My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

and more angry after they left. But she wouldn’t talk to anyone about what they were telling her. Claiming that it wasn’t her place to tell anyone, and they would all find out at the trial. If she could convince them to come forward formally.

Then about five days before the trial they all showed up at once. There were over twenty of them and she took them all out into the garden. Suddenly I wasn’t the only one watching their gatherings. Mom, Dad, and all of my brothers were there as well. Some of the enforcers even stopped by to watch. We couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she had them all sitting in the grass in a circle with her in the middle. For most of the meeting it looked like she was arguing with them.

Finally, she stood and turned to take them all in at once. We heard what she said then. Only because she raised her voice, not to yell, just to make it carry. The way she spoke she was every inch an alpha female. And a glorious one at that.

“Look at you. All of you. You each have your right to claim a piece of his hide. And if you will just stand with me, I swear to you, he will not walk away from this. Together we can make sure he never has a moment to so much as close his eyes again. And I promise you that each and every one of you will have that piece of his hide that you deserve. This is the last time I’m going to ask. Will you come forward? Will you help me give this bastard what he deserves?,” she was breathing heavily by the time she finished. The circle of girls looked up at her, with mixed looks of awe and doubt. Then they started looking at each other and I could almost smell their fear.

It wasn’t long after that that they all left. Giving off scents of fear, trepidation, and hope. By this time I was burning with curiosity, but every time I tried to pry something out of her, she just shut me down. So I sighed in frustration and decided that I just needed to wait until the trial.

 

 

 

Drake

 

 

 

It was late and I was in my office when Ailith knocked on the doorframe to get my attention. I motioned her in and she closed the door behind her, which got my attention better than anything else would. If she closed the door then that meant she wanted to speak privately.

“You got a minute?” she asked quietly as she stood just a few feet from the door.

“Sure, take a seat.” She nodded and sat down in the chair that was directly across from mine. But she sat on the edge with her back straight and her hands clinched the edge of the cushion.

“I need a favor,” she said hesitantly.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do.” First lesson you learn about ruling a pack, never make a promise until you know exactly what you’re promising.

“I’m not worried about whether or not Tom is going to have enough support against me anymore. The evidence and charges I have against him will condemn him for sure. And I know what his sentence will be. But I need some supplies first.”

“What do you need?” She took a deep breath as if preparing herself.

“Weapons, nothing lethal, but some bats or clubs. Some, um, brass knuckles if you can get them.” I just stared at her. She was asking me for the equipment necessary to beat someone, badly.

“How many do you need?” I held my breath just as she sighed.

“At least twenty three.” I felt my eyebrows climb, but she didn’t look at me, she just stared at the floor.

“Who will be using them?” She finally looked at me. It was a look I knew well. She wouldn’t tell me, her mouth would be sealed even through torture. Instead of waiting for her to tell me this I just nodded.

“Okay, I’ll get what you need. I’ll have it all brought to the auditorium where the trial will be held. They will be brought it out at your command,” I told her and she let out a deep breath, but didn’t move to leave.

“There’s one more thing. After the trial is done. I would like to take self defense lessons.”

“Ailith, it’s not that I don’t want to let you. But it’s against custom, if anyone knew about it there would be an uproar.” She shrugged her shoulders, but didn’t give up.

“So don’t tell anyone. We can make them private and swear the person to secrecy.” I shook my head.

“Secrets have a nasty way of making themselves known, no matter what precautions we take.” She leveled her gaze on me. She wasn’t teary eyed, just deathly serious.

“My entire life, I’ve always had to stand by and watch while people did things to me. I watched while my parents made my home a combat zone. I just stood there every time my dad called me some horrible name or said terrible things about me. Every time I was beaten I had to stand there and take it without so much as a complaint. Every time I was whipped, skinned, tied down, my bones were broken, I was stabbed, and I had to just take it, because if I didn’t someone else would get hurt.

“But that isn’t the case anymore. If someone attacks me, which from my experience will happen, I don’t want to have to just take it. I want to be able to fight back, defend myself, for once.” The entire time that she spoke she kept my gaze with her own.

I think it was her way of expressing how serious and determined she was. And she was right. After everything she had gone through she deserved the right to defend herself. So it was with dread and reluctance that I said my next word.

“Okay, I’ll set you up with my pack trainer. He’s the best that anyone has ever seen. I’ll command him and anyone that gets involved not to say anything. We’ll set up a time after the trial is over for you to start,” I said with a feeling of doom hanging over my head.

For the first time since I had known her she gave a big genuine smile. After she thanked me and left my office I sat back in my chair. All I could think was, ‘What have I gotten myself into’. Whatever it was I hoped it was worth it.

Chapter 15

Ailith

 

 

 

I walked into the huge auditorium and took a deep breath. This was the day. In less than an hour I was going to be standing in front of an entire room and bestow a punishment on a well respected, evil man. Half of the people that would be attending were already sitting in the soft seats that surrounded the room. They were set up almost like bleachers so that everyone can look down on the center.

There was a podium about every twelve feet in front of the seats, so that the alphas could stand there and speak what they wanted. But the front was bigger. It was like a stage that had several chairs and an even bigger podium. Behind and to the side of it were bigger chairs than the regular seats. That was where Drake and his family were going to sit. I was expected to walk the floor. But I had my own podium, and so did the defense.

In the very middle of the room there was a square of roughly four by four feet that was removable. When it was moved out of place you could see two rungs set in concrete. They were meant for chains. Turns out that in the past they’ve had some problems with the accused running, or shifting and attacking the accuser. But they can’t shift if they’re chained and they can’t run either. So they got the thickest most durable metal they could find and fashioned shackles and chains. Both of his hands and ankles would be chained to the concrete throughout the entire proceedings.

I had planned my outfit carefully the night before, with the knowledge that I would be on my feet for possibly a couple of hours. I had a long sleeved black shirt that hugged my torso, but the neckline went straight across from shoulder to shoulder. My jeans were the darkest I could find, and I wore flat boots that came up to my knee and matched my shirt. I had my hair pulled back and braided down my back. My goal was to look elegant without struggling to look older than my age.

If I tried too hard they would eat me alive. But if I didn’t try at all, they would bury me. Its a precarious line to walk, but if I was going to walk it anyway, I might as well add some fancy footwork. So I picked out a spot on the side of the stage, out of sight, and waited until I was supposed to start.

While I waited I watched the people as they filed into the room and found their seats. Some of them were families, and they took up the majority. But a lot of them were also single males and females. When they picked their seats it became obvious which pack they belonged to. All of them just seemed to have an identifying mark that couldn’t be seen by humans. Asher told me that it was werewolf thing, to know if a wolf belonged to a pack and which one.

One family in particular caught my eye. The man was tall with sandy brown hair, wide shoulders and long legs. The woman had dark hair, though whether it was brown or black I couldn’t tell in the distance. She was a petite woman, but the way she held her shoulders pulled back and her head high, reminded me of someone.

Then I took in the girl at her side. Not a girl really, she looked like she could be anywhere from twenty to twenty three. But she held the same regality and smooth gait as her mother. It was the shape of her face that made me realize who they reminded me of. It might have been considered a smoother version of heart shaped. Her hair was several shades lighter than his, but I was willing to bet that she and Sadler had the same color eyes.

They must have been Sadler’s biological family. I couldn’t actually call them his family since they exiled him for no good reason other than greed. But I supposed biological would work.

It wasn’t long until I spotted him as well. There was a ring of men standing around the room, between the center and the seats. They were Drake’s enforcers, set in place in case anyone tried to commit any violence, and to restore order where needed. I noticed that he looked everywhere but at the family that gave him his looks.

But I managed to catch his eye and he gave me a small smile of acknowledgement. And after scanning the room once more, mouthed a ‘good luck’ at me. I smiled back