Deja Vu couldn't come close to what Zira was feeling at the moment. It felt just like before, surrounded by werewolves and the Elders seated before her. This time there were more of them and in the middle was the Alpha King with Queen Luna. By their faces, Zira could tell they weren’t in the mood to have this meeting.
The Queen had just given birth a year ago and here she was with another in the oven. That’s going to be three in total with the oldest being the same age as Zed. Zira could only imagine how much sleep they'd gotten with their one-year-old, but a meeting like this was only held when the Alpha King needed to make a decision and it would be law.
Isaiah was holding Arias with the rest of the crew on one side of the court. Zira didn’t want him here, but everyone thought it was nice to show he was alive, since most people here thought she had the abortion. The other side of the court had an assortment of other Alphas and their entourage.
She looked at the panel and felt just like she did before. Alone and on the chopping block, which looked more like a podium in the center of the floor. She looked up at Isaiah and he gave her a little smile. Councilman Faulkner stepped forward with the other Elders. Although his bushy eyebrows were covering his eyes, she could tell he was glaring at her. She forced herself not to make a face or roll her eyes.
“We are here today to discuss the incident involving Zacharias Jack Thorne and Zira Lake,” one of the Elders spoke. “Let’s start with the issue.”
“Please, Councilman Faulkner, explain why you have called this meeting,” the Alpha King spoke.
Councilman Faulkner stepped forward and cleared his throat. He bowed slowly to the Alpha King and Queen Luna before turning towards the crowd.
“I called this meeting because a pressing matter came to my attention. About four years ago, Zira Lake was given a gift from the Goddess. She was blessed to bring the life of a white wolf into this world. Yet, she didn’t perceive this as a gift but a burden. She recklessly took it upon herself to eradicate this burden herself,” Councilman Faulkner announced with a pause while the attendants around the room gasped and looked at her.
Zira internally groaned. Of course, he stops right there, she thought. Zira noticed the faces of the others. Some looked shocked while others looked at her with disgust.
“My sentence for her, as I made with careful consideration, Your Majesties…”
While under the influence of a witch, Isabella wanted to say out loud.
“...was for Zira to be executed for her crimes against a child as special as hers. However, seeing that the operation was a failure, the sentence was changed to something a bit lighter by request from Alpha Isaiah. She would have the child and be banished from the Black Moon Pack.”
“Get to the point, Councilman Faulkner,” the Alpha King said with irritation in his voice. Queen Luna touched his arm and smiled. It was light and simple, but it was enough for the Alpha King to smile back.
“Of course, Your Majesty. I believe we were more than fair with her judgment, yet Zira blatantly ignored these stipulations and has been staying at the Black Moon Pack all this time. Not only that, but she is to become their Luna. I think it would be best to go back to the original deal. Make an example to those who go against an Elder’s rule, which in turn is a rule from Your Majesty himself.”
There were a lot of growls and gasps from the attendants around them. Zira looked at her family and friends. They were either looking at her with sadness or anxiousness, while others defended her name with the crowds around them. She could hear what the others were saying. Some saw it as a betrayal, while others only pitied her situation but the one that hurt the most.
“What kind of she-wolf would want to kill her pup,” a young werewolf asked.
"Isn't that a bit extreme," another wolf asked. "She didn't go through with it, right?"
"Yeah, but what will stop her next time?"
Zira wanted to shut herself away from all of this. Even Queen Luna’s stone facade broke a bit at that as she cradled her swollen belly. This is bad. This is bad, Zira thought, and she felt a bit light-headed.
She gripped the podium to keep herself upright, taking deep breaths. She felt herself shaking before a warm hand grabbed hers. She looked up to see Isaiah standing next to her. His gaze shifted to hers as he pulled her close to his body to keep her from falling.
“Enough,” the Alpha King bellowed across the chatting room.
Instantly, the room went quiet as everyone’s eyes were either on Zira or the Alpha King. Arias, however, started to cry. Zira made a move towards him, but her mother stopped her with a hand. 'I got him', she mouthed to Zira as she moved out of the room with Miss Bella. Isaiah could feel her tense up a bit as he rubbed circles on her hand with his thumb. He wished there was a way to communicate with only her and no one else. He wanted to reassure her that, no matter what, he would protect her.
The Alpha King leaned back in his chair as Queen Luna gazed at him with a question in her eyes. He looked back at her for a moment before nodding.
“Today we’ve come here as a community to discuss this situation. Councilman Faulkner has made his case. I think it’s best to hear from others,” Queen Luna’s soft and melodious voice said.
“My sister makes stupid mistakes all the time,” Zed stepped up. “I would know since I’ve been a victim of them since birth…” Who let him speak first, Zira thought. “...but eight times out of ten she believes she’s doing everyone else a favor. The other two are just her thinking she's making things better, but actually making them much worse. Besides, we’ve been over this already. She stopped before anything happened to Zacharias.”
Just hearing his name almost brought tears to Zira’s eyes. She couldn’t imagine a world without him. She wished she could go back and do everything over.
“Regardless, the act itself is too severe to ignore,” Lana chimed in, looking in Zira's way, “especially since white wolves are sacred to our society and their numbers are scarce.”
“Maybe you should be scarce,” Isabella growled.
Lana glared at Isabella and for a split-second Zira noticed her eyes glowing a bit. More murmurs spread across the room about Zira’s decision. Zira could barely hear anything in the room. All she could focus on was the fact that Councilman Faulkner wanted her dead and if she didn’t do something now, that’s exactly what was going to happen.
“If I may,” Isaiah’s voice boomed across the room. “I would like to speak.”