Freed Wolf

81 Secrets

Peter's sentence was met with far less resistance then expected based on the public reaction during his hearing. Most were relieved by the option that didn't make the men their problem. As expected the rather large portion that were judged guilty and sentenced to death more than satisfied the blood lust.

One condition to the formation of this penance pack was accepted without hesitation. Each man would be noticeably branded so that they would never forget nor be able to hide what they did.

Kane had such an iron so sentencing was carried out swiftly, with each man branded on the chest with a Crescent moon with a slash through it.

I had wanted to be there to support Peter but both he and Chris were adamantly against it.

Probably for the best as the burnt flesh smell even from my far away room makes me wretch.

The final step was to initiate a pack bond and pledge everyone in. Given the amount of men, this took a while but was done and the newly formed pack retired to a quiet outer building to firm up their bond and sort themselves out.

Dimitri's prisoner's were dealt with next, all were released since they were just being kept for leverage. The final three undecided wolves were what was left of the Council.

The closed door proceedings which I sit in on now are the most challenging. All three - Blaine, Nathaniel, and Helena - look like shit, even with care they are emaciated and a shell of themselves. Blaine lost a hand and Nathaniel ended up with a terrible infection in his leg. It took considerable effort from the healers to save the leg, though it will likely never function properly again. Even Helena is a frail ghost of her former self, all skin and bone.

After nearly two hours of questioning, we are no closer to a solution. Caimen would call them out if they were not being truthful while everyone asks questions.

Very quickly, the fact that they clearly suspected a power shift and Silas was going to make a move became obvious. All of them claimed they hadn't known where or how his control was established since they weren't his inner confidants. But they still did nothing to stop his takeover until it was almost too late.

"Princess, tell me you have something," Derek groans from the far side of the table. Even from this distance, I could feel the waves of frustration rolling off of him, though it was the dominant emotion in the room.

"Like what?" I question.

Derek palms his forehead, before slamming his fist down in frustration and glares at me. "Anything at this point! You've been sitting there quietly the entire time watching them like a hawk... surely you've picked up on something!" Derek's outburst plea has drawn all eyes to me, leaving me uncomfortable.

The fact I am a wolf is now common knowledge and, after Ember made her presence known, most have picked up that I am gifted in some way. To be put in the spotlight is still not comfortable.

I suppose good or bad it all comes with the territory of no longer hiding.

"I'm not a crystal ball," I huff indignantly. His pointed look clearly says that my answer isn't enough. "Their energy is so complex, the power and the layers... It makes the water muddy."

"Give us something," he grumbles.

"Blaine is the most neutral and transparent of the lot. I believe he really knew the least," I start, earning an agreement from Caimen. "Helena is too rigid to have agreed to anything, her personal feelings for me aside-"

"What feelings?!" Chris snaps, glaring at the woman.

"She just doesn't like me, that is not a crime," I assure him but it does nothing to calm him. "She may not like me but she did act against Dimitri, not only by allowing the challenge for Judes mate, but also for stripping him of all collared females in his possession, not to mention warning Kane."