Chapter 286. Trial IV

Chapter 286: 286. Trial IV

Maisie

The Council’s Court was an enormous brownstone building at the edge of the Night Shade territory, bordering the safer edges of the White Moon pack.

And it was teeming with reporters.

They fled for the cars ahead and behind us, unsure which I was coming out of, and when they realized the first, second and third SUVs were mainly guards and my mates, they began racing for ours.

I flinched back as they hit my door like a pack of zombies, their mics hitting against the glass, hungry for their next headlines.

Juliette moved far from the window of the seat ahead of me when another mic cracked against the glass. "Didn’t know they would be so... enthusiastic," she said, a tremor entering her voice.

Panic tightened across my chest. I’d never been great at handling this level of attention.

The guards surrounded the car, pushing aside the crowd, and they parted, tripping over themselves to get away from my growling Lycan mates.

Soren arrived first, pulling the door open.

Cameras flashed in my face, temporarily blinding me, and I was knocked off balance by the sudden swell of noise.

"Did you order the rogues into Night Shade territory?"

"Did Lyon discover you were working with the rogues? Is that why you killed him?"

"There was a rough estimate of fifty dead in the Night Shade pack. Did you plan for a higher kill count?"

"Where is Margaret Hunt? Did she help you escape?"

"Did your mates know what you were doing? Did they help you escape?"

The lace chaffed against my skin and nausea rolled in my gut. My breaths had become labored.

Quinlan blocked their view of me, his hand bracing the car’s edge above my head, while Jericho extended his hand to me like a life line.

I didn’t realize how badly shaken I was until my trembling fingers closed over his steady ones. I was soon surrounded and shielded by them, huddled side by side with Juliette as Soren urged me up the stairs with a hand on my back, while Jericho released a deep, furious growl that had the reporters stumbling out of his reach.

We had just reached the top of the stairs when someone shouted from behind, "Did you know abortion is forbidden under Lycan law?"

I halted so fast, I might have lost my footing if Jericho wasn’t holding my hand.

My head whipped back, and even the other reporters fell silent, glancing at the one who had said that, considering it wasn’t general public knowledge. Yet.

The reporter was no reporter.

The crowd parted to reveal Tessa Graham.

Soren went still. Jerichos fingers around mine tightened. The sharp scent of murderous rage drifted from Quinlan. And Juliette took a step forward, as if she too needed to shield me from the silver haired demon.

Tessa sauntered over, her mouth coated in dark red lipstick lifting at the corners.

A small black hat sat crooked over her slicked-back bun, a veil of netting falling across the upper half of her face. Her grey eyes found mine immediately through it.

"Which of your mates fathered the child?" she purred, her voice carrying effortlessly over the crowd.

The flashes went wild.

Tessa climbed another step, black heels clicking against concrete. White fur slid over her bare shoulders and her black gown split almost to her hip when she walked, a pale thigh appearing and disappearing with every movement.

She had dressed up for this, for the cameras, for my sentencing. My apparent doom.

A handful of guards flanked her, their hands going for their weapons as though they could tell shit was about to go down.

Tessa reached the top stair and stopped. Then she turned slightly and looked straight at me. "Have your mates forgiven you for killing their child?"

Deep breaths, I thought as my insides twisted with something vengeful and cruel. I began counting from seventy nine in even numbers backwards.

I had to stay calm.

Alden had spoken over and over, explaining to me why it was important I didn’t show any signs of anger today. It wouldn’t help if I lost control.

I had to stay calm--

A low sound slipped out of Quinlan. It was so low, I felt the rumble through the soles of my shoes.

Tessa’s eyes flicked toward him and her smile widened. "Why, don’t you all look dashing, protecting your little felon. See how she uses you for her benefit." Her eyes lowered to his neck, and I noticed her take them in.

She looked at me then, flashing her teeth on a smile too beautiful to belong on the face of a monster. "I promise I’ll take care not to touch the same spot when I leave my marks on them. Out of respect to your memory, of course."

Jericho lunged for her in a blur of grey and silver, his boots against scraping against, and I caught a flash of claws as he closed the distance.

The reporters screamed. Tessa’s guards stepped in front of her, ready to block a blow that was highly likely to kill them, but Soren got in the middle of them, catching Jericho’s arm and holding him back.

The latter nearly dragged them both forward.

"Not here," Soren hissed, his voice slithering with that layered voice that often overrode everything else, but Jericho twisted and snarled at Soren.

His eyes had gone wholly black and he looked more frazzled than I’d ever seen him. "Let. Me. Go," he snarled.

"Not here," Soren repeated. "Killing her won’t help Maisie--"

Jericho bayed, the sound purely animal, and Quinlan cursed, pushed forward to stop Jericho.

Tessa had enough self preservation to take a step back. And the terror stricken on her face as the cameras flashed rapidly was definitely faked. I didn’t know what she hoped to gain by riling us up, but it had destroyed whatever semblance of calm I had been trying to establish.

I couldn’t remember a single thing Alden had told me during. Didn’t remember why I had to remain calm. I saw her dainty neck and I saw red. That thirst rose in me again and I felt my claws and fangs begin to lengthen.

Calm? Fuck that. I was going to kill her. I would never get a better chance to--

"Tear out her throat," I whispered.

Soren’s head snapped back at me. His brows furrowed and his eyes glitched between black and violet blue. He blinked, then shook his head as if rejecting a thought.

Quinlan on the other hand had stopped holding Jericho back. And he went straight for Tessa’s throat.

The Council’s guards moved off the walls to intervene, and not broke out into a fight when someone’s arm got broken.

I half heard Soren’s order, "Get Maisie inside," before I got carted away by Alden and a number of guards, who kept repeating this wouldn’t bode well.

****

The trial was to commence at noon, at which point nearly half of the Council’s guards had been either beaten or injured, and somehow, it was my fault, too.

The Head of the Council of Wolves, a large man with greying hair and a beard that teased the collar of his official robes hadn’t stopped glaring in our direction.

I could tell we were off to a great start.

The Council’s Court had been built like an arena.

Four massive sections climbed the circular walls in steep tiers.

The Council of Wolves occupied the east, dressed in their ceremonial blacks and silvers. Across from them sat the Lycan Queen’s Council, all dark coats, gold insignias and expressionless faces.

The Lycan audience filled the northern tiers, full breds and hybrids alike.

Wolf elites filled the south.

Amongst the latter, I could see a lot of faces from school. Jenny and Regina sitting together. Alpha Dante was present with Luna Kaida. The Braxtons were present, too. Cole was in the seats behind them. And I tried not to make it too obvious that I was staring hard at my sister.

It was the first time I had seen her since, well, she sold me out to be kidnapped. She sat, prim and proper as always, her expression stiff as she glanced at everything and nothing.

I didn’t miss the Hayes’ family’s heirloom sitting around her lovely neck.

I hoped it was worth it. I hoped she thought it was worth it when I found her and snapped her neck. I was certainly never going to forgive her for it.

I half listened as Alden repeated to me over and over, that no matter how much I was prodded and how hurt I felt, it was important that my feelings took the backseat today.

Perhaps, it was because I was still vibrating from earlier, needing to get the violence out of my system. Or maybe it was the fact that Tessa was seated at the forefront of the Lycan side of the hall, smiling like she’d won something. Or it could be the fact that Mercer wasn’t here.

It wasn’t that I expected him to show up. I didn’t know what I expected. But I didn’t expect that he wouldn’t be here.

My foot kept hitting the ground and I gave in, cracking at the tightness in my chest. "Where is Mercer?" I asked, cutting Alden short in his briefing while we awaited the arrival of the Bitch Queen for the trial to commence.

Quinlan’s shoulders bristled, but it was Soren who answered.

"We can’t... find him."