by Joe Fowler
“Wonderful. I’m glad you are happy about it.” Alicia said.
“Your new nickname is ‘little mama’. It’s a perfect fit.” Jimmy said with a smile. This time Jimmy actually came up with something I kind of liked.
“Have you guys started thinking of names yet?” Mom asked.
“Sort of. We know if it is a boy, we are going to call him Austin.” Everyone cheered at that announcement. I waited until they calmed back down before continuing. “We are still trying to decide between Seth and Carl to go along with Austin.”
Everyone grew a little sad at the memory of their fallen brother. Carl was a great man and second in command of Seth’s pack until he died helping to stop my demon father. It was Seth who helped decide it for us.
“Carl. There couldn’t be a better way to remember two of our friends. Carl Austin or Austin Carl? Either way, that’s what it should be.” The packs gave their agreement. Some even wiped away a tear or two.
“For some reason I am sure it will be a boy. I don’t know why, but in my mind, I only see the baby as a boy.” Alicia said.
“Wow, just think of it. Pureblood and demon blood. This baby could one day be more powerful than you two. I know I will be wanting to be called Aunt Rosalyn. Maybe that will help me be safe from him.” Rosalyn said to heartfelt laughter.
“I was worried about the demon blood thing. Seth said something that helped me though. He reminded me that the baby will be born with the wolf spirit. That inherent nobility will override any evil the demon blood could cause.” I told everyone. They seemed to agree. It still nagged in the back of my mind though. I was distracted by Cynthia. To everyone but me and Austin, she appeared to be holding her arm out and moving it back and forth slowly. Austin and I could see Mom with Cynthia’s hand coming out of her chest. “Um, Cynthia, I never thought I would say this but could you please get your hand out of my mother?”
“Sorry. You know how much I am fascinated by ghosts. Austin is probably ready to kill me by now. I’ve been bugging him constantly.” Cynthia confessed.
“Haven’t you told her how boring this is?” Mom asked Austin.
“I told her several times. There’s nothing all that interesting about us. We don’t cause the cold spots and can’t move things around. We only watch. That’s it. If it weren’t for Gabriel, you guys wouldn’t be seeing or hearing me either.” Austin said.
“Well, y’all still fascinate me.” Cynthia persisted.
“Who is this Gabriel?” Mom asked.
“It is hard to explain and I’m not sure he would want me to. He is someone special but everyone can’t know about him.” Was all I was willing to say.
“So, he is like that Keith boy was? Great! Another mystery.” Jimmy said grumpily. Seth and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Haha, Jimmy. I know who he is AND I know about Keith now.” Alicia said and stuck her tongue out at Jimmy. She was doing it to tease Jimmy but ended up with Seth’s entire pack asking for answers. They began pressing forward hoping to finally solve the Keith mystery. Alicia looked at them approaching and began to get worried.
“She really shouldn’t tell you guys anything. As a matter of fact, once this trial is over and we all head home, she probably won’t remember anymore anyway. Neither would any of you. Give it a rest everyone.” Seth told them in his alpha tone.
They weren’t happy about it but they backed off. Everyone started splintering off in groups. Some were talking of Walt’s animal choice, some discussing the idea of a pureblood with demon blood, and some talking about Game of Thrones. I shook my head and smiled. I loved these people.
Chapter 20
“We have shown that Mr. Thorne killed Tim Robbins openly and maliciously. Mr. Thorne even admits to the killing. No one man can be the judge, jury, and executioner. That may be the way the wolves have acted for centuries but not anymore. We have courts and laws that handle criminals. Everyone deserves their right to a fair trial. Josh Thorne denied that right to Tim Robbins…” The D.A. was giving his closing arguments. I sat straight and looked unaffected like my lawyer told me to do.
The judge ordered a recess for lunch before my lawyer would get his turn. Our packs went to a local buffet and paid twice the going rate to help offset the amount of food we were going to eat. The manager assured us we didn’t need to. By the end of our meal he looked like he should have demanded triple.
Everyone filed back into the courtroom and began to take their seats. We all stood as the judge entered the room. Just as we were allowed to sit back down, there was a splintering crash at the back of the room. I turned to see a man enter through where the doors had stood. They had been pulverized by the force of his entry. I felt the evil coming from the man and knew at once that he was a demon. Not a possessed human, a full demon who had been summoned from hell. He looked pissed.
“Josh Thorne!” He shouted and looked at me. “It’s time for you to die. You have stopped us for the last time.”
Our packs began to turn into their wolf form to attack but both Seth and I used our authority over them to order them back. They couldn’t disobey an order from their alpha. They also wouldn’t stand a chance against a full demon.
I turned into my wolf form briefly regretting the loss of my new suit. I moved to face the demon and saw Seth changing form as well.
“Hold back unless I can’t handle him alone, Seth. Protect everyone else.” I instructed him. I went to meet this new threat.
The demon rushed me at great speed. I met him head on and was glad to see I would be the stronger one in this fight. I knocked the demon to the floor and moved in but he kicked his legs out catching me on the side of my knee. As he rose, so did I. We made a few passing attacks at each other getting the feel of our opponent. He fainted a left punch but I saw the right coming and ducked it giving him a left hook to the head sending him flying into the back wall of the courtroom.
All of the humans were cowering against the walls staring in shock at what was happening right in front of them. The cameramen were so well trained they kept rolling and didn’t miss any of the action regardless of the danger this posed to them. I bet the stations broadcasting the trial would have better ratings after today.
“Who are you?” I asked. The humans who had been scared before were all but screaming at the sound of my absurdly creepy voice.
“You’ll know my name when I send you to hell.” The demon grabbed a bench and threw it at me as he spoke. I calmly struck the bench causing it to fly into a thousand pieces. After fight Seth for three and a half hour, this would be a cakewalk.
“So much for conversation.” I said in a really creepily teasing manner.
He charged me in a rage. I avoided him at the last second and grabbed him around the neck as he went by.
“Any final words?” I asked.
“Fuck you!” The demon snarled.
“Those weak of stomach should close your eyes now.” I looked around the room seeing some of them following my suggestion. I grabbed his head with my other hand and ripped the demon’s head off. I stood there looking down at the dead demon.
“Who the hell was that?” The judge asked in a roar.
“He was a demon.” I answered calmly. Even calmly my voice was too creepy for most of the people in the room. “Crystal and Sarah, could you go to the car and get me some clothes out of the trunk? Bring Seth something as well.”
“So that was one of the possessed people you help?” The D.A. asked.
“Nope. That was a full demon. He was summoned. The demons who are possessing a person are very weak from the strain. This demon was summoned to kill me.” I thought about it for a second before I asked. “You guys aren’t going to charge me for this one too are you? I can’t take another one of these trials.”
Chapter 21
We were back on the porch drinking and laughing. The judge decided to put off the defense’s closing statements until tomorrow morning. I thought it was a wise choice even though it meant an extra day in
court.
“I think some of those people were more scared of your voice than they were the demon.” Jimmy said and chuckled.
“I agree. I always thought that voice was funny.” Sarah said with a smile.
The television wasn’t playing much else. They played the video of the fight over and over and brought in more and more people to discuss what the existence of demons meant. One of the guys they spoke too said it best with ‘Well, I think it means that there is a God and a hell too don’t you think?’
“I can’t call that voice funny. I still get creeped out by it and I’m a vampire ghost.” Austin admitted, causing some of the pack to crack up.
“I wonder why they would send a demon who wasn’t more powerful. He didn’t seem to be as strong as your father was and they must have known I would be there too. That’s what doesn’t make any sense to me.” Seth stated in a serious tone. “I am getting worried they were setting something up.”
“I hope not. All we can do is take them as they come though. If they try something else, we will find a way to stop it.” I said trying to stay positive.
“I hope they see they can’t win now.” Alicia came and sat in my lap. “We need a vacation. Maybe this time we could see more of Australia. The airport was nice.”
“I can’t believe I finally got to go there and I didn’t even get to leave the airport. I’ve wanted to go to Australia for years.” Anna said.
“We’ll go soon then, I promise.” Seth assured her.
“I just hope I’m not in prison. This whole trial has been a really bad joke. Even worse than one of Jimmy’s wisecracks.” I said getting a big smile from Jimmy.
“Honestly, I think today helped. The jury saw something that humans are not ready to see. They will understand why we acted without going to any authorities. At least that’s my take on it.” Seth stated.
“I hope you’re right.” I muttered.
We spent the rest of the day drinking and having fun. Most of the wolves went on runs while Seth and I sat on the porch guarding, I mean drinking the beer.
Maybe tomorrow would only be a half day anyway. The D.A. was through. All we needed now was our closing statement and the jury deliberation.
I started thinking of home and even looked forward to the simple things like cutting the grass. Alicia could relax. The girls didn’t seem to mind being here with everyone but I was fairly sure they would be happier at home.
Walt would be coming with us when we made the trip. I wondered how well he would fit in with our group dynamic. He had only shown happiness and eagerness about his upcoming change. I hoped his turning would go smoothly.
“Jonathan was oddly the one I think wanted this to last. He and Jimmy were becoming great friends and it seemed he would regret this trial farce coming to an end. Jimmy’s endless tales of fights and his merciless barrage of bad jokes found an accommodating ear.
Roselyn finally stirred when the sun went down. We filled her in on the day’s exciting court appearance. She sounded intrigued but didn’t seem too worried.
“They must be stupid to attack you when Seth was there too. Even if the demon could beat one of you, there’s no way in hell he could have beaten you both.” Rosalyn stated firmly. Her faith in us was pretty strong.
“I was thinking it might be a precursor to something they have planned. I just can’t figure out why they would allow one of their own to be killed so easily.” Seth said.
“I’m not going to worry about it anymore. I’m gonna sit here and drink beer until it is time for sleep.” I meant it too.
“Can’t argue with that!” Seth did a mock salute with his beer and drank it down. Rosalyn and I did the same.
We arrived to cheers the next morning at the courthouse. The protesters were gone. Only my supporters remained. The cameras and reporters were going full blast as soon as we approached the building. Our security detail was having trouble holding back the crowd. I was happy to finally make it inside.
Once the judge arrived, he hurriedly told my lawyer to begin our closing arguments. The judge looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
“My client has been very accommodating and patient throughout this process. We humans have only recently found out about the supernatural parts of this world. I don’t think any of us will ever forget what happened here yesterday. We witnessed something long hidden from us. Josh Thorne and Seth De Groot, as well as many other alphas, have to deal with things we couldn’t face. We all saw the calmness with which Josh handled the attack of the demon. What must he have seen and witnessed in his life before now to be so calm in the face of such danger? If we are lucky, we will never know.
“Three werewolves accused Josh Thorne of murder. Human laws aren’t made to accommodate the ways of werewolves. That fact is becoming more and more plain. How many lives have been saved by Josh? How many vampires would still be killing humans if Josh had not helped to protect us? I think all of you need to remember that first night when vampires announced themselves. The first evidence of the supernatural was of a warehouse security camera where Josh and Austin were killing the vampires who caused all of the trouble in the first place. They were trying to stop the vampires from announcing themselves. They understood what would happen to humans.
“Now we are placing this hero on trial for doing the very same thing. Josh Thorne killed Tim Robbins to protect not only his pack, but humans like you and me. How could we have stopped Mr. Robbins if he attacked us instead of Josh’s pack? We couldn’t. Could we have arrested Mr. Robbins for his crimes? No. Think about that for a minute. Cops and soldiers would have died trying to capture Tim Robbins in addition to the number of humans he would have killed beforehand. Josh Thorne allowed himself to be arrested because he wanted to show the world that werewolves were honorable. He trusted us to do the right thing.
“Before this trial only a handful of humans ever knew about rogue werewolves. Seth alerted the President about them during the first meeting he had with the President and members of the President’s council. Seth warned the council of wolves just like Tim Robbins. We presented testimony from alpha werewolves from all over the country. These alphas told of the same traits that Seth did. We brought in locals who experienced those traits themselves. Intimidation, harassment, and disregard for humans and our laws. We have shown in a clear manner that this Tim Robbins was indeed a rogue wolf.
“As testified by all the alphas, including Seth and Josh, rogues have been a problem the werewolves have been dealing with for thousands of years. You see, we didn’t know about them then but they were still protecting us from the things we were helpless against. Josh’s own words were ‘I have a responsibility as an alpha to protect all those who are weaker than I am.’”
My lawyer had been pacing around the floor but making sure to make eye contact on all of his important points. He paused after repeating my words. He wanted the jury to let those words sink in.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are not equipped to deal with the things men like Seth and Josh protect us from. We do not have the knowledge and experience to judge their actions in a case like this. We just aren’t aware of how much has gone on behind our backs since the beginning of our time here on earth. No one can question the nobility of the werewolves. They saved us. What right do we have to try and reprimand a hero who was acting on our behalf when he committed the so called crime we have him on trial for?
“Yesterday’s attack here in this courtroom should be all the evidence I need to give to prove Josh Thorne’s innocence. He did something we could not. He killed an evil being who would do humans harm. There shouldn’t be any other words needed.
“The defense rests.”
My lawyer took a seat. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up that no one else could see. The judge gave the jury their instructions and court was adjourned.
Chapter 22
“I think my lawyer did pretty well.” I said for idle conversation. Anna and Alicia were cooking. The rest of our pac
ks were out in the woods. We had given up on the two house thing once the fight between Seth and I was over with. We were one big happy group now. The trial ending soon would insure we stayed happy.
“It was a decent speech. It depends on the jury now. Did he give you any idea how long the jury might be?” Seth asked.
“He said it could be tomorrow or two weeks. He wanted me to try to relax and not worry about it. He seemed really confident we were going to win.” I hoped he was right.
“He should have an idea. The President said he was one of the best in the country. I don’t think he likes you poking fun at his name though.”
“John Smith? I bet he has checked into more motels than anyone else, ever.” I said chuckling at my joke.
“I almost don’t want to go home now.” Seth admitted. He saw my reaction and continued. “These last few days since the fight have been what I dream of. You know how I feel about my pack and it still boggles my mind that Alicia isn’t an official part of my pack anymore. You guys are as much my family as my own pack anyway. We’re all here together and having fun. Drinking beer. What could be better?”
“From that viewpoint, you’re right. I would rather we be in Chattanooga or Mobile though. I am glad Rosalyn has hung around too. I expected her to leave after the witch thing was over but she seems happy here. I know it is mostly because of Austin.”
“I hope it doesn’t hurt her too bad when she has to say goodbye to him again. That’s been worrying me.” Seth said.
“It was bothering me but I really think this has done her a lot more good than harm. She is past her anger stage now. Maybe she can finally move on.”
“I hope you’re right. Maybe you should invite her to come stay with you guys for a while.” Seth suggested.
“I was already planning on it. I think she wants to make sure Walt will be ok before she leaves. She might not admit it but I think she has feelings for him. Maybe since he actually came through for us when we needed him, she can see him as more than comedy relief.” I said more out of hope than belief.