The Forbidden Alpha

Adea

The noise died down as we walked through the doors. My eyes didn’t wander instead they locked in on the first person that came into view. Her eyes were hollow as she stared off into space, her hair was flat, her clothes were wrinkled.

Olivia was seated in between two guards and the room was packed full of pack members. I knew pack members could be present during trials. I wasn’t expecting there to be this many people present. A tinge of shame of knowing I was the cause of her betrayal tried to tint my mind before I squashed it.

I turned my focus from her and automatically scanned the room and let out a breath of relief when I didn’t catch sight of Gabe. Noticing my reaction Ethan leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper, “He’s still injured and can’t be physically present but as her mate, he demanded to be present.” Ethan nodded at a camera in the corner. “He’s watching live from his bed.”

The meeting room was intimidating every time I stepped foot in but maybe that was partly because the fate of wolves was decided in here. The silence from the viewers was suffocating, the many eyes watching us, the stillness as everyone waited for things to begin.

Ethan guided me down the aisle until we reached our seats. His chair is massive compared to mine. There was no defense or prosecution only Ethan’s ruling.

Beta Odis walked in and stood by his seat next to us. “We will now begin the trial,” Odis announced before taking his seat.

Ethan stood up and all eyes were on him. “The trial of Gamma Olivia for breaking her oath, betraying her Alpha, and espionage has begun. To start off, I will give the defendant a chance to speak.”

All heads turned to Olivia as Ethan gave her a chance to plead her case or apologize. The intensity of the silence that filled the room made my throat dry up.

“I’ve nothing to say,” Olivia’s voice filled the room. Some members had looks of shock while others had anger etched on their faces. It was clear that she had no urge to deny any of the claims.

The silence in the room was deafening but Ethan proceeded to call in the witnesses. One witness stepped forward to state what she had seen.

Although I hadn’t seen who had come into my room and I hadn’t told Ethan. The witness recalled seeing Olivia escort a man who wasn’t a part of the pack with a description matching Shane. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat as Olivia cast me a glance.

Another witness came forward and stated that he had witnessed Olivia sneaking out late at night to go through the forest. He claimed to have seen her go out there twice but didn’t think anything of it because of her rank.

“And now I call on your future Luna, to stand and speak of the incident that occurred between Olivia, Gamma Gabe, and Luna Adea,” Odis called.

I thought I’d been nervous before but I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience as I recalled the night she’d stabbed Gabe in the chest. I shared everything from why I was there and what we spoke of up to the point where she shoved the blade into Gabe’s chest.

By the time it was over, I felt like I’d driven a nail into her coffin but I couldn’t hide her crimes. I couldn’t recall anything that could help Olivia or lessen her punishment. I couldn’t ignore the protectiveness I felt welling up inside of me and I struggled to find the words I could say that could help or lessen her punishment.

Before I could speak Beta Odis jumped to his feet by our side, his eyes begging her to listen. “Just apologize and swear on the Moon Goddess to never betray your pack or your Alpha again,” Odis demanded, the meeting hall falling quiet around us as we all stared between the two.

She sat there saying nothing. She didn’t flinch or budge at his outburst. She sat in her seat like a porcelain doll, her eyes holding that dull look, and her face held no sign of regret.

“Swear it!” Odis hissed at her from his seat. He stayed there, staring at her and I wondered what Gabe was thinking while he watched this from his bed. Ethan slammed his fist down on the table and I could feel his Alpha energy coming off of him in waves.

“Enough!” Ethan commanded in his Alpha tone as he glared at Odis. Odis shrank from his command and fought against it until he sighed in defeat before taking his seat.

I’d been anxious before but it was nothing compared to this. I didn’t want Odis and Ethan to fight. I didn’t want Olivia to be hurt but her crimes were too great to go unpunished.

She wasn’t the same as she was before but that didn’t change the fact that she had been a friend and as Gabe’s mate, she was family.

Ethan turned back to Olivia. “You’ve been a good friend,” he said. “You were the little sister I never had.”

Olivia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise but she remained silent.

“I hate knowing that you’ve betrayed me but even so, I hate having to be the one to stand here and pass judgment on you,” Ethan said with emotion that rang true.

I reached over and squeezed his hand. I needed him to know that I was here by his side and he wasn’t weathering this storm alone. Ethan’s eyes didn’t leave Olivia but he squeezed back.

“Although you are a sister to me, I will not ignore your crimes, I will not go easy on you, and I will not lessen the charges,” he says as his eyes flicker with sadness. “I will punish you by the extent of our laws.”

“Olivia Martin, I, the Alpha of Desert Moon pack find you guilty of all counts and hereby sentence you to death by execution.”