Chapter 10: An unexpected Ally

It was Lord Mitch. With a swift motion, he pushed the document aside, his face twisted with defiance. The clerk hesitated for a moment, then picked up the document, his eyes nervously shifting between the council members, waiting for further instructions.

 “What did you say?” Lord Arthur snapped.

Lord's Mitch voice was calm but firm. “You ask me to seal punishment for a woman who severed a bond with cause. That is not justice. That is control.”

The elites erupted in outrage. Edward's face twisted in fury. Without the seven seals, the judgement would not stand.

The Omegas sat up straighter, hope flickering in their tired eyes.

Lucille blinked, stunned. She hadn’t expected an ally.

Lord Arthur's eyes burned. “You defy the council?”

Lord Mitch met his gaze without flinching. “I uphold the law. If you want tyranny, write it plainly.”

The scroll trembled in the scribe’s hands. He hadn't experienced such scene before in the court room.

Lord Mitch leans forward, slamming his hand against his table.

"This is a courtroom, not a slaughterhouse! She has no counsel. No support. No hearing. And you call this justice?"

Lord Arthur glared down at him with thinly veiled fury. "you were present at the council agreement. You gave your silence then. Now you oppose?"

Lord Mitch wagged his head, "Silence does not equal agreement. You all want a show. You want to crush an Omega and parade her shame. I won’t be part of it."

Lord Arthur spat furiously. "You defy the council’s unity in open court? You dishonor this bench!"

Lord Mitch rose briskly, his sharp gaze bore on Lord Arthur. "I uphold the law, not your power plays! We werewolves are not tyrants. If we silence the weak, what separates us from the monsters we claim to rise above?"

"You will not seal this?" Arthur asked rudely, his finger pointing at the document in the clerk's hands.

"I, will not seal this!" Mitch affirmed and a cruel silence followed.

Standing briskly, Lord Arthur raised the staff in his hand. "This proceeding will continue in few minutes," then he walked out of the judgement throne, and other council members followed suite.

One after the other, they retreated into the private chamber behind the judgment throne.

The air in the chamber was thick with tension. The council members gathered around the table, their voices rising with frustration.

"Lord Mitch, what is this madness?" Lord Arthur said, his voice sharp with disbelief. "You are defying the will of the council. Edward is your blood cousin, an elite of our kind. Lucille is a mere Omega. She's a nobody."

Mitch’s eyes darkened as he turned toward Arthur. “So, because she’s an omega, she deserves to be treated like this?” His voice was low, steady, but carried a weight that made the room fall silent for a moment.

Arthur stiffened, clearly uncomfortable with Mitch's challenge. "It's the law, Mitch. And law is law."

“Is it?” Mitch’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Lord Arthur, what happened to me? My ex-mate rejected me after I caught her cheating, and what did this council do? You swept it all under the carpet because she was a beta, an elite, didn’t you?”

There was a shift in the room as the council members exchanged uneasy glances. They knew Mitch spoke the truth, but no one wanted to face it.

Mitch’s voice grew more pointed, more personal. “And what did her parents do? They came to me, begging me to let it go, offering me gifts. You all knew that, didn’t you?” His eyes flicked to each council member, daring them to deny it. 

“And yet now, you’re all ready to sentence that girl to something worse because she’s a commoner? What happened to fairness? What happened to justice? What happened to pardon?”

Lord Felix, a thin, sharp-faced man, snorted dismissively. “This isn’t about fairness, Mitch. This is about order. Edward is a man of power, and Lucille…” He waved a dismissive hand, “Lucille is nothing. She doesn't have the right to challenge an elite, not in this council.”

“Order?” Mitch's voice rose now, the anger seeping through. "You call this order? Turning a blind eye to corruption because of someone's status?" 

He paused, breathing heavily. "The real law, the one written in the scrolls, says that Lucille’s punishment is five years of servitude in Edward’s house. And yet you want to force silver suppressing upon her, against the law? You want to twist her punishment into something cruel and unjust, something that no one deserves."

The council shifted uncomfortably. The truth of Mitch’s words was undeniable, but they hesitated to accept it.

“Don’t be naive, Mitch,” Felix sneered. “The law is one thing, but we all know that sometimes, the law must be bent for the greater good. Edward deserves this control over her. He is an elite, and she is just an Omega."

Mitch slammed his hand on the table, the force echoing in the room. “An omega? Yes, I'm not disputing it. But, she's also a woman who made a mistake, just like many of you in this room."

He glanced firmly at them all. "You’re all twisting the law for your convenience. The servitude clause was meant to help former mates live together and possibly re-bond, without physical assault.That's the punishment. Not silver suppression. Not cruelty. That’s the punishment the law outlines, and I will not seal anything less.”

Arthur clearly frustrated, stood up and waved his hand in the air, trying to assert control over the room. “Mitch, you cannot seriously expect us to ignore what Lucille has done. She defied Edward’s claim over her, and now she must face the consequences.”

“Consequences?” Mitch spat the word. “The only consequence is that she’s being made to suffer for something that should be between Edward and her alone. The council doesn’t get to decide who lives in torment or who is punished beyond reason. That is not our role. It’s not my role."

"But the law clearly states," Lord Felix interjected, his voice dripping with manipulation, “that servitude is a means to enforce the bond. It doesn’t mean she has the freedom to live in peace.”

Mitch’s jaw clenched. “You lie Lord Felix. It's for possible re-bond and not to enforce the bond?"

He looked around the room, his gaze heavy on each of them. The council had no answer, no defense. They all knew he was right.

For a moment, the room was silent, until Lord Marvin, the oldest among them, cleared his throat.

“Mitch,” he began slowly, his voice filled with reluctant surrender, “I understand your concern. But you must see that the order of things must be maintained. We cannot make exceptions, no matter the personal feelings involved."

Mitch stood tall, meeting Marvin's gaze. “I’m not asking for an exception. I’m asking for fairness. You know as well as I do that the law clearly states the punishment. If you choose to override that, you’re turning your back on everything this council is supposed to stand for."

The silence stretched for what felt like forever. The council members exchanged uneasy glances, none of them willing to make the first move.

Finally, the head of the council, Arthur spoke, his voice grudging. "Fine, then. Let it be as Mitch says. Servitude in Edward's house. But we will watch her closely. If she steps out of line, there will be consequences."

Mitch nodded, a faint, bitter smile tugging at his lips.

"I won't accept anything less. We have no such right to monitor her, under Edward's roof. If the law says servitude, without physical assault, then servitude without physical assault it is, and nothing more."