[Avira]
The silence that followed Alpha Demian's declaration had more impact than a bomb blast. For a few minutes, all I heard was the tingling sensation in my ears as Alpha Demian's words refused to sink in, but echoed in my ears instead.
But the warriors were already coming for me, with their clubs, and swords and arrows. The words sank in when they roughly pulled me from the chair, and dragged me to the podium with equal aggressiveness.
"Where is the crown?" Alpha Demian demanded in a voice that was so loud and angry that I flinched but I regained my composure the next instant, and looked him in the eye, an action which even the Beta was forbidden to do.
I was corrected with a strike across the face. The strike was unexpected so that my teeth pressed against my lower lip, and there was a cut. I wiped the blood off my lip with the back of my palm, and willed myself not to cry.
I still did not understand what was going on. Didn't the Beta own up to the fact that he was the rogue Wolf? Why is it just me that was being punished? I asked in my head, looking at Beta Maverick who had gone back to his seat, and was now smiling. His smile deepened when our eyes met, and everything suddenly made sense to me.
Beta Maverick did not own up to the fact that he was the rogue Wolf or that he broke the throne, or that he took Alpha Demian's crown. Instead he had lied that I was guilty of all three offences. I was not being punished alongside the Beta but I was being punished alone, for a crime I knew nothing about, for a crime Beta Maverick committed but I could not dare speak up in defense, not in the presence of the angry-looking Alpha Demian and the pack's warriors who were just as angry.
Alpha Demian was speaking, "You will provide the crown you stole, and you will face the consequences of your actions." He said, and a muffled murmur sounded in the hall. I couldn't see their faces or read their minds but I could tell what was going on in their minds. It was the same thing going on i in mine.
What would the consequences be?
"By the laws of moonfire pack, I condemn you, Avira, ward of Beta Maverick," he paused, and there was total silence. Everyone was waiting for the verdict, and I was not left out. I could not pretend to not care at this point, I could not even stop my heart from thumping heavily on my chest.
"I sentence you to death," Alpha Demian continued, and there was an exclamation of shock from the other members of the pack. My teary eyes searched and found Beta Maverick. His eyes were fixed on Alpha Demian, and his lips were spread in a triumphant smile. He must have noticed my gaze on him because he lowered his eyes just then to look at me. His smile widened when our eyes met and I knew I couldn't let him win, never! I knew that I had to survive this somehow.
But how?
The question lingered in the air above me while I struggled to push back the tears which were struggling to drop from my eyes, and do it without blinking. Beta Maverick's gaze was still locked with mine, and I didn't want him to believe even for a second that he was winning, even though it already seemed like it.
A sudden uproar made by the crowd forced my eyes away from the Beta, and fixed it on the crowd. Alpha Demian had just made a declaration but what he had declared, I had no idea but I knew it was about me, and it cannot be good. I searched for a clue of what he said from the other members of the pack but their terror filled eyes only confirmed that Alpha Demian's declaration was unpleasant but not what he had declared.
"The crown will be restored first," Alpha Demian continued, and I listened with all my senses combined. I could get a clue from his speech. I listened with my ears, my eyes, my skin, and with every fibre of my being. "After which the devouring hunt will begin." Alpha Demian finished and my heart did three beats, all at once.
Devouring hunt!
It was the most traumatic death I knew of, where I would run with the other members of the pack behind me in hot pursuit. Alpha Demian was serious about sentencing me to death, and he wanted it in the most brutal way there was. I thought of outrunning them but there's no way I would survive or escape from being caught and devoured by every member of the pack. I could feel my heart thumping really fast now, and fear crawling into me.
Some of the pack's warriors stepped forward, ready to retrieve the crown. They stepped out of the throne room after bowing to Alpha Demian. Beta Maverick followed them from behind, although he walked at his usual pace, I felt an urgency in him, one brought about by fear. For a moment, I wished I had placed the crown in his bedroom instead but shrugged off the thought when I remembered how futile that would be. Even though I defend myself here and now, and point the Beta out as the rogue Wolf, it will be my word against the Beta's, and no, no one would believe me instead of the Beta, so it was all pointless.
My mind chose that moment to think about the stranger, and even though I knew the spot where he was seated, I didn't dare look in his direction. For reasons I could not tell, I was suddenly bothered about what he thought about me. Did he think I was innocent or guilty? Or is he indifferent to my present situation?
But why do I care?
The sound of whispering filled the room. From between the bars of the cage, I watched them. While some of them spoke with hushed voices, in fear or dread, some were excited, and yet there were others who seemed indifferent to it all. Of course I tactfully avoided looking in the stranger's direction.
Alpha Demian was back on his seat, on the ugly piece of furniture which now replaced the throne, waiting rather impatiently for the warriors to return with the crown.
A sudden shift in the direction of the crowd announced the arrival of the warriors and the Beta. Alpha Demian rose up abruptly from his seat, with a somewhat relieved expression about him at the sight of the crown which was carefully held by Oliver.
With a signal from Alpha Demian, Kyle intersected the warriors, and retrieved the crown from Oliver. He presented the crown to Alpha Demian who had resumed his sitting position, and after turning the crown over to see that everything was still intact. He waved at the stand, and Kyle immediately took the crown to the stand which was empty this whole time.
The warriors were before Alpha Demian now, ready to answer whatever question he had for them or to state what they observed. Beta Maverick was back in his position, far relaxed than he was before he left a few minutes ago.
"Where did you find the crown?" Alpha Demian asked, rising.
"In her bedroom." The loud response sounded all the way from the Beta's corner. Alpha Demian nodded to show that he was not surprised, and neither was I.
I was far too dispirited to feel anything more than I already feel. While my heart thumped loudly in my chest, I focused on one thought only. How to escape.
"Bring the Ashen cage," Alpha Demian ordered, and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. The Ashen hold was an ancient cage owned by the pack, grim looking, just like the message its presence bore. It was where condemned wolves were locked before their punishment which more often than not was death.