Seven mates for seven brothers

48- Nobody else was

In the front, a living line had been drawn; as close as she could see, there must have been nearly seventy men standing in a curved line.  And in the middle, stood one of the biggest men she had ever seen. He was even bulkier than Alex!  Closer to him, the men were less spread out than in the rest of the line.  Behind them, the rest of the pack was standing and their unease was as plain to see as the noses on their faces.

After having a quick discussion in town, Stan and the other council members had decided to brave the lion’s den with only forty other men, not counting the girls.  And Stan had been correct on that count as well.  Cassy and her new ‘sisters’ were the only females that had insisted on being present.

What surprised everybody was that there were females present in the line ‘defending’ the rest of the pack; and that they were very willing to be there to judge from the angry scowls on their faces.  This was one tough crowd.

As the council and the small group with them moved up to confront the alpha, they Grey brothers took note of everything around them and as discussions with the alpha and his little ‘group’ continued, they listened with one ear; keeping their eyes on the large group in front of them.

Alex listened intently as the charges were brought against the alpha and his group and he saw how the alpha didn’t even seem to be bothered about it.  He obviously thought he had the upper hand with the larger number of fighters on his side.

When at last Stan was done reading down the list; he looked at the crowd behind the alpha.  “If any of you have any additional charges; now is the time to speak up.”  The crowd seemed to take a collective step backwards and Stan sighed.  Their case would be that much stronger if someone had the guts to speak up.

Suddenly, a commotion way off to the one side drew everybody’s attention.  A withered old lady was shaking off concerned hands as she struggled through the crowd.

The alpha and his followers sighed and looked on at her slow progress with nothing more than slight irritation.

As she got nearer to the front, Cassy could see a snip of a girl following in her wake; but keeping out of sight of all the fighters; her smaller size making it easier for her to slip through the crowd without drawing any attention to herself.  She was sending frantic looks at the elderly woman’s retreating form.

“Tess; what do you have to say that anyone wants to hear?”  The alpha asked amused as he narrowed his eyes at her; trying to intimidate her into backing off.

“I have had it!  I am done keeping my mouth shut just so I will be able to help any poor fool who dares stand up against you or your disciples.  I have had my fill of seeing first hand how you keep ‘discipline’” she sneered the word out through her teeth.  “Your father was despicable; but you Simon, are nothing more than a cruel bastard.”

Simon’s hand made a motion; but he stopped his hand from completing what it is he had wanted to do; and the woman cringing in front of him suggested exactly what it is he had intended to do.

“Unless I am mistaken; you need a second witness to confirm her allegations before you can take any steps against me.”  He completely ignored the woman standing in front of him and addressed Stan over her head.  “And I know that there is nobody here that is stupid enough to come forward.” 

The men around him glared at the people behind him and they crowded together even more.

As Tess addressed the crowd, pleading with them to come forward and testify; they backed away from her more and more until there was a wide space between them and the thin line of people that continued to glare daggers at them.  Their looks promising retaliation to anybody that dared to speak up.