A Gift from the Goddess
Chapter 6

“Ariadne stands accused of murdering the named Alpha heir by use of poisonous herbs,” Alericcontinued. “In doing so, she also endangered the life of one of our fellow pack members, TheaWoods. The trial today will look at the evidence to determine whether she is guilty of these crimes.”

A cold sweat formed at the back of my neck as I discreetly scanned my eyes around, trying to see ifI could spot Sophie. But I couldn't replace her familiar face anywhere. It made me more nervous asevery second ticked by.

“Do you swear on the Goddess’ name, Ariadne, that you will tell the whole truth during this trial?”Aleric asked, bringing my attention back to him.

I met his piercing green eyes, a shiver going down my spine. How those eyes haunted me.

“I do,” I replied loudly and confidently.

“And how do you plead?”

I held my breath, my heart racing in my chest.

“Not guilty.”

A murmur went through the pack in hushed voices but I ignored it. Surely, they hadn't actuallyexpected me to admit guilt to such a heinous act?

“Very well,” Aleric replied. "We'll start by hearing the witness testimonies of those involved and anyother supporting evidence. Once done, the ranked members, elders, and I will then vote, and yoursentence will be set.”

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling so dry.

...And, with that, the trial began.

The trial started with the pack doctor, being called forth first to give a medical opinion andoverview of his involvement. I didn't know the doctor well, having only met him once the previouspack doctor passed away; my mother.

“The herb in question is Mortwert,” Doctor Andrews started. “I believe Thea must have been givingthis via means of ingestion. She lost the baby at three months but, given her bad fortitude, herhealth was also a concern. I did several tests and discovered she had ingested twice the requireddosage amount needed to induce a miscarriage. Thea was presented to the pack hospital in criticalcondition. Her blood pressure had dropped to an alarming rate and she was struggling to breathe.It took one day before she was stabilised, and several days after she remained bedridden before Iallowed her to be discharged from the hospital. The evidence found inside Miss Chrysalis’ room wasbrought to me in order to confirm its identity. I inspected the herbs and can confirm that it was, infact, the same herb that Thea ingested.”

Another murmur went through the crowd as they heard the Doctor's testimony. I gritted my teethagainst their voices. How quickly they were ready to kill me from just one testimony.

But, in the end, it wasn't just one testimony. Several came forward to discuss the evidence found

The warrior who had found the evidence was called upon next to recount his steps during thesearch of my quarters.

“I found the herbs the doctor mentioned under Miss Chrysalis’ bed. They were well hidden and Ibelieve had been placed in order to conceal their location. There was also a letter obtained from herbed. It was addressed to her father, former Beta Jarred Chrysalis. I believe this shows her truecharacter, someone who would sympathise with a criminal that attempted to murder the Alpha.”

But unfortunately, the testimony didnt stop there.

To my dismay, he proceeded to read aloud the contents of the letter to the whole crowd, causingeveryone present to begin chattering once more.

“Silence!” yelled Aleric to them all, instantly making them quieten down. He then turned to me. “Isthis your handwriting, Ariadne?”

1 bit the inside of my cheek. He would know if I was lying as he had seen my handwriting manytimes before.

“Yes,” I begrudgingly admitted.

It was humiliating to have something so personal read out to the pack. A letter where I expressedmy love and admiration for a man who I'd believed to be disappointed by me my entire life.

The warrior continued with his recount. “In addition to the items recovered, we also found theformer Luna by the door as we entered. She was in possession of a backpack with supplies andclothing. It is believed she had intended to run away that night. We also have several eyewitnesseswho can attest to her admitting to trying to run when we took her into custody.”

“Thank you, Jonathan,” Aleric said, gesturing for him to step down. “We'll hear from Brayden now,our Gamma.”

Brayden took to the podium next, his face stern. I knew whatever he was going to say about mewouldn't be positive.

“The morning that Thea's pregnancy was announced, there was an incident inside the packhousethat several members witnessed. It was between Thea and the former Luna. I believe theconversation went that Thea was requesting forgiveness. However, the former Luna wasunnecessarily cruel to her, saying horrible things. I witnessed Thea being so overwhelmed that herlegs gave out. I believe this may have been a deliberate attempt to put stress on Thea and the baby,an act motivated by jealousy.”

My mouth hung open. I couldn't believe they'd actually brought that conversation into evidence.Did no one care to see things from perspective? I would like to see them act so calm when theirmates impregnated other women. I was certain most of them would have ripped their throats outwithout hesitation, yet I was being chastised for only speaking to her harshly.

It was true though, I couldn't deny what he was saying. I was angry and jealous of her. Whowouldn’t be in my shoes? But to kill her child was unthinkable, an abomination. His testimony waspainting me in a horrible light, fuelling the hostility in the air against me.

“Thank you, Gamma,” Aleric said. “Now we have one final testimony for you all today, one I believewill determine the fate of this trial. Everyone, this is Sophie Forrester, Ariadne’s main attendant.”

I felt numb all over, my breath catching in my throat. They had Sophie. She was here and she wouldclear me. She knew me better than anyone else.

Sophie walked up to the podium and looked physically fine, healthy even. I was glad to see theyhad been keeping her safe during the time leading up to trial. I was worried they had roughed herup or treated her harshly for her part in helping me.

However, whilst she did appear fine, I did notice how she looked nervous. Her hands were balled,her face showing a slight furrow. Something that made me wonder if they'd been pressuring her toconvict me during this witch hunt for my head.

“I am Sophie Forrester. I have been Ariadne’s attendant for five years now,” she started, her voiceshaking a little. “Over these years, I believed Aria to be a sweet girl who had only been dealtmisfortune in her life, making it easy for me to treat her as I would my own daughter. I was the onewho personally cared for her and consoled her through the many difficult times she faced as ourLuna. So, I can confirm that I know her better than anyone else.”

I smiled at her, hoping to catch her eyes, but she wouldn't look at me.

“Therefore,” she continued, “it is with a heavy heart that I stand before everyone today, bound bymy oath to the Goddess, to inform you all of the atrocity she had me perform whilst under hercommand.”

My smile faltered and fell quickly. No, this wasn't right. Something was wrong. Atrocities? I'd nevercommitted anything of the sort. How could she say something like that? She knew I was with her allweek, knew how upset I was.

I felt sick watching Sophie stand at the podium, refusing to meet my eyes as a feeling of impendingdoom washed over me. It was clogging my thoughts, nothing was making sense. All I could hearwas my short breaths of fear over the loud beating of my heart.

“An atrocity where Ariadne, the former Luna, ordered me to present Miss Thea Woods a herbal tea.A tea I believe caused her miscarriage.”