Chapter 187 Loose Ends

Chapter 187 Loose Ends
Maureen's POV

A Month and One Week Later

'Go ahead and explain yourself,' I said, then sat back on the chair to listen to what the Luna of Rolling Hills had to say.

I had set up a panel that consisted of different people to look into evidence against those who wanted to seize the power of the golden wolf soldiers so that they could control the entire wolf kingdom.

The panel consisted of faithful elders who had gone through a rigorous search into their minds by Dawn, the entire golden wolf team, and Alpha representatives from different packs, including the Alpha of High Moon and the waiters. I also made sure that the proceedings were adequately covered by the press.

We were charging them with felony but not without allowing every one of them to say one or two things for themselves. There was a lot of evidence against them already, but that didn't stop me from asking them to say one or two things. It was the standard procedure.

'I have nothing to say. You have already found me guilty of felony, how else am I supposed to defend myself?' The Luna of Rolling Hills said. She wasn't remorseful at all. But I couldn't wait to see if she would be remorseful or not when she is faced with death.

'You might want to explain to this seat why you decided to jettison your motherly role as a Luna and turn into a monster,' Ian said through gritted teeth.

Ian had arrived at the citadel three weeks after we settled down. He had marked his mate and they looked beautiful together. He didn't want to be a part of the panel but I had insisted. According to him, he wasn't sure if he could sit and watch Shanty stand there to be condemned but I had told him he had to. He needed the closure.

'I have nothing to say,' she said stubbornly.

'Are you also insisting on the fact that your mate was not a part of your escapes?' I asked.

'He doesn't know about our operations,' she said looking downwards.

'Ok then. You are guilty of felony and thus condemned to death,' I said, looking her in the eyes. She couldn't hold my gaze as she immediately looked down.

I saw her shoulder slump as she was led out of the hall. I felt no remorse for her and all those who have stood trial before her. They were power hungry and they needed to face the consequences of their wickedness.

The Luna of Rolling Hills was the first to face trial that day. As she was led away the Luna of the former president's pack was brought to the stand. Unlike the Luna of Rolling Hills, she was shivering and crying silently as she was led in by Alan. She was also found guilty of a lot of crimes related to the maltreatment of girls and trafficking. She was sentenced to a lifetime in the dungeons until further notice.

We went through five other persons' trials for the day before we brought everything to a stop. One of them was Shanty and her mate's trial.

I saw that Ian was uncomfortable with the presence of Shanty. Shanty, too, kept looking Ian's way with a look of regret in her eyes. At a point, Ian stood up and left the hall. Shanty's mate was charged with a felony, and Shanty was charged with the attempted murder of Ian and the golden wolf, which made her as guilty as her mate.

Shanty got a lifetime in the dungeon, a decision that was reached by the waiters while her mate was condemned to death. A decision I allowed the elders to take.

The trial was the first thing I did as the golden wolf because I knew that those who would be standing trials were those I couldn't allow to stay in the dungeons without a decisive step taken against them. They were loose ends that I couldn't afford to trifle with.

By the time we brought the trial to an end for the day, it was almost evening. We all proceeded to the citadel.

'I wish that the Gamma of High Moon and his family will be tried alongside these people. They were, after all, aiding and abetting one of them,' Asher said, hissing lightly as we got down from our cars in front of the citadel.

'I will let the High Moon decide on their fate while the council will handle Diego,' I said.

I looked back and saw the Alpha of High Moon getting out of his car. I had not expected that he would come with us to the citadel. He came every day, whenever there was a trial, leaving Dad in charge and returning to High Moon each day. I had expected that he would have left already.

'Alpha, I thought you would have left,' I said to him.

'No. I will be leaving in a day or two after Diego's trial,' he answered, and I frowned.

I wondered how comfortable he would be to stay away from Luna for that long, especially in her present condition.

'What of mum, is she fine with the arrangement?' I asked.

'Yes, she is,' Alpha answered smiling.

'Really? Why will she agree to allow you to leave her in that condition?' I asked. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of her being alone when her due date was near.

'Because she is here,' the Luna said from the citadel's main door.

'Mum, I should have known you were here,' I said smiling as I walked up to her.

I hugged her and quickly stepped back for fear of hurting her. Her huge stomach made the hug awkward and we both laughed.

'I heard your hair gives anyone who touches it an electric shock. Is that true?' The Luna asked looking at my hair closely.

'I don't know mum. The last person who touched it was the Luna of Rolling Hills. She almost lost her hand in the process. Since then, no one has attempted to touch it so that I can confirm,' I said, smiling sheepishly.

'You should not refer to her as the Luna of Rolling Hills anymore. I heard that her mate is already on the lookout for a Luna,' the Luna said.

'Really. How easy could it be for him to move on like that?' I asked, shocked that her mate moved on so soon.

'The thing is she was actually his Luna by force,' the Luna said.

'I want to hear every juicy detail, but first, you need to get off your feet,' I said, then led her into the large sitting area to sit down.

'You are not better than my mate. I am not handicapped, I am pregnant. How many times am I going to say that?' The Luna asked rolling her eyes as she sat down gently.

'Now I am ready to listen,' I said smiling at her.

'Their fathers, that is, the father of Rolling Hills' Alpha and the father of the Rolling Hills' Luna, wanted their children together, mates or not. The father of the Rolling Hills' Alpha threatened to give his seat to his cousin if he didn't agree to the union so he had no option but to bend to his father's will,' the Luna explained.

'That is selfishness personified,' Dawn said, coming down the stairs. Asher was beside her in a flash.

She had not gone with us to the trial. She had complained of a headache and that she was feeling weird. When Asher had insisted on staying back at the citadel with her, she had asked him to give her space as she wanted no disturbance so we had left without her.

Taking a closer look at her, I realized that she looked pale and her eyes looked dull. She walked down the stairs with Asher holding her hand.

'Why are you looking at me like that?' Dawn asked me. She must have noticed the way I was looking at her.

'You look pale and your eyes look dull. Are you sure you are okay?' I said.

'Yes, I am fine,' Dawn said and sat down next to Asher.

'Your hair is a major temptation. I feel like touching it,' the Luna said going back to the topic of my hair.

'I don't know if it is safe for you to touch it. Lance does all the time, but he is my mate, and my wolf loves him to pieces,' I said, smiling at Lance. He was sitting beside me holding my hand in his.

Just to show off, Lance lightly played with my hair twisting it on his fingers before dipping his hand into it to massage my scalp gently. I moaned from the feeling the massage was sending to my system.

'You can stop showing off now Lance. It doesn't suit you,' the Luna said, glaring at Lance, which made us all laugh.

'What is it about my hair that makes everyone want to touch it? A pup had requested to touch it when I went on a visit to the neighboring town, to former Eagle Moon but I wasn't sure if it was safe for her so I asked her to not touch it. My heart broke when she started crying,' I said sighing sadly.

'How is it going with the Eagle Moon pack?' The Alpha asked.

'We are working on it. Their lands are still intact. So getting them settled in will not be a problem I replied.

'I heard that Talon is in the council's care. I would like to talk to him,' the Luna said and the Alpha winced, realizing his mistake in bringing the Eagle Moon pack up.

'Ok, mum. No problem,' I said, but I had no intention of taking her to him, not yet.

'Excuse me, I need to get water from the kitchen,' Dawn said and stood up, but before she could take two steps, she fell on the floor with her lips looking white.

Asher growled loudly at the sight and then took her in his hands growling at everyone that came near.

We all stood up from our seats to reason with him to allow others to take a look at her, but he wouldn't bulge.

'I think my water just broke,' the Luna said from behind us and we all turned at once to look at her.

'What? You are not due until a week or two,' the Alpha said frantically.

And just like that everything became a pandemonium of shout and confusion. Everyone shouting to be heard above the other. I never envisaged that the day would end that way.