Despite the negative effects it would have against her in court, Marley struggled against Jasmine's hands. "Let me go!" Marley twisted her arms, trying to free herself from her cruel injustice, but the Head Trainer was too strong for her.

Marley pleaded with wolves around her, but no pack member would go out of their way — especially with finding out that Marley was responsible for Gabby's injuries. The young she-wolf recognized some of the higher ranks from the time she was injured.

Luke, the other Head Gaurd, stepped forward, "Head Trainer Jasmine, what is the meaning of this?" He noticed the blood on Jasmine's hands, "Do you need to see a Doctor?"

"I'll be fine," Jasmine answered.

Marley cut her off, "Sir, please."

Marley whimpered when her arm got twisted behind her back. Jasmine snarled, "Silent, rouge!" She turned to Luke again, "Caught her running towards the border, trying to escape."

Luke shook his head, "Escape what? Layla, her mate?"

"Haven't you heard?" She questioned, her voice going soft. "She attacked Gabby. She's in critical condition. It'll be a miracle if she survived," she whimpered, sadden by the death of a packmate.

Only Marley heard the false sense of empathy in her voice.

Marley shook her head, tears in her eyes. What if Gabby didn't make it? Other than Layla, Gabby had been her best friend. She always kept her entertained, joking around with her as if she actually belongs.

"No," she whimpered, "please. I can save her."

Jasmine yanked her back, cutting her off once again. "Marley here is lucky I didn't lay a hand on her. If she wasn't Layla's mate, she would be dead," she hissed in the young she-wolf's ear.

Luke nodded his head, "I'll get the other Heads for the meeting." He gave a good stare at Marley, watching her carefully before he sighed, claiming she was the villain before leaving to get the others.

Marley screamed at his back, "I can save Gabby. Please, please don't let her die."

"Shut it, pup," Jasmine started to shove her through the hallway, deeply enjoying the panic and distrust look on Marley's face. "Your destiny has been sealed for a long time now," she laughed as she shoved her into the courtroom, where Luna Denice and Layla were already waiting. "I always had a bad feeling about you," Jasmine added, staring at Layla, "some people didn't believe me."

Layla barred her teeth.

Alpha Joey growled, gaining everyone's attention, "Bring Marley up to the stands, Head Trainer Jasmine. Then, we will wait for the other Heads to join us."

Marley looked at Joey as she was brought forward, her eyes pleading. "Alpha Joey," she whispered, "please. Gabby."

"Don't speak her name," Jasmine snarled, baring her teeth. With one shove, Marley was sitting in her seat. When Alpha Joey didn't glance at her, she turned towards Layla, wondering what her mate thought about all of this.

Could Layla believe Marley was truly guilty? She opened her mouth, but only a sob came out. Marley kept her eyes on Layla begging for her mate to say or do something, but instead, she watched as Luna Denice grabbed her mate's hand.

Marley gasped, her eyes widening even further.

Layla made no movement to pull away.

Her own mate thought she was a criminal. Her own mate thought she killed her best friend. She was doomed, and there was nothing to fix, nothing in her power at least.

Gabby was going to die.

Marley was going to get punished.

Jasmine was going to walk away.

Layla was going to believe the whole thing.

The doors opened, and Luke walked in with Jefferson, a co-Head Trainer, and Beta Roger. As the three men took their seats, Marley looked around the room, not recognizing many. She remembered seeing some faces when she traveled in the car for the first time or when she wondered around the hospital, but she didn't have any names to put with the faces.

"Now we will begin," Alpha Joey spoke, staring at his mate. Deeply concerned that he couldn't feel her thoughts on this case. He had a feeling she would choose Layla's side without hesitation. He just wished she would have been more secretive about it. "Marley Moon has been suspected of treason. Both Head Trainer Jasmine and Doctor Brian have evidence against her in this crime," he filled in the silence.

"Doctor Brian has found Marley looking through phone records and sneaking around the hospital," Alpha Joey looked at Marley, finding her eyes familiar— in a haunting way. "What do you pled for this?"

Marley opened her mouth to answer. She knew it was true— not exactly in the way they thought. Her goal wasn't the phone records, but maybe a misplaced map or room number for Alpha Joey's parents. Yes, she was sneaking, but sneaking in a way to benefit everyone in Alpha Joey's pack.

If she were to plead guilty, would they allow her to explain?

"I plead," Marley began, taking a deep breath before sighing, "guilty."

There was an outburst through the courtroom, and the Heads and Beta were forced to calm everyone down as the Alpha stared at little Marley.

Marley didn't dare look at her mate, scared to see what Layla was feeling.

Layla didn't know what to feel. She couldn't believe her eyes. Was she wrong about Marley the entire time?

Alpha Joey began again, not caring if everybody wasn't quieted down, "Are you working with a rogue pack to take our pack or our allies down?"

Marley quickly shook her head, "No, I'm no. The rogues took my pack down two years ago." She stared up at Alpha Joey pleading with him.

She glanced around the room, noticing the stares. She finally meet Layla's eyes, and she knew at that moment if she wants any form of help, she would have to spill the biggest secret of the century.

"Alpha Joey," she whispered, carefully trending. She didn't know how the court worked in any pack but hers, but she hoped she wasn't offending anyone when she spoke. "May I please defend myself in the name of the law? I promise you I'm not the one who should be sitting up here and getting judged."

The Alpha nodded his head, "Who should be getting judge then?"

"Head Trainer Jasmine."

It was like everyone exploded at once, a bomb ticked off. Voices started to yell over the other.

Luna Denice turned to stare at her sister, blinking as she watched Jasmine not move a muscle.

Layla turned to her mate, gulping at the accusation. She may have not always agreed with Jasmine, but Jasmine was very protective of the pack. Her heart was supporting her mate, but her mind was supporting Jasmine. It was logical to her. The only thing Jasmine did was give her an unwelcoming greeting.

"She's insane," Luna Denice mumbled. "She already admitted to a crime, and now she's blaming my sister." She turned to Layla, "Do you know what's going on?"

The Head Doctor shook her head. In all honesty, she would rather Marley would accept the punishment. She already knew Alpha Joey wouldn't kill her, that she would be alive. At this moment, Layla wouldn't know what would happen to Marley if she was lying.

Marley kept her eyes on Jasmine. She knew the Head Trainer had been preparing for this. It was the reason why she was kept alive after she tried to murder Gabby.

However, Jasmine didn't know that Marley had more secrets than she could count— secrets that would hundred percent help her this time.

"Head Trainer Jasmine," Alpha Joey called out, "will you please take a seat upfront." Everyone watched as Jasmine nodded her head, moving to the other seat beside the Alpha.

Marley took a deep breath, preparing herself. She hoped she could do this as quickly as possible. She needed to be fast for Gabby's sake.

———— A U T H O R N O T E | 23 ————

For the record, this chapter isn't the longest one I wrote but it is a little longer than the usual chapters. I realized I was cheating you all, and I decided I was going to make it up to you guys.

Hopefully, the next couple of chapters will be longer than usual.

Also, if anyone is technology savvy, they should comment on how to change a PDF into a JPG. 

QQ (#28): What was the first werewolf book you read?
QQ (#29): Did I use the right effect in the first sentence? Someone in the comments explained, thank you so much by the way, but I'm low-key kinda stupid. In other words, I'm double-checking.