Chapter 4 - Before the trial

Alpha Hudson POV

I sighed heavily and rubbed my forehead.

Telling two parents that their child is dead is one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Today I had to do it to my own aunt and uncle.

Aunt Cece just screamed, making every hair on my body stand on end. I wanted to scream too. Tommy was family, but the pack had to go first so I would have to mourn later.

My uncle Rob instantly demanded Sally's execution, but I don't think I ever could go through with that. After all, it was Luke's baby sister.

Luke and I had always been best friends. We trained together since we were five years old. We knew that one day I would take over the pack and Luke would be my Beta, my second in command.

After my aunt and uncle left, I mindlinked Luke.

"Hey, you still up?"

"Yeah"

"I need you to come to the office. Bring your parents and George with you. There's something you need to know."

"Actually we're kind of busy. We can't find Sally. Do you think it could wait until tomorrow?"

I closed my eyes for a second.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I know where she is."

"We are on our way now."

I cut the mindlink and put my head in my hands.

Everyone inside a pack that had gotten their wolf at 18 had the ability to contact each other through their minds. It came in real handy when we shifted to our wolves and therefore couldn't talk to each other.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." I said calmly and took a deep breath.

Here we go.

Luke, George, my fathers Beta David and his wife Alice entered my office. They all bowed their heads.

"Alpha" They murmured.

"Please have a seat." I said. "We need to talk about Sally."

Alice stiffened.

"Is she alright? What's going on?"

"Sally is alive and well so you don't have to worry about that." I reassured her.

Luke furrowed his eyebrows.

"But there is something to worry about. Is that what you're saying?"

How do I put this in good words?

Screw it, I'll just say it.

"Sally is currently in the dungeon. We suspect that she killed someone." I stated matter-of-factly.

George slapped his hand over his mouth. He really looked like he would break down any second.

I felt sorry for him. He and Sally were always so close and he must be taking this really hard.

"Murder??" Alice shouted. "The-there m-must be a mistake. My daughter would never kill anyone!"

"Who is it that she's supposed to have murdered?" George asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Tommy Evergreen" I replied.

Luke widened his eyes.

"Are you saying that she killed your cousin? How? I mean, he's of alpha blood and she is a small sized Beta female. There's no way that she could have done it."

"All I know is that she was found standing over Tommy's dead body, covered in his blood. I will go down and talk to her now. I just thought you wanted to know first."

'What's going to happen to her now? Will she be executed for this?" George asked.

I could see that his hands were shaking. He seemed really rattled by this news.

I stood up from my desk and walked over to George. I put a hand on his shoulder and said.

"I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. Something must have happened for Sally to lash out at Tommy. I know that she's not some crazy psychopath killing people for fun. It's going to be okay." I reassured him.

George opened his mouth, like he wanted to ask something else, but then he closed it again and looked down.

I looked at David. He had been very quiet this whole time.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

David nodded and left the office without saying a word.

If it was anyone else dismissing me like that I could have them whipped for the disrespect, but this time I let it slide.

"Get some rest. I will gather the elders for a trial tomorrow." I ordered. "You're dismissed."

They stood up and bowed their heads.

"Thank you, Alpha." Alice said with tears in her eyes before they all left the office.

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Sally POV

The pack doctor came down to the cells after the warriors had left. She dressed the wound on my arm and my forehead and said that the Alpha would be seeing me shortly.

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach.

I had no idea what to tell him.

I had to give him some sort of explanation, but what would that be?

Alpha Hudson was an old friend of the family. He and my brother were practically inseparable. If I told him the truth he would probably do everything to help George.

But I couldn't. Hudson wasn't the problem.

The justice system inside the pack was a little different from how humans did things. There was a council of elders that were summoned for a trial when someone had committed a serious crime. The elders, along with the alpha, decided the punishment. The punishments were also harsher than the human ones. Whippings were quite common, especially among the Omegas. Omega was the lowest rank in the pack and they usually worked as servants or cleaners in the pack buildings. If they disrespected someone with a higher rank they would get whipped for it. It wasn't common that someone committed more serious crimes than that, but when it occurred they were usually sentenced to exile. They were stripped of their rank and declared a Rogue, a packless wolf. It was unnatural for a wolf to be without a pack. They were forced to leave and never come back or they would be shot on sight. If you were a rogue long enough your smell would start to change until you would smell of rotten meat. It was a warning to other wolves that you were not part of the pack.

Wolves exiled due to a crime usually ended up on the Blacklist. It was a registry where all packs in the country could check if a Rogue trespassing on their territory was dangerous or not. Blacklisted Rogues usually ended up killed if they ever set foot in wolf territory ever again. The chances of ever joining another pack were close to zero.

The last alternative for a very serious crime was execution. It was really rare though so I would probably not be executed for this.

At least, I hoped so.

I heard footsteps outside the cell door and Alpha Hudson appeared outside the bars.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

What do I say?

I guess I'd just go with a story to protect George and Alex. They would both probably be killed if they started to investigate this further.

Alpha Hudson cleared his throat and I realized that I had been staring at him.

"Forgive me, Alpha" I murmured and bowed my head.

"It's okay, Sally. I understand the past few hours have been stressful." He replied.

He placed a pile of neatly folded clothes on the floor outside of the cell.

"I thought you might want to change out of those clothes later."

"Thank you, Alpha." I replied and stepped up to the bars.

"Could you tell me what happened tonight, Sally?"

I looked down and my lips started to tremble.

"I'm really sorry." I whimpered.

"It's gonna be okay. Just take a deep breath and start from the beginning."

I inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly.

"I was on my way home. Tommy pushed me into the alley. Everything happened so fast I barely registered what happened. I tried to fight him off but he just laughed at me. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the dumpster. I let my claws come out on my hand and I lashed out. I was so dizzy I didn't see where I hit him. But then he wasn't behind me anymore. When I looked back I saw that he was on the ground, bleeding out. I tried to stop the bleeding with my hands, but…"

I stopped talking when a sob I had tried to hold in left me. I knew I was in serious trouble and I feared that Hudson wouldn't believe me.

Hudson reached through the bars and touched my arm to comfort me.

"Look Sally, I know you didn't do this on purpose. But it's a serious situation and you won't be able to get out of this without any punishment. I'll do everything I can to make sure that the elders are merciful."

His words made me feel a bit of hope.

Maybe everything was going to be alright after all.