"Are you ready to do this, love?" Isaac asks.

"I have to do this or I'll never be free."

"I know, but we can delay this if we need to," he replies, kissing my forehead.

"On what grounds? No Isaac, we have to go through with this. This is the only way."

"Very well then."

Me and my mate are standing outside the National Pack Courtroom, a courtroom for sentencing people whose crimes are associated with multiple packs, like myself, and wish to call upon an unbiased court for an appeal.

However, that is not the only reason we're here; Gwen revealed to us that she's what's known as a fury, beings created by the gods to chase down and punish criminals. Due to this, her instincts prevent her serving Isaac again until they are satisfied I am either sufficiently punished or innocent. At her behest, and out of a sense of self preservation, we went along with her idea, hoping that it would also remove our exile laid on us by my old Pack Alpha.

However, neither of us fully understood the legal procedures of a court, meaning that if we were to win the case, we needed help. We were about two weeks through analysing the legal documents to appeal my sentence of banishment when Isaac remembered Xander's degree in law.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"I forgot?" He replied sheepishly and I sighed.

After that, it was lot easier, Xander guiding us through the legal procedure, even going so far as to offer representing me in court.

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course Luna. You do not deserve the sentence given to you."

Leading us to today.

"Remember Iz, you're going to be fine. Trust Xander. He knows what he's doing." Giving me a final kiss on the head, he hugs me tightly, resting his chin on my crown. "I love you."

I love you Nate. Annoying bastard you may occasionally be, I love you.

Awwwe. Thanks Jack.

Shut up and stop making me all mushy inside.

Whatever.

Nate kisses us deeply, desperately even, until he is forced to release us when Xander enters the room, a folder of notes in his hand, accompanied by a guard.

Go get them Killer.

Killer? I ask Jack, laughing.

I'm not explaining.

"We should go," Xander says quietly, not wanting to interrupt us.

Me and Isaac both nod in affirmation and pull away from eachother, his hands slipping out of my grasp, unable to do anything but exchange a brief moment of eye contact as we go our separate ways, Isaac following the guard - he is not allowed to attend the trial or have contact with me during it. However, my allergy to wolf suppressant means that it has to be administered to him instead.

I'm sorry Isaac.

Don't be. It's not your fault you're allergic.

I know, but -

No Iz, it is not your fault.

Thankyou Isaac.

Me and Xander approach the courtroom doors and I can't help hesitating before them; the last time I walked into a courtroom I was exiled and nearly lost my mate.

"It's going to be alright Luna," Xander says comfortingly. I just give him a grateful smile and we enter the room, taking our seats in our appointed places. Around us, the courtroom stands slowly fill with the Alphas and Lunas of the majority of the various UK packs, their quiet chatter disrupting the otherwise silence.

The only people who are absent from the jury - that I know of - are Isaac, because he's biased in my favour, and Alpha James because he's the head of the Pack that I committed this crime at. The remaining wolves will be my jury, deciding my fate for better or worse.

From what Xander has told us, the trial will be overseen by the oldest wolf, Alpha Aila who hails from Scotland and is head of one of, if not the strongest, pack in the British Isles. This is likely due to her pack's location deep in the heart of the North-western Scotish highlands where there are very few humans and there is space to expand.

She enters the room and we all stand out of respect, taking our seats once she has taken her's at the end of the courtroom.

The trial is soon underway but I am barely able to pay attention, too nervous about what the outcomes of this second trial could be.

"The court is now in session. The defendant is to be tried for patricide. How does the defendant plead?"

"Not guilty," Xander answers, his voice ringing through the courtroom.

"Prosecution, you may begin."

My nervous heart beat is all I can hear, overpowering and drowning out the world around me, preventing any chance of me hearing the arguments of the prosecution. Eventually it's our turn.

"The defendant pleads not guilty on the grounds of self defence."

Xander begins to present our evidence, chief among them an x-ray of my body that shows the internal damage my father inflicted on me which is thoroughly explained and examined by a doctor hired by the court who confirms that another person is most likely responsible for my past injuries rather than an accident or my own actions. He cannot confirm that it is my father as the opposition points out but Xander counters that it is unlikely it's not, especially as I did not see anyone else during my childhood other than Eddie.

Finally, they allow our witnesses to enter from the waiting room and be sworn in. Eddie is first and he steps up to the witness stand. With a slightly nervous voice, he recounts what I told him about my father when we were children and the abuse I suffered under his roof, going into detail so meticulous that it is clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is speaking the truth as he knows it.

Suprisingly, our second witness is Luna Cassandra; I never expected her to stand up for me so openly, despite her actions at my trial at the Moonblood Pack. She confidently speaks of how she constantly noticed my absence from pack events and my father's refusal to let any pack member to enter our house.

"It was suspicious, but I did not want to intervene as he had lost his mate. The mateless often make strange decisions," she finishes and I notice several of the jury nod in affirmation, appearing sympathetic to my plight.

"If there is no more evidence to be given, the jury will retire to the jury room to decide on the verdict," Alpha Aila announces.

Both Xander and the prosecution remain silent, so the 30 jury members exit the courtroom, leaving through a small door that leads to the deliberating room. And now we must all wait for the verdict.

"Deliberation is permitted between persons during this period. Please be quick to return to your seats when the jury finishes their deliberations," Alpha Aila states and she stands and leads all the members of the courtroom out. Me and Xander are one of the last to go and when we step out, Isaac instantly draws both of us into a quick hug before releasing us.

"I'm so proud of both of you. You're doing so well."

His hug is weaker due to the effects of the suppressant but that doesn't stop me lightly kissing him.

"You should be proud of Xander; he's the one who's doing all the work. I'm just sitting there." I turn to Xander only to see him staring blankly into the distance. "Xander?"

This triggers a response as he suddenly shakes his head and gives me and Isaac a nervous smile.

"Listen Xander, you are doing a great job. You are not a failure," he whispers to him, his voice so low that I can only hear their conversation because I am right next to them. "And if this doesn't go our way, know that it is not your fault, you did everything you could." Something about the way Isaac is speaking to his Beta oddly gentle, but Xander's only response is to growl at him and Isaac sighs. "Try to believe me. Please."

However, it is quickly forgotten when there is an announcement over the loudspeakers, requesting that we return to the courtroom, and I walk back to the ominous room, Xander following me, the nervous tap of his footsteps boring into my ears.

Alpha Aila enters and the jury slowly file in, taking their seats.

"This court is now in session."

The head juror, an Alpha or Luna I don't know, gives the note containing my verdict to the court officials.

"The jury has reached a verdict for the charge of patricide, Your Honour," she says, before being seated herself.

They pass the note to Alpha Aila and she slowly, agonisingly slowly, opens it.

I notice Xander's hands are shaking; I want to say something to reassure him but the laws of the court do not permit unauthorised conversations while the court is in session. Alpha Aila prepares to announce the verdict and my heart races in anticipation; what if we didn't win? Blood rushes in my ears, struggling to control my breathing.

Why is it taking so long to announce the verdict? I realise that I'm struggling to contain my panic and I force myself to calm down. It's going to be fine. Isaac believes in Xander. I believe in Xander. It's fine. It's fine. I turn my attention back to Alpha Aila.

"Isobel Christen, on the grounds of self defence, you are found innocent as charged. This court is adjourned. You are free to go."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yay productivity! (Three chappies in one day).

I've changed up the ending to this book. The old bonus chapter has become the epilogue as it made more sense and I also feel that I need to rethink the majority of parts of Burn Scars as one if the characters ended up being a bit too much of an author insert. I have considered merging that book with this one in the future although that is not happening for a while.

I CAN FINALLY SUBMIT THIS BOOK TO THE 2020 WATTYS. FINALLY. I thought I was never going to finish the second draft of this before the submission window closes, but thankfully I have.

On the plus side I can now focus on writing the later chapters of Underground, even if I have no clue what I'm doing for the first 10 chapters.

I hope you've enjoyed this book.
WORxxx