Chapter 227: THE COUNCIL’S VERDICT

Keisha’s POV

They brought the doctor in before long.

He was an older man who had spent most of his life studying herbs and their effects on werewolves, and from the way the investigators immediately stepped aside for him, I could tell they respected his knowledge.

I stayed near the table while the tea powder Nadia had consumed was brought out and placed in front of him.

He didn’t touch it immediately. Instead, he examined the container, checked the remaining powder, and then carefully inspected it before taking a small amount for further examination.

"What exactly was this tea supposed to do?" I asked.

One of the investigators looked through the notes they had gathered from the mansion. "It was a herbal mixture prepared mainly for pregnant women."

I stared at him. "Pregnant women?"

"Yes. It’s commonly used to help with some of the discomfort and stress that can come during pregnancy."

I looked down at the powder again. Nadia wasn’t pregnant, so the answer raised another question. "Then why would Nadia have wanted it?"

The investigator checked the notes again. "It isn’t exclusively for pregnant women. The mixture can also be taken to help relieve stress. She apparently knew that."

That made me go still.

Okay. She wanted to make a herb tea. I could assume she was simply making herself something to help her relax.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the tea had been intended primarily for pregnant women.

Me.

Could I have been right about my assumption?

I looked at the doctor. "And the wolfsbane?"

He continued examining the powder, his expression becoming more serious. "There are traces of something that shouldn’t be here. I can’t tell you everything until I’ve completed a proper examination, but yes, there is evidence that the original mixture was contaminated."

I folded my arms.

Then I was right. I was the target. And Nadia had simply been the person who drank it.

"Get the footage around the mansion," I said, turning toward the investigators. "Every relevant camera. All the entrances, hallways, or anything that could show someone delivering that tea mixture or entering the mansion around the time Nadia prepared it."

One of them nodded immediately. "We’ll bring everything we have."

"I don’t want just the footage from the kitchen. I want the areas around the entire mansion checked too. If someone brought something in, I want to know where they came from and where they went afterward." I ordered.

They left to arrange it while I remained with the doctor for a little longer.

By nightfall, I had more footage than I wanted to look through.

I sat in front of the screens and watched people move through the mansion over and over again. Guards came and went, while maids moved about the mansion doing their duties. There were people who had reasons to be there, people I recognized immediately, people who had been frequenting the mansion for years.

But there was no stranger.

I watched the same sections more than once, sometimes slowing them down whenever I thought someone might have behaved differently from usual, but nothing changed.

An insider? My mind went to Vera instantly. But she would never want harm to come to Nadia. I had seen the look on her face when she came to the hospital. She had actually been worried.

Fuck. This was tiring.

Eventually, exhaustion won.. I retired to bed sometime after midnight, knowing I would have to continue in the morning.

Instead, I woke up to someone calling for me.

I hadn’t even finished getting ready when I was told to report to the council and that immediately made me suspicious.

I hadn’t been expecting a council meeting, especially not first thing in the morning. Still, I followed the messenger there, and the moment I stepped inside, I realized something was very wrong.

The council was in an uproar.. Several elders were speaking at once, some looking furious, others frightened, while the guards standing around the room watched them carefully. Callum was at the front with a hard expression on his face, and beside him stood Dane.

I stopped just inside the doorway.. "What happened?"

The room became quieter for a moment, and Callum looked at me.. Then I noticed the documents spread across the table.

My stomach dropped because I knew those papers.

The list of rebels I’d given to the loyal elders.

Oh fuck. The council had worked on it and Callum had been told already.

I walked farther into the room, my eyes moving over the elders. Some of them refused to look at me while others looked angry enough to blame me for everything happening around them.

One of the loyal elders finally turned toward me. "We investigated the names you gave us," he said. "We thank you for what you have provided and we have relayed it to the Alpha after investigation."

I looked at Callum. "Oh."

I felt bad that I hadn’t been the one to tell him, but that didn’t matter.

His expression didn’t change. "It’s fine."

I swallowed.

Everything had been done without my knowledge and judging by the chaos in the room, the council had already reached the point where verdicts were being delivered.

Callum stepped forward. "You were all given an opportunity to explain yourselves," he said, his voice controlled but firm. "Instead, you allowed yourselves to become involved in a rebellion against this pack and against the Alpha you swore to serve."

Several elders immediately began pleading. "We didn’t know everything."

"We were never told who was behind it."

"We didn’t know her identity."

Callum’s eyes narrowed. "You’re saying you didn’t know who your leader was?"

An elder shook his head quickly. "We didn’t. She was always veiled when she appeared before us. None of us knew her identity."

Another elder immediately joined in. "We swear it. We never saw her face. We only received instructions."

Callum’s voice hardened. "Then you should have come forward when you realized what you were involved in."

The room went quiet because oone of them had an answer.

I stood there watching them, and my eyes eventually landed on Elder Osric.

He wasn’t saying anything. He simply stood there with his head lowered while the evidence against him sat on the table.

No one knew that he was working with Vera. And until I could get actual evidence on her, it would remain that way.

Callum looked over the gathered elders one last time. "Your positions are revoked."

The words immediately caused another wave of protests.

"Alpha, please."

"I served this pack for decades."

"Give us another chance."

Callum didn’t move. "You had your chance."

The elders continued pleading, but he remained unmoved. One by one, their authority was stripped from them, including Osric’s. They were no longer members of the council, and whatever power their positions had given them was gone.

Then Callum’s voice became colder. "You will remain under watch. You will not leave without permission, and every movement you make will be monitored. If any of you attempt to continue this rebellion, communicate with the organization, or take action against this pack, you will be executed."

That was it. Callum had delivered his verdict.