157, The trial

157, The trial
Tite
I was furious and was doing my best to keep it bottled. I knew I needed to let this whole Kendra-thing go the official way. Inside, I just wanted to curse her and tear her into tiny pieces. Then there was the guild I felt for placing Nash in the position where he had to go through this. We could have stayed at home and this wouldn’t have happened. I had a hold of his hand as we made our way through the pack house to our room. It wasn’t until we were safe inside and the door shut behind us that I relaxed. 
“Are you okay?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. I relaxed against him. 
“I should be asking you that,” I told him and placed my hands on top of his. 
“I didn’t like it, but I’m okay,” he told me and kissed my neck. I turned around in his arms so I could look at him. I saw the redness of the skin on his neck where he had scratched it. I kissed the area again. I kissed a trail to his other side and kissed his mate’s mark. 
“Fuck, kitten. That is doing things to me,” he sighed. His hands went from my waist to my ass and pushed me closer to him. I smiled against his skin as I felt his hard cock press against me. 
“How about a shower?” I asked. 
“I was thinking we should head to bed,” he told me. 
“Hmm, two ideas, two fun activities,” I said. 
“How about we shower first and then take a nap?” he suggested. I hummed. 
“And during this nap, how much napping would we be doing?” I asked. 
“Very little, I expect,” he said and kissed me. I was happy with his answer and started to unbutton his pants. 
It took us nearly three hours to shower and ‘nap’. As I was curled up next to Nash on the couch, where we had ended up, I felt a lot better. 
“I could use a real nap right about now,” I told him and placed a kiss on his chest. 
“I won’t argue with that. What about the things we were supposed to do today?” he asked. I sighed. He was right. I got up on my elbow and looked down on him. He looked mouthwatering sexy with his blond hair in a mess and his blue eyes sparkling with happiness and mischief. 
“You are mine,” I told him. He laughed. 
“Possessive?” he asked. 
“When it comes to you? You bet your pretty little ass I am,” I said. 
“That is fucking hot. And just so you know, you are mine as well. I might not be a wolf, but I’m just as possessive,” he told me and put his hand on my neck and pulled me into a kiss. It took us another half an hour to get our clothes back on. 
“I mindlinked dad and he suggested you take your walk tomorrow instead. Apparently the elders are ready to get the hearing underway after dinner. So we should all prepare for a long evening. I’ll text Aunt Hilda and let her know,” I said to him. 
“What do I need to know about this hearing with the elders?” he asked. 
“It’s pretty straight forward, the elders will ask questions to get an understanding of what has happened. Then they will decide if anything has broken the pack law and if it has, how that will be punished. If they have questions for you, just answer them truthfully,” I told him. 
“This is serious, isn’t it?” he asked. I nodded. 
“Trying to come between mates is one of the most serious offences you can commit as a werewolf. The moon goddess chooses true mates, it’s not for any mortal to think they know better. The only exception to this is in cases of abuse, but it’s extremely rare for a true mate to abuse the other. And for a third party to insert themselves, that is unforgivable,” I explained. 
“Do I need to wear a suit or some shit like that?” he asked, sounding like he was talking about torture. I laughed. 
“No, love. No suit. A nice pair of pants, a white shirt and your patch will do just fine. You would stand out if you arrived in a suit,” I told him. 
“Thank the goddess,” he said and I smiled. It was clear he hadn’t noticed what he had said, but I did. After dinner, the whole pack helped turn the dining hall into a court room. A table was placed in front of the bar for the elders to sit at. On one side two chairs were placed for the Alpha pair. Opposite them a single chair was placed for Kendra. Facing everything, rows of chairs were placed for the pack. My dad took a place on the row of chairs in front, closest to where Ulf and Amber were to be sitting. Nash and I sat down next to him, hand in hand. On Nash’s other side Bones and my aunt sat down. They had got special permission to attend as they had been there for the incident and they were both leaders of groups close to the pack. We stood up as the elders entered and remained standing as Ulf and Amber walked inside. They bowed to the elders, who bowed back. When the Alpha pair sat down, so did the rest of the pack. The woman sitting in the middle of the table with the elders stood up. Sofia was a kind, but strict, Omega who had been a teacher. She had taught most of the pack at one point, everyone had respect for her. 
“We are gathered here today to look into some disturbing report about Kendra, a member of the pack, trying to interfere with the mate bond between Nefertiti and her true mate Wolf,” she said to everyone. There was a murmur of upset voices from the pack. “Let us start with getting the information about what happened.” The elders questioned Kendra and then Nash. They asked questions of me, about why I had injured Kendra and what I had seen. My dad, Hilda and Bones also got asked questions. “We will now deliberate,” Sofia said. 
‘What is happening?’ Nash mindlinked me a moment later. The room was quiet and everyone was waiting. 
‘They are mindlinking, trying to reach a decision,’ I answered him. 
‘Are we just going to sit here?’ he wanted to know. I smiled. It may seem a little strange. 
‘Yes, hopefully it won’t take long. I don’t know how long I can be nice while having to look at that one,’ I let him know. I was glaring at Kendra. Mara was sitting in the row closest to her daughter. She was looking unusually sombre and genuinely scared. 
‘Hey, kitten, look at me. I don’t need you to get pissed enough to do something stupid in front of the pack,’ Nash mindlinked me. I turned to look at him and smiled. 
‘I do like this view better,’ I admitted. He smiled back, lifted our joint hands and placed a kiss on the back of mine. As we waited, we mindlinked about the plans for the coming days, trying to keep our minds on positive things. Sofia stood up and all eyes went to her. 
“It is always an unsavoury thing to hear a case like this. We have no doubt in this case that Kendra was trying to seduce Wolf, Tite’s mate. Kendra’s explanation of the events makes no sense. We don’t know Wolf as well as we know Tite and Kendra, but we have observed his and Tite’s bond in the week they have been with the pack. From what we have seen it is a healthy bond. It makes the notion that he would talk to Kendra about Tite forcing him into forming a pack, unlikely. On the other hand, the reaction Wolf has described at the advances of Kendra rings true with the reactions of a mated individual being hit on. Tite’s reaction also makes sense and we would like to commend her on her self-restraint. She’s an Alpha wolf and she would have been in her full right to kill Kendra. Few Alpha wolves would have the strength to hold back. We find the accusations toward Kendra to be true,” Sofia told everyone. Mara released a loud sob. There was another murmur from the pack. 
“The question about how to punish her is more difficult. The things she told Nash is deeply concerning to us. To lean so heavily on her human side and deny her wolf is worrying. In the old days, the punishment would either have been to make her a rogue or to execute her. We are living in new times, nowadays the punishment would either be to banish her to the rogue island where she can choose to join their pack or sit out thirty years as a lone wolf on the island and then ask to come back into the pack. The option of execution remains. We have discussed this at length and we have come to the recommendation that Kendra should be excluded from the pack. This is so she can join the human society according to her own wishes,” Sofia concluded and sat down. There was silence from the pack, except for Mara, who was now sobbing. Ulf stood up.
“Thank you for stepping up and doing your duty for the pack. As Alpha of the Ulvaskall pack, I have listened to your recommendation and I see it as the best path forward. I, Alpha Ulf Ulvshamn, expel you, Kendra, from being a member of the Ulvaskall pack. You are no longer of our spirit, you are no longer one with us,” Ulf said. Kendra gasped as I felt the connection to her snap. 
“No!” Mara howled. 
“Let’s leave,” I told Nash. I didn’t want to see the aftermath. I didn’t like Kendra, but I had a feeling she didn’t hate pack life as much as she had been telling everyone. A part of me felt the pain her wolf must be feeling being cut off from the pack. I had thought about becoming a lone wolf more than one time, but I had never taken the step. A part of me knew it would hurt. As always, Nash knew how I felt and wrapped me in his arms as soon as we were out of the dining hall. For a moment I let the comfort from him wash over me. 
“Thank you,” I said and kissed him. We weren’t the only ones taking a moment to find our balance. 
“Always,” he said and kissed my hair.