Chapter 35 The Formal Trial Announced
Morning came quietly.
The cottage held its usual stillness, a quiet Freda had grown used to over the months. Nothing outside disturbed it. No voices. No movement. Just the faint rustle of trees beyond the clearing.
Even so, something felt different.
Freda stood near the window for a moment longer than necessary, then turned away. There was nothing to see out there, and she already knew the quiet wouldn’t last.
Behind her, Liam slept on, his breathing slow and even. For a moment, she let herself listen to it. Just that.
Then a knock came at the door.
Measured. Certain. Not hurried.
Freda crossed the room and opened it.
Thomas stood outside, already dressed for the day, his expression steady, but tighter than usual.
“It’s been decided.”
She stepped aside to let him in.
“So soon?”
“The council didn’t want to wait.” He closed the door behind him. “Three days was enough for them to argue themselves into agreement.”
Freda moved toward the table but remained standing.
“What did they decide?”
Thomas hesitated only briefly, then glanced toward the back room.
“They’re calling a formal trial.”
The words didn’t land loudly.
They landed cleanly.
Freda didn’t react at first.
“On what grounds?”
“Deception. Unlawful conduct. Concealment of a fated bond.” A pause. “And they’ll be reviewing Liam’s status as Lucian’s heir.”
Her fingers rested lightly against the edge of the table.
“That was always coming.”
“Yes,” Thomas said quietly. “But now they’ve made it official.”
“They’re bringing in regional arbiters,” he added. “They want it to look fair.”
Freda let out a slow breath through her nose.
“Fair,” she repeated, almost to herself. “That means they already expect resistance.”
“They do,” Thomas admitted.
A silence settled, heavier this time.
“And Lucian?”
That question changed the air slightly.
“He supported it.”
Freda’s eyes lifted to him.
Thomas didn’t look away.
“He wants everything handled openly this time,” he added. “No more private rulings. No more quiet decisions.”
Freda absorbed that.
Then gave a single, controlled nod.
“The trial date?”
“Two weeks.”
Not long.
But long enough for damage to spread.
Long enough for everything to shift.
“What happens until then?”
Thomas didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was answer enough.
Freda’s expression sharpened slightly.
“Say it.”
“They’re placing you and Liam under protective custody.” His voice stayed even. “At the pack house.”
For a second, the room felt smaller.
Not fear.
Just recognition.
“And the reason?” she asked.
“For your safety,” Thomas said. His voice softened slightly., “and to keep you where they can monitor everything.”
Freda gave a faint nod.
“At least they’re no longer pretending.”
“They’ll move you within the hour.”
Her gaze shifted briefly toward the back room again.
“Do we have a choice?”
“No.”
A quiet pause.
“Then we don’t waste time acting like we do.”
She reached for the cup on the table, then stopped. The tea had gone cold. She set it down again without drinking.
“What about Tobias?”
“He’ll stay nearby,” Thomas said. “They won’t allow him inside, but he won’t be far.”
Freda nodded once.
“And Evelyn?”
A slight hesitation.
“She’s preparing.”
Freda didn’t press further.
A small sound came from the other room.
Liam stirred.
Freda turned just as he pushed himself upright, blinking away sleep.
“Mom?”
“I’m here.”
He noticed Thomas and frowned slightly.
“You came early.”
Thomas gave him a calm nod. “Morning.”
Liam studied both of them now.
“What’s going on?”
Freda crossed the room and crouched so they were eye level.
“We’re going to stay in the main pack house for a while. The council needs time to sort things out.”
He searched her face carefully.
“Like a visit?”
Her pause was just long enough to matter.
“Not exactly.”
His gaze shifted to Thomas.
“Are we in trouble?”
The question was simple, but it cut cleanly through everything else.
Thomas stepped closer, tone steady but softer than before.
“No,” he said. “But the council wants answers. And they want everyone in one place while they get them.”
Liam looked back at Freda.
“Do we have to go?”
“Yes.”
He held her gaze a moment longer than most children would.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
Freda felt it, quiet and sharp, the way he accepted it too easily.
Too used to moving when told.
“Go get dressed,” she said gently. “Take the bag by the door. Only what you need.”
Liam stood and went to the other room without complaint.
Thomas watched him disappear.
“He handles things quietly.”
“He’s had to learn.”
“Most children don’t.”
“He doesn’t have the luxury of being most children.”
That settled between them.
Freda moved to the shelf and pulled out a folder, checking it once before closing it again.
“You’re already thinking about the trial.”
“I have to,” she said. “Two weeks isn’t a long time.”
“They’ll shape everything before it begins.”
“They already are.”
She turned to him.
“Where do you stand in all of this?”
“With Lucian.”
“And if the council turns against him?”
Thomas didn’t hesitate.
“I stand with him anyway.”
She studied him for a moment longer than necessary.
“Even if it costs you your position?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
That answer didn’t build trust.
But it built something close to certainty.
Liam returned a few minutes later, dressed, holding a small bag.
“I’m ready.”
Freda nodded.
“Good.”
Thomas moved toward the door.
“They’re waiting.”
Freda took one last look around the cottage.
The drawings on the wall.
The worn table.
The quiet they had lived inside.
Then she turned away.
“Let’s go.”
The pack house felt different when they stepped inside.
Not louder.
Heavier.
Conversations didn’t stop, but they shifted. Voices lowered. Eyes followed them across the hall. No one approached.
Freda didn’t slow her pace.
Thomas led them up the stairs without hesitation.
They reached a corridor on the second floor. Two guards stood at opposite ends. Neither moved.
Thomas opened a door.
“You’ll stay here.”
Freda entered first.
The room was larger than the cottage. Clean. Structured. Utilitarian in a way that made it feel temporary.
Two bedrooms. A sitting area. Windows overlooking the inner grounds.
No locks in sight.
Just space.
Liam stepped inside and set his bag down.
“It’s bigger.”
“Yes,” Freda said.
He walked to the window.
“Can I still train?”
Freda glanced at Thomas.
“With supervision,” he said.
Liam nodded once.
“Okay.”
He turned back.
“Can I go outside?”
“Not alone,” Thomas replied.
Another nod.
“Then I’ll stay here for now.”
He picked up a book and sat down like that settled everything.
Freda watched him a moment longer than usual.
Then turned back to Thomas.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Thomas leaned lightly against the doorframe.
“The council is divided. More than expected.”
“Over the trial?”
“Over everything.”
Freda stepped closer.
“And the law?”
“They’ll consider it during proceedings.”
“That’s not the same as changing it.”
“No,” he admitted.
A quiet tension settled.
“They’re going to make an example of this.”
“Some of them will,” Thomas said.
“And the others?”
“Waiting.”
“For what?”
Thomas met her gaze.
“For someone to force their hand.”
Before Freda could answer, a knock came at the door.
Thomas opened it.
A runner stood outside, slightly breathless.
“Message for Freda Anders.”
Thomas took the envelope, dismissed him, then closed the door.
He handed it over.
“No seal. Official delivery.”
Freda opened it.
Her eyes moved across the page, then slowed.
Thomas watched her carefully.
“Well?”
Freda didn’t answer immediately.
Then…
“Victoria Nash.”
Recognition flickered in Thomas’s expression.
“The legal advocate.”
“She’s already reviewed the case,” Freda said.
Thomas stepped closer.
“And?”
Freda held the paper lightly.
“She says we have a chance.”
Her gaze didn’t lift.
“But only if we make the council face what this law has done.”
Silence dropped into the room.
Liam looked up from his book.
“Is she here?” Thomas asked.
Freda shook her head.
“No.”
She turned the page slightly, revealing the card inside.
“She’s waiting for my call.”
Her fingers hovered over it.
Just for a moment.
Then she placed it on the table.
And in that stillness…
it stopped being just a message.
It became a turning point.
Because once that call was made…
there would be no going back.
And this time…
the council wouldn’t be the only ones standing trial.