Page 86 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

“I had nothing to do with your parents’ deaths, Kane, and I’m offended that you’ve dragged me here for this farce of a trial.”

Kane nodded tightly, but I stepped forward, getting between them. “You will address the high alpha with the respect due his position, or I’ll see you muzzled,” I snarled, lifting a wicked-looking muzzle from the storage compartment under the chair.

Varga scoffed, but he couldn’t hide the way his face paled at the sight of the ball gag and the heavy leather strap that would buckle behind his head to keep it in place. The worst part was the muzzle cage that went over it in case he shifted, with spikes to hold it into his flesh in case the wolf was able to snap the leather straps.

When he held his silence, I resumed my position behind Kane but didn’t put the muzzle away. Let it remind him to think about his words more carefully as it dangled from my fingertips.

“The simplest solution in matters like these is to read the pack bond to determine innocence or guilt. But Alpha Varga has not yet made his pledge to me, and therefore, I do not have that pack bond in place. Alpha, are you willing to bend the knee and pledge your loyalty so that I might more easily read your intent and put this matter to rest?”

“Absolutely not.” He spat, a fat glob of spittle landing a few feet in front of him with a wet slap on the wood. I shifted on my feet, but Kane’s stance was calm. He was high alpha now, but Kane was clearly up to something. Even though I knew it, I had to grit my teeth as Varga carried on, growing louder the longer he slathered like a rabid dog. “I willneverpledge my pack’s loyalty to myfalseaccuser. You have no proof that I was involved in their murder!”

“I suspected that would be your stance, even though that alone is sufficient in a tribunal to presume guilt.” Kane turned toward the gathered crowd, his gaze passing over them to make them all feel included, a masterful speaker even with the weight on his shoulders. “You’ve all witnessed his refusal toallow me to interrogate him through the pack bonds. So let it be,” he said, using the formal finish required for the tribunal.

“As the second step of this tribunal, I will provide evidence that our claim is, in fact, not false,” Kane said, stepping toward the front of the stage, holding the crowd’s attention in the palm of his hand.

“My investigation into my parents’ murder uncovered several things. One, no physical wounds were found. Two, poison was suspected, but no known poisons were found at the scene of either death nor in their blood work. Three, a Drakenia guild assassin made an attempt on my mate’s life shortly after our bonding ceremony. He was unsuccessful in his attempt.” He lifted a hand toward Brielle, who sat straight-backed in the front row.

“In his possession we found a myriad of substances. After lab analyses, those were identified to be not traditional poisons, but deadly combinations of prescription narcotics combined with strong plant-based sedatives.”

He paused, letting that information sink in before he continued.

“Upon a second round of blood tests being run, we confirmed that substances in that assassin’s possessionwerepresent in Mihaela’s bloodstream, in a high enough dosage to be deadly and to take my father with her to the afterlife through their mate bond.”

An unsettled murmur rose from the crowd, but Kane lifted both hands in a silencing gesture, and they settled down fairly quickly.

“We then discovered a vial in the room next to hers. It matched the style and size of the vials found in the assassin’s possession and contained trace amounts of the same drug combination, which was been confirmed by two independent labs.” At that point, he stopped and lifted the vial in questionhigh over his head so that all could see it in its plastic laboratory bag.

“That still doesn’t prove that I had shit to do with it. Our packs have been allies for years, and your ignorance of that fact proves that you are too young and hotheaded to serve as high alpha.” Varga lunged forward in his restraints, unable to stop the howl of pain at the silver burning his wrists and ankles this time.

“Do you want me to muzzle him?” I asked Kane, keeping my voice flat even though I wanted to snarl.

“No, let’s let him incriminate himself so there are no doubts,” he murmured quietly enough that no one but I could hear him.

Ahh.Interesting.

“I thought you might claim plausible deniability, which is why I call forward a witness to this tribunal, Rudi of the Hungarian pack.” He gestured toward the woods, and Reed stepped out with a wolf I’d never seen before at his side. Reed had his arm around the shoulders of the other male, who appeared to be shaking like a leaf.

Thiswas the guy who was going to take out Varga? He was skinny as a twig, which I could tell even under the fleece-trimmed leather coat he wore. He had big, boxy glasses, a complexion that hadn’t seen sun in years, and by the scent of him, he was low in the pack ranking. Was he suicidal?

I cast a skeptical glance at Reed, but he shot me a grin and adjusted his cuff links as he strode past. So, he was nervous, but not about the guy’s credentials.

I guess we’ll see soon enough.I let myself check on Leigh as the Hungarian wolf passed, and found her looking a little peaked as she watched. Was she sick again, or uncomfortable watching the proceedings? I wished we had our mental connection, so I could ask her. It would be handy in times like this, even if she was shutting me out, to get a feel of her emotions.There was only so much you could hide with a mate bond, and I couldn’t wait.

Leigh was an enigma at times, and I was starting to realize that her talking was more of a shield than I’d known at first. She said a lot of words, but behind all those words, she kept a lot hidden. I wanted to know every inch of her, inside and out, so she had nothing left to hide from me.

“Thank you for being here, Rudi. I understand that this was a very brave and dangerous decision for you to go against your own Alpha to testify.”

“You sniveling, inbred traitor! I’ll see your family thrown into the streets for this! You’re a disgrace to the Hungarian pack—” Varga snatched violently at his restraints, eyes glowing and canines lengthening as he threatened his trembling pack mate. Kane gestured toward him with two fingers, and I strode forward to shove the rubber gag into his mouth.

“That’s about enough of that, I think,” I said, baring my own fangs at him. His wolf was too furious to be cowed, even though mine was certain we had the upper hand in dominance. There was a sort of sick satisfaction in fastening the leather straps behind his head as he fought uselessly. This was the man who’d killed my best friend’s parents, and I had no scrap of mercy in my heart for someone who took the coward’s way out.

He continued to thrash as I stepped back, satisfied he wasn’t spewing any more venom tonight.

That’s right, fucker. Bite it all you want; you’re not getting out of this.

I resumed my position at Kane’s shoulder and noted that he’d dropped a comforting hand on Rudi’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry about that, Rudi. Something about you being here seems to have triggered him. I’m guessing it’s because he won’t be pleased by what you have to say?” Kane asked, keeping his tone gentle and his dominance tightly under wraps for the weaker wolf.

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