Chapter 227: The Message to Eva

Lya's POV

Several months had passed since the takeover. I was driving to Dark Moon territory to see Eva, carrying a message from the Moon Goddess and planning to discuss her unborn cub's future with her and Cassandra. The road stretched before me, giving me time to reflect on everything that had happened since that fateful night when Damian and I reclaimed Moon Shadow Valley.

Eva's case had been decided with a sentence of twenty-five years imprisonment. Unlike many others, she was allowed to keep her wolf Alyssa. During the trial, Alyssa had spoken passionately about staying with Eva, insisting that her human had "lost her way, but beneath all the jealousy and pain, she truly does have a good heart." I wasn't completely convinced of Eva's goodness, but I respected Alyssa's decision. The bond between wolf and human was sacred, even when complicated by wrongdoing.

Most wolves had chosen to remain with their human counterparts despite their crimes. The exceptions were notable: the wolves belonging to the corrupt council members we'd freed during the takeover night, and those belonging to Airina, Sophia, my foster mother Victoria, Harris, and James. Each of those wolves had practically begged for freedom, their spirits broken by years of being forced to participate in or witness atrocities.

Richard's wolf had surprised me. Given Richard's actions as Alpha, allowing countless abuses under his leadership, I'd expected his wolf would want freedom. Yet during Richard's trial, his wolf testified that everything Richard did was out of love for Isabella—"a twisted, blind love," but love nonetheless. The wolf had supported a harsh sentence for Richard but still wanted to remain with him, hoping for redemption. The council ultimately sentenced Richard to twenty-five years imprisonment and demoted him to Omega status, stripping him of all privileges his Alpha status had provided.

Isabella's case had been handled differently. By the time her trial concluded, she had already spent about sixty days in the dungeons. She showed genuine remorse and had limited knowledge of many events. Both the council and I agreed that her sixty days of imprisonment were sufficient punishment. She received an additional thousand hours of community service and was also demoted to Omega status, but avoided further imprisonment.

The family relationships remained strained in the aftermath. Damian hadn't visited Isabella yet, and Isabella refused to see Richard. I supported both their decisions completely, though I secretly hoped their family might heal someday. I planned to gently suggest Damian reconnect with Isabella after she successfully completed most of her community service and began proving herself again. Family was complicated, but not always beyond repair.

Airina and Sophia's trials had proceeded quickly. The council recommended they receive the same maximum penalty given to my foster mother—lifetime imprisonment without possibility of parole and removal of their wolves. I couldn't disagree with this decision, considering the extent of their crimes.

The process of freeing the wolves from Airina, Sophia, and my foster mother had been surprisingly anticlimactic. After spending time in the dungeons, all three women "looked like only a fraction of their former selves"—their beauty faded, their confidence shattered. At one point, I'd actually felt sorry for them and considered sending books and care packages to ease their isolation.

That sympathy quickly vanished when they started flattering me during my visits, playing the victim card, and trying to make me feel guilty enough to agree to early release. Their manipulation tactics revealed that despite their circumstances, they remained unchanged at their core. I realized then that while I had the ability to remove their wolves, I couldn't remove their demons. Some darkness ran too deep.

Victoria's various henchmen and accomplices received prison sentences ranging from five to fifteen years, depending on their level of knowledge and participation in her trafficking and abuse schemes. Most had accepted their sentences without protest, hoping for leniency at future parole hearings.

Harris's case had been particularly challenging. As a human celebrity, we couldn't simply make him disappear for years without raising unwanted questions about our community. After much deliberation, we decided to free his wolf and then use information provided by the wolf to ensure Harris faced criminal charges in the human world. The human legal process was taking longer than our supernatural justice system, but he was expected to serve fifteen to twenty years in a human prison for his crimes.

My father's case had been the most unusual and personally difficult. He initially tried to avoid trial by pleading guilty and requesting maximum punishment, on the condition that he be imprisoned alongside my foster mother. This request was denied outright. He then attempted to lie during proceedings, claiming complete knowledge and active participation in all of my foster mother's actions.

His wolf's testimony contradicted these claims. My father knew some things, like my abuse at Victoria's hands, but not everything. Each time he confronted her, she promised to stop, and he chose to believe her. Similarly, he suspected some of Victoria and Airina's worst deeds but accepted their "semi-reasonable explanations" because facing the truth was more difficult.

The council and I ultimately agreed to give my father the maximum sentence he'd requested. Unlike Victoria, however, his sentence allowed for possible parole. I also agreed to have him imprisoned in the cell adjacent to Victoria's—"probably being softer than I should have been," I admitted to myself.

Two aspects of our final interaction continued to haunt me. First, as my conversation with his wolf concluded, the wolf tried comforting me by saying my father did truly love me. "Unfortunately, he just loved Airina and your foster mother more." Those words cut deeper than any physical wound could. "Suspecting and knowing are two different things," I thought bitterly.

Second, I never told him that Eva was his daughter. I'd planned to, but changed my mind at the last moment. With both of them facing long sentences, it seemed pointless to complicate matters further. I also recognized, with some shame, that if he showed Eva more attention and fatherly affection than he'd shown me, it would hurt unbearably. "I know that's selfish of me to think, but I guess even Moon Goddess chosen ones aren't perfect."

Perhaps someday I'd change my mind and overcome this selfishness. Perhaps on that day I'd also decide to visit my father again, though I didn't believe this would happen anytime soon.

As my car crossed into Dark Moon territory, I pushed these thoughts aside. The trials were over. Justice had been served. Now it was time to focus on the future, and the first step was delivering the Moon Goddess's message to Eva.