Chapter 224: Stand Trial I
"He can stand trial!" I excitedly said, only to be shushed by Damon and Blaise.
My eyes widened and instinctively, I slapped my hand over my lips. Thankfully, it seemed like all the other leaders were still engrossed with Alpha Burke and Alpha Thorton’s argument, completely enraptured without any attention to spare us. Even the oracles had their eyes on them, though their expressions remained impassive.
"He can’t," Damon said. "That stickman just recovered. How is he supposed to come all the way? Do you actually want him to die on the journey?"
I rolled my eyes. "You have a working phone, Damon," I said. "Video call is an option, if not a simple voice call."
"The connection here is shaky..." Blaise trailed off, staring at the bars on his phone screen. As if to prove his point, the connection on his phone went from three bars to none at all, then up to two bars again, all in the span of three seconds. "It might not be able to sustain a call. Not long enough to testify, at least."
Well, that meant our plan was down the drain.
If Darach wasn’t able to stand against his father here in front of the other leaders, Alpha Thorton would surely come up with more ways to pin the blame on Damon. Even though we had the crowd swayed to our side now, I didn’t dare to let my guard down when it came to the sleazy leader of Thunderstrike. He resembled a fox more than a wolf.
"Perhaps..." I trailed off, looking up. At the same time, one of the oracles turned her head to look in our direction as if she knew my gaze was on her. I stared straight at her, pursing my lips.
I didn’t know if this was going to work. Could the oracle understand what I was thinking about with just one look? Clearly, they had supernatural abilities beyond that of mere werewolves. They had the ability to speak directly into my mind― how difficult could reading my thoughts be, in that case?
Sure enough, just as I guessed, she stepped forward and left the rest of her sisters. In her hand was a bowl, and she crossed the distance between us in a matter of seconds. In the background, Alpha Thorton and Alpha Burke’s conversation had also hastily halted, their eyes fixated on us. From my peripheral vision, I could see Alpha Thorton’s lips curdle as he watched the oracle’s actions.
"Is there a way to let Darach Elrod testify?" I asked once the oracle was close enough to hear my normal speaking voice.
She nodded. With her confirmation, I excitedly looked at Damon and Blaise. The boys wore matching expressions of surprise as they shared a glance with one another.
"How?" I asked.
The oracle placed the bowl down on the desk in front of us. She gestured to it and I peered in, confused. There was still some moonwater left in it, but I didn’t see any images projected into it. Thankfully, she didn’t leave me guessing for long. I heard her voice again, echoing in my ear, causing me to wince.
’Have the boy stand in front of a basin of water where the moonlight can reach it,’ she instructed. Her voice sounded like an endless echo chamber, ringing in my ears even long after she had finished her sentence. ’His image will be projected in real-time.’
I weakly nodded, pulling my phone back out and swiping across the screen to get to Nicole’s chat. Quickly, I typed in the Oracle’s instructions, sending it to Nicole once I was done. I wanted, to watch with bated breaths as the message took a longer time than usual to send.
Thankfully, I received a reply soon enough.
’On it.’
Two simple words yet they were enough to have my stomach rolling in excitement. I lifted my gaze just in time to meet with Alpha Thorton’s. It was horribly impulsive of me but I couldn’t keep the smile from slipping onto my face.
"Darach Elrod sends word," I said after clearing my throat.
Sharing a look with the oracle, I watched as the surface of the moonwater rippled. She picked the bowl up and made her way back to the others, pouring the liquid into the silver bowl right as she returned. The liquid looked like a trail of semi-translucent milk, shimmering as it fell into the silver bowl, mixing with the rest of the contents inside.
The crowd around us burst into murmurs. I could see Alpha Thorton’s face pale. Dahlia even reached out to grab her father’s sleeve, tugging at it and saying something under her breath. Alpha Thorton merely hushed her and said nothing more. His lips were pursed as he stared at the swirling moonwater.
"It seems like judgment is upon us," Alpha Burke said a little too gleefully. He laughed, leaning back against his seat as he rested his chin against the back of his hand, his elbow set upon the armrest. "Any last words, Alpha Thorton? You may still admit to your wrongdoings gracefully, rather than embarrass yourself in public when your son testifies against you."
Alpha Thorton’s face had gone from green to purple, red to blue, before finally landing back in his original skin color. He took a deep breath and offered Alpha Burke a smile. Without even looking, he gently caressed Dahlia’s head, smoothening down the strands of her hair.
Beside Alpha Burke, Milo sat a little straighter. His eyes were focused fixated on Alpha Thorton’s hand, a small frown appearing on his face.
"Or," Alpha Thorton said, "Darach could be testifying against Alpha Damon’s behavior. After all, my son would surely be shocked to wake up in a foreign pack, especially one that had given him so many awful memories."
He slowly turned, meeting Damon’s gaze as the smile on his face stretched.
Right then, the ripples in the moonwater ceased, casting an image of Darach into the night sky above us. He looked shocked, his skin pale even with the color of the blood moon. A sudden crackle filled the air and in no time, Nicole’s voice was broadcasted.
"It’s okay, it’s okay," she said despite being out of the picture. Darach looked at something — or rather, someone — behind the basin of water that was prepared, most likely Nicole. "You’re in Fangborne. You’re safe now."
"Safe?!" Darach echoed, sounding frantic. "Fangborne is the last place on earth to be considered safe!"
