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 trial

his involvement. I didn’t know the doctor well, having only met him once the previous pack doctor passed

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

 Another murmur went through the crowd as they heard the Doctor’s testimony. I gritted my teeth against their voices. How quickly

end, it wasn’t just one testimony. Several

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

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. I

the testimony didn’t

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

yelled Aleric to them all, instantly making them quieten down. He then turned to me. “Is

would know if I was lying

 “Yes,” I begrudgingly

to have something so personal read out to the pack. A letter where I expressed my love and admiration for a man

as we entered. She was in possession of a backpack with supplies and clothing. It is believed she had intended to run away that night. We also have several eyewitnesses who can attest to her admitting to trying to

Aleric said, gesturing for him to step down. “We’ll hear from

knew whatever he was going

an incident inside the packhouse that several members witnessed. It was between 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 that her legs gave out. I believe this may have

them act so calm when their mates impregnated other women. I was certain most of them would have ripped