Chapter 40 On Trial
1448 Words
Chapter 40
On Trial
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Jada
The room we were sent to was small, cramped, and musty. It only consisted of a desk, a leather chair, and three wooden ones. A Roman numeral clock was above a tiny square window behind the leather chair. The Celestial Moon clan had a similar room, but the odour was more metallic, well-used… And frightening. This is an interrogation room! And an unused one at that!
Duane paced, continuously glancing at the clock. He had caught the girl–Louise, when she had fainted, and now his chest and arm were speckled in her blood. He had held her with such a gentle embrace that the Alpha ordered his Beta and Gamma to treat us like guests. That was before we were escorted into this waiting room and locked inside.
“I desperately need a shower!” Duane groaned as he swiped at the blood spots. “I hope Louise is okay.”
Louise… Why does she look like me? Her hair was shorter and a little thinner… And her eyes were darker, but she was unmistakably my lookalike.
“Is he still out there?” Agatha swung forward on the leather chair. “That werewolf?”
Anna peered through the tiny window in the door. “Yep, he’s staring at the door...”
Duane stopped pacing and turned to Agatha. “And you said you didn’t believe in mate bonds, but there’s a werewolf out there claiming to be yours.”
“I don’t believe in it!” Agatha defended harshly. She stood up and propped her hands against the desk. “There is no way that boy out there is destined to be my partner for life! I’m way too old! And he’s just a pup!”
“When a werewolf imprints, it’s for life,” Anna added. She dropped into the seat beside me. “I don’t see how you don’t feel it...”
“But I’m not a werewolf!” Agatha huffed. She strode around the table so she was across from me. “And the real question is… Why does that girl look like Jada?”
“And why can’t I possibly be the daughter of the Alpha and Luna.” I dropped my head in my hands. Nothing was going right. “It doesn’t make sense... We heard my false father say I was swapped at birth with the daughter of the Mist Clan Alpha. But their daughter is only ten!”
“That... And this lookalike of yours leaves me wondering if Agatha’s mum switched you with the wrong baby...” Anna turned to the witch. “Could she have done that by accident?”
“Ah, yeah!” Agatha snorted a laugh. “But it wouldn’t be accidental... She knew what she was doing.”
I peered up at the clock. It was five minutes past eleven… on Friday. The Celestial Moon was planning to attack here at midnight. They didn’t have long to prepare their defences and protect their daughter. After all, I now knew I was not their daughter, but Edwin had no clue. They were going to kidnap a ten-year-old… I can’t allow that! But what was I going to do? I tried my best. Did they listen? Were they preparing to fight?
“You did the best you could, Jada.” Anna laid her head against my shoulder. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. The rest is up to fate.”
“And sheer dumb luck.” Agatha huffed. “If my mother swapped you with another… Then there is a dangerous cursed Alpha werewolf out there that can transform into a beast at any time and put everyone in danger.”
“Great!” I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face. “If there wasn’t enough to worry about.”
“This Louise could be that girl…” Duane interjected, turning to us, “It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that out, seeing she looks just like you.”
“But she tried to protect us.” I reminded him. “And you saw she was not strong enough to fight anyone… The poor girl is sick.”
“Yeah,” Anna agreed. “Unusually sick for a werewolf …”
“That’s my mother for you!” Agatha massaged the back of her neck. “If this girl is the Alpha daughter of the Celestial Moon clan, then that might explain her condition. Curses destroy the body over time. It will eat away until the curse is broken or the person dies.”
“No offence,” Duane snorted. “But if your mother put that poor girl through this kind of suffering, she’s an evil witch!”
“Bitchcraft?” I asked, quoting her.
Agatha nodded with a wonky smirk. “Yep, that about sums it up…”
There was a click as the door opened. A young man stepped forward. His dark grey eyes saw us, but they seemed uninterested in us.
He was shorter than Duane but strong and extremely handsome. He was of Alpha blood. I knew that the second I saw his silver wolf earlier. He was one of the two men who rushed to Louise’s side when she fainted.
“My father, the Alpha, will see you now...” He stepped aside and gestured through the door.
“I’ll lead the way, Joseph…” Kingston, the man who had claimed to be Agatha’s mate, offered as he eagerly leapt up from his seat. “Follow me…”
Agatha leaned in closer to me. “Darn, pup has no idea who I am. He’s in for one hell of a shock.”
“He knows you’re a witch, at least.” I shrugged. “Either way, he is your mate.”
“Pft!” she huffed. “I don’t believe in that nonsense.” Her eyes travelled to Kingston’s naked chest as she said that.
Duane chuckled. “We’ll see...”
We reached a dark oak door that stood ajar. Kingston pushed it further open. Inside, a round room came into focus, partially resembling a courtroom. At the front, the Alpha and Luna sat in high-backed chairs, confined behind a large encased curved desk. In front of the desk, two chairs sat facing the centre of the room. In the middle of the room were two wooden benches. And at the far back, on either side of another door, sat a row of unoccupied wooden chairs.
“Take a seat,” Alpha Joseph insisted as he gestured to the benches.
Nodding, Duane led the way. I followed him, with Anna behind me and Agatha at the rear.
Once in the room, a strong smell of pine tickled my sinuses.
“I don’t think they use this room,” Anna whispered as we sat on the bench. “It smells too fresh.”
“New car smell,” Agatha chuckled.
How was she so calm about all this? I was far from calm. My hands were sweating, and my mouth had gone dry. Beside me, Anna was tense. Duane was somewhere in the middle–Calm but ready to protect.
The door behind us opened, and I involuntarily jumped, making Anna wince. Two large and focused men stepped through. One was pale, solid, and had a mop of wavy brown hair falling over his eyes. The other was tall and large and sported the same white-blonde hair as Kingston. Beta and Gamma! Glancing in our direction, they sat in the two seats in front of the desk.
“Gamma Archie,” the Alpha said, making the pale man to his right. “Did you bring Louise Carpenter for questioning?”
“Yes, Alpha...” he replied. “She’s outside with Tyrone and May.”
I noticed Joseph became ridged. His eyes shifted from the front of the room to the door. Kingston was similar, but his attention was entirely on Agatha.
“I think we’re on trial,” Anna whispered into my ear.
“We are from a ruthless rival, pack.” I sighed, lowering my head. “I wouldn’t expect any less.”
“But that’s not us,” she reached over, grabbed my hand, and squeezed it. “Everything will work out...”
“Beta Reece, what about my daughter?” The Luna added. “Is she safe?”
“Yes, Luna.” The blonde man to my left replied. “She is safe and secured with the best of our warriors.”
The Luna nodded, then turned to her mate. “We can proceed.”
“Bring in Louise Carpenter…” The Alpha ordered.
- Writer
