Chapter 216

Grace

I shuddered. I could almost feel my bones aching the way they had then. My gut churned. My hands shook. I felt every bit of weakness that I had then.

"I was so sick. I thought I was going to die. Eason... Eason was there."

Had he already been managing Mooncrest, then? Before I had even packed my bags to go back? I didn't remember.

"Can you remember anything else?"

The weight of the silence pressed down on me, suffocating. Finally, I shook my head.

"Can you tell me what you did when you got back on campus?"

"Study."

"Did you go home at all?"

I shook my head.

"Did you live on campus?"

I shook my head.

"Where did you live?"

"The library."

"Can you tell me the first time you saw your ex-husband?"

The memory hit me like I was there in the library again. I had been curled up in my usual spot, reading, focused. My eyes burned from lack of sleep. I remember not even knowing for sure what day of the week it was. Eason had been calling me, but I didn't answer.

There was something in my mouth. Gum? Food? I don't remember.

Then, there was Devin, strolling in. I smelled something.

"His cologne," I said, staring into the memory. "I smelled... his cologne."

Looking back, it smelled a lot like the cologne Charles wore, but younger not so woody. Then, it had been as if the world had regained a bit of color. I'd gotten up and followed the scent. I remembered my knee twinging and resisting the movement, but I moved anyway. I saw him across the foyer with a group of young men. They'd been showing him the way to the library before leaving him alone. He'd turned slowly, and for a moment, I thought our eyes had met.

"A jolt," I said. "Our eyes met. I felt a jolt..."

Esme unlocked the cuffs. The haze lifted. It was like surfacing after a long swim. The anger felt muted. I looked around, not entirely sure what I had said before.

"Alpha Wolfe, can you summarize the line of questioning I just put you through?"

I blinked at her. Frowning and shaking my head slowly. Sean hissed. Esme turned.

"Let the record reflect the results. Chief Justice, are you satisfied?"

The woman looked grave. Was that a flash of pity in her gaze? She nodded.

"I am. Let the question of Eason Wolfe's ascension be settled, and the defense of incapability be admitted."

What the hell did that mean? Esme set her jaw.

"I'm petitioning my client be excused from further questioning unless there are facts regarding her case that cannot be substantiated in any other way."

"Your petition is approved," the Chief Justice said.

"Fine, Counselor," Sean hissed. "You've proven that she is incapable. Even more of a reason to impeach her."

"No, President Caldwell," Esme said calmly. "I've proven that she was incapable at the time of Eason Wolfe's ascension. The limitation of incapability is five years, which coincides with the time in which Alpha Wolfe filed for divorce from her ex-husband and took over Mooncrest."

He grit his teeth.

"Per your earlier line of questioning," Esme flipped a page. "Several factors exclude my client from the full brunt of the charges pressed against her. She cannot be charged with money laundering or embezzlement as none of the accounts where the money went are in her name. The signatures and seals used were used illegally. At the time when Devin took over, he should have had a new seal made."

"Negligence has a specific definition within werewolf law. It signifies a blatant disregard for established protocols and a willful choice to ignore the potential effects of the choices made."

She flipped another page. "Given my client's proven state and everything she's done since regaining control of Mooncrest, the question of malicious and willful negligence should not be directed at Ms. Wolfe. It belongs squarely on the shoulders of the former Alpha, Devin Bluevalley, as he was in possession of werewolf citizenship at the time and acting under werewolf law."

"Furthermore," she continued, pressing her advantage, "the Werewolf States mandate routine audits for packs transitioning leadership, especially in cases where a non-heir assumes the Alpha position. These audits, designed to assess the new Alpha's preparedness and adherence to protocol, were inexplicably absent during Devin's reign."

Sean flinched.

"While Alpha Wolfe made the decision to hand over Mooncrest to her former husband, and that certainly qualifies for misconduct and misuse of power, she, in so far as she could, transferred power in good faith, to a seemingly qualified leader, whom she had reason enough to trust during a time when she was ill-equipped to take over. To now accuse her of negligence while neglecting to address the glaring absence of oversight which should have been present is a blatant misuse of power and a failure to uphold the very laws intended to protect pack safety."

A hush fell over the room. Esme's words hung in the air, heavy with truth and accusation. My chest filled with a flicker of hope.

"And how do you plan to ignore the fact that Eason Wolfe left his post."

Esme shook her head. "It was a post he was able to fill, not required. Eason Wolfe is not and has never been named as an heir or even a beta."

I blinked. I hadn't known that.

"He was a steward. To insist on remaining steward when Alpha Wolfe returned and appeared, for all externally verified purposes, to be in her full faculties would have made him eligible to be charged for usurpation. Eason Wolfe stepped down from his stewardship at the time in a wholly legal and reasonable manner as requested by Alpha Wolfe."

"But Eason Wolfe's liability in this situation is not under question," Esme added, her eyes flashing with righteous fury. "What I am calling into question is the lack of execution of the law pertaining to the assignment of a liaison between the Werewolf States government and each pack, particularly during leadership transitions. Had this liaison been present to monitor Devin's actions, this case would not exist. In fact, had the liaison been present at all, he would have had Alpha Wolfe evaluated, and Eason Wolfe would have remained steward until she reached a point of capability again."

Sean grits his teeth.

"I ask where was the States' oversight when the former Alpha Wolfe died. Where was the liaison in all of this?" She scanned the faces of the judges and the senators, her voice echoing through the hall. "Where was this liaison during Eason's stewardship, and where was it during Devin's rule? Ms. Wolfe," she pointed at me, "was left to navigate the intricacies of leadership with minimal guidance, operating under the assumption that the system in place would offer the necessary support. To hold her wholly accountable for the failures of a system designed to mitigate actions like this from happening during a critical time in her life is a travesty."

The silence that followed was deafening. The Internal Auditor looked nervous, glancing between Sean and Esme. I looked up at him and watched the way he stared back at Esme as if he was trying to find some way to turn this around.

Her words stung a bit, but a wave of relief washed over me. I'd known nothing about the liaison. I didn't remember seeing anything about it, but as I thought back to Magnus talking about Eason. Maybe Eason called him about things because there wasn't a liaison around.

"Given Wolfe Medical's importance to the Inter-Pack community, it is a wonder that Mooncrest managed to slip through the cracks of oversight for so long. Given Mooncrest's recent and previous bouts with Blood Moon, it brings to question why the State, the President, the Senate, at large feels so strongly compelled to persecute Alpha Wolfe after failing her and Mooncrest so miserably in the first place."

"You're speaking out of turn, Counselor," Sean hissed.

"Chief Justice?" Esme asked.

The woman hesitated but looked at Sean. "Though the Counselor's phrasing is... inflammatory, the underlying question stands."

He shuffled his papers and worked his jaw, then he huffed.

"This calls for a recess for discovery. We'll reconvene in an hour's time."

Then, he stood and left the room with the Senate, and I had no idea if that was a good thing or not.

Esme grabbed my arm. "Come with me. Quickly."

She didn't even give me a chance to refuse, practically dragging me out of the room and down the hall. I caught Charles' eye for a moment as we passed but lost it quickly as he looked at Esme.

She pulled me down the hallway to a parlor and shoved me inside, slamming the door behind her. I turned back to glare at her as she glared back at me.

"You care to explain how and why you felt the need to derail the entire defense?"