Page 39 of The Barren Luna

I was about to tell him he was welcome, but a harsh voice interrupted me.

“I have a question,” one of the older Alphas stood up. I’d never met him before, but the plaque in front of him read “Black Balsam Pack, NC”.

“Go ahead,” John instructed him, as David just stared.

“Ms. Haines claims she was scared of getting raped, but we all know that’s nonsense. You can’t get raped by your mate!”

The crowd erupted in many separate discussions and I wondered how many of them agreed with this male. John cleared his throat.

“Alpha Matthews, if you’d ever carefully read the Court’s Law Journal, which all the packs have been sent every year for the last fifty years, you'd know that one can, physically and legally, rape their mate and be raped by their mate. I would also like to remind you that the defendant was being dosed with wolfsbane, meaning that at that moment, the late Alpha knew her wolf was absent and she wasn’t fully his mate, so it would have been rape even in your eyes. Any other questions?”

The disgruntled old male sat down and I was pleased to see all the females giving him death stares. There was no female next to him. Good.

“Very well, the witnesses and visitors may leave now, as we are about to start deliberating. Thank you all for your time,” John concluded, and I left the room without looking back.

Years later, I would learn just how many hearts my testimony touched that day and how many eyes it had opened. For now, I was simply glad it was behind me.

15 - Regina

Lucy, Calum, Liam, and I sat drinking lemonade in one of the Castle’s many drawing rooms while the deliberations concerning my fate were happening not far from us. If there was anything I’d learned in the last year, it was to fake normalcy; or rather, to steal small moments of it for myself amidst the chaos around me in order to remain somewhat sane.

We were now finally free to discuss everything that had happened, including all the testimonies, and Lucy was our main informant on who was shooting what kinds of looks to who during the trial. She actually did an impression of all the looks, ranging from scandalized to disapproving, while the rest of us laughed like crazy. In the middle of one of her demonstrations, she looked past me and froze. We all turned to look at what had startled her, and we saw my parents standing there, looking uncomfortable.

I made no move to approach them.

“Ginny,” my father said in a shaky voice. “Honey, how are you?”

“I’ve been better,” I responded half-heartedly. What a stupid fucking question. I was being tried for murdering my mate, whatdid he think how I was? He looked absolutely crushed at seeing me, and Mom looked pale and shaken. All I could think was,good, serves them right. Who in their right mind would let their daughter suffer the pain and humiliation of cheating the way they had?

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to escort the Alpha and Luna home tonight.”

Silly me for briefly hoping that they had come all this way to support me. Stupid, stupid Ginny. Would you ever learn that you couldn’t rely on them?

“Ginny, I-” he looked at my mom, whose chin was now wobbling. “We didn’t know how bad things were. We should have been there for you. I’m so sorry, honey. We’re both so sorry.”

I felt no great satisfaction at finally getting an acknowledgment of my pain, so I simply responded, “Yeah, you should have,” and turned back to my friends.

Just then, a guard came in and told us that they were done deliberating. It had only been a little over forty minutes. My insides were seized by dread. What would happen to me after this? I dragged my leaden feet towards what felt like gallows without sparing my parents a glance. At least it would be over now. My main tormentor was dead already, so how much worse than him could it get?

David’s eyes found mine as soon as I entered the courtroom, and they were bright and happy, with no trace of anxiety in them. Not that I thought he should be anxious on my behalf, but I figured he’d at least be solemn if the outcome was bad, right? I pulled my shoulders back, imagined a string pulling my head back like I had been taught in Luna lessons, and quickly walked to the front of the room.

John was the one to deliver the verdict: “In the matter of the underhanded murder of Alpha Henry Giles, without an official challenge, we decided that Ms. Regina Haines’ actions were justified.“

I blinked. Did that mean they thought it was okay that I killed him? Alpha Dominic’s young Luna shot me a bright smile from the first row. That was good, right?

“And in the matter of the murder of her mate, Henry Giles, we decided that Ms. Regina Haines’ actions were justified,” now, most wolves present were giving me encouraging smiles. Lucy and Helen were hugging. I couldn’t breathe.

“Now, the Alpha King will pass his judgment on other matters related to this trial.”

What else was there to discuss?I thought to myself, confused, whereas David now had a gloomy expression on his face.

“In the matters of interfering with a mating bond and sanctioning the breeding of a concubine without clearing it with the Royal Court, as well as encouraging the use of opiates and other harmful substances, all members of the Council of Elders of the Spruce Mountain Pack are sentenced to one year in the Royal Jail.”

The sense of satisfaction that hadn't woken up after my father’s apology was slowly stirring inside my chest. There would be justice dealt out for what had been done to me. The part of me that believed us to be alone in the world was incredulous. But David wasn’t done yet.

“In the matters of interfering with a mating bond through slander and encouraging the illegal breeding of a concubine, as well as physically assaulting her unlawfully imprisoned Luna, Ms. Catherine Giles is sentenced to six months in the Royal Jail,where she will be regularly dosed with wolfsbane to keep her wolf dormant.“

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