Chapter 7

Lorenzo

When he had heard the news about Emily it took everything in his power not to tear the world down getting to her. He was barely twenty three years old in wolf years, but he had the power of a decades old alpha. If she had done what they were accusing her of, then she had a damn good reason. Emily was strong.. she always had been. But she had the kindest and most loving heart of anyone he knew. She would never take another life unless it was deserved.

She was getting closer.. he could tell. Her smell was getting stronger and the hairs on his arms were beginning to stand up. His body was vibrating and his wolf was pushing on the inside…. wanting to come out.

Whereas Emily’s wolf was large and majestic, beautiful, and the most mesmerizing silvery white like the snow color, Lorenzo’s was exactly the opposite. With his shaggy dark hair and light brown skin, his wolf was the blackest of black. And he made about two of Emily, as big as she was. And where her eyes were a gorgeous shining blue? His were a deep… dark…. red.

He didn’t know why this was, no one did. But he was the only wolf he’d ever heard of to have red eyes. Most wolves eyes were yellow or orange, or some derivative of those colors; and then some, like Emily had blue… although even that was rare. But he never had much of a chance to learn about his lineage… since his father was killed before he was even old enough to shift. So his red eyes were a mystery to him.

He stood there.. eyeing Nick and all his guards. The other people that had shown up to watch this debacle…this..sham of a trial, he was inches away from attacking them all. It would take one second. One second and he would shift and eat them all for breakfast.

“Calm down…” Brian who was standing next to him said quietly.

He was certain Brian could feel the power radiating from him, as well as the anger and anxiety that was threatening to take over. He was vibrating… moments away from exploding.

He couldn’t calm down.. not when Emily’s scent was getting stronger and stronger. He could hear that she was shackled from wherever they were bringing her.

A low horrible menacing growl came from his chest then.

All the wolves standing around became on high alert, sensing danger. They all stood a little taller… watching each other with enough intensity that the air began to crackle.

Brian and Alan sensed the aggression coming from the other wolves and they too, let out low growls.

But then .. he saw her. She came around the side of the building.. a guard on each side.

She looked a shell of her normal self. Completely downtrodden and sickly. She was dirty and the clothes she had on didn’t look like they belonged to her. Her hair a mess… she had visible bruising.. one on her face. Clearly they’d kept her in the dungeon for days if she hadn’t been able to heal. The limestone would’ve kept her from healing barely much faster than a human would; and it would’ve kept her from shifting as well.

Her brothers ran up to her and she hugged them both… a little light coming back into her bright blue eyes.

That’s when he finally called to her:

“Emily?”

She seemed shocked to see him there. And immediately the guards pulled her away and walked her into the large building that would serve as the court.

She turned around to look at him once more before they got inside.

He turned on Nicklaus. Ready to end this man once and for all. He’d never liked him for obvious reasons. But everyone knew the kind of family Nick came from. He didn’t have a chance though as Brian and Alan got there first.

“What the hell did you do to my sister!?” Brian was yelling.

Alan’s wolf was close to coming out. The nails on his hands were growing.. becoming claws.. his face was elongating…. growls and snarls forming in his throat.

Nicklaus snarled his nose at them.

“Control. Your. Wolf. You are in my territory!” He spat out.

“You know the law about shifting in someone else’s pack unless you’ve been given permission… and I. Do. Not. Give. You. Permission.” He said slowly.

“You also know the laws when it comes to murder. Do you think I wanted this for my wife?? For my mate??”

At those words Lorenzo felt his fists clamp. Perhaps he could stave off his wolf, but that didn’t mean his temper was going to go unchecked.

Brian and Alan had calmed some when reminded of the trouble they might get into… but they were still staring at Nick like they were ready to rip his throat out.

Lorenzo walked slowly up to Nick and got right up in his face.

“You don’t deserve to call her your mate.” He spat at Nicklaus, speaking with the authority and vengeance of fifty alphas. Nicklaus wisely did not reply to him. He just turned and went inside.

Lorenzo and Emily’s brothers shared a look as they followed the small crowd of people inside. What shocked them all was how full the big room was already. Apparently people from several of the neighboring packs had come.. Lo could tell by the different scents among them. He saw Emily sitting near the front of the room along with the council.

Werewolves didn’t have lawyers and judges the way humans did. They had a council. The council was the head of all things werewolf in their division. This was the North American charter here today. They each had representatives from the different regions. Those representatives had been voted on by all the packs in said region. There were five of them total.

They would ask questions and ask for witness testimony then they would come up with the verdict themselves. And.. if they found her guilty.. they would also come up with her punishment- as stated by werewolf law.

He saw Emily’s children sitting near the front with Nick. They’d grown considerably since the last time he’d seen them. Olivia had just been born then. He also noticed Nick’s mother, Sophia had come. The last he had heard she was very sick yet here she was. A horrid woman.. that one. She and her husband had been the worst kind of people. Thank goddess he was now dead and gone.

A small voice broke Lorenzo out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Emily’s son Luca standing at the front of the room. He was announcing the agenda, which today happened to be the trial of his mother. Why would Nick allow such a young child to do that.. and when it was to do with his own mother?

He exchanged looks with Emily’s brothers. They knew this was a purposeful step on Nick’s part. He was most likely trying to turn the boy against her. If she were guilty and had to leave… or if they ever divorced.. he would want the boy to stay. He needed an heir after all. But what a disgusting thing to do. And that in itself shows exactly the kind of person and alpha Nicklaus was.