Chapter 48

The Pack

It is impossible to quantify how many times an attempt has been made to assassinate a group leader.

Most are unsuccessful, either getting caught in the nick of time or giving up the endeavor before it ever gets off the planning board.

Kings have died mysteriously, with many believing it was murder, but without any suspects to accuse or evidence. Some truths are lost in the annals of history.

Many have gone to the grave pleading innocence despite the world deciding that they were responsible for the death of the Queen’s children.

Sometimes, the fabled story is better than the mundane reality, and an angry mob will serve justice quicker than a jury could deliberate.

The world of wolves is no different, and these threats to divine authority or interference with Pack order. The bloodlines go back centuries, and grudges and feuds can last even longer.

Lila learned much of this the night before her trial.

After a full twenty-four hours of confinement in a cell, she finally caved and accepted some of the “light reading” that was offered by the guards.

They brought her The Judicial History of the Wolf: Pacific Northwest, and at first she thought it was a joke they were playing.

She asked if there was anything else, and they said no. The marshal branch believed in immediate reformation even before a defendant was tried or sentenced. It never hurts to know what a foul future might wait for you if you don't cooperate with the law.

Fortunately for Lila, she did not have long to spend in the silent cell awaiting her fate. Because of the serious nature of the crime of which she was accused, her trial was scheduled immediately.

She would face justice just two days after she was caught trying to poison Dominic Grey.

The Pack was shocked to hear of the case against Lila, as so many of them knew of the history of friendship between Lila and Dominic and the rest of his family. It seemed so unlikely that Lila would turn against the people she cared about so deeply, but stress can turn any mild-mannered person into a maniac in an instant.

There was no sign of the Greys in the interim, and even Mira was said to have skipped work at the hospital. People were camped out in front of the Alpha Pack House, waiting to get any statements from the leading family.

Only one member of the clan, the step-brother, Lucian was seen off the premises. He seemed eager to speak to anyone with a microphone, but the young man speaks in riddles, and his perpetual smirk with entices or unnerves others.

The trial began on a Wednesday, and the moon was in its waxing gibbous phase. It would soon be full, and then it would need to be emptied. This time in the lunar cycle was a time for shedding.

The courtroom was quiet, only a gentle hum of hushed voices kept the room alive. No one in the Pack was happy to be in that room, condemning one of their own. Lila, even in her late-twenties, was still a child of the Pack.

Davos, the Alpha, kept his voice neutral in his opening statements.

“Lila Brandt, how do you plead?” he asked her, a touch of pity in his eyes.

“Not guilty,” Lila responded, barely hanging on to her breath in order to say those two words.

“The trial will proceed, evidence will be presented, and certain witnesses will be called to the stand. May this matter be handled swiftly, and justice and order restored in the lives of the Pack.”

It did not look good for Lila.

Though Mira was not asked to testify, she wrote a statement and shared the evidence that she had collected since Lila had drugged the glass at the banquet. It wasn’t much, but with Dominic’s testimony and Lila’s name in the hospital logbook, the case against Lila was more solid by the minute.

It didn’t help that Lila was red-eyed and weepy in her seat, like a child that was tricked out of a treat. She twisted and twined a handkerchief through her fingers.

“This entire charade is preposterous,” Irene from the stand.

She was sharply dressed in black and grey, as if she might have a funeral to go to after this. A wolf’s head brooch was clasped over heart. The eyes were sapphires.

“Someone is clearly planting evidence on this poor girl,” the Luna continued, “and taking advantage of her close relationship with Dominic to accuse her of something she would never do in a million years. Lila is innocent!”

It was a good show, and many believed it. Irene could hold a tear in the corner of her eye, keeping it from falling until a poignant moment when it might cascade down her cheek. Her eye makeup remained immaculate in spite of how riled up she became.

Many of the elders nodded along with her, seeming to trust the word of the Luna. She had been like a second mother and mentor to Lila, and knew her well enough to speak in her defense and mean it.

Davos watched his wife come back to sit beside him, all elegance and poise. There was a smile on his face, but otherwise he was dead in the eyes.

“I don’t believe her,” Dominic said quietly.

The first day of the trial had ended, and most of the crowd had made their way out of the building. Dominic and Mira were some of the last to leave, standing with the family and showing a united front during such a trying time.

“Who? Lila?” Mira asked.

“No, Irene.”

Nothing else was said between them as they made their way outside and towards a waiting car. Dominic kept his head up as they walked, acknowledging and greeting other Pack members with eye contact or a nod of the head. Even in a stressful situation, he remained the son of the Alpha and should present as such.

Mira kept her head down.

Davos and Irene were not seen leaving the building, as there is always a separate exit for the Alpha and Luna. They may always be relatable to the rest of the Pack, but can very seldom be safely among them.

Lila, poor girl, was taken back to confinement. She spent the night re-reading history, dropping tears onto the pages and talking to herself and repeating the word “recipe.”

The guards think she is losing her mind.

The Pack retires to the recesses of the settlement, a place that has grown from a three family compound to a compound of nearly two thousand wolves. A place that has held fast against intruders and conquerors for generations, where many believed the tree spirits themselves were dedicated to protecting the Greys.

Tonight, a few more lamps stayed lit all night long. It was the universal symbol of a sleepless night.

Tomorrow, the crowd would gather again and others would listen or watch or scroll to stay up to date on the trial proceedings.

The events that followed would be burn into memories and biographies for generations to come.