Chapter 3

Their alpha was a caring one. He had stopped the rate of bullying in the pack. But, since it was in the werewolves’ nature to bully the weak and respect the strong, he couldn’t eradicate bullying entirely.

   Regardless of the alpha's concern, Amelia was scared of ratting out on Maxwell Hills. Who knows the things he would do to her next if she reported him? He might even have her killed and thrown into a deep river. People might not even notice since her parents, the only people that cared about her, were dead.

“Tell me, little girl. I’ll make sure you’re protected. I just need to make an example of what I’ll do to those who defy me!” He yelled his last sentence at those werewolves in the courtroom.

This sparked murmuring words in the huge room. Amelia was also as shocked as everyone else. She knew the alpha was kind. But, she thought he would follow the ancient tradition and make her a slave.

That was the usual punishment for attempted suicide. The logic behind it all was that if the werewolf guilty of the crime didn’t want to live for himself anymore. Then, he had better make himself useful by living for other werewolves.

Regardless, this alpha was bent on destroying this tradition, starting with Amelia's case. After yelling in an authoritative tone to the werewolves in the room, he turned to her. His gaze softened.

   “This could have been my daughter you left in your care for a month. Is this how you treat one of our own?” He turned to face them again before asking me. “Tell me, little girl, who bullied you?” This time when he asked, I couldn’t hide the truth. A part of me wanted all of this to end too. If there was a chance that all of it would end, and I could live a better life, then I’d take it.

“It’s Maxwell Hills.” I whispered the name to him, but I knew that every werewolf in the room heard what I said.

Immediately, he heard the name, he turned to face his parents. His parents were one of the highly respected werewolves in the pack.

“Did you hear that, Mr. and Mrs. Hills?” He asked. “Did you hear what your son did?”

“Yes, sir. We heard it. But, we can’t just believe the words of a weakling like that. Besides, our son was the one that saved her life. She would have been dead if he wasn’t there to stop her.” Maxwell’s mother ran to her son’s defense.

“She wouldn’t have had any cause to commit such a crime if he hadn’t bullied her!” The alpha said strongly. He believed Amelia's words. One of the Alpha’s gifts was to tell when someone was lying and discern who was telling the truth. Out of reflex, many werewolves forgot that fact. Even Maxwell’s mother had momentarily forgotten.

“Sir, we are sorry. Please spare our son.” Maxwell’s father pleaded. Unlike his wife, he had not forgotten the Alpha’s power.

“Bring me your son!” The Alpha ordered. His demanding tone struck fear into everyone. As werewolves, they could feel the intensity in his voice and emotions. They were utterly terrified of what he would do to Maxwell. Even Amelia, the victim, was scared. What if all this went wrong?

Immediately after the order, the guards went to fetch Maxwell from wherever he was. It didn’t take much time. Werewolves were fast. Amelia later heard from gossip that he had tried to leave the pack but was caught. The guards hadn’t mentioned that to the Alpha, as they didn’t want to increase Maxwell’s punishment. They obviously sympathized with him. After all, it could have been any of them in that position.

   When they finally had him in the courtroom, the Alpha walked towards him with an intimidating aura. Obviously, he cowered. The alpha was the strongest of them all. The gap in strength and aura was unquestionably much.

The tension in the room was so thick, Amelia could hardly breathe properly. She was scared of his final judgment, how it would affect her later on.

“Is this the bully, little girl?” The alpha didn’t have to look at Amelia for her to know the question was thrown at her.

“Yes, sir,” she responded.

“Did you bully this young lady right here?” As he asked that question, he pointed at Amelia.

“Yes, sir,” Amelia replied, trying to process why Maxwell was suddenly telling the truth. Was it because of the Alpha's power? She asked herself.

“Why?” The alpha seemed genuinely curious about the reason. He needed to understand it if he was going to eradicate bullying.

“It’s because…” Maxwell struggled to say the reason for a moment. “It’s because she’s my mate,” he finally answered.

“How?” The alpha asked the same question everyone in the room had on their minds.

Amelia, too, wondered how long he had known. Why he had maltreated her when he knew she was his mate.

“Why?” This time, the alpha directed the question to him.

He tried resisting the hold the guards had on him, but he eventually yielded. “I hate her because she is weak.”

When he said those words, Amelia understood him. No one wants to be the subject of mockery. If he had acknowledged her as his mate, he would have been scorned by every werewolf, he would have to live in constant shame like she did. Besides, she had not felt the bond since she hadn't wolfed out.

“You are strong, aren't you? Why else did the moon goddess give you that strength if not to protect your loved ones. Especially, your mate.” When he said that, most of the werewolves suddenly agreed with him. They nodded their heads in agreement. Besides, no one wanted to be against the alpha.

Maxwell was speechless. He turned to his parents, expecting them to say something. But, they looked away.

“My judgment is…” The Alpha said loudly for everyone to hear. “Take care of your mate till she recovers. When she recovers, you are expected to hold the mating ceremony immediately. Do I make myself clear?” To that question, a feeble “yes” escaped Maxwell's lips.

“I did not hear you! Do I make myself clear?” At the Alpha’s repetition, the guards hit Maxwell. And, he was forced to say a louder “yes”.

“Better. Before I dismiss you all, I would like you all to know that if I ever find out that he maltreats her and you all fail to inform me, there will be dire consequences.” As he said that, the Alpha left the courtroom.

After he left, Amelia thought about his final judgment. It would allow her to have a mate like every female werewolf. But, she would be stuck with someone that hates her. She didn’t mind that. As long as she wouldn’t be treated badly, she felt like everything would be alright. She could grieve her parents in silence.

In a way, she felt like the moon goddess had answered her prayer. It wasn’t much. But, it was okay for her. She was later released from the hold they had on her and taken to a big bathtub. Just as quickly as the judgment had been made, they implemented it.

  The Hills family took Amelia to their luxurious home, had her cleaned up, and gave her a room to stay. Though the room was far away from where they stayed, she didn’t mind. She was only glad the bullying would stop. Or so she thought.

From that day onwards, she stayed alone in that room, ate by herself, watched TV by herself, did many things by herself. The Hills never let her out of their mansion.

And every once in a while, they would throw jabs at her. They didn’t physically hurt her. But, they made sure she knew her place in their lives. They said they would get their son out of this sticky mess he was in. Meaning, being with her was the sticky mess. Amelia tried ignoring their remarks. But at some point, she got fed up and decided to focus all of her attention on something else.

She was still grieving the loss of both her parents. Moving on was harder than she thought. The only good thing about the whole judgment thingy was the fact that she didn’t have to work in that restaurant with those horrible people. All she had to do was stay indoors, quietly.

  Amelia could guess how suffocating it was for her after a month. She was almost desperate to leave the mansion. If this was how being his mate was like, she wasn't sure if she still wanted it. She needed to talk to him. Maybe they could fix things between them and get along better.

That was her naïve thought...

If only she knew what she would experience next.