Chapter 135

Alpha Gabe POV

The amount of noise in this meeting room is enough to make my ear drums erupt. The council men are arguing and pushing evidence around the table like it's a game of Clue. We have the data base pulled up, scouring through names that match the ledgers and trying to make connections with dates and initials. "Why don't we just ask him?" Connor says next to me.

"Ask who?" I say.

"Alpha James. He's going to have to come speak to his crimes anyway, may as well see what he will willingly offer up so we aren't trying to find connections between all of this stuff for weeks. It's just delaying the inevitable." He scratches the back of his neck like he's embarrassed by what he said. "Right?"

"I suppose it is, yes. But it is unlikely he will admit to any of it. Obviously testimony and what we have on paper will speak for itself."

"Maybe he feels guilty, maybe he's willing though," Connor argues.

"It's something we can discuss. Right now they are waiting for Beta Roger to arrive with what he has found. I think they want to hear what the Luna has to say as well," I remind him. "It's also easier to break their bond if they are near to each other."

"It's not really," he says. "I was talking to one of the priestesses the other day and she said that all that needs to be done is a mating mark that is reciprocated and the original bond will break."

"Why would you speak to the priestess about that?" I ask, suddenly curious about what my son has been up to.

"I want to be able to council my pack," he looks sheepishly away. "You know, when I'm running the pack that is. Also, I was talking to her about Daniella."

"What about Daniella?" I ask quietly. This conversation probably isn't one to be having during all this turmoil but it's clearly on my son's mind.

"She's my fated, just like we thought. I wanted to mark her before we had a ceremony and she got wierd about it, saying the Moon Goddess wouldn't like it and that I'm an Alpha and we need to have a proper ceremony. I wanted to ask the priestess if the Moon Goddess gets mad," he says.

I chuckle, I can't help it. "She told you no, I take it."

"Yep, says the Moon Goddess just wants us with our fated and once upon a time, the marking was our mating ceremony. Integration into human customs pushed us to have formal ceremonies hundreds of years back." He shifts closer. "But then she said I should just have the ceremony to make our future Luna happy."

"She's not wrong about that," I say. "Now, let's get back to business. You told me earlier you found something while helping these men search through documents. What did you find exactly?"

Connor reaches over and pats a folder that is in front of me, sitting under another. I open the folder, focusing on the letter that sits inside. "What is this?" I ask him, my eyes flickering to his face.

"Just read it Dad, trust me."

Nodding, I turn back to the page, my eyes skimming the letter quickly. I stop, my eyes narrowing in on the last paragraph. This is a letter to another Alpha that lists terms of a transfer of a young she-wolf who is nineteen years old. That she-wolf is to be mated immediately to Alpha James, in exchange for his cooperation and silence in the death of three other she-wolves. In addition, he is to pay the sending pack a half a million dollars. "Where did you get this?" I ask him quietly.

Connor shrugs. "It turns out that the Luna mailed it a week ago to Ashlynn. She tucked it into the front of one of the ledgers. I happened to open it. I thought you'd want to see it first, considering who the Alpha is that sent it."

"Indeed. Thank you Connor. This will be dealt with, and this just confirms more wrong doing on the side of Alpha James. I'm nearly speechless." I'd not have believed it if I hadn't have seen the letter with my own eyes, but I know that signature. I've seen it countless times on documents sent all over the continent. This very Alpha now sat on the council and was here during the trials against the Alpha of the Godsend pack. The entire time, he had been involved. I look around the table. There sat only one other councilman who would know him as well as I do, and I'd wager that he too will be shocked. How do you go decades and not see people for who they are?

I'm jolted from my thoughts at a loud knock on the door. It is opened by one of my warriors. He states that Beta Roger has arrived and requests to come to the meeting room immediately with what they have found. The council grants the request and we wait as men start carting in boxes of evidence. The sheer volume is overwhelming. When the very last box is carted in, it's followed by Beta Roger, the councilman who accompanied him, his two protectors and the Luna of the Idaho Falls pack. The Luna stands with her head held high, her hand intertwined with one of the protectors. It takes only moments for everyone in the room to take in the scene and the room falls silent.

"Decades of evidence of Alpha James and his deeds," Beta Roger points to the pile of boxes. "And to top it off, the Luna here has an actual fated mate and let's just say that neither of them are very happy of the lies that Alpha James perpetuated to be mated to her."

The Luna steps forward before anyone can say a word. "I request for my mating to Alpha James to be nullified so that I can mate with my true mate. I request that charges be brought against Alpha James for his part in my exchange," she holds up one finger, "And I further request that once my son becomes of age, he is allowed to take over the Idaho Falls Pack as it's rightful Alpha, and that you remove Alpha James from the position immediately and allow our Beta to run the pack."

You can hear a pin drop in the room and then collectively, every single council member erupts. If I thought the room was loud before, I had not prepared myself for the absolute chaos of the voices now. The lead council member finally bangs his gavel on the table and demands everyone to be silent. He directs his gaze at the Luna, "With all due respect, we need to review the evidence in front of us before any decisions can be made."

The door to the chamber is then flung open and there stand the Kennedy's. "We have more than enough evidence right here council," they shove Mariah Kennedy through the door to stand in front of them. She stands looking slightly feral, but her chin is held high.

"I am Mariah Kennedy. Alpha James kidnapped me and sold me to Alpha Javier. I was raped and forced into servitude. I want justice."

Finding Mariah Kennedy just sealed Alpha James fate, of that I am certain.