“You’ll see!”
Edith could not imagine what punishment would be meted out to a werewolf in the unforgivable category, as had just been meted out to the ash-covered vampire. Even imagining it made her head spin.
The mirrored waiting room at the top of the courtroom was not only attended by their group. Edith had seen a list of seven cases to be heard today, and she saw that there were ten glassed-in rooms. She could conclude that the four waiting rooms were already occupied by court participants who were waiting for their turn.
“Bloody hell! What did that witch do to the werewolf?”
Will exclaimed when he saw the accused werewolf’s body convulse without the witch touching it. A grunt of pain echoed throughout the room. The werewolves in the room, including himself, shuddered in horror when they saw the punishment being meted out.
“The executioner is squeezing his heart.” Eva’s voice trailed off as she answered.
“What is the werewolf doing?” asked Seth as he massaged his chin.
“I don’t know for sure. It’s possible that he assaulted one of the witches. It’s still a light punishment because the victim might have survived.”
“Why did the witch who executed him not the Council directly like the vampire who was burned earlier?” I will ask again.
“That vampire also attacked a human. The Council will act directly if a case involves humans.”
The werewolves were already growling weakly. Edith was sure that they must be tense at the thought of this case being won by Matthieu’s side. Edith glanced with the tail of her eye and saw that Jadden, the Beta, was already dripping with sweat.
“I can’t imagine!” squeaked Jadden.
The third case seen by them was only a minor offence committed by a house elf. Edith kept her eyes on it. She saw the house elf with a small body wearing a torn rag. The house elf looked sadly at the presiding officer as he read out the judgement.
A smile appeared on her face. The house elf was almost crying and wiped away her tears and snot with the rags clinging to her body. Even so, there was a part of Edith that was happy to see that the house elf was found not guilty of the theft charge against her.
At this moment, Edith saw that the access door to the courtroom was already wide open. They passed through a different door than when they first entered the room. They went down the stairs and stopped once they reached the centre of the room.
Eva walked to the side of the room and seated herself in a row of jury chairs. Seth was directed to sit in the centre of the room while the three werewolves sat behind him on the witness stand.
A person in a long robe and conical hat walked to the centre of the room and stopped right in front of Seth. He raised his drooping, round glasses and read the parchment in his hand.
“Supreme Alpha case hearing. Accused: Seth Tinley McKirby, Alpha of the Red Crescent Moon Pack. Suspected of the murder of Supreme Alpha Matthieu Moreau on the date of”
Edith listened carefully to sentence after sentence spoken by the robed figure, whom she assumed was a witch. Edith saw the man carrying a medium-sized box from the table beside Seth and handing it to the presiding officer.
“Meurtrier!”
Edith heard the shout echoing throughout the room. From the uppermost stands stood a woman Edith had never met but had heard of. She saw a cold-faced woman with sharp eyes glaring at Seth. Edith saw the overwhelming anger in her glaring eyes.
“The audience is requested to calm down!” the presiding officer said in an equally booming voice.
The woman slumped. She sank back into her chair. Both hands were covering her face. Edith could see at a glance that her body was shaking from crying.
“The question-and-answer session is open!” said a woman sitting next to the chairperson.
A not-too-tall man stood up from his seat opposite Seth. He adjusted his glasses as he stood in front of Seth. The man asked, “What is your motive for doing monomachia with Supreme Alpha Matthieu?”
Seth cleared his throat and spoke, “I did it because I wanted to reach that position and become Supreme Alpha.”
“Did you plan the monomachia with him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you intend to kill him in Monomachia?”
“Monomachia only determines one winner. He surrenders or he dies, and Supreme Alpha did not surrender then.”
“You must answer yes or no!” the witch urged.
“No.”
“Menteur!”
Again, the woman screamed. Her body now began to tremble, and she looked down at the floor. An aura of anger enveloped her body. The woman growled loudly as the sound of bones cracking could be heard. The next minute, the woman shifted into a grey-black furry wolf.
The wolf ran downstairs, but its steps were stopped by two wolves that Edith saw were escorting them down to attend the trial.
“Ginnette Moreau, you have insulted the court. Have the guards escort her out of the courtroom!” The presiding officer shouted angrily at Luna.
Ginnette slowed her pace. She turned and left the room voluntarily, without a fight. Just before the wolf turned around, her yellow eyes briefly looked at Edith with a hateful gaze. Edith didn’t care; her anxiety was overpowering her at the moment.
Minute after minute and hour after hour passed with debates between the prosecution and the defence. They argued by submitting evidence and hearing testimonies. Edith saw Seth, who was so calm during the trial. Her anxiety disappeared a little when Seth smiled warmly at her.
After the presiding officer paused for an hour’s break, the court reconvened to hear the verdict. Edith sat, squeezing the hem of her skirt. She could not focus. Cold sweat was already pouring down her temples as she listened to word after word spoken by the presiding officer.
Not guilty,
Edith clasped her hands together. She thanked the Moon Goddess for siding with Seth. Her feelings of happiness were beyond words. Seth came up to her and hugged Edith tightly.
“We did it, baby!”
*
“Now, what are you going to do?”
Jadden asked Seth, who was playing with Julie. They were just chatting in the backyard of the pack house to enjoy the sunset.
“Anne, please take Julie to her room. Daddy will talk to Uncle Jadden first,” he said as he kissed Julie’s cheek.
Anne walked over to Julie, who was sitting with a ball in her hands. The Omega picked her up and carried her to her room. After Anne was out of sight, Seth opened his voice and said, “As originally planned, I will be holding a meeting with Alphas from all packs in the world.