Judge, Jury, and
1252 Words
“Why?” It was the first thing that came to Diana’s mind. “I mean, literally… why? How are you going to keep me here?”
“Well, we could have you arrested.”
“Chief Bernard is one of you?”
“Of course,” Anna nodded. “As I said, most of the wolves who live in the northeast are in this area.”
“Is there a… pack… or whatever, out here?”
“There is,” Thomas replied. “In Vermont. Packs don’t strictly stick to territories anymore, really. Certainly not by state lines. Most of the wolves in this area belong to the pack up in Vermont or the one in upstate New York, but Anna and I belong to the Montana pack. As does Joshua, of course. We’ve chosen to settle out here because it is where my family is from, and as an only child, I inherited the lands and the money. Packs may not be physically territorial anymore, but families can still get…”
“Let’s just say that Thomas’s family would not have been pleased if the ancestral estate fell into the hands of outsiders. Or, heaven forbid, humans,” Anna shuddered. Diana felt vaguely insulted.
“In any case,” Thomas said, waving a hand. “You can’t leave. That’s why Anna’s father, our Alpha, is coming out here. We need to decide what to do with you.”
“What to… do with me?” Diana didn’t like how that sounded. She looked at Joshua, alarmed.
“They aren’t going to hurt you,” he said, but he didn’t sound as sure as she would have hoped, and Diana didn’t miss the strange look that passed between Joshua and his father, something secret that she didn’t understand but didn’t like.
“He should be here any day now!” Anna said, but her voice was the type of faux cheery that she used on people at charity galas to get more donations. Diana had seen enough of those to know when she was being manipulated.
“That doesn’t sound true,” she replied.
“Well,” Anna said, hesitating, “it is true… but he was supposed to be here today.”
“And he isn’t?”
“No, he sent word that he would be here in two days.”
“Is that unusual?”
For a moment, no one answered. Then Thomas said, in a strained voice, “the Alphas always keep their own time, you know. I’m sure he has his reasons.”
“Sure,” Diana said. She didn’t know where to go next, in terms of her line of questioning. Everything was scary, and fascinating, and nothing seemed entirely real. The table was quiet and somber. Even Joshua, who still had the hint of a smirk on his face as he watched Diana’s mind turn over all she had learned, was looking more serious.
“Seems like you’re all afraid of him,” she finally offered up. She watched as the others around the table with her began to bluster. They clamored to speak over each other, words flowing out quickly.
“I wouldn’t say–” Anna started.
“I think respect is more–” Thomas said.
“He’s my grandfather, I’m not scared–” chimed in Joshua at the same time.
“He’s just a big personality–”
“Alphas tend to be–”
“You’ll understand when you meet him–”
“My father after all–”
“He’s a man of stature–”
“Absolutely ridiculous!” Joshua finished.
“‘The family doth protest too much, methinks,’” Diana said. “But never mind that. You still haven’t given me any good reason to stay here.”
“Again, it’s here or town jail,” Thomas said.
“And when I sue?” she meant it threateningly, but to her dismay, Thomas merely rolled his eyes. It was perhaps the most obvious sign of annoyance she had ever seen the even keeled man display, and it wounded her a little.
“The jury will probably have wolves. The judge might be a wolf, we have several. I told you, this area is populated with wolves. You can try, of course. But the fact is, Diana, you’re a threat to us now. In fact, general protocol is to have disposed of you already.”
“What?” Diana asked, unable to keep the incredulous tone out of her voice. “Dispose of me? Like–”
“Yes, like that.” Anna’s voice was firm. “But believe it or not, Diana, we didn’t want to do that. None of us did.”
Disbelievingly, Diana looked to Joshua. He nodded. “That’s true.”
“I know you’ve long believed we didn’t like you, Diana. But that isn’t true. We adore you, in many ways, but we always knew that if Joshua let you into his heart, this would happen. Wolves and humans can’t be friends, or lovers, or partners. We just can’t. Acquaintances, sure. Casual friends, perhaps. But we warned Joshua over and over, over and over again, that he would hurt you if he became too close to you. We’ve all seen it happen, us older wolves. Especially now as we have dispersed into the general human public, everyone knows someone who broke a human heart, or had their heart broken by a human, or both, or who befriended a human who found out too much–” Anna stopped speaking.
“And what happened then?”
“What?” Anna asked, her voice innocuous.
“What happened to the humans who found out too much?” Diana said, raising her voice.
Anna didn’t answer. Thomas did, a gentle sigh leaving him.
“You don’t want to know the answer to that, Diana. Just know we are trying very hard not to let it happen to you.”
“You could have just let me go! You didn’t have to contact Maxwell or–” she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“How do you know that name?” Anna asked sharply.
“I… you said it before?”
“We most certainly did not!” Thomas’s voice got louder.
“I… might have overheard it,” Anna admitted, unable to lie with all three of them staring intensely at her. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable.
“So who is Maxwell?” she finally asked. The atmosphere in the room was chilly, but Thomas answered her.
“He’s… sort of a judge, I guess. That’s the best analogy.”
“A judge?”
“He is a confidential, packless wolf who helps Alphas solve problems that might otherwise cause friction or even war between packs. It is part of how we have managed to attain such high levels of integration in society. He’s appointed by the Alphas.”
“And he’s coming with your father?” she asked Anna. Anna nodded.
“And you guys are afraid of him?”
“No,” Joshua said, and his tone sounded more sincere. “Not afraid. Just wary. He has a lot of power in the community.”
“And you’re afraid he will… what?” Diana asked. “Kill me?”
“No,” Joshua said. He leaned forward, looking into Diana’s eyes. “We are afraid he will ask me to prove my loyalty, ask me to kill you.”
- Writer
