Chapter 50 votes and explanations
Amelia’s P.O.V.
“I vote in their favor, King Alexander.” Alpha Gabe voted in our favor in a calm and confident voice.
“Your reason for favor, Alpha Gabe?” Beta Hunter asked him in a commanding but polite tone.
My heart was now beating furiously against my ribcage, making me feel some pain there, but my whole concentration was on the voting.
Alpha Gabe was the first one to vote among all the ten alphas of different packs.
“I also vote in their favor, King Alexander.” It was Alpha Morton from the Black Shadow Pack. We have been working with their pack and his company in the human world for more than two years, creating a good relationship with him.
Beta Hunter asked him the same question and Alpha Morton stated his reason without any hesitation.
This was the fair point of his trial. Every alpha had to state his reason for refusal or approval. If the council finds their reason relevant, they will count their vote, or else it will be void.
Arthur was holding my hand under the table. We both were nervous, but hope had filled our hearts now.
“I vote against them, King Alexander.” My heart skipped a beat when Alpha Eston from the Moon River Pack spoke, his tone neutral and hollow.
“Your reason for refusal?” Beta Hunter also asked him in the same manner.
“No reason, Beta Hunter. They are rogues, and this is enough.” Alpha Eston replied in the same distant tone.
“I think you didn’t listen to us well earlier, Alpha Easton. You need to give a proper explanation of your refusal or approval or else your vote will have no effect.” Alpha Noel Hatfield reminded him in a stern voice.
“What relevant reason do I need to hate them, Counsellor Noel? They are rogues and that’s it.” Alpha Eston answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders in a dismissal way.
I could feel Alpha Noel’s fury, but it only made me clench my jaw tightly.
“Hahahahahahahahaha.” Suddenly Alpha Noel laughed, not a laugh, but anger and mockery in the form of laughter.
“So, you think you are the only one here who knows that they are rogues, huh? The rest of us will be a fool or blind in your eyes, right?” Alpha Noel asked him sarcastically.
“Th… that’s not I meant, Alpha Noel. D… don’t take it personally.” Alpha Easton stammered a little while answering Alpha Noel, his façade of indifference cracking.
“But I took your indifference very personally, Alpha Easton. You are not forced to join this trial. You accepted our invitation voluntarily. The invitation sent to you has specified everything for your knowledge. Not only did you dismiss our mail, but now you are acting arrogantly, wasting our time and a valuable vote.” Alpha Noel was furious to the maximum extent.
The tension in the meeting room thickened. I felt suffocated, but this was anticipated.
Their hatred towards rogues is not something that could be dissolved in one day or two.
“No wonder your business is struggling out there. You should have considered all the facts before making a decision, Alpha Easton, but you failed.” The taunt in Alpha Noel’s voice was filled with venom.
The silence that fell in the room was so thick that I felt suffocated, but I just kept my face calm and blank.
We were told that the council already had gotten enough votes to approve our request, but they still held this trial only to prove that everything was fair and transparent.
“I apologize for my recklessness, Counsellor Noel.” Alpha Easton apologized in a stiff voice.
I heard so many scoffs around me.
“Your vote is void, Alpha Easton. You failed to provide a valid reason for your decision. This is also stated in the formal invitation sent to you: that you need to provide a valid reason for your decision or else your vote will hold no standing.” Alpha Noel announced angrily, keeping his voice strained.
“I…. I understand, Counsellor Noel.” Alpha Easton muttered, but the drama came to an end. That was the relief.
“I, once again, am reminding all of you to have a proper explanation of your decision. I don’t know about time, but our time is valuable. I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Alpha Easton.” Alpha Noel announced in a thunderous voice, making most of the alphas present in the room flinch, including us.
“Next.” He commanded in the same tone.
“Th… that was insane.” Arthur whispered through mind-link. He was scared, and so was I, but I was still calm.
“Control your emotions, Arthur. You are practically telling everyone that you are nervous.” I scolded him through mind-link.
But my ears were still concentrated on the conversation going on in the room.
One by one, all the alphas cast their votes and to my surprise, we have six votes in favor already.
“I vote against them, Counsellor Noel. In their proposal, they specified that they will welcome rogues and people from other packs to their pack at any time, but they didn’t mention if they will keep their way of work in the same way that it is right now. What if they let a criminal enter their pack, giving him a place to hide?” Alpha Caelum raised the question in a serious tone.
I took a deep breath and slowly looked in this direction.
“Do you have something to say on this, Ms. Locke?” Beta Hunter asked me in the same tone that he had all this time.
“Yes, Beta Hunter.” I replied calmly.
“I admitted that it was an error on our end. My whole group is filled with the people who were wrongly accused, and creating this pack has only one motive—providing a safe home to the people who don’t want to live their lives like a cast-out. Of course, they will need to provide their credentials and their case in front of us. We have an assigned team who cross-checked those credentials, and we make a decision on the basis of their report. This is our standard procedure and we are determined to keep this in the future too so that we won’t let a criminal or a monster enter our pack, endangering the lives of the innocent people in our pack.”
My explanation was the truth of our team’s functioning.
“Can you give this in writing?” Alpha Caelum asked me indifferently, with no hatred or malice evident in his voice.
“Of course, Alpha Caelum. I can revise my proposal and send it to you. I will explain everything in detail so that you can rest assured that we will not let any habitual criminal be part of our pack.” I replied to him confidently.
“What do you mean by habitual criminals?” he asked, curious and intrigued.
I took a deep breath and smiled bitterly this time.
"Habitual criminals—those who committed crime for pleasure or out of habit. Criminals by circumstances—those who committed crime in self-defense or in fear." I paused and took a deep breath, waiting for Alpha Caelum to say or ask something else.
When he didn't, I thought about mentioning an incident to him.