His face was scrunched like he was concentrating hard. He looked around in confusion, looking from Mila to the guards closest to her, around at the crowd. Then his gaze fell onto his mother.

His mother who was only a beta and had to stand with the crowd. She was one who could be controlled by the alpha’s command. Her face was pale and she looked closer to tears than to anger, but her body was angling toward Mila as though prepared for a fight. Without meaning to, she was following the angry flow of the crowd.

Kiara was instigating them to tear the outsiders apart. If the crowd couldn’t be calmed, Kiara would soon have her wish.