From the Heart
Raven
Dad’s trial.
The meeting hall in the packhouse was full. The Alphas, the Beta, and the Delta were there, along with many other adult pack members who wanted to sit in.
Uncle El was seated at the table on the dais alongside Aunty Red, Damon, and Zack.
As for Haru Jacobs… well, he was cuffed as he was placed in a seat, two guards flanking him.
He was a lot thinner and looked like an empty shell.
Losing Mom had indeed taken its toll on him.
He didn’t even bother looking at me, staring blankly at the ground as if he had already given up on life.
I was seated in the front row with Taylor next to me.
Uncle El had just told everyone why we were there and listed Dad’s crimes, from physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, manipulative behaviour, lying, and breaking every law that the pack stood for.
I knew for many, it was hard to believe that the respectable Haru Jacobs could have committed such crimes.
“I have already heard evidence from a few others who have seen his behaviour and have seen him lose his temper with her. He also confessed this in the presence of the previous Alpha and Beta Damon. Without wasting further time, I will run a few questions past his daughter, the victim of his abuse, to affirm the facts. Both will be under Alpha command to attest the truth and only the truth.” No one could argue with that as I stood up, and Uncle El looked down at me.
“Under my command, I expect you to speak nothing but the truth and not abstain or hold back anything.” His command rolled over me, but unlike before, the power of his Alpha command wasn’t as strong… was it because I held Liam’s mark?
“I understand,” I said. This was the start of my resolution to be whom I wanted to be, for me and no one else.
“From as far back as I can remember, I was always told that I was useless, stupid, worthless, unwanted, and that I was the worst thing that could have happened to my parents. No matter what I did, I was put down, told that I was not good enough and that maybe it would be for the best that I died somehow. Growing up, I became so used to him getting abusive that I began to just deal with it… trying not to upset anyone. I just wanted to ride it out, and I became… numb to it. So familiar that it had become normal.”
I was still doing that with everything, and I wanted that to change.
“I always did things wanting to make them proud, but I was never enough. Even when I became the Head Warrior, and I returned, I was told that I’m trash…” I took a shuddering breath and continued,
“Aside from the mental abuse, he’d hit me sometimes.
Never enough to cause permanent damage, but a push or a thump.
One time, he grabbed my hair and pushed me into the wall when I was thirteen.
I broke my nose, but Mom just snapped it into place and told me to clean it up…
” I felt a flare of anger, and I didn’t need to look up to know whose anger it was.
Aunty Red. “It was more emotional abuse than physical. Mom, she’d let it happen and just watch it. ”
“How can you talk ill of Kimberly when she’s in her grave?” A woman behind me muttered.
“Silence!” Uncle El growled.
“She’s stating facts, and it’s mindsets like yours that make people think that behaviour is normal! Kim let this happen when she shouldn’t have!” Aunty Red growled, glaring at the woman who had dared to speak. “I will deal with you afterwards.”
“Yes… Luna…”
Uncle El nodded at me, and I slowly sat down before Dad was placed under Alpha command.
Do you want to wait outside whilst we question him? He mind-linked me.
No, I’m okay, I said. I would face this. I needed closure. He nodded curtly before asking Dad to attest to his sins.
“She’s the reason my son isn’t here... she shouldn’t have been here…”
His voice was flat, as if he had no will to live.
His eyes stared blankly at the ground. He carried on, repeating everything I had said.
Each sentence that left his lips became more and more hateful.
I could sense the anger, shock, and irritation from those in the room at his words, and I realised that if I had spoken out when I was younger, there would have been far more people on my side than I ever could have imagined.
Taylor gave my shoulders a squeeze, and I felt a little comfort in him.
“Now that we have heard from both and we can all agree that he is guilty… it is time to hand out his punishment,” Uncle El said.
“He should be thrown out of the pack!”
“Lash him and keep him locked up.”
“Silence,” Uncle El said loudly, and the room went quiet.
“For his crimes, Haru Jacobs will get one hundred and fifty lashes with a silver whip… I would have him banished, however, that would only result in him turning feral due to the loss of his mate, and he may harm others. He will remain in this pack, stripped of his rank and, due to his deteriorating health… he will be placed under house arrest at his home rather than kept at the prison, but I will ultimately let Raven decide. If you want him in the cells, we can do that too.”
“It’s befitting. He can stay in his house,” I said quietly. I never wanted to see that man again, to the end of his life... He can be alone… “I have one request,” I said suddenly, swallowing hard as I stared at the man before me.
“Of course,” Uncle El said.
“He is not to visit the grave of my brother Renji Jacobs. Ever,” I said icily, my chest heaving as some light seemed to return to my father’s eyes.
“What… no… no! I can! Don’t you go there!”
“I will go there as much as I want. This is the last time I will ever see you. Goodbye.” I stood up and turned away.
“Your request is accepted. He will be kept under house arrest anyway, and that means at all times, until his passing.”
“Thank you,” I said, not turning back to the man who was shouting at me and walking out towards the door. That first burden was lifted…
I felt like I was getting somewhere… I’ve got this. I felt my wolf stir, and I smiled gently. No, we’ve got this…
Damon
Raven’s father was committed, and although I knew the Alpha had set his punishment, I still wanted to tell Liam about it.
I was angry at him. So fucking mad at what he did.
But past his split personality, there was that part of him that I knew.
I wouldn’t be able to forgive him easily…
if ever. I didn’t know if I could ever call him a friend again, either.
Looking back, I thought that ended a few years ago.
Maybe I was just stuck in a fucking illusion that things would work out.
It did fucking hurt… but life was shit like that.
I entered the cells and, after unlocking the door, entered his cell. He was sitting there with his eyes closed. His hair, which he always had gelled and styled, was lying messily over his forehead. His eyes opened and met mine. They looked… broken.
I knew he’d feel it, but maybe this was the punch he needed to realise that he could be in fucking control. He needed to take control of his own shit. Neither of us spoke for a while, and Liam looked away first.
“What do you want?” He asked quietly.
“Raven’s father was trialled today. He’s been given one hundred and fifty silver lashes. He’ll then be placed under house arrest and stripped of any rank or status he has. I thought, despite everything, you might want to know….” I said, clenching my jaw.
“Thanks…” he replied. Gone was the cold arrogance that had surrounded him since his return. All I saw was his emptiness. “Who will deliver the punishment?” He asked quietly.
“I thought I’d ask Alpha Elijah if I could,” I answered. He nodded with the tiniest of smiles that didn’t reach his eyes crossing his lips.
“Will you also deliver mine?” He asked, looking up at me. There was an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t read that unnerved me. My heart thumped, and I stepped back, narrowing my eyes.
“What?”
“My trial is in two days. I don’t want Dad to suffer. What I did… I’ve caused him even more pain. My punishment won’t be small, and it shouldn’t be… but I don’t want Dad to do it. You can tell her it was my wish that you do it.”
“Don’t want me to look like the bad guy?” I asked, unable to hide the bitterness from my voice.
“No, because you’re all she has now…” he said. “What I did deserves capital punishment, and I expect no less, so… be there for her.” I sighed heavily. He wasn’t making it easier to hate him.
“I never wanted you to step aside. I was willing to make it work, all three of us. Raven is loving; she would have been able to treat us both well.”
“That won’t happen because I always believed that it’s one-to-one. There’s no space for a third. There’s no point in discussing it… I no longer deserve her, not after what I did,” he said. “So, good luck.”
“You’re giving up because of what you did… but you still love her,” I said quietly, hating that I couldn’t just hate him fully even if I’d not forgiven him.
“I do, more than anything, but what I did was unforgivable, and it’s a little fucking late. When we love someone… we do what’s best for them,” he said, running his hand down his face and massaging his jaw. His beard had grown, too.
“Yeah, we do,” I said quietly.
“I just kept her stuck in the middle… in this constant tug of war. Not anymore.” Our eyes met, and I nodded. “I heard from her that you two were going to reject one another…” he said quietly.
“Yeah… I realised that you would never accept it working between us, and she was hurting. You ruined it all.” He nodded, staring down at his hands.
“Thanks… for telling me about the trial.”
I nodded, looking at him. Something told me that with this clarity… maybe, just maybe, it was the push Liam needed to defeat the darkness inside of him. I turned away and paused. I needed to speak my thoughts, so I glanced back at him.