Chapter 146 CHARLOTTE'S PLEA

Chapter 146 CHARLOTTE'S PLEA
CHAPTER 146

CHARLOTTE'S PLEA

CHARLOTTE

I spent the entire night in the holding cell inside Dorian’s office.

The metal bars felt cold and rough whenever my bare skin brushed against them. The floor stayed hard under my body no matter how I shifted.

I sat with my back pressed to the wall, knees pulled tightly to my chest, and stared at the opposite wall without really seeing it. Shame sat heavy and sick in my stomach.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw the two small bodies lying in the hallway. I had killed two young wolves. The truth kept circling in my head until it made my throat tighten and my eyes burn again.

Lumina stirred inside me with no trace of regret.

”Don't you dare blame yourself. Dorian caused this,” she said, her voice flat and cold inside my mind. ”He broke us. This is not our fault.”

My hands curled into fists against my legs. Heat rose in my chest and mixed with the shame until it felt hard to breathe.

“Shut up,” I told her out loud. My voice came out rough and cracked from crying earlier.

“Fucking shut up, Lumina. Are you listening to yourself? Look at the nonsense you're spewing? That it's not my fault? And that Dorian broke us? Of course he did break us. But we injured pack members. We killed two yoing wolves. Did Dorian order us to do that as a result of breaking our hearts? What kind of justification is this? You should be feeling guilty right now. You should be sick over what we did.”

”I feel nothing,” she answered without hesitation. You’re just babbling out nonsense. What I know is Dorian is the cause of this. He pushed us to the edge. He chose her. He threw us away. The blood belongs on his hands, not ours.

I pressed my forehead hard against my knees. My eyes stung. “”That is not an excuse. Those young wolves had nothing to do with him or Selina or any of this. They are dead because we lost control. Because I could not pull you back when it mattered. Stop trying to blame everyone else for what we did.”

Lumina went quiet, but the complete lack of remorse coming from her only made the guilt inside me heavier. I kept seeing the parents’ faces in my mind even though I had not seen them yet.

I kept wondering what the pack would decide to do with me. Grant me exile. Or sentence me to death. Something worse. The uncertainty sat like a cold weight in my gut and refused to move.

Footsteps approached the cell later in the morning. I lifted my head and saw Zade standing on the other side of the bars. His face looked tight with worry. Before he could open his mouth I raised one hand.

“Go away,” I said. My voice came out harder than I expected. “I do not want your pity.”

He stayed where he was. His shoulders dropped a little and his eyes stayed on my face. “I am so sorry Charlie. I was not there for you yesterday. I will try everything possible to make sure you are fine.”

He set a tray of food on the floor near the bars, looked at me for another long second, and then left without another word. The door closed behind him with a soft click. I did not touch the food. The smell of it only made my stomach turn.

The door opened again sometime later. Dorian walked in carrying a chair. He set it down in front of the cell and sat. His eyes moved slowly over my face and the dried blood still streaked across my skin and hair.

“Are you calm now?” he asked. His voice was even. “We need to talk.”

Anger flared hot under the shame. I lifted my head and met his eyes directly. My jaw felt tight. “I do not need to talk to a betrayal. Get the fuck out of my presence.”

His expression hardened at once. He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees. “I am the Alpha. I hold power over you. You will listen whether you want to or not.”

He kept his eyes on mine. “The pack members you injured are receiving treatment right now. I am not sure they are going to survive the attack. As you know the pups are dead. But their parents aren't taking this lightly, they're grieving.”

My stomach twisted hard enough that I almost bent forward. I forced the next words out through a throat that felt too tight. “What will be my fate, Alpha?”

He did not look away. “You killed two of our young. You tore through your own pack like they were enemies. People are demanding answers. Some are demanding more than answers. You need to understand the full weight of what you did last night.”

I looked down at the floor between my bare feet. The guilt was already drowning me. I did not need him to push it deeper, but he kept talking.

“Those parents will never see their children again,” he said. “The ones still lying in the medical wing may never walk out of there. That blood is on your hands, Charlotte.”

I kept my gaze on the floor. My jaw stayed locked. “I said I understand.”

“Do you?” His voice stayed calm and steady. “Because from where I am sitting it does not look like you fully grasp what you have done to this pack.”

I raised my head again. My eyes felt dry and sore. “I want to see the elders.”

He studied my face for several seconds. “What for? Why do you want to see them all of a sudden?” He questioned.

“Its not of your business. Is it possible for me to meet with the elders or not?” I glanced at him.

Then he nodded once. “Fine. This evening.”

That evening Dorian unlocked the cell and led me through the corridors. My legs felt stiff and weak from sitting so long in one position.

Every pack member we passed stopped to stare at me. Some faces held open anger. Some held fear. A few simply looked away. I kept my eyes forward and followed him into the council room.

The elders sat in a half-circle at the far end. Their faces were hard and unreadable. The way they looked at me made my skin feel too tight across my bones. Fear settled cold and heavy in my stomach. Dorian stopped to the side and said nothing.

I walked to the middle of the room and stopped. My hands trembled at my sides. I forced them still by pressing my nails into my palms.

Holland leaned forward and clasped his hands together, “Dorian says you asked to see us. What is so important that it can't wait until tomorrow morning?”

“I'm sorry for the impromptu gathering but I need to explain myself regarding the incident that happened at the pack house yesterday. “ I paused and cleared my throat.

“My wolf lost control,” I began explaining without wasting time. My voice came out quieter than I wanted but clear enough to reach them. “I tried to anchor her. I tried to pull her back the way I have been taught. She was too far gone in the grief and the anger. I could not stop her no matter how hard I fought.”

I swallowed. The next part sat like glass in my throat. “I am sorry for the death of the young ones. I was not in my right senses when it happened. I know that saying sorry will not bring them back. I know it does not fix anything I have done. But I am asking you to have mercy on me.”