Chapter 271: The Trial

The Tribunal chamber had never been this crowded before, for every seat was occupied.

Council members sat in a wide semicircle beneath the enormous silver crest carved into the wall, their robes falling heavily around them. Guards stood along the edges of the chamber, weapons secured at their sides, while several Alphas from different territories across the south, west and North had been permitted to attend as witnesses.

Aurelius stood at the very front, wearing the brown coat of the Argent Tribunal Alpha, the collar sitting high around his neck and the silver insignia of his pack resting against his chest.

He looked nothing like the heir anyone remembered. He was now a ruler.

His expression remained unreadable, his shoulders straight and his presence heavy enough that even the older Council members seemed to think twice before speaking.

Standing by the door were Sylas and Zeke.

People were avoiding them like a plague and using the back door to come in instead.

Good choice.

Theo stood alone in the centre of the chamber, still glaring at the guards who had approached her with chains a minute ago. They didn’t get any closer the moment her mates had almost pulled out their souls with just one glance.

Her red hair fell freely down her back, and then her amber eyes started to move across every person who had gathered to decide what should happen to her.

Then she smiled, and then Sylas closed his eyes for half a second.

"What if she attacks them?" Zeke asked.

"We attack too," Came Sylas’s reply.

"I like that," Zeke grinned.

At the centre of the room, one of the Council members rose.

He was an old man with silver hair and a long white beard, his fingers covered in rings bearing the symbols of various supernatural laws, "The Tribunal is now in session." His voice echoed throughout the chamber as he began speaking, "The subject before us is Theodora—"

"Theo." She cut him off.

The Council member paused, and Theo stared at him, "My name is Theo."

His brows furrowed, "Your full name is—"

"I don’t care."

A few people shifted uncomfortably, and Aurelius lowered his head slightly, hiding what looked suspiciously like the beginning of a smile.

The Council member cleared his throat again and continued, "The subject before us is Theo." He looked down at the documents in front of him, "You were declared dead six months ago during the battle against Cain and his forces. Do you remember?"

"I don’t. I was dead, remember?"

Aurelius’s shoulders shook even more.

"Your soul departed your body." The council member cleared his throat.

Theo’s expression remained blank.

"Then you returned and the veil between the living world and the realm beyond death was closed."

"That, I remember,"

"You say that as though your resurrection is an ordinary occurrence."

"No," Theo replied. "I say it because I was there."

Zeke’s lips twitched.

"Your return has created a legal anomaly." The council member continued.

"That’s a fancy way of saying you don’t know what happened to me."

Silence.

"Am I wrong?" Theo tilted her head.

"No."

"Good."

The Council member’s jaw tightened. The girl was slowly getting on his nerves, "Your soul crossed the boundary between life and death and returned without any known external intervention. The Tribunal’s concern," the Council member continued, "is that something may have crossed back with you."

"What could that be?" She asked.

"Something unknown."

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

"We don’t know."

"Then why am I here?" She demanded.

"Because we cannot allow an unknown entity to exist inside the world without determining whether it poses a threat."

Theo stared at him for several seconds, then she laughed, "That’s it?"

The Council member frowned.

Theo looked around the chamber, across every face of the council, "You made me stand here because you don’t know what happened to me?"

"The situation is more complicated than that."

"No. It isn’t." She took a step forward. "You think something might have come back with me." Another step. "You don’t know what it is." Another. "You don’t know if it exists." Another. "You don’t know if it’s dangerous. And because you don’t know, you want to cut something out of me?"

The Council remained silent.

"That’s your brilliant plan?" Her smile disappeared.

One of the female Council members finally spoke, "If necessary. We would take every precaution needed to make sure that this world is purged of things that are out of our understanding,"

Sylas’s expression immediately darkened, and Zeke’s jaw worked visibly. The room that was already filled with tension became even heavier.

Aurelius didn’t move.

Theo looked directly at the woman and nodded slowly. "Interesting. If that is what you believe, then what happens if you get it wrong?"

The woman didn’t answer immediately.

"Because you seem very comfortable discussing what you’re going to cut out of me." Her voice became quieter. "But what happens if there is nothing there?"

Still silence.

"What happens if you cut something anyway?" Theo’s eyes moved across every face. "What happens if you kill me, or what happens if you cut out the wrong thing?"

That finally caused movement, and a few Council members exchanged uneasy glances.

Then the old Council member spoke again, "The Tribunal does not intend to kill you."

"But you admit it could happen."

"We will take every precaution."

"That’s not an answer."

"It is a possibility." Aurelius finally spoke, and every head turned toward him. "The Council should not pretend otherwise."

The Council member looked at him.

"Under Argent law, no sentence may be carried out without evidence of an actual violation or demonstrable threat." Aurelius stated.

The Council member frowned deeply, "Her resurrection itself is the anomaly."

"An anomaly isn’t a violation, and the law does not punish someone for existing outside its understanding."

Theo stared at him, and something warm moved through her chest.

She didn’t know why.

She simply knew that she trusted him.

One of the older Council members leaned forward, "Alpha Aurelius, your personal relationship with the subject must not interfere with your judgment."

"It won’t." Aurelius said.

"Then you should remain impartial."

"I am." His voice became colder, "And that is precisely why I am telling you that you have no grounds to sever anything from her."

The Council fell silent, and then Theo slowly looked at Sylas.

He was staring at Aurelius now. Zeke too, and he had the faintest smile on his face.

"Then perhaps," Another Council member said, "we should examine the subject directly."

"Examine me?" Theo’s brows lifted.

"Your soul."

"Oh." Theo nodded. "Sure."

"Venom." Sylas called, looking concerned.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Don’t."

"Don’t what?"

"Agree to anything before—"

"Relax." She smiled, "I’ll be fine no matter what,"

Theo turned back toward the Council. "You want to examine me?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

The Council member gestured toward the centre of the chamber, right beside where she was standing, "Step onto the seal."

Theo looked down and saw a huge silver symbol had been carved into the floor beneath her feet. She stared at it for several seconds, then she whispered to her wolf, *Shall we make this interesting?*

*What do you suggest?*

*Make it glow. Rupture. Something. I wanna teach these old people a little lesson,* Theo’s lips twitched.

*Hehe,* Sera grinned back.

Then she stepped onto it. The moment her foot touched the centre, the entire seal lit up. Silver light rushed beneath her feet, and Theo’s hair lifted slightly from the force.

The Council members leaned forward.

The seal was supposed to react to the subject’s soul. Instead, the silver light suddenly turned gold.

Then red.

Then black!

Then silver again.

Sylas immediately stepped forward, about to tell her to step off it when he noticed she wasn’t panicking at all.

She just stood there with her arms crossed.

But the room was already thrown into chaos.

Guards rushed forward, and murmurs broke out from every corner in the room.

"STOP!" Aurelius lifted a hand, and everyone and everything quietened and froze.

The silver markings on the floor suddenly cracked, and a sound like a heartbeat echoed through the chamber.

Thud.

"What is happening?" The Council members stood.

"I don’t know," One of them whispered.

Aurelius moved to get her out of the seal, but the moment his foot touched the seal, the markings exploded with light and a wave of energy threw everyone backwards.

Several Council members fell from their seats, and only three people remained standing.

"Oh my God, everyone, I’m so sorry!" Theo’s voice filled the room looking at them all with practised concern, "My wolf reacted. She doesn’t like it when she gets judged wrongly, or when a seal tries to touch my — our soul."

Theo then glanced at that one council member, then she pouted, "Sorry,"

His eye twitched.

The Council members began whispering among themselves again, and Theo suddenly looked toward them all, "Alright." Her voice was calm.

Too calm.

The whispers stopped again.

"I’ve been patient." She continued.

Sylas closed his eyes, and Zeke whispered, "Oh, shit."

Theo stepped off the cracked seal and walked toward the Council. "You’ve asked your questions, and you’ve tried your little test." Her eyes darkened, "And now you’re going to listen to me."

One of the Council members rose, "Theo, you are not in a position to—"

"Actually, I am." She smiled, and then she crossed her arms again, "I could reopen the veil."

Every person in the chamber froze.

Sylas’s eyes widened, and Zeke’s face drained of colour. Aurelius went completely still.

"You want to know what happened to my soul?" Theo continued, "Then maybe instead of thanking those who stopped the calamity, we should open the veil and ask."

"Are you... threatening us?" One asked.

"If the shoe fits," She replied, "And if you keep testing me, I will. I may not have my memories, but if my instincts are correct...Cain did a lot of heinous things. How come he was never demanded a trial? And then I...who saved your asses..." She laughed again, "Is it because I’m a woman?"

The silence this time was longer.

"It’s not—"

"So here’s what we’re going to do." She cut them off, and nobody interrupted. "You can continue this trial. You can ask your questions. You can examine me. You can investigate whatever you want... but if any of you tries to sever something from me without knowing exactly what you’re doing..."

The chamber went completely silent.

"I will reopen the veil, and then maybe you can gather all the demons here and judge them instead. Let’s see how you like that,"

"This right here." Zeke shook his head with a proud look on his face, "This right here is why I fell for her,"

Then, Aurelius finally broke the silence, "With this, I believe the trial has come to an end!"

Several Council members immediately protested. "You cannot simply—"

"I can." He turned toward them. "You wanted a trial, and you conducted it. You wanted evidence and you got none. So unless someone here can provide actual evidence that Theo is a threat to the werewolf world, this proceeding ends now."

Nobody spoke.

"And if anyone still believes she should be punished simply because you are afraid of what you don’t understand..." His voice became dangerously quiet, "Then bring your argument before me."

The Council members remained silent.

Aurelius turned to Theo and gave her the smallest nod that everything was fine now, and she mouthed a ’Thank you’ to him.

Then, Theo looked at the council members again and stuck out her tongue at all of them. Once she had had her fill, she turned back to her mates and started walking toward them.

Nobody stopped her.

Meanwhile, Aurelius was staring at the seal.

He genuinely thought it was going to react to Theo.

’I dream of fire. Every night. It’s always the same with someone standing in it, and I can’t tell if I want to save them or burn with them,’

He’d genuinely thought his dream was about Theo. He thought something would happen today. Something that would point at it.

It didn’t.

What if he was wrong?

What if his dreams weren’t about Theo?

What if...it was about another girl? But he wasn’t close to another girl—

Wait...Celeste?!