Soul Lines (Completed)

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One
Elle's POV

Kendra and I reached for each other as they dragged the crumbled bodies of my parents away. The chains clawed at my wrists, but I needed Kendra to share her strength at that moment because mine had faded. I felt as though my world was collapsing in on me, and the falling pieces had narrowly missed vital organs, leaving me open and wounded, just waiting for the next pillar to fall and take me with it.

When the floor was cleared of bodies, the pack shifted, moving around us so that we were now the centre of their circle. The attention of their eyes cast a cold draft across the room, and a shiver danced across my neck.

The Beta walked around the circle twice before he turned inwards, standing regally in the face of pressure. 'Elliot Clarke, the persecution of your parents has brought forward questions of your innocence. You will now face trial for aiding and abetting the torturous actions of your parents. The maximum penalty for such a crime is execution, following the pack law of the Umbra pack. As the Alpha Regency, I condemn you to such a trial.'

'What!'

'No!' Kendra's hand ripped from mine, and her chains clattered. 'This isn't fair. Elliot hasn't done anything! This isn't fair!'

Her words were not heard, and the Beta plucked a familiar yellow manila folder from within the folds of his robe. It was Tim's folder, with images used to convince me of my parents' deceit, and he displayed those images to the pack as his primary argument. He paraded image after image of my parents and me in the airport, spinning an elaborate lie that deeply embedded my parents into my life so that the pack members couldn't believe any other truth.

I was allowed to defend myself, but all I could think was, 'they're taken out of context!' the words were weakened by the desperation that coated them, and they fell on deaf ears. My guilt had already been decided. My trial was just a show for the legality of it all and to lessen the remorse of those who took part in what was to come.

My defence was followed by an inspiring speech from the Beta, who captured their audience with pretty words and reminders of loyalty. 'Their treachery cannot be allowed to enter the walls of our solidarity, for their sins will tarnish our pack.'

He continued, but I'd noticed something that I hadn't before.

There had been seven doses of poison but only five hunters. The lethal syrup was strong enough to kill even werewolves and was expensive and hard to make. They wouldn't risk supplying us with more than they needed.

My blood turned cold, and I couldn't detach my eyes from the tray.

Two more vials rolled freely as the pack roared in response to the Beta's speech, promising what was to come.

Our fates weren't to be decided by this trial, but rather, it was just another show of legality. Our deaths weren't dependent on the trial's outcome. Instead, the trial was fabricated to ensure our deaths.

I was guilty of a falsified crime, which they had decided upon long before they dragged me into the room. But it wasn't me I was scared for. That second vial meant that Kendra's life was to be toiled with. Her life was written within the vial, ready for the Beta to declare her false crime.

I clutched her hand tightly because she was even less guilty than I was, and the innocent did not deserve to perish at the hand of evil. I held guilt in my heart because I should have known. I hadn't been entirely removed from the situation, and moments of confusion were now clarified as pieces of a bigger puzzle fell into place. I may have been at fault for not realising sooner, but Kendra had done no wrong.

The woman in red seemed disarmed by the twist in events, but as the Beta declared my guilt, she approached with caution, and I felt the grit of the ash as she dragged it across my skin. She retreated, slowly reloading the syringe with poison as though she waited for the Beta to change his mind.