Fair trial

“That’s how you treat your savior, little one. I am utterly disappointed.”

His hot breath fanned across her left ear, when he leaned in to whisper his complaint. His rough fingers were trailing over her pulsating veins. Charlotte was uncomfortable with his advances; she turned her face away to give him full access to rip her neck off.

“I don’t have whole day, little one. Speak!”

His ferocious growl shook the ground beneath her. She was busy assessing the gravity of the situation and how her major fault was going to end her life when another earth-shattering growl brought her back to reality.

And just like that, Charlotte started talking like a parrot,

“I was attacked by a petrol team. They accused me of trespassing through the pack borders, but it was wrong. I am bullied by warrior wolves daily, but they never tried to kill me like this team.”

Alpha was silent, not believing his ears. He was a supporter of weak, how could his own men have started victimizing the powerless instead of saving them?

He freed Charlotte from his hold. She came to the ground with a thud, gasping for air. It was hard to breathe in Alpha’s presence and now she was so busy in recovery that she didn’t notice a man shifting right before her. Charlotte collected herself, covering her body with remaining pieces of clothes.

Just then, she was thrown on the fluffy back of a growling, huge silver wolf. His soft fur brushing across her skin was oddly comforting. She buried her face in this and wrapped her arms across his neck.

Alpha’s wolf was so majestic that warrior wolves looked like foxes behind him. With their lightning speed, they arrived inside the pack in a jiffy. There was a lot of commotion there, as several wolves were hurriedly gathering in a vast clear ground. Charlotte had zero knowledge about werewolf’s tradition, so she thought that maybe they were preparing for a festival.

But when Alpha dropped her on the stage carefully, she lost it.

There was a huge crowd in front of her!

Alpha came back briefly wearing black trousers only. A kind woman gave her a robe too which she wore immediately to cover her wounded body. Shreds of her clothes were unable to save her from the crowd’s strange gazes.

Different warriors were dragged to the crowd, Alpha’s assistant (according to Charlotte) growled in an authoritative tone.

“Get in line for recognition trial.”

.

"Is this the team you were talking about?"

Alpha asked her in a stern voice. Contemplating the possible outcomes of her verbal response, she nodded and gestured towards seven strong werewolves.

“What about other bullies? Choose them too.”

At Alpha’s next command, Charlotte selected more six men from the line.

All of them were kneeling on the ground, the masters of torture were now trembling like kitties. The whole crowd, even birds, were silent when Alpha thought for a while and announced their punishment.

“North petrol team will be demoted to omegas for the next ten years. As for its assistant group, this vampire is allowed to drain them till death.”

As Alpha certain tone left no room for negotiation, they grabbed Charlotte’s feet, begging for mercy.

“Please forgive us. Think about our families, we have little pups to support.”

On the other hand, this display of fair judgement was foreign to someone like Charlotte. She always heard that the Alpha Eric was a heartless exterminator, his sense of justice was hard to digest for her.

“I am grateful that you uphold justice for me, and I will repay your kindness with my life, but this display of fair trial is enough for me. I have forgiven them. Please let them go.”

Her words ran a jolt of life across the dead crowd.

The murmurs of gratitude brightened the gloomy atmosphere.

“A state can’t be peaceful if criminals are pardoned like this. Little one, execute them.”

Alpha was in no mood to entertain her plea of interceding. So, she decided to calm this blazing beast. Charlotte knelt down bowing her head, stretching her arms with her palms facing upward. “Forgiveness is a virtue of the Goddess, Alpha. These are your pack mates. If you don’t give them a chance of redemption, then how will they show the change in their behavior? I believe that everyone deserves a chance to repent if he is sincere enough to ask for forgiveness.”

Alpha pondered over her suggestion for half of the day before finalizing their ultimate penalty.

“North team will be excused with a warning to mend their ways. Another complaint will be the end of their lives. As for their assistant group, they have to serve as omega for a year in addition to the compensation money of 1000 dollars each wolf.

And from now on, there will be no next time. I will personally consult the vampire king to ensure strict laws for the night walker’s security.”

“About that!”

Once again Charlotte requested him,

“Please don’t tell the vampire authorities. Let it slip. I don’t want to create a rift between two races just because of this incident. For the bigger picture, please consider my request.”

This matter was getting on Alpha’s nerves. First, he had to excuse these offenders and now she was interfering in his laws.

“She is daring, I like her.”

His wolf (Rick) wasn’t annoyed a bit, on the contrary, he was enjoying the trial.

"Finally, someone mustered up courage to pinpoint your barbarian behavior. You are a dud!" Sometimes, you need a big piece of tofu to crush your wolf’s head!

Unable to find that chunk, Alpha ordered a warrior to escort her back, with a promise that he would think about the aftermath of these attacks.

What a marvelous change in Alpha's behavior in one night!