Chapter 23

The Pack

It had been nearly an hour, and she still wasn’t there.

The council members were mixed in their reactions to Mira missing her own trial: some were restless and concerned, some confirmed their belief that she was irresponsible.

Dominic paced, checking his phone, speaking in hushed tones to his Beta guards about what could have kept her so delayed.

The current Alpha and Luna were poised and calm on the surface, though it was hard to tell what simmered underneath. That was the job of the ruling class, and these two had been in charge long enough to master their poker faces.

The only sign of a crack on the surface was when the son locked eyes with his father, after one third of the votes had been tallied, and Mira was losing support. The father’s eyes dropped for half a second, an almost imperceptible sign of sympathy for his offspring.

Dominic’s hands were balled into fists. The only time his grip loosened was once again to check his phone for a message.

There was no word from the doctor.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Wyatt said to his leader. “She’s nervous, afraid of the results, but she knows she has to be here.”

“Perhaps,” Dominic responded quietly, “but what if something happened to her?”

“It would have to be a terrific accident,” Lucas added. “Practically every member of the Pack is in this room— it would be hard to lay an ambush on her without a great number of people joining against her.”

The younger Alpha was not convinced, and looked around him at the familiar faces in the room. Most averted their eyes.

In one corner, two young women sat close to one another. One looked on edge, the other almost looked calm, too calm given the circumstances.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Lila asked her friend.

“It has to,” Tessa responded. “No one can deliberately harm a sick member of the Pack and get away with it.”

“Right,” Lila said without confidence. “But what if she didn’t do it? Do anything wrong, I mean? What if it was an accident?”

Tessa shot her a harsh look.

“Doctors shouldn’t have accidents that kill people,” she hissed. “And I don’t think it was an accident that she seduced my brother so quickly.”

“He does seem taken by her,” Lila said, downtrodden.

“Oh stop it!” Tessa gave her a light smack on the arm. “You’ll never get him back with that pitiful attitude.”

Lila sunk a little in her chair. Friendships were complicated, but she wondered if they should hurt so much.

The clock struck, signaling that sixty minutes had passed since the meeting began. There were murmurs in the crowd, many knowing that they could not delay the rest of the voting much longer.

If Mira didn’t show, the votes would turn against her.

The Alpha rose from his seat, looking weary.

“My kin,” he said gravely, “we all know the stipulations of this vote. We have delayed and allowed some grace to the accused for long enough. At this time, we will continue the voting process.”

He banged a gavel on the desk in front of him.

The sound was louder than it should have been, and the crowd was startled by the “Bam!” that reverberated through the meeting hall.

“Dylan!”

It was the voice of an elder council member, and he was rushing to a body on the floor.

It was the body of his son, Dylan, and he had fallen over at the sound of the gavel.

At first there was a great amount of noise, until the Alpha banged his gravel three times.

“Be quiet, all! Please do not panic!” he called out, barely heard through the din. “Where are the medics in the room?”

A few hands went up, attached to bodies that were already moving towards the fallen man. Lila was among them, looking worried.

“He’s feverish, so hot!” the elder cried upon feeling Dylan’s brow. “What happened, he was well a minute ago!”

“Please step aside,” it was Jacqueline, a nurse, reaching to feel a pulse. “Oh gods.”

She pulled up his sleeve to see a minor cut and a rash on his arm, splotchy and spreading fast.

“Does he have any allergies?” the nurse asked his father.

“No, none, that we know of!” the elder told her.

“What is it?” Lila asked, her voice shaky. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know!” Jacqueline screamed back. “I’ve never seen this before, at least not so advanced. Some type of poison, a reaction, but its spreading fast.”

A circle had formed around the ailing man and his medics, but as they heard the word ‘poison’ many tried to break away. Nothing breaks loyalties faster than the fear of contagion.

“Lila, wait— doesn't this look just like what happened to Gareth?” Jacqueline assessed.

“What? I don’t know!” Lila said defensively. “It could be, I didn’t get a good look before! I don’t know!”

Jacqueline studied her. Most medical professionals knew how to keep their emotions in check, but Lila seemed completely panicked.

“You have to save him!” the elder looked to the nurse.

“I’m not sure I can!” she replied.

There was so much chaos in the room that no one had heard the great double doors open and someone new entered the chamber.

“I think I can help.”

The voice was clear and confident, and it seemed to part the crowd with ease. Many later would assume the Alpha had used his aura to control them, though this aura felt different than anytime before.

“I think I have the antidote.”

Mira walked swiftly to the man on the ground, and took out a small, unlabeled container from her bag.

Unscrewing the cap, an herbal aroma wafted through the air. It smelled both delicious and dangerous, and many took another step back away from the emergency on the floor.

The newly arrived doctor put on a sterile glove and began applying a glob of the salve onto Dylan’s arm. He winced, his eyes widened in fear, and then closed softly.

“What did you do?!” Dylan’s father cried out.

“Wait!” Mira responded with authority.

The minutes felt like hours, but soon Dylan’s eyelids fluttered open. Where they had been blood shot and crazed, they were now clear and calm.

“Water?” he croaked.

Mira couldn’t keep herself from smiling.

“Here, sip slowly,” she said, bringing out a water bottle from her pack.

Like a miracle, the crowd watched as the splotchy rash on his arm turned to a lighter pink, and in some places almost completely disappeared.

“Thank you, doctor— Mira,” the elder said, grasping her by the arm. “You saved him.”

“I am here to heal, not to harm,” she responded. “I’m just glad I made it in time.”

Mira rose, obvious relief across her face. The crowd around her all seemed to relax and see her with new eyes. Excitable whispers were heard throughout the meeting hall, and many made moves toward the dais to speak to the Alpha about their votes.

“That was impressive,” Jacqueline said to Mira. “How did you know it would work?”

“I didn’t, exactly,” Mira said, “but I had to try it. I made a new salve this morning, and went to the hospital to see Gareth.”

“Gareth? Is he alright?” Lila was desperate.

“He allowed me to test this salve on him, and I saw the same thing: fever gone, rash dissipating quickly.”

“Oh…thank the gods,” Lila said, adding quietly, “and thank you.”

Mira simply nodded and walked away.

When she met Dominic where he stood, all eyes watched as he gathered her in his arms in a triumphant embrace.

“Order, please!” it was the Alpha on his dais, his expression animated. “I have an announcement.”

All froze, quieting down to hear the verdict.

“In a rapid turn of events, with many rescinding their previous votes, we have reached a majority decision and verdict in the case of Mira.”

Mira stood in front of Dominic, ready to receive her sentence. She seemed to be glowing with inner strength, the power of the healer emanating from her skin.

“Mira,” the Alpha said, “will be our next Luna.”

Dominic

I was in my office, looking through my desk.

“I’m proud of you,” a deep voice said from the door.

“Thank you, sir,” I told my father.

“Truly,” his father responded. “You did the honorable thing, standing by her, against all odds.”

“I knew she was innocent,” I said, “it isn’t such a great thing to believe the truth.”

There was a heavy silence for a moment.

“At any rate,” the Alpha continued, “I am so glad to see you’ve found a good Mate, in Mira. I can see you care for her, and she for you. I wasn’t sure you’d find someone else, after Celeste”

He seemed to trail off, waiting for me to say something.

“Yes,” was all I could manage, my heart thumping in my chest.

Sensing my mood, my father placed a hand on my shoulder, then turned and left me alone again.

I went back to my business, eventually finding a folder buried n a bottom drawer.

A Missing Persons report. It was opened over a year ago, with entries every so often over the months. Maps, interviews, any piece of evidence I could gather that might help me find her.

Celeste.

My former Mate.

She disappeared, a few days before our Mating ceremony.

I stared at her picture, all my feelings for her welling up inside me.

I pushed those feelings down, knowing it was finally time to move on.

Mira’s face came into my mind, and new feelings replaced the old. Not as strong, but persistent.

I took one last look at the portrait of Celeste, taken in a time of happiness.

My feet were already guiding me out the door when the folder hit the bottom of the trash can.