Chapter 2: The Trial

Delaney

The door of the interrogation room opens, and for once, I see a familiar face.

My mother. 

I try to stand but the chains binding my legs to the chair make it impossible for me to do so. They've bound me to make sure I don't try to escape. According to them, I'm a dangerous criminal. For hours, the detective interrogated me on what happened in the forest, and he simply wrote things down as I explained. I told him the whole unfiltered truth in a shaky voice. I didn't leave a single detail out.  

After he left, nobody came for me. The plain clock on the wall indicates that three hours passed before my mother walked in here. I'm so glad to see her face, however, she appears grief-stricken and her lips are pressed together in a thin line. 

As she takes a seat directly across from me, she asks, "What have you done, Delaney? What have you done?"

Tears gather in my eyes and cascade down my cheeks. Her accusation settles in the pit of my stomach and makes me feel physically sick. "I didn't do anything, Mom, I swear to you! You have to believe me!"

She inches closer to me, her eyes dry. "The detective told me what happened. You killed a boy! The Beta's son, nonetheless! Do you have any idea of what's going to happen to you? Do you know what they'll do?"

"I didn't do it!" I say hysterically. Her words are filling me with fear. When the detective left, I thought that this misunderstanding would be resolved. I told him that Alec was the one who did it, and that he did it to save me. The bruises on my neck are a testament to that. 

Trevor was going to kill me if he hadn't been stopped. 

But it seems everyone still believes it was me who did it.

"I didn't kill him," I repeat, sobbing. "You have to believe me. Please."

My words seem to anger her because she bursts out, "It doesn't matter what I think, you stupid girl, don't you see that? Do you think that me believing you means a single damn thing? Your involvement and your rank in the pack will be enough to condemn you! They're talking about a death sentence. There's a crowd outside the courthouse that's thirsty for your blood!"

My eyes widen. No, this can't be true. 

My mother sits back in the white plastic chair and shakes her head. "They've always wanted you dead and now you've given them the perfect opportunity!"

Shock takes over my entire body, and I grow numb. I can't feel my legs, nor the tips of my fingers. My emotions all become duller than before, and every breath I take feels cold and clinical. 

The way my mother's looking at me wounds my soul. She's always been distant and cold toward me. I can't remember a time when she told me she loved me or even gave me a hug. Growing up, she'd keep me at arm's length, and for the longest time, I thought that that was how parents treated their kids. I thought it was normal until I grew up and discovered for myself that she hated me, too. 

I didn't blame her. I still don't. My birth ruined her life. She'd lost her mate. She'd lost her ability to function normally. She has to work as a cleaner at the school, where she's constantly mistreated by the kids and is forced to clean after them. On top of that, they torment her for being Cursey's mother. 

I'm the bane of her existence. 

She shakes her head, distracting me from my thoughts. "The trial will be this afternoon. It'll start soon. They're not sure what the verdict will be. You killed that boy and you'll have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Nobody will be able to help you."

Her words instill despair in me. "But it was the Alpha's son who did it. He'll tell them the truth, right? He'll be honest about what happened."

"And why would the Alpha's son kill his best friend to save your life?" she asks coldly. "That's not even logical. Who will ever believe such a thing? Ask yourself that."

I keep my lips pressed together and simply stare back at her. I don't know the reason myself. So much of what happened is confusing to me. But he won't throw me under the bus, right? I never touched Trevor. I couldn't even if I wanted to. 

The door opens and the detective walks in with a few officers. He says to my mother, "We'll be taking her to the courtroom now, Mrs. Waters. If you have anything else to say to her, it will have to wait until after the trial."

The trial. I try not to panic as the officers loosen the chains around me. The detective isn't even looking at me as I'm carried out of the room. My mother says nothing else, too. She remains seated at the table while I'm dragged out. 

It's the last time I see her in a very long time.

I'm put into the back of a cruiser and driven to the courthouse, which is not even seven minutes away. There's a crowd, that's for sure. My mother hadn't exaggerated. When I'm taken out of the car, they all race toward me. 

I feel people scratching me and pulling my hair while curses leave their lips. They call me an assortment of names. Filthy Omega. Murdering cunt. Curse. They even call my mother ugly names and there's nothing I can do about it. My ears start ringing from the noise. I don't meet anyone's gaze; I just keep looking down and hope for it all to go away. 

The officers drag me through the crowd as quickly as they can. Once inside, the noise is much lower. The people inside the building all look at me with disgust in their eyes, and I'm sure that they would be swearing at me, too, if they could. 

I walk into the courtroom with handcuffs around my wrists. The two officers are right behind me the whole time. The seats are all occupied and behind the bench, there's the judge. Sitting on either side of him are the leaders of our pack. I see the Alpha, Alec's father, and the Beta. Out of everything terrible that's happened to me today, I have to say that the Beta's face scares me most of all. 

His expression is murderous, and I suddenly realize that my mother was right. For some reason, deep down, I had some hope that I would be believed and this would be resolved, but this isn't a hearing. 

It's a sentencing. 

I stand behind the stand before all of them with my hands in front of them. The courtroom is as silent as a grave. The only thing that I can hear is the sound of my erratic breathing. Every part of me is shaking. 

I've never felt fear this vividly before. 

The judge gives me a cold look that makes me feel even worse than I already do. Then, in a deep and powerful voice, he says to me, "Delaney Waters, you are hereby accused of the cold-blooded murder of Trevor Whittle. How do you plead?"

"N-Not guilty," I stutter. 

The crowd behind me roars, and the judge slams the gable against the wooden bench. "Silence!"

My eyes dart to the Beta. Trevor's father. His eyes are as hard as stone. I see the resemblance between him and Trevor right away and it makes me shudder because it feels like he's standing there, watching me. Like he's risen from the dead.

The judge says, "We have gathered enough evidence to confirm your guilt, Miss Waters, including the weapon of the crime and your confession to our detective merely a few minutes ago. There were also witnesses."

My eyes widen. "I never confessed to anything! I didn't do it!"

"Liar!" a random person in the crowd roars. The noise resumes, and the judge keeps hitting the bench for a longer time to make everyone quiet down. Once everyone calms down, he looks down at the papers in front of him and calls the witnesses in. "Send them all in. Let's get this done and over with quickly."

When the doors open, I turn my head to see the witnesses. It's the entire elite group; all my bullies. They're still in their uniforms, like me, and their faces are all haunted like the life has been sucked out of them. 

Neither of them look my way as they walk past me to make it to the witness stand. All four of them crowd the space, their eyes downcast. The judge clears his throat and says to them, "You know the deal. You've all vowed to our beloved moon goddess to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Lying is a crime much like any other. Let's begin."

I become hysterical when the judge asks them to point out the killer and all their fingers point at me. The only one who hasn't bothered to point is Alec. 

"Shut this girl up!" the Alpha barks when I argue that I'm lying. The officers come up behind me and one grabs me and covers my mouth with his hand to silence me. My words all come out muffled. They're condemning me and aren't even giving me a chance to speak. This isn't a fair trial at all. 

It's a set-up.

Carla says in a frail voice, "It was Alec who found her. He couldn't do anything because Trevor was already...b-bleeding out."

The judge asks Alec, "Alec Castell, do you swear this to be true? Did you see the accused killing Trevor Whittle?"

We make eye contact after he's asked this question. My eyes widen, as this is my last chance to be proven innocent. My fate lies in his hands. His gray eyes are cold and lifeless as he looks over at me, and without meaning to, I note the bruise on the side of his face. It's new. When did it happen? 

"Is the accused guilty?" the judge asks impatiently. 

His silence persists to the point where the crowd behind me starts talking. My heart is slamming against the base of my throat. My wolf is begging him to save me and tell the truth. I stare at him with pleading eyes. This is the longest we've ever looked at each other, and for a split second, I see his eyes soften. I become convinced that I'll be saved. 

Then, the word, "Yes," leaves his lips, and the crowd behind me roars. My sentence is given but I barely hear it. I'm staring directly at him as something inside of me withers and dies. 

I'm being dragged out of the courtroom. People keep yelling at me so loudly that my ears ring. We reach the doors, where more policemen are waiting for me. As the doors behind me are closed, I catch sight of a man not much older than me seated on a chair by the door. He's wearing a prison uniform and he's in handcuffs, too. His hair is a dirty blonde, and his eyes are the brightest blue I've ever seen. 

We make eye contact as I'm being dragged out, and his head cocks to the side as he watches me being dragged away. Away to the prison, which will be my new home. 

All thanks to Alec Castell, my mate who ruined me.