Chapter 74

The Trial

Just as the Council had stated, the prisoners were brought in and chained to the tables at the front of the room. Once they were situated, the witnesses were quietly shuffled in through the door in the back of the room, so that they were not directly visible by the prisoners. Protectors lined the room, several standing stiffly behind the council. Two stood directly behind the prisoners, where they could easily see them and if need be, get to them in a breath. The room was eerily quiet, as the Alpha and Beta came into the room and sat off to the side of the room, where they could see everything and everyone. The council called the trial to begin and started with stating the charges, as related to each individual being tried. Obviously, some of them were being charged with separate things, such has Wyatt. He was being charged with harassment, detaining his pack member unlawfully, torturing his pack member, and unlawful trespassing. They were working on how to charge him for using the boy Alek as well, since he was not directly involved with that situation, but the council was having a hard time finding a law that would let them charge him.

Alpha Chris was being charged with accessory to kidnapping, torture and for the possession of illegal substances. Because he only gave the orders for the kidnapping and torture, not actively getting his hands dirty, that was all they could charge them with. The other two wolves, who we came to be known as Greg and Mark, were accomplices to the kidnapping and torture, as well as sexual assault.

Jacob's charges were the longest. He was being charged with kidnapping, torture, sexual assault, possession of illegal substances, as well as aiding a criminal (Wyatt). The council thought the charge regarding aiding Wyatt may not be enforceable, due to him not knowing Wyatt was a criminal initially.

After the charges were announced, The witnesses were called up one by one. When Shawna stood up to give her statement, Alpha Chris grew very uncomfortable, whispering angrily to Jacob, asking what the hell he had done. When Shawna spoke of her sexual assault, Jacob growled angrily before shouting, "You fucking whore, you wanted it! You enjoyed it." With his words, one of the Protectors strode forward, placing a hand around his throat, cutting off his airway, while the other gagged him with a cloth. They stepped back, and all eyes returned to Shawna.

Shawna stood with her head high, as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She turned to the Council, "These men ruined me. If I ever find my mate, or take a chosen mate, they will be getting a soiled and ruined female. I wished for death many times in that tunnel. Jacob and his friend," She turned and pointed to the wolf Greg, "deserve to die." No one said a word as she walked back to her seat. The only sound was the harsh breathing of Jacob, as he struggled to catch his breath after his throat had been gripped tightly.

The Council called Carolyn forward next, to speak of what had happened with Wyatt. She gave a brief statement, looking directly at him, trying to hide her fear. She spoke of how her mate had abused her for years and that Wyatt had been well aware. She spoke of the last day she had seen her mate alive, and then how Wyatt had been harassing her, to include forcing Alek to throw a bloody and dead rabbit at the window of her home. Once she had finished her statement, she looked over at Wyatt, to see him with a sneer on his face. He didn't bother saying anything, he would have his moment to speak soon enough.

Ashlynn was called forward, to speak of what she had witnessed. She also testified as to her treatment of the wolves and her findings when they were rescued and in her care. The Pack Doctor had also been summoned. The lab results and copies of x-rays and tests were provided to the council as evidence.

***

Alpha Gabe

I watched as the witnesses went forward, all showing courage in the face of their tormentors. I had been so proud of Shawna, as had her Alpha, when she continued to hold her head high, even at Jacob's outburst. It was time to give the accused their moment to speak about the charges and the statements of the witnesses.

Jacob and his two cronies had denied any involvement in the tunnel, stating the council had no proof. It turns out that during their investigation, they were able to obtain hair from the tunnel that matched with their DNA. In addition, when the rape kit had been performed on Shawna, Jacob's sperm had still been inside her vaginal canal, proving without a doubt that he had indeed raped her. Besides this, when the prisoners had been separated, they had actually thrown each other under the bus, thus corroborating the testimonies of the witnesses.

Alpha Chris, much to my surprise, admitted having Alek kidnapped, although he never knew what happened to the young wolf. He was also unaware of where Robert had disappeared to, as Wyatt had told him he sent him home. He was also fully aware of the wolfsbane and celestial silver and allowed his wolves to use the weapons that were constructed of the materials. His was pretty cut and dry and his sentence would probably end up being the lightest. This remained to be seen. As Alpha, we are supposed to set an example for our packs. He had not done a very good job of that.

This part was now finished, and the Council called for the break. I watched from the back as the prisoners were ushered out of the room, to be returned to their cells. As Alpha Chris raised his eyes to mine, he gave me a brief nod, as if to recognize that he knew he had been wrong and he was sorry for it. I just glared back at him. I could not find any ability within me to forgive him for all the atrocities that had occurred at the hands of his men. Further, he had harbored the man who had been tormenting my sister, after all the abuse she had suffered at the hands of his brother. The Cane Family was a bunch of insufferable pieces of garbage. I had no doubt, that should we look into it, their father had probably mistreated their mother over the years, and that was why they had no issue with what Grady had done to Carolyn and Ashlynn.

I approached the Council once the room was cleared out. "If you don't mind gentlemen, a few of the witnesses would like to be present for the sentencing. I believe they want to know if justice has been served in the way that they hope. What time will you re-convene?", I asked.

Councilman A stood at this time, his eyes landing on me with a look of resolution. "Two hours. I believe we will take a working lunch, if you can ask your Luna to arrange for our lunch to be taken here?"

I nodded in response, then turned and joined Cody as we walked out the door. "I hope they do the right thing."

"I am curious,"Cody replied, "The Alpha's charges seem light, don't you think? And what about Wyatt, his charges don't seem enough to warrant the death sentence." He eyed me as we walked back towards the offices, where I knew Jenna would be waiting patiently to hear about what was going on.

"It's enough to remove him from his position. They would have to appoint a new Alpha or disband his pack. As for Wyatt, I'm not sure. It's hard for werwolves to be in prison for long. They usually go crazy after awhile and have to be given wolfsbane in order to keep them from shifting and becoming feral. I am curious to. This is the first Council trial I have actively participated in, and with so many accused, it stands to reason that the council will not go easy on them." We had just walked into Jenna's office.