XXIX. The Sentence
Rhea's POV
I am half-conscious when High Alpha Newt reconvenes the pack. He had left me hanging on the pole for what felt like hours before he finally came to a decision about which additional punishment I should face. He orders my bindings undone, and I have no strength to stand so I collapse into the dirt.
Alpha Newt kneels beside me and pretends to be checking my vitals, but he is really giving me a choice; continue to play tough, or suffer, and since I am already down, I choose to stay down. I know that sounds like I gave up, but I know that weakness will be my strength in this case.
Hanging by my arms with nothing but my silent tears and pain to keep me company, I realized that if the scent blocker formula is unregulated, it could end up in the wrong hands, and all the blame would not just fall to me, but also to my family. We would be set up as a scapegoat for any number of situations, and I'm unwilling to see the Talons' legacy wiped away because I wanted to save people.
Alpha Newt isn't a complete jerk, and because my shirt is torn and falling off, Robin has been allowed to put another one on me. I am grateful she picked something loose, and I use the opportunity to wink at her, trying to convey that I am okay.
When Alpha Newt is sure I am decently covered, he orders his men to force me to stand, which I do without complaint, but I am struggling.
"Alpha Lark, what is the preferred punishment in this pack for disrespecting a direct order from a ranked individual?" Alpha Newt thinks he has won; he thinks I am going to fold, but I'm learning a lot right now. I have always been good with visual or action related persuasion, but Alpha Newt is showing me that rhetoric is by far more effective.
"This pack practices isolation; one to seven days depending on the level of offense."
"Isolation?" The Lizard walks to where I am being held. "How long would you punish a pack member who disrespected an order from you?" he asks Lark while looking at me.
"Typically, the sentence is handed down by a pack vote." I can hear agitation in my brother's voice, but he can't show weakness right now. If he does, Alpha Newt can challenge his right to lead, and since we have no brothers, the pack would settle under the 'care' of the council while they 'consider' if Robin and Luke are fit. My father is out of the running, because he voluntarily stepped down, which is an automatic sign of fragility in the eyes of wolves.
"Pack vote it is." Time passes, and I am not surprised. The glee on Alpha Newt's face tells me that I have either gotten the max sentence or close to it. The speed at which the vote was taken was also an indication that it would not be good, so I brace myself. "Alpha Lark, your sister has been sentenced to five days of isolation by your pack. I have the power to commute her sentence if she agrees to follow directions the way that she should."
My entire family looks at me hopefully, but I don't have anything to say, nor can I form a sentence, but I am terrified. Without a wolf to help me stay warm, without the ability to heal rapidly, and without food and water, I will probably die or come so close to death that recovery will be long and intense.
I am almost about to fold, when an intense pain sears through my head making me scream out loud. My mother rushes to my side, but she is ordered away. She tries to explain, but Alpha Newt silences her and everyone else with a high alpha command. I know my mother was about to out me as an omega, and it gets my mind running.
Alpha Newt has already broken two council laws in his handling with me, and if I die, it will make three. He will be stripped of his position, and my family will be given free choice of any territory he may have acquired over the years. Not that that makes up for anything, but it will sully the council's image further.
"Miss Talons, you heard what I have to offer. What do you say?" I shake my still pounding head; I am dehydrated for sure and I'm starting to feel dizzy.
"I, Rhea Talons, will cease producing, selling and distribution of the substance known as scent blocker, as previously suggested by Alpha Dwightenhower, second rank high alpha of the Werewolf Council. If I break this oath that has been paid for in my blood, I will surely die." Alpha Newt barely contains his rage. He wasn't expecting that I would go back to an original appeal that was still standing, nor did he expect me to make a blood oath.
The only way he can get me to give him the formula now, if to involve Alpha Dwightenhower, who started the blood oath process with me to prevent my kidnap and torture for the formula. I met the man during an alliance meeting shortly after I perfected my scent blocker. While my father went into a blood oath with the alliance, I entered a blood oath with Alpha Dwightenhower. It was the only thing that kept our alliance members from insisting for my father to make the formula available to them.
"Your brain must be more damaged than I was told." Alpha Newt makes a gesture, and I am dragged away from the pack. The isolation cell, which is a deep hole, is near the boulder field. People don't venture in that area often and it ensures true isolation conditions are met. "I will be staying with this pack until after her sentence is complete." I am quite unceremoniously dropped into the 'cell', and I feel my ankle and hip sprain from the impact.
Lark's POV
If it weren't for Luke's constant assurance that B had the situation under control, I would have already torn Alpha Newt's head off. The man is clearly targeting my sister, who is a minor. Since the pack has started to become more profitable, the council has been sniffing around, accusing us of drug trade, trafficking, and anything else they can think of.
The truth is that Luke is a business major, while I have some experience in market trends. By working together, we have cut costs on just about everything. Even our mates do their fair share, which is why we are more comfortable, and with B working on the farms, we are expecting a huge harvest that will further benefit us. We have entered a new market, a new phase in success, and apparently, some are not happy about it.
Luke tells me that the man has already broken two council laws and while I am alpha, I will have to admit that the law is not my thing. I know what I know, and my beta fills me in as needed. That is how we keep our pack running smoothly, even my gamma has his role, and it's not just making sure the pack is physically and mentally healthy.
When B is sentenced to five days in isolation, I am immediately verbally assaulted by Robin over our mind link. She has warned me that something like this was going to happen, in fact she warned us all. I had to shut her out and have Luke take her away, because the way she was coming at me was breaking my concentration.
Those who are allowed have followed the high alpha to where B will serve out her isolation and I seriously hope that Luke is right. He spends a lot of time with my little sister, and he has given me his word that she is doing the right thing.
I am doing my best to give Luke a play by play, but I lose all focus when I see my little sister being dropped into a fifteen-foot-deep hole like she is worthless. Our pack does not do that; we lower those in with dignity and pull them out with respect. Whatever it is that Alpha Newt has against B is serious, and for her to ignore her submissive nature means that she also feels something is not right.
I have watched my little sister grow, and while she is known to say whatever is on her mind, she has never been as intentionally disrespectful as she is being with the high alpha. I had initially believed that she was trying to get the man to kill her, but Luke tells me that dying is not her ultimate goal, but he didn't rule it out completely, which worries me.
"Now that your sister's disrespect is being handled; let's get to work on my accommodations." I'm shocked by the audacity of Alpha Newt, but I cannot deny him.
"You intend to stay on the pack grounds?" I ask, my eyes unintentionally drifting to where I can hear B groaning in pain. I hope she hasn't broken anything, but as one of the few people to know she is an omega, I'm sure she has.
"Do you think I would trust this pack to see her punishment through? I have heard from some of your own members that none of you have any control over that girl. They say you are always using her mental illness as an excuse for setting fires, running away; it's no wonder she was…" Alpha Newt pauses as if he is choosing his words carefully, but I know he is looking for something more antagonistic. "Used by a rogue," he continues. "Anyway, to my accommodations?"
I am disgusted by the man in front of me. The rumor about B is untrue, but if it were, no man should say such things so casually. It suddenly occurs to me that Jenny, the daughter of the former beta, was right; the werewolf council is corrupt and needs serious reform.