Sharkbait

We landed at a nearby airport, and a van met us to drive us to the rural location where the Killington Pack resided. I felt my left forearm, where a silver-plated fighting knife was stapped under my long-sleeve blouse. My jacket had a holster sewn under the left shoulder with a Baby Glock inside, with silver-tipped bullets. The Kevlar vest I was wearing underneath did nothing to flatter my figure. Colleen and Mom were packing as well; Leo was not taking any chances with my security this time. We were not staying at the Pack; instead, we had rooms at a hotel in a nearby town.

“The Alphas will not allow weapons in the trial room, so that is a vulnerability,” Colleen said as she gave me her security brief. She had been in touch with our allied Packs and the Council while Mom and I were at the hospital. “You can keep the vest on, and we will be nearby with our allies around us. The Council will keep the defendants and their supporters away.” We would have a lot of allies in that room.

“You go NOWHERE without Colleen and at least one other Alpha or Luna we trust, and the more around you, the better,” Mom said. “Adrienne, Karen, and Carolyn will all sit by you when you aren’t testifying.” Carolyn was the Three Sisters Luna, which was Kai and Amy’s Pack. They were close allies now.

Colleen nodded. “No one approaches you, not even to shake hands. It’s distasteful, but we can’t forget how Leo almost died at his trial.” The previous Stillwater Alpha had tried to prick him with a poison-tipped ring when I was five. “I’d prefer that you stayed in a secure location unless you were testifying.”

“No,” I said. “I have to be there for Amy, and I won’t hide from them,” I said.

As our van reached the gate, we picked up an escort. Leo and Adrienne joined us in our van. Another vehicle with Alpha Ivan, Luna Karen, and four others led the way to the Assembly Hall, where the trial would take place. Conversations stopped as we walked in the door, and I waved at a few people I knew as we moved to the hall. Security checked our weapons, giving us tags to retrieve them when we left.

Our allies had reserved a section of the chairs, and I saw Betas and Lunas taking seats around the room as I was ushered forward. The jury, the North American Alphas, had several rows of chairs set up along the right side. The witness chair was in front of me, left of the Council table, and behind the Prosecution table.

On the other side of the barricade separating the audience from the front of the room, Beta Lawrence Fenwick saw us and approached. Leo and Adrienne greeted him warmly; Lawrence had defended them in their Council trial thirteen years ago. Now, he would be prosecuting the case against the leadership of Killington. “You are going to be my first witness,” he told me. “I’ll lead you through the timeline you gave me in your deposition. Keep calm on cross-examination, as they will try to rattle you.”

“I’m ready for them,” I said. I sat and checked my phone as we waited for the trial to begin. Mercedes told me her management was thrilled with the shots, and her designers were already working to incorporate my style into a new line for next year. They wanted to schedule an event to kick off the line; I texted her that I’d be in Hawaii in late March on spring break. Kai texted me, thanking me for cheering Amy up last night. He was stuck at school for a few days, taking exams and making arrangements for distance learning so he could spend more time at the hospital with his mate. Susan texted me with a message from Amy that was short and sweet. “Burn their asses,” she said.

I snorted and sent back a thumbs up.

Mom elbowed me to turn the phone off when the Council room door opened. We all stood as they walked in; the Council Chair would be the judge, the Alphas the jury, and the Council would determine the sentence. I hadn’t even noticed the defendants were standing behind their table. I looked over at the two Alphas and the Pack Heirs; I wanted their blood in my teeth for what they did to Amy. The proceedings were scrambled and sent to all Packs for viewing, but it wasn’t like Amy could watch it.

Literally.

It took twenty minutes to get through the trial procedures, directions to the audience and jury, and dealing with last-minute defense motions. The defense team tried to get Beta Fenwick disqualified, saying his Pack stood to benefit from a guilty verdict, and he was too close to the Miesville Pack. Lawrence spanked him, quoting Barry Goldwater: “Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” In his opening statement, he laid out the conspiracy of the Killington Pack to steal a mantled Heir from a captive Alpha Heir.

The lead defense lawyer, Parker Stevenson, got up to give his opening statement. “You will hear a lot of stories today. The Prosecution will ask you to believe their theories of massive conspiracies, led by the Defendants. Do you know why they are theories?” He paused for effect. “Theories exist in the absence of proof. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard by which you members of the jury must decide guilt or innocence. Anything less than that is not justice.”

With that, the Prosecution case started. Lawrence had a sworn statement from Todd Mercer he wanted to have read into the record, and Parker immediately objected. “You must exclude the statement as the Defense has not cross-examined the witness,” he said.

“I offered to bring you to the Florida prison with his legal team, and you refused,” Lawrence countered. “The sworn statement is valid.”

After some discussion, the Chairman sustained the objection, and the statement got tossed. I didn’t like this, as Todd was the only corroborating witness to me.

I was called to the stand next. I moved through the barrier and up to the witness seat, where I swore to tell the truth, and Alpha Leo backed that up with Alpha command. It took almost three hours to get my story out, thanks to the near-constant objections. Parker remained silent as I described my treatment, interjecting when I related what Todd said about motives or when I talked about the reason for my abduction. According to him, it was hearsay or wild speculation. “It wouldn’t be hearsay if you heard Todd’s statement,” I said after he interrupted again. That earned me laughter from the crowd and a rebuke from the Chair.

I saw the looks of horror on people’s faces as I told my story; even my family hadn’t heard everything in my testimony. I laid out the logic that led to my release; that Timothy had gotten an Omega pregnant, taking his mantle with him. That Alpha Theodore was obsessed with keeping a mantled heir and was behind the plot. That Timothy and Traci were involved in the plot, as he had to inseminate me, and Traci needed to raise the child as her own.

On cross-examination, Parker was ruthless. On point after point, he asked me how I knew that to be true. He pushed for me to admit it was my opinion, but I wasn’t going there. “Look, Timothy fucked up,” I finally said. “Traci said in front of witnesses that Alpha Theodore was going to allow her to choice-mate Timothy if he didn’t find his mate at the Summit. Do you honestly believe he picked THIS year because he thought seven years was enough?” I looked around the room. “There are dozens of werewolves here that didn’t find their mates for decades, but they waited. Alpha Theodore knew Timothy had pissed the mantle away, and the only way to get it back was with ME. No other mantled female has come of age in the last five years, and I am the ONLY one coming of age for another twelve years. You moved the Summit back a WEEK just to get me to the scratch and sniff, so don’t insult me by implying it was anything but a chance to see if I was his mate!”

“Mr. Chairman, please instruct the witness to stick to the facts of the matter,” Parker said.

“Those ARE the facts. Everything would have been fine with Alpha Theodore if Timothy would have claimed me as his mate. Instead, he ruined everything and forced the Alpha and Beta to their backup plan. They ALWAYS intended to take me prisoner and use me to incubate an heir.”

“OBJECTION, Mr. Chairman! She is placing motives where she doesn’t have proof!”

“The witness can explain her logic with the permission of the Court,” Lawrence responded.

“I’ll allow it,” the Chairman said as he motioned for me to continue.

“The very place I woke up showed the advanced planning to kidnap me,” I said. “Think about it. They found and purchased a home on a large swath of uninhabited land. They stocked the house with enough food for a month. A concrete room with a steel door was in place, including an eye-bolt sunk deep into the concrete wall. There just happened to be a heavy chain and silver collar there to hold me as I woke. Finally, Max had Todd trained in how to track basal body temperature to detect ovulation, and told him to call when it was happening. That’s not your typical required knowledge for a male who hasn’t found his mate. It IS critical knowledge if you can only get the male away from the Council watchers for a short time to complete raping and impregnating her.”

Parker stared at me, and I stared right back. My wolf shook herself off in my mind and came forward, not appreciating the dominance play he was making. He looked away first. “No further questions,” he said.

“Court is in recess for one hour,” the Chairman said. We all stood as the Council exited, followed by the Alphas.

Lawrence escorted me to my family, and we talked as we let the room empty. “I’ve arranged a separate room for lunch,” he said as he led me out. “The Council has been cooperative on your security.”

“Or they’d have Leo’s boot in the asses,” Adrienne said. “I’d say our chances of being nominated for the Council are near-zero now. Leo has intimidated, browbeat, or just plain dominated the other Alphas and the Council members. They’d have to be crazy to try something now.”

“But we will be ready if they do,” Mom said. We exited the room, returning our weapons to their places, then moved to a conference room on the main floor of the business offices. I sat down, exhausted from the time on the stand. “You did well up there,” Mom said.

“I don’t know if it is enough,” I replied.

“Lawrence is just getting started,” Adrienne said. “Eat.” The Pack had supplied sandwiches, chips, and milk, and I made quick work of it. We were relaxing when the door burst open, and a man I didn’t know walked in. He froze when he saw four guns pointed at him. “Who are you,” Adrienne growled.

“Warrior Patrick,” he said. “The Chairman needs to see you in their chambers immediately,” he said.

“Who specifically?”

“Beta Fenwick and Heir Lawrence only,” he replied.

“Yeah, not happening,” Adrienne said. “We’ll all walk with you back to the Council chambers.” The Warrior protested they weren’t allowed but relented when he realized they wouldn’t let me leave alone. We walked back to the room where the Council sat, and I waited outside while Adrienne verified they had sent for us.

I went in, escorted by my mother and guard. “You asked to see me, Mr. Chairman?”

“Yes. We’ve just received some news from Florida,” he said. “Beta Todd Mercer was found dead in his cell this morning.” I gasped at the news. “His lawyer reports that he hung himself with his bedsheet.”

Damn.