Chapter 252
LEAH
All I want to do is rush across the hall and pull Aaron out
of that silver dock they’ve sat him in. To hold him, to know
everything is going to be okay.
All I can do is sit there and tell myself that justice will be done,
and Aaron will be found innocent.
It’s been days, and I never heard anything else from Karolina.
I don’t know what she’s been doing, or if she’s managed to
help Aaron in anyway.
I had hoped she would be able to stop this trial altogether, but
maybe that wasn’t within her power.
Still, since I was brought into the hall and forced to sit as far away from Aaron as possible, I’ve been trying to catch Karolina’s eye, but she’s been keeping her attention split
between Aaron and whichever Councilmember is talking at any given time and the longer it goes on, the colder my blood
starts to run.
Eventually I have to wonder if she tried to help us at all.
What if she was just humoring me the day we spoke?
The trial itself quickly becomes a blur.
The Council have brought together witnesses who have to be false, testifying that they knew Aaron had plans to kill Tobin for his power and a seat on the Council.
They play a tape that’s recorded from Aaron’s interview in the cells, and it’s clear to anyone with half a brain that they’ve edited it heavily and spliced it together to make Aaron appear guilty, threatening and almost unhinged, like he’s already half
gone rogue.
I keep waiting to be called to give my testimony, so I can start clearing up all these falsehoods, but it doesn’t happen.
They don’t even put Aaron on the stand or ask him to defend
himself.
Aaron sits there with a look of stony detachment on his face
and doesn’t say anything as the evidence builds and builds
against him.
I find myself willing him to say something, anything.
A few times he looks across at me, as if he can feel my mental
nudging–who knows, with our mating bond going both ways
now, maybe he can. I can certainly feel the quiet fury building within him. But he knows exploding or interjecting at this point will only make him look worse.
When I realize things seem to be wrapping up, I can’t take it any longer.
“This is a travesty!” I shout, jumping to my feet. “Aaron is
innocent. All of this so called evidence has been concocted to
make him look guilty.”
“Leah,” Aaron says, and even though he doesn’t say it very loud, and there’s this swell of murmurs that ripple through the crowd, I still hear him loud and clear, like he’s standing
right next to me and talking directly to me. “This won’t help. Remember what I told you.”
“I’m not just going to stand here while my mate, an innocent man, gets condemned for crimes he didn’t commit just
because the Council are scared of him!”
At this, the swell of voices gets louder, and I can tell I’ve pissed
off most of the Council.
“That is enough, Luna Leah!” Samsen shouts, banging the gavel. “Compose yourself, or you will be removed from this
hall.”
I want to argue some more, desperation and fear for what is
going to happen to Aaron are surging through me like acid.
“Leah,” Aaron says in a commanding Alpha voice. “Do as he says.”
I don’t want to be taken away, I need to be here to see what happens, so I relent, even though my instincts–my inner wolf -is telling me it’s the wrong thing to do.
That I should be fighting for my mate with every single atom of my being.
“The Council will now take a short recess to deliberate,”
Samsen announces, before the Councilmembers all get up and file off stage to the back area where they can have some
privacy.
Loud chatter immediately erupts through the hall, but
everyone stays seated, as if they expect the Council to come right back and they don’t want to miss a second of the unfolding drama.
I don’t care that we have an audience, I get up and dodge the
Enforcers standing nearby to rush across the space between
me and Aaron.
He stands when I reach him and extends his arms through the
silver frame.
“Be careful of the silver, love, I don’t want you to get burned,”
he tells me as he catches my hands.
“I don’t care about the silver, Aaron!” I cry, resisting the urge
to tear the booth apart, even if it burns me down to the bones.
“How can you be so calm about this?”
He gives a brittle laugh. “I’m anything but calm, Leah. Telling myself that I need to get you home to Ethan is the only thing keeping me from losing it.”
“We have to do something!”
“Like what?” Aaron asks in a gentle voice, looking at me in a way that breaks my heart. “If we run, they punish our packs. And they never stop coming for us. They’ll hunt us down and
won’t show any mercy. At least this way, you’ll live, Leah. You’ll
live for Ethan, and that’s the most important thing right now.”
Tears are streaming down my face again.
I’ve cried so much recently, I have no idea how I have any
tears left.
“I can’t live without you,” I tell him, trying to hold back a sob.
“You’ll find a way,” he says confidently, but no less gently. “I know you will, Leah. You’ll live for Ethan.”
He’s right, but I still can’t accept this is happening right now.
Before I can say anything else, the Councilmembers are
returning, and the Enforcers pull me away from Aaron and
force me back across the hall to my seat.
Samsen bangs the gavel to settle the crowd. “The verdict will now be read.”
