A Gift from the Goddess

“Ariadne stands accused of murdering the named Alpha heir by use of poisonous herbs,” Aleric continued. “In doing so, she also endangered the life of one of our fellow pack members, Thea Woods. The trial today will look at the evidence to determine whether she is guilty of these crimes.”

 A cold sweat formed at the back of my neck as I discreetly scanned my eyes around, trying to see if I could spot Sophie. But I couldn’t find her familiar face anywhere. It made me more nervous as every second ticked by.

 “Do you swear on the Goddess’ name, Ariadne, that you will tell the whole truth during this trial?” Aleric asked, bringing my attention back to him.

 I met his piercing green eyes, a shiver going down my spine. How those eyes haunted me.

 “I do,” I replied loudly and confidently.

 “And how do you plead?”

 I held my breath, my heart racing in my chest.

 “Not guilty.”

 A murmur went through the pack in hushed voices but I ignored it. Surely, they hadn’t actually expected me to admit guilt to such a heinous act?

 “Very well,” Aleric replied. “We’ll start by hearing the witness testimonies of those involved and any other supporting evidence. Once done, the ranked members, elders, and I will then vote, and your sentence will be set.”

 I swallowed hard, my throat feeling so dry.

that, the

and overview of his involvement.

in question is Mortwert,” Doctor Andrews started. “I believe Thea must have been giving this via means of ingestion. She lost the baby at three months but, given her bad fortitude, her health was also a concern. I did several tests and discovered she had ingested twice the required dosage amount needed to induce a miscarriage. Thea was presented to the pack hospital in critical condition. Her blood pressure had dropped to an alarming rate and she was struggling to breathe. It took one day before she was stabilised, and several days after she remained bedridden before I allowed her to be discharged from the hospital. The evidence found inside Miss Chrysalis’ room was brought to me in order to confirm its identity. I inspected the herbs and can confirm

testimony. I gritted my teeth against their voices. How quickly they were ready to kill me

 one testimony. Several came forward to discuss

who had found the evidence was called upon next to recount his steps during the search

herbs the doctor mentioned under Miss Chrysalis’ bed. They were well hidden and I believe had been placed in order to conceal their location. There was also a letter obtained from her bed. It was addressed to her father, former Beta Jarred Chrysalis.

 But unfortunately, the testimony didn’t stop

aloud the contents of the letter to the whole crowd, causing everyone present to begin

 “Silence!” yelled Aleric to them all, instantly making them quieten down.

He would know if I was lying as

I

have something so personal read out to the pack. A letter where I expressed my

with supplies and clothing. It is believed she had intended to run away that night. We also have several eyewitnesses who

 “Thank you, Jonathan,” Aleric said, gesturing for him to

knew whatever

Thea and the former Luna. I believe the conversation went that Thea was requesting forgiveness. However, the former Luna was unnecessarily cruel to her, saying horrible things. I witnessed Thea being so overwhelmed

hung open. I couldn’t believe they’d actually brought that conversation into evidence. Did no one care to see things from perspective? I would like to see them act so calm when their mates impregnated other women. I was