Rejecting, Your Broken Promises
Chapter 123

Cassidy’s POV

Royal Knight pack

I don’t care what the outcome here is today. I still had almost two whole wonderful weeks with my mate, so I can die a happy woman. I just want to make sure that Jasper gets what is coming to him, especially for all that he ended up doing to Peyton. He is at the root of how her life ended up being so messed up. I will accept my punishment, as I was wrong for what I did. I know that the Goddess forgave me by allowing me to even have a second chance mate. I had already explained to Trevor that if I am sentenced to death, I will accept it. I also told him that if the Goddess sees fit to allow me to live, I will help him in the hospital for the rest of my days. I had already been out there and helped him get a lot of things updated and everything in the hospital was straighter than they were before. My gift is to see where things can be improved, and get it done. It was why my kitchen at Dark Savage was so well designed. I may not be a doctor, but I am very good at optimizing areas to be run the very best that they can be.

I am trying to hide my smile as I watch all six of the witnesses in the box from Dark Savage, turn on him. It was good to see them tell the truth about what he did and has been doing for years. He deserves this. He lied to all of them, telling them that they would be OK, using their faith in him being a good man and willing to help them if they got caught. They knew it now, he lied to all of them. They were just pawns he used to get his agenda done. They failed, and he left them there to rot. He could not get them out of it, because what he sent them in there to do, was illegal. It violated many laws, and I am so glad that they told the truth. I am glad that moron Stephanie told the Council too. She never realized that she put herself in as an accessory to shooting Heath. Whether he forced her to go or if she had gone voluntarily herself, she was a part of it and will be going down with him.

I watched as the screen changed and others started their testimony. This one was going to be hard. I glanced at Peyton and gave her a smile, as we all heard Alpha James tell everyone what he had been led to do. He didn’t sugarcoat it, he accepted all the blame. But anyone who heard what he said could hear the pain in his voice, at losing his Luna, whom he loved so well. He felt sick about his actions now, but he told them truthfully what all Peyton had experienced at his hands. Because of him losing his Luna, and because of Fallon leading him to blame Peyton for the whole thing. I could see his new Luna reach over and hold his hand tightly in hers, I could see tears in both their eyes at hearing him admit to all he had done to her. To hear him say that it had been Jasper’s men on his property, but he had their bodies burned before it could have been proven by the Council. But the men’s faces were all saved in his memories of that fateful day.

We all watched as Beta Mitchell spoke about what happened and what he had seen that day. He told us all that he had maintained Peyton’s innocence the whole time and never realized that his own daughter was the one who had started that ball rolling. Both with Jasper’s old Beta at the mall, the same man who was killed trying to take Peyton at B***d Claw, and then going to the video that had Alpha James picking out the men from the book from Jasper’s office, then Beta Mitchell doing it as short time later, and picking the same men too. We all watched as Peyton did the same thing, picking out the men in question. The video then changed to Fallon admitting what she had done in the mall and then her telling Jasper’s Beta exactly where Peyton was. Then Fallon told the whole courtroom that he had paid her $20,000 for her to tell him where Peyton was, for him to go and ambush her. I see my second chance mate up on the screen next telling how bad the abuse that Peyton had suffered was Then the video cuts over to see all the “files” of her injuries, that were not in a regular folder, but inside binders from all her injuries. The shock that ran through the room was palpable. They all knew that she should have been dead. They all also knew that she would never have experienced any of it if Jasper hadn’t decided that he wanted to be the next Alpha King and that he was going to physically take it over.

I looked over at Jasper and see him looking in shock at all the injuries that Peyton had sustained, and he now realized what she had been put through. All the pain and suffering that she had endured, because of his wanting to be Alpha King caused her. I could hear sobbing as Luna Queen DeAnna thought about all that her daughter had been through. It was heartbreaking, and I started tearing up too. Everything that Peyton has gone through, and yet she is here to support me, to try to help me, and I don’t deserve it. This sweet girl went through enough already and I glanced over at her to let her know that she doesn’t have to. She has been through enough, I appreciate all that she did for me. Her saving my life just could never be repaid. I felt like me dying the same way that I had killed Luna Carrie, and Luna Jasmine was the form of justice that I had earned from my actions. To die in the same pain as they were in, to experience the same thing that they felt, that was only fair. Peyton just shakes her head no at me, knowing what I am trying to tell her. She then gives me a smile. She is so stubborn, but she is still going to try to help me. Despite the fact that I do not deserve her help.

The screen changes to blank and Council member Teresa Phillips stands up with Peyton and they start walking toward the front of the room. I see Stephanie and her lawyer get up from the table and then he motions for her to go back to her chair nearest the door that they came in. Peyton then motions me to come and sit at the table. Peyton sits down in the chair next to me, and Teresa stands in front of the table to speak. I watch as the witness box clears of the six members from Dark Savage, with Heath remaining seated. I watch as the four women who had come in with Teresa and Peyton, go up to the witness box now. I guess this is my turn and I am scared. I know what I did deserve to get, death. I deserved to die again, but after finding my mate, I wanted to live. I want to bear his pups and I want to grow old with Trevor. I turn to look at him again, and my eyes filled with tears as he smiles and nods encouragingly at me. He is supporting me, and he loves me. I gave Carrie and Jasmine’s parents an apologetic look as tears start rolling out of my eyes as I turn to face the Council. I can never make it up to them. I can never make it right for them. My heart is breaking for them to have to relieve this again. All because of my actions.

“We will be giving all of the sentences out at the end of this trial. Stephanie had her chance to speak. This will be the trial for Cassidy Bridges now. We have both video statements, and witnesses here as well. Please start your defense Council Member Phillips” Leader Miller told the gallery, and the room was silent. It was rare, almost unheard of for a member of the Council to be the defense at a trial. This was only the second time in the 200-plus years that the Council has been formed that it was happening. The first time the council members who are present have experienced it, as the last time it happened was about 120 years ago.

“I am not here in official Council capacity today. Although you will see my video play later, as well as my opinion on the judgment that I feel, should be given here. I know that we all have opinions formed on what the judgment should be in this case, but I want you to please listen and take into account what you will be hearing from me, and my witnesses today” Council Member Phillips started out, continuing to speak about crime, and punishment, and to be honest, it didn’t always sound like this is going to be good for me at all. Peyton squeezed my hand under the desk and the Alpha King smiled at me, but my guilt was eating me alive. This was the whole reason that I had poisoned myself. For me to die fairly, just as I took their lives away, I took my own life away too, experiencing all their fear, pain, and worry as I knew exactly what it was that I had done, and what was going to happen to me because of it.

The first lady spoke from the witness stand as she relayed who she was, and why she was there. Her name was Angie and she started speaking quietly, looking at the floor, and telling her story. She was an Omega too, she had been rejected as well for being weak, not a high enough rank for her warrior Trainor mate. He had rejected her, but she begged him to just give her a week, for him to try to fall in love with her. He had a girlfriend already, another warrior. He gave her three days and then on the 4th day since he was not as adamant about rejecting her as he was at the beginning, Angie thought that he was actually going to give her a chance. Then the pain came from his betrayal. He was sleeping with his girlfriend, who had already told Angie the day before that she could not have him. The girlfriend told Angie that she would be keeping her boyfriend. Angie described the pain from the betrayal.

I could hear sobs from behind us as any woman who had been rejected remembers that pain. That grows and keeps growing until you almost wish to beg for death to come and take you then, so you don’t have to feel it anymore. She then looked up and right at Jasper to describe the pain of the biggest betrayal there was. When she had felt him make another his chosen mate. The searing pain in her neck, added to the pain in her abdomen and heart causing her heart rate to skyrocket and then knock her out cold. She glanced around the gallery, and then back to the Council before telling them, “I have had broken bones, and I can handle pain. As Omegas we do the bulk of the work. We are not weak. We get cut, burnt, and seriously hurt, more than anyone else in the pack. I have never felt that kind of pain ever before, or ever again. I would not wish it on another. It is the ultimate betrayal, 10 times worse than childbirth. I did not want to come today. I do not like to talk about it. Ever. But to hear this poor woman experienced it, not once, but twice, that level of betrayal. It is a wonder that she is not dead. Once almost killed me, I cannot for the life of me think about experiencing it twice”

The three other women all gave their stories, and although most reasons for the rejection were because they were thought of as weak, or not powerful, the pain threshold was described as the same for the other three women too. How they wouldn’t wish it on an enemy, and all agreed on how they couldn’t believe that I had survived it twice. Clearly, the Goddess had plans for me, for some reason. Teresa then switched to the videos from the two women who couldn’t make it here today. All of the stories had been painful to hear, and numerous women present had felt the pain of rejection. But of the ten known cases of women who had their mates mark another, while the bond was intact, only six of the ten women were still alive. The pain of the ultimate betrayal had killed the other four women.

That was the fact that Council Member Phillips pointed out. As well as telling the gallery that many more women had been suspected of dying from this over the years. That death had been reported, as any deaths with no clear cause, had to be reported to the Werewolf Council. She told the gallery that a cause was something like a car accident, an attack by rogues, or an attack by another pack member. Something that could be proven as the reason for the death. She brought out a folder and then took the papers inside of it out, and a video rolled above as Teresa told the gallery about how over 300 women in the last 20 years have been dying mysteriously. That over 200 of the deaths that she had been following had occurred in the last 10 years. How she started looking into these “mysterious” deaths as she built cases up.

She made good points about how it was usually occurring to lower ranks she-wolves, who just mysteriously died, and yet for no apparent reason. How when she got to the packs, to speak with the ranked wolves to question the death, no one there knew anything about why, but in almost every case that she had investigated that either the Delta, Gamma, Beta, or Alpha, had coincidentally just recently marked a chosen mate. How instead they could have just rejected the mate, and wanted for them to accept it, or ask for an intervention by the Council.

“This is all documented, and I can provide proof of all that I am saying to you. In recent years, it has become acceptable for the higher-ranked wolves to want to ignore the gift of the Goddess mate, for a chosen mate. For whatever reason. I am here today to say that this has got to stop. These people did not know more than the Goddess did. She puts mates together for a reason, we may not always know what the reason is, but unless they are abusive, your mate is the best person for you. I am going to put together a law for it to be a punishable offense for this to continue. We are losing numbers quickly, and for what? Because you wanted someone hotter? Thinner? Not a redhead? It is ridiculous what these women had been put through, all because someone with power decided they didn’t want their true mate. I want to make it so that if this continues to happen when we come to investigate it, and we know what happened, they will get stripped of their rank” Teresa’s voice rang out, with gasps again running through the room at the extreme measures that they thought that she was taking. But I thought that it was great. Something needs to change, we have value, even if the higher ranks choose to ignore the bond.

Teresa looked around at the gallery, with several people now nodding their heads in agreement with what she was proposing. I see that Jasmine’s mom and Carrie’s mom are now looking at me with tears in their eyes and whispering to their husbands. Teresa gave a pregnant pause and then started speaking again, “I know that some of you think that may be a little harsh. But 300 women have died, I believe because of this happening to them, the horrible pain that they were in, literally broke their hearts and killed them. Women who didn’t deserve the hand that they were dealt. Who deserved to love and be loved in return. This will only be for when the sentence is earned. When a higher-ranked wolf decides to mark another, while still bound to their mate. There is no reason for anyone else to ever have to die again over this. We can form a committee to go to packs to mediate, for the rejection to be worked through and resolved, or for the rejection to be accepted. One way or another, this will have to be done, because I can no longer sit back and watch women being allowed to keep dying over and over again. All because some jerk decided that he knew better than the Goddess. It needs to stop, it HAS to stop. The cost has become too high”.

“I would like to say something to the Council, and King Sebastian, if I could” Carries mother stood up, along with her mate.

I am frozen in my seat. I am scared to look at them, as my guilt at what I had put them through was washing over me like a wave. I looked down at the table and closed my eyes waiting to hear them condemn me for my actions.