~JADE~
Did I make the right choice when I answered that Hunter wasn't the father of the child I was carrying? It may not have been the right thing to do given the kind of mess I was in already, but their shocked expressions were more than enough satisfaction for me at that moment.
Hunter and Alpha Orion were the ones who looked the most shocked by my response. I guess Hunter probably expected me to insist the child was his and use that as an excuse to hold onto him and beg for mercy, but I was done with begging him to see me and to hear me after I accepted his rejection. He didn't even believe me these past few days when I had been trying to tell him that I was carrying his child, and suddenly he was shocked that I was not clinging onto him.
What was there to cling onto in the first place?
The shocked expression on their faces didn't last long and quickly turned into disgust as soon as the meaning of my words had settled in. Hunter had snarled to show his disgust, and his parents shook their heads. Although I could've sworn Alpha Orion was the only one who wasn't relatively disgusted with my revelation, I couldn't tell why.
Everything after that revelation moved in a blur; the elders didn't waste another breath as they announced my verdict, and it was impossible to miss the malice in their voice when they declared me guilty of infidelity and treachery. According to them, the fact that I was pregnant with the child of another man was more or less a plot against my mate and his position as Head Alpha.
Hunter's mother had hissed and said I may as well have driven a sword through his heart and killed him. Although I would never harm him in that way, I wanted him to endure the same pain I did when he rejected me and each time he went to bed with someone else. Yet aside from the brief moment of shock that flickered across his face and the abrupt flinch, his face remained impassive and his eyes cold as the elders passed their verdict.
"It is no news that we do not tolerate any act of perfidy, unchastity, or treachery in this pack. Our fathers before us and those before them condemned such, as did those who committed these taboos." The elder who had led my trail declared as he mounted the platform that I was made to kneel on.
Pack members gathered before the platform. I guess words do travel fast in the pack because it was only a few minutes ago when the guards led me out of the council hall to the back of the building where the platform stood.
"Pack traditions are made to be honoured, and pack laws are implemented for a reason. One of which is so we can lead a virtuous life; another is so we can command respect amongst others; and the most important is so that we can always have the goddess on our side and her blessings upon us as we honour her name through her just actions. We cannot accomplish any of these things if we tolerate abomination and those who commit vile acts."
The elder moved up and down the platform as he addressed the growing crowd. He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning the faces of his audience, and then he climbed up the steps, coming to a stop beside me. "Before you, is Jade Dimaano! As you all know, she's beta-mated to your Alpha Heir, Hunter Hendrix. Your luna-to-be has been tried and found guilty of infidelity." The elder voices, pausing for a moment to allow the words to sink in with the crowd, I couldn't tell if their shocked gasps were genuine or if they were only appalled by the sight of me and my misdeeds.
Once the murmur within the pack members died down, the elder continued. "She has also been charged with perfidy, for she carries the bastard child of another wolf. A Luna who bears the child of another wolf who isn't her Alpha is no different from a greedy man who seeks to kill the Alpha of his pack and unseats him."
The murmurs grew louder as he continued to decree my crimes and how heinous my actions were. The voices of the pack members rose above his own, and some of their words were no longer a whisper as they hurled insults and demeaning words at me.
Despite my attempt to pretend like their opinions didn't matter or that I wasn't affected, I couldn't because their words jabbed at me like a pack of needles, pricking my skin harshly in a vicious attempt to draw blood.
"Such action is punishable by death." The elder in charge continued. "However, Alpha Orion, in his good nature, pleaded that we spare her life. Jade Dimaano will not be getting a death sentence, but this doesn't mean she won't be punished for her crimes." My gaze shifted to Alpha Orion, who stood at the left side of the platform with his Luna and Hunter.
Various questions fleeted through my thoughts at the revelation that he had pleaded on my behalf. Why would he do that? If I am being condemned for something as serious as treason, an accusation that my actions were a threat to his son's life, why would he ask that I be shown mercy?
His gaze met mine, but his eyes betrayed nothing, and no matter how hard I stared at him, I couldn't decipher his reasons for begging the elders on my behalf. Unlike his son, did he believe me? But if he did, why isn't he trying to talk some sense into his son, or at least why hadn't he tried to prevent this trial from happening?
The voice of the elder grabbed my attention once more, dragging my gaze from Alpha Orion back to the elder as he came to stand in front of me. "For her crimes, Jade would be flogged with seventy-four lashes for the sin of infidelity, after which she would be branded as an unworthy mate." The elder turned to me with a sneer on his face, and his lips curled in a grimace. "And you will bear the mark of your sins for the rest of your life, for any wolf who stumbles upon you will see and know how greatly you wronged your mate and defiled the sacred ties of your mate bond. Your sins will follow you wherever you go."
The elder turned his back to me as he addressed the crowd. "This is a lesson to you all, whether you are mated or unmated, a reminder to you that the mate bond is sacred, a gift from the moon goddess, one that should never be taken for granted or defiled. Anyone who defiles the sacred gift of the goddess will be punished and degraded as deserved. Jade Dimaano will perform the Dance of shame around the pack after her lashings, and then she will be forever banished from these pack lands."
I sucked in a sharp breath at his declaration, "If you go against this verdict and ever set foot on this pack land, you will be treated as a lowly rogue and killed upon sight."
My gaze danced around and settled on Hunter; something had shifted in his eyes between the time of my trial and now. A lone tear slid down my face as I held his gaze in a silent question. 'Is this what you wanted?' I asked mentally, even though I knew he couldn't hear me now that our link had been severed. 'I hope you are happy.' I added, wincing in pain and folding forward as the first lash of the whip hit my back.
