Endangered Species

It wasn’t just Lois and the guards waiting outside. Ted was next to his mate, and the Lead Warrior brought another two guards with him. The males and the Lead Warrior pair led the way, then us. The two female guards covered our rear. “Why the extra security?”

“The Council wanted everyone in the dining area. We’ve verified all the guests are there, but pulling our guards makes us vulnerable. The Alphas only brought a small part of their Packs with them, and you two are the primary targets. I had all the entrances locked down. Better to be safe than sorry, and you weren’t replying to our sends,” Ted replied.

“Sorry,” Cole said. “We were busy.”

“Yeah, busy,” I mumbled. My body was still twitching from the sex, but this was embarrassing. Every werewolf in that room, and most of the women, would know what Cole and I just did. Privacy didn’t exist in a Pack, not with super hearing and smell. When the door to the packed dining room opened, the talking stopped. Cole had my hand, and we walked through the crowd together. I kept my head high, ignoring the smiles and exaggerated sniffs from the tables we passed.

Our escort headed to the walls as we reached the front. Alpha Trent stood up, gesturing for Cole to sit at the small table across from their longer one. “Alpha Summers, as you are not on trial, you will take the seat on my far right.”

The tables were set up so people in the room could see everyone. The Alpha Council sat in judgment to their right side, the accuser and defendant to their left at different tables. Our guards followed us, taking positions along the walls behind our seats. My chair was at the narrow end of the table, facing the audience, not my mate. Alpha Trent was in the center position, with Alpha Willam on his left and Alpha Brian on his right. His accuser, Alpha Edward, sat at the farthest table from the audience, about ten feet away from Alpha Cole. I didn’t like the look on his face. It was like he knew what was coming, and he liked it.

Alpha Trent stood up, and the room went silent. “Charges were filed with the Pacific Northwest Alpha Council by Alpha Edward, alleging the treatment of human captives was not in compliance with established law.”

“DAMN RIGHT! THAT FUCKER KILLED MY FAMILY AND PLANNED TO RAPE ME!” It was one of my humans who refused to stay here.

“I will tolerate no interruptions,” Alpha Trent said. He gave a signal, and people moved in to subdue the human. Anyone who got in the way got hit with a stun gun. A minute later, she was bound and gagged but remained in the room. “Alpha Cole Chapman of the Brinnon Pack, do you dispute the charges filed against you by Alpha Edward are true and correct?”

“I do not dispute the charges, sir.”

“Very well. The Council accepts the no-contest plea and moves on to the punishment phase of the hearing. Alpha Edward, do you have anything to say before the sentencing?”

“I do, Alpha,” he said as he stood up. “For centuries, our kind has lived in harmony with the natives and humans. We were able to do this because of our laws, which are both simple and strict. We don’t reveal our secrets. Yes, there are exceptions for the human mates we find, as well as those who we accept and take the change. Alpha Cole knew these laws, yet in his attack on this base, he chose to do so with some of his people fighting in wolf form. If he had wiped all the humans out, we would tell him he was foolish, but he would not be under charges.”

So far, no one has directly mentioned the werewolf ‘change or die’ rule, and I wondered why. It was the heart of the charges, yet it was danced around, even by Edward. I hoped it was because they listened to me and wanted to give all the humans every chance to accept a Werewolf future. The humans in the room didn’t like his direction either; they’d surrendered, and then Cole’s people had murdered the males. They expected this to be the mistreatment of the human captives he’d admitted to, and it wasn’t. Some wouldn’t care what the charge was as long as Cole got punished.

“That was not the case, and his reckless actions threatened us all. You cannot violate the Law, then argue that the Law is wrong and needs to be changed. There was time, and we had a process for changing them that he did not use. These acts were intentional violations of known laws, Alphas. He should pay the ultimate price for his arrogance and recklessness.”

He sat down as Alpha Trent called for silence. “Alpha Cole?”

“Thank you, Alpha Trent.” He got up and moved in front of the table, taking center stage. “I don’t need to tell anyone that the past few weeks’ events are without precedent. Walk outside the fence of this base, and it’s a post-apocalyptic nightmare. Maybe one or two percent of the population is still alive, and those people are living with NO rules.” He paused, looking out at the women in the audience. Some had accepted they were better off here, but not all. “It isn’t a walk in the park for the Packs, either. If you didn’t have and use a suitable underground shelter, Pack members DIED. The Brinnon Pack didn’t have the facilities to survive, but we knew where to find them, and I took decisive action to ensure our survival. We know the Renfro Pack lost half its members, and Alpha Max tried to kill my mate to facilitate taking over MY pack. I did a lot I’m not proud of, and my mate was thorough in her analysis of my failings.” There was laughter at this from my Pack members, and I had to bite my lip to avoid a laugh. “I did what I thought was best for my Pack and our species, as is the responsibility of ALL Alphas. There are twenty-one males who found a mate among those I kept alive. Packs not represented here today may find more. Luna has honored my choice, Alphas. You should do the same.” He returned to his chair.

Alpha Trent turned to me. “Alpha Summers, as the only Alpha not on the tribunal, do you have anything to say?”

Shit. I didn’t know I had a speaking part! I quickly stood and smoothed my dress down. “I do, Alphas. Everyone knows I do not condone what happened to the women here, including my treatment when I first arrived. Alpha Cole went too far, but he wasn’t too proud or stubborn to listen to logic and change his course. The humans are better off here than they would be outside the fence. They are better off as werewolves than as humans. That is why we are educating them so they are comfortable volunteering to take the change. Finally, they are better off with me leading the Brinnon Pack by Cole’s side after we mate. Thank you.”

Alpha Trent nodded as I sat down. “The Tribunal will be in recess for ten minutes.” He banged the gavel, then we all stood while the three Alphas filed out.

Lois and the guards came to my side right away. They stayed between Alpha Edward and me as we met Cole on center stage. “That wasn’t what I expected,” I said.

“I think it’s going well.” He didn’t want to say much, so I wrapped my arms around him and relaxed into his big body. My wolf hadn’t made herself known to me yet, but my heart was at peace. Right here was where I needed to be, and I couldn’t wait to finish the change and the bond. I listened to his heartbeat and soaked in his scent as the tingles ran through my body.

All too soon, we had to return to our seats. The three Alphas called Cole forward to hear his sentence. He was escorted not by our Lead Warrior but by warriors from Packs headed by Tribunal members. He stopped about ten feet from the table, hands behind his back. Alpha Trent was reading from a card with his fate on it. “Alpha Cole Chapman, you have been found guilty of multiple violations of Werewolf Law. As the highest ranking member of a Pack, such violations cannot be tolerated. We must set an example here to ensure other Alphas don’t treat the Law as cavalierly as you have. As your fellow Alphas, it is our duty, as distasteful as this affair may be. Alpha Chapman, you are stripped of your rank and sentenced to death. Said sentence to be carried out immediately.” He banged the gavel to end the proceeding.

My jaw dropped in shock. I started to stand, but I could not react before the men behind Cole did.

Pistols came out, shots rang out, and I felt blood spraying over me as I screamed.