Dearest Luke

Chapter Seven - Seeking Justice

☽ Luke ☾

Mitch Owen has been arrested for rape. Florence is handling things from her side. Since Mitch is human, he is going to a human prison and I hope he will be rotting in there. I had my doubts, but I had faith in Florence. In the meantime, my main focus has been Nia. Florence pardoned me from my community service to help Nia, for that, I am even more grateful. The police had found enough evidence in not only Mitch’s apartment but in his car as well. Apparently, he had spiked Nia’s drink at some point and waited for her to head out. The details of that night are horrendous and all I wanted to do was kill the son of a b***h. I didn't know all of the details though, that would be revealed at the trial. The pack's doctor, Annie DeSilver, was still analyzing the test results. The thing that threw us all off was how did he manage to drug a shifter? A question we had no answer too, at least not yet. I didn’t bother to knock on Nia’s bedroom door as I pushed it opened. She was laying on her bed, under the covers staring outside. I placed the tray down on her bedside table and sat down on the edge.

“I brought you some sweet tea and pancakes,” I said softly. Nia didn’t acknowledge the fact that I spoke, and I completely understood. From what Annie had said, Nia had zero memory of the incident. However, it didn’t take away what had happened to her and how violated she felt. I sighed as I glanced over at her. She looked pale and tired. I wonder if she was getting any sleep. I blamed this whole thing on myself. If I had just come home and spent time with her then maybe she wouldn’t have gone out with Joyce to that party. I hated myself for that. I wasn’t much of a talker, but I have been trying my best each day. Trying to entertain my mate by telling her stories from my childhood. Honestly, I had no idea if she even heard me. She gave no reaction to any of the stories. “Please Nia,” I begged as I picked up the cup and held it out to her. No response. I placed it back down on the tray. “You shouldn’t be starving yourself,” I gently pointed out. It was quiet for a moment and then I remembered something. “Oh, Joyce said she would be stopping by later to see you,” I informed her. No response. “Maybe you’d like to spend some time with your best friend,” I suggested. “Or at least maybe you’d talk to her,” I added softly. Nia glanced over at me and I tried to smile. This situation wasn’t easy but at least she was looking at me. “Please Nia, look after yourself,” I pointed over at the tray and waited. Nia reached out with a shaky hand and picked up the cup of sweet tea. She took a sip and closed her eyes.

“It’s good,” she whispered, and I smiled. Her voice was hoarse but still so soft and delightful. I nodded as I picked up the tray and cut a small piece from the stack of pancakes that was smothered in syrup. I held out the fork and she leaned forward, and I fed her the piece. I watched her eat and smiled when she nodded for another. I ended up feeding her half of the stack and she finished the tea. I was happy. It wasn’t all of the food but at least she was eating.

“Thank you,” I said as I stood up and took the tray downstairs. As I entered the kitchen, Sherie cornered me.

“Did she eat?” she asked as she eyed the tray. I didn’t say anything as I felt the half-eaten pancakes and the empty cup was enough of an answer. “Oh my, thank you, Luke,” she gushed out as she took the tray from me. I stood there awkwardly as I watched her clean up. “How is she?”

“Quiet,” I answered as I sat down at the kitchen table.

“Hmm,” she hummed as she dried up the few dishes. “Hopefully in time, she will be back to her normal bubbly self,”

“When is the trail?” I asked her, changing the subject. Sherie tensed up but turned to face me.

“Monday,” she replied sadly. “You know, I don’t know what upsets me most,” I raised an eyebrow curiously. “The police of that godforsaken town or the council,” I frowned when she mentioned the council. Sherie spotted my look of apprehension and explained her thoughts. “I mean, the police have done all the research necessary according to them. Call it proof or evidence, same thing. The council didn’t require any proof, all they needed was the truth or whatever our lovely doctor Annie said or reported. On one hand, I wish the police, the Mayor had more faith in us but on the other hand, I wish the council would do more than just take our word for it, you know what I mean?”

“In a way, yes,” I admitted. I definitely could understand her concerns, but I didn’t really care, so long as justice was served. However, if I had to be honest with myself, I would’ve preferred that the bastard was sentenced to death.

“I want justice and I want that i***t Mitch to pay but most of all I just want my baby girl to be happy again,” Sherie said and I nodded. I wanted Nia to be happy again too. There was a knock on the door and Sherie went to answer it as I sat there thinking about Nia.

“Good morning Luke,” I looked up to see Joyce standing awkwardly at the doorway. Just behind her stood Sherie. I nodded in greeting and Sherie excused herself. Joyce pushed her glasses further up in the bridge of her nose and gave me a shy smile. “Um, do you mind if I sit?” she asked, and I shook my head and gestured for her to take a seat. “So, Luke…how is Nia doing?” she asked me, and I wondered why she was making small talk with me. I didn’t want to answer, but I felt Nia wouldn’t appreciate me ignoring her best human friend.

“She ate a bit this morning and drank a whole cup of tea,” I announced softly. “But she still isn’t talking,” I added. Joyce frowned as she nodded. “Maybe you can change that,” I said after a moment or two of silence. Joyce’s eyes met mine and she shook her head as she looked down at the table.

“I don’t know about that Luke, I let her down in the worst way possible,” she whispered. I frowned then not completely understanding her words but then I remembered what she had said.

“Joyce, I highly doubt Nia is blaming you for this,” I said clearly. Joyce looked up at me, ready to argue her point but I shook my head, stopping her. “If anything, I am to blame for this,”

“What? Why would you say that?” she asked me curiously.          

“Nia called me, she asked me to come home for the weekend and I lied to her,” I looked away, embarrassed to be acknowledging the fact that I had lied. “I told her I had arranged to work, and I hadn’t. She broke up with me and I was so confused,” I admitted. Joyce reached across the table to grab my hand but halfway there she stopped and pulled her hand back. “If I had just come home…”  I let my voice trail off as it was obvious as to what I meant.

“Do you really believe that Luke?” she questioned in a small voice.

“Yes, she wouldn’t have gone to that party if I was here,” I finally said the words out loud.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Joyce said. “And maybe we are both to blame,”

“Or maybe Mitch Owen is the only one to blame,” we looked over at Nia, who now stood at the doorway wearing a long pink fluffy gown wrapped around her small frame. I was in shock and awe as I stared at her. Nia shrugged as she shuffled closer to us, choosing to sit next to me instead of Joyce, which secretly made me very happy. “I don’t blame either of you and so you shouldn’t blame yourselves. Mitch will pay for what he has done,” she said as she leaned over and rested her head against my shoulder. I wanted nothing more than to protect my mate. Or ex-mate. Or what? I wasn’t sure but I would protect her from here on out. Forever.

☽☽☾☾

I have never been to court before, or not a human court at least. I remember my own trail at the council, but this was somewhat different. Even the energy was different. I didn’t want to look around too much as the curious eyes of the humans made me feel very uncomfortable.

“Luke, you need to relax,” Florence whispered, and I glanced over at her and her mate, Theodore. They both looked calm and I remembered Sherie’s words from just a few days ago. I now understood her thoughts a lot better. I wanted the council to be angry, to want to seek justice and although Florence and Theodore were here, they looked as if they were about to enjoy a cup of tea, instead of witness Mitch’s trial. I glanced at the front where Zion and Sherie sat with their ‘lawyer’ aka Dimitry. I smirked then, Dimitry would make sure that Mitch was punished. On the other side sat Mitch with his lawyer. I didn’t care to look too much at the smug-looking rug rat. His long blonde hair and pretty-boy face did nothing to calm my nerves. Or my anger. Nia was at home with Matilda and even though I didn’t trust the human girl nor know her, I was grateful that she was prepared to keep her friend company during this time. Twelve jurors sat in the juror's box and they looked bored. The judge had yet to arrive and I spotted at least six guards scattered throughout the courtroom. Off to the one side, I could see the court reporter, getting everything ready to record the trail. I felt sick as one of the guards stepped forward and announced that the judge would be arriving shortly and for everyone to basically shut the f**k up.

“All rise, this court is now in session,” that same guard ordered, and we all rose to our feet. An elder man walked in wearing a black robe and before sitting down at the bench, he nodded once. “Be seated,” that guard said, and we all sat down. Dimitry stood up and I sat back, waiting to hear what he had to say. He slowly walked towards the jury but when he spoke, he spoke to everyone, demanding their attention.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the court, I am Dimitry Abbot and I will be representing Nia Ronan in this very important case. Although she is not able to attend today due to the seriousness of this matter. On Friday evening, the twentieth of June, Nia Ronan was sexually assaulted by Mr. Mitch Owen. What happened that evening is what this case is about. My client, Nia, is a college student studying English and one day wishes to be a teacher. She is full of life and a fun-loving, friendly individual. On Friday evening my client attended a college party with her friend and a few hours later, she decided to head home. She approached her vehicle and that was the last thing she remembers of that night. Saturday morning, she awoke in Mitch Owen’s apartment, naked and confused. Once realizing her situation, she contacted her parents immediately and the police of Warcester were informed of the crime. Today you will hear from Joyce Hall as well as Doctor Annie DeSilver, who performed the test on my client. I would like to call first upon Doctor Annie DeSilver,” Dimitry turned and one of the guards opened the small gate, allowing Annie to come forward. Dimitry guided her to the witness stand and the judge looked across at her for a moment. As soon as Annie was seated comfortably, Dimitry approached her. “Please state your full name and your profession,”

“Annie DeSilver, I have a doctorate degree,” I tuned out Annie’s little introduction and wondered if I really wanted to sit through this. I glanced over at the others as they all paid attention to the proceedings and I stood up and walked out and made my way outside. I felt a lot better once I was standing outside. I wanted to be in there, I wanted to see for myself that justice was served but it felt suffocating.

“Luke?” I looked back to see Florence standing there. “Why did you rush off?” she asked me, and I shrugged. How could I even begin to explain it? “It’s ok Luke, you are allowed-”

“Allowed to what?” I snapped, interrupting her.

“You are allowed to be upset,” she finished, and I sighed. I may be allowed to be upset but I just didn’t know if I could handle being inside watching things unfold. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear all the details revolving around what happened that night. It was already painful enough; did I really want to know all the nitty-gritty details of how my mate had been so brutally sexually assaulted? No, the answer was a simple no.

“I’m going home to be with Nia,” I stated before walking off. I didn’t look back and I didn’t slow down as I walked to the nearest bus station.

☽ Nia ☾

Matilda came back from the kitchen with popcorn and orange juice. We were doing a movie marathon and although I wanted to be in bed, asleep, I was grateful that she was here.

“So, are you going to tell me your little secret?” she asked as she sat down and looked at me. I shook my head. I was not going to tell her I am a shifter and that she is currently sitting in the packhouse. No, I wouldn’t tell her. “Oh, well, that’s ok,” she said as she pulled me against her and pressed play on the remote. I knew that she was just trying to distract me from the situation and the fact that right now, a trial was being held for that asshole. After we watched the first movie, I was starting to feel tired, but I didn’t say anything as Matilda selected the second movie and pressed play.

“Nia?” I sat up at the sound of Luke’s voice and jumped up when I saw him entering the house. Matilda had not officially met Luke yet and I could see her curious gaze as she paused the movie. I rushed to him and threw myself into his open arms. Being comforted by my mate immediately made me feel better.

“What are you doing home? Is it over?” I questioned and he shook his head and held me closer. I glanced over at Matilda and smiled. She was trying her best not to stare but I knew it was hard for her. Luke is, after all, a very attractive male. “Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to one of my other friends, Matilda,” Luke stepped back and gave me a look that clearly said: ‘I don’t care’

“Hi!” Matilda greeted with a bright smile and I looked up at Luke with my best puppy dog eyes. He lazily turned to Matilda and gave her a very small smile. Just the corners of his lips turned up. “Nia, who is this handsome man?” she asked, and I buried my face against Luke’s chest, trying to hide my flushed cheeks. “Oh, hell no, spill the beans,” she urged.

“He is my…” I paused as I looked up at him. I had broken things off with him, it wasn’t a rejection, but I was uncertain as to how he felt and I stepped away from him slowly. “He is a friend,” I finished off. I didn’t miss the hurt in Luke’s eyes and I quickly grabbed his hand. “Or I should rather say, he is my boyfriend,” I glanced over at Matilda and I could see she wanted details. Details that I wasn’t ready to discuss.

“I’m going to take a nap,” Luke suddenly announced, and I frowned but let him go.

“Ok, since when do you have a boyfriend?” Matilda questioned as soon as Luke had left the room. I rolled my eyes and joined her on the sofa. I told her all about Luke, well, as much as I allowed myself.

“And I said we needed to take a break,” I finished off.

“Damn girl, no wonder you didn’t want Cameron,” she commented.

“It’s not like that,” I argued.

“No, no, I get it, don’t worry,” she leaned back and smiled warmly at me. “If Luke makes you happy then why worry about the future? Take each day as it comes,” she advised.

“I just don’t know what I want anymore,” I admitted. After what had happened with Mitch, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to finish off my courses at the college.

“Well, do you want Luke?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered quickly, without any doubts, I knew that I wanted him.

“Then you don’t need to think further than that. If he wants you then he will learn to adapt to whatever you want and the same goes for you,” she said, and I nodded slowly. She was right. I jumped off the sofa and headed upstairs. I could hear her muttering something about how rude I was being, but I didn’t care as I knocked on Luke’s door. He opened up after a moment and I threw myself at him. Hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry Luke, please forgive me,” I whispered.

“Always,” he whispered back before claiming my lips in a sweet yet passionate kiss.