Todd was shaking, his wolf was in shock after having his position stripped from him. It was all his human’s fault; his greed had led to this, and with that his wolf retreated from him.
The next person brought in was the senior Beta, the man who had been left behind while his Alpha was in Minnesota. He was dragged forward and stood in front of the men, his good hand covering the hand that was missing a thumb. “Beta Miller, your Alpha bond is stripped, and any Alpha orders or directions you have been given are no longer in effect. You are to answer each question honestly and completely, do you understand me?”
The Beta shrank back under the dominance of the Chairman; his wolf would comply, even if his human side resisted. The truth would come out, that was how this worked in werewolf trials. “Yes sir,” he said.
Mr. Pike stood in front of him. “Beta Miller, on the night of October 9th to 10thof 1999, were you part of an attack on the Arrowhead Pack?”
“Yes,” he growled out, his human trying to stay quiet but unable to do so.
“What was the purpose of the attack?”
He fought, falling to his knees before his wolf answered. “Alpha Blackstone was furious that Luna Joanne had not been mated to him, and he set his sights on his daughter Charlotte. We were to wipe out the pack and take Charlotte, where she could be raised in our Pack and become his mate.”
The crowd was shocked or furious, but the Chairman’s command kept them from saying or doing anything. “I see. The Arrowhead Pack had eighty-seven members. How many did you kill?”
“Five,” he said.
“Women or children?”
“They killed themselves rather than be captured,” he said.
The three men at the table talked briefly, then the Chairman banged his gavel. “Guilty of murder, sentenced to death. Return him to the cells and bring the next man.”
The parade continued for the next three hours. The horrors of the attack were laid out for all to hear; the women who killed their own children and themselves in the safe room. The bravery of the young woman who stood up to a dozen Warriors and bit off the Beta’s thumb before being killed. The brutality of the sneak attack, and the dismemberment and burning alive of the Luna.
Of the fifty-eight men who had participated in the attack, fifty-one were still alive. The ones who hadn’t killed were sentenced to thirty lashings followed by lengthy prison sentences. The ones who killed were sentenced to death. Alpha Todd was brought back, he wasn’t even questioned before being declared guilty and being sentenced to death. Finally, Chairman Erik finished and the victim statements began.
Two hours later, the sentences started to be carried out. The twelve sentenced to be lashed were first, and the proceedings were moved to the indoor training field the Pack had built. The edge of the field was surrounded by ten-foot-high chain link fence, newly installed, and the bleachers were filled with all remaining Pack members over fourteen and the other witnesses. The men were chained to poles, and burly Enforcers with silver-tipped whips laid into their backs as they screamed until they lost consciousness. They were then cut down and carried back to the prison, where the wounds would heal but the scars would remain. They were the lucky ones.
Thirty-four men, the senior one being the Beta, were then brought into the field, their chains removed, and the gate locked behind them. They huddled together, trying to figure out what was going on as the Enforcers and Pack Warriors from the other Packs stood on the outside of the fences. The men carried cattle prods and spears, and anyone who approached the fencing was driven back quickly. The Beta looked around, noting five men were missing. “WHERE ARE THE OTHERS,” he said.
Chairman Erik turned on his microphone and gestured for quiet. “The four men who killed Luna Joanna, along with Todd Blackstone who killed the Alpha with silver and ordered the death of the Luna, are being given over to the Adirondack Pack. Their death sentence will be carried out on their lands, by their Pack.”
A cheer rang out as the wolves gathered understood what that meant; the death would be needed revenge for the loss of their daughter. They would not get an easy execution.
“As for you men,” he continued, “We debated the method and decided this would be the most appropriate. You will fight each other until only one remains, and that one will be granted a twenty-year prison sentence instead of death. Anyone who tries to escape the field will be shocked, stabbed or killed. Your only way out is to kill everyone else, there are no other rules. You may begin.”
The werewolves were shocked, and some responded quicker than others and shifted into their wolves, attacking the men next to them. In thirty seconds, ten lay dead or dying on the astroturf, while battles had started all over the field. Friends and family members sometimes banded together, but the real targets of their fury were the leaders that had planned the attack in the first place.
The Beta stood with two others, surrounded by a dozen wolves of lower rank. Their strength and skill was evident, but the numbers were against them and there was no way out for them. More and more wolves came over, joining in the attacks. Wolves darted in, tearing and slicing their backs and haunches until they were covered with blood. As their muscles started to fail them, they were open to attacks more often and soon they were helpless. It only took five minutes for the senior ranks of the Pack to be wiped out.
The fighting continued for another thirty minutes, a bloody Werewolf version of a Battle Royale. Finally, one wolf stood alone.
The enforcers opened the gate, going around to verify all the others were dead. Medics went over to the survivor, they did what they could, but the wounds he sustained were too much and soon he died as well.
“Let this be a lesson to us all. The laws are clear, every one of these men knew what they were doing was wrong, but they did it and kept the secret for fifteen years. Do not mourn those who get what they deserve. They disgust me.” He took a moment to look at the entire crowd, then into a camera. “We as a people are better than that.” Chairman Erik turned and walked through the silent crowd and out the doors, followed by the Council members and the Alphas.