Rejecting, Your Broken Promises
Chapter 127

Cassidy’s POV

Royal Knight pack

I closed my eyes as I knew I had a 50/50 chance of living through this trial. He was right, my actions had indeed been evil, and wrong. I killed two innocent girls because of my jealousy and rage. That rage should have been directed at Jasper, not them. I just let my pain and torment allow me to disregard my common sense. I punished the other two innocent victims in this. They didn’t choose to chase Jasper, he pursued them. He lied to them, and I will just have to live with my guilt over it, until they pass down my sentence, and put me to death as well.

“I agree with what you are saying. This has been a most difficult case. On one hand, we have the law, which is clear. We just sentenced Ms. Turner to death for the same thing, with just the threat of killing the incoming Luna and the King’s daughter, among her other charges. But this has been indeed different. When we are experiencing a high level of pain, sometimes our mind can break to spear us the full amount of pain, or wolves can take some of the pain off of us too. But in this case, from what each one of these women said to us, it hurt their wolves so badly that they actually lost them, not for good, but for several months in healing. I have been hurt before in battles. I have been in a great deal of pain, from my injuries. But I have never experienced a level of pain where my wolf actually left me. This leads me to have gone out after hearing about this case, to speak to a few friends of mine about this. Men who have sustained life-changing injuries, for me to get more information on the subject. My motto is if I don’t know, go ask an expert. I believe in doing that very deeply. I have spoken to numerous men this week, Alpha ranks and warriors, who have lost limbs in battles. None of them advised me that they had lost their wolves, despite the high level of pain that they were in. I also had video calls with several doctors who treated the six women who testified. I spoke with the nurses who witness what they had told the doctors about what they had suffered when they were questioned after they woke up from their comas. I read the transcripts that had been typed up from the original notes taken at the hospitals. I have an excellent sense of reading people’s character. None of these women were lying to us on the stand” the fourth Council member stated.

“I was with him for the calls and interviews he made to the hospitals because I needed to know as well. I didn’t want this to come down to us men on the council not being able to “get it” because we haven’t experienced it. I conducted my own research, at 5 different hospitals on my own this week, while my esteemed colleague was out speaking to the men who had been greatly injured. I am not naïve enough to assume that this just happened to women either, so I had the hospitals do research to see if this had happened to any young men too. It is not just women getting or being rejected by their mates. I figured that if the pain had been bad enough that some men might have been taken to the hospital for treatment if the same thing had happened to them. It took them 5 days to find three young men that this same thing had happened to for me to question. I don’t know if this is a pride thing, as men don’t want to admit when they had been hurt badly or not, but I asked for the records to be checked. Two of the three young men stated that they lost their wolves for several months from their true mate marking a chosen one, while still being bonded to them. They also spoke of a massive amount of pain, that made them lose their minds for a period of time as well. I have to agree with what Teresa said to us all earlier, we need to get some laws in place to keep this from happening. No loss of life is acceptable as far as I am concerned in this, especially deliberate and ugly acts made by people who care more about what they WANT, than the mate bond that they were blessed with” the fifth member of the Council stated.

I am surprised that they had even taken the time to give me a fair shake about this. He was right, Stephanie was probably dead already and she just threatened to kill Peyton. Yes, she had done it multiple times, but she never actually killed or tried to kill her until about 5 minutes ago. I am pretty sure that all the work that they had done on this investigation wasn’t just for me though. I believe that it was out of respect for their fellow Council member, and because Peyton is also backing me. I also believe they did it to be more informed as this is not going to stop happening. Unless laws are changed to protect the ones that are branded weak, or unwanted, for whatever reason. When women have been rejected, although that hurts you very badly, it rarely kills someone. The pain of your mate marking someone else, while bonded to you. It could kill you. It kills your heart, your soul, and your emotions, everything changes in a heartbeat. You go from the pain of betrayal as they are usually having s*x before marking their chosen. So, the pain goes from bad to hurting bad enough you wish for death to take you. There is no way to describe it, that kind of pain level is too high for anyone to be thinking clearly, you just cry and beg it to end, until you pass out. If I could have figured out a way to stop the pain that I was in the throes of, I would have probably seriously thought about it, as I was in extreme agony.

“I see no point in dragging this out any further. We have all been able to say our main thought process in this. I want to note that the third member of the Council, Teresa Phillips was already noted as being a vote in the defense of Cassidy Bridges, but as her defense attorney in this, her vote does not count. And we are just taking the votes from the Council members on the bench today. I will start with my vote. I vote that Cassidy Bridges be placed on a three-year probation for her actions and for her to stay on property at her current pack, the Ever Green pack. I feel after this time period, if no problems are noted with her, that she be allowed to come and go from her pack, with no restrictions. If this is acceptable to Alpha Heath Poe, and incoming Alpha Percy Wright” Leader Miller announced to the court.

“I am sorry Ms. Bridges. I cannot agree with my colleague on this. I did try, but in the end, I cannot allow the deaths, of not one, but two Lunas to be ignored. You made a premeditated decision to end the lives of two women who did no harm to you. I just cannot get past that, so I am voting strictly from the law. I do not think that too much leniency here will be a good thing. I think you earned a death sentence and that is what I am voting for. I did see that the Goddess had forgiven you and Carries parents as well. I am thinking that the Goddess may have granted you favor in this, but I cannot vote any other way than I did. I am sorry. I cannot imagine a level of pain that should cause you to lose all rationality and kill your Luna” the second Council member stated.

“I do not happen to agree with you. I believe that this young woman acted while she was still out of her mind in pain. She was not thinking clearly and made a huge error in judgment. Was she wrong about it? Yes. She was greatly in the wrong for it. But I think that this was a perfect storm. I believe that great misdeeds were done to get Cassidy to where she finally lost all sense of good judgment. I think the bulk of this blame lies solely on the shoulders of Jasper Kershaw. He not only went out of his way to pick young and naïve women to try to control them, but he ended up cheating on them and abusing them as well. His mate could feel that, as they were bonded, so every time he cheated, including with his current Luna, Cassidy would feel it. I do not in any way, shape, or form, agree with what Cassidy did, but I believe that she deserves a second chance. I vote that she gets a 5-year probationary sentence, where she is monitored, and watched to make sure that she is no longer a danger to herself, or others” the fourth Council member stated.

“I believe that Cassidy has suffered enough. I believe that she feels a great deal of guilt over her actions now that she is in her right mind. I think the fact that she poisoned her own self with a large dose of the same poisons, shows her remorse. She already was dealt the death penalty. She was brought back because this young woman saw the good in her and wanted her to have a chance at a better life. One where she now has a mate that clearly loves her and will take care of her. After hearing what the doctors said, I believe that the fracture of losing their wolves which had been noted in all of the victim’s statements, occurred not just because of the overwhelming physical pain, but because of the overwhelming emotional pain that came with it. In the kind of trauma that happened to them, their wolf was broken so badly that it took months to heal. We have all sustained pretty extensive injuries in battles that we have fought, but I have never once lost my wolf. I cannot imagine the pain I would have to be in to lose him, to not hear from him. He is my voice of reason, my best friend. I wouldn’t want to live without him, and yet I wouldn’t want him hurt so badly that he had to leave me to do it. I believe that Cassidy has been put through enough pain for two lifetimes. Jasper did a number on her, and I agree with Bain. I hope her second chance mate loves and takes care of her. I also vote for no death sentence, and for four-year probation to be held on Ms. Bridges. I believe that away from Jasper she will flourish and grow to become the she-wolf that she was always meant to be. I also believe that the Goddess agrees with this sentence. It is rare for an Omega to be granted a second chance mate. I believe that great things can be expected from this” the fifth council member stated to the court.

Teresa started jumping around in joy and then bowed in respect to the rest of the Council, but I stood there. Still stunned that I wasn’t sentenced to death. I hadn’t even allowed myself to even think about the possibility of becoming free from my charges. I knew that Teresa and Peyton were hopeful and that Gabi told me that it was going to be OK. But I never once let myself believe that it could even happen. I couldn’t even dare to dream. I stood there with my mouth still open when I heard a voice behind me ask to speak to the Council. Now that the judgment had passed, a question had been raised.

“I know that between the years you gave Cassidy that she has a total of 4 years for her probation. I appreciate you listening to the testimony given in reaching your decision. I was just going to ask permission for Cassidy to be able to leave Ever Green to travel to the B***d Rose pack for the wedding of Peyton and Percy. I can guarantee that neither she nor her mate will be allowed to leave our pack unattended. Cassidy is assigned as one of Peyton’s bridesmaids, and we didn’t even dare to hope for her to be able to do it until the outcome was given. Now that she is on probation, can we request that Cassidy be allowed to travel for the wedding? I am sure that Peyton and Percy would be fine with escorting her with them, from Ever Green” Gabi asked the Council. I hadn’t even thought of that. I am still reeling from the verdict.

“We are aware of the upcoming wedding, I will have to get a consensus on this with another vote” Leader Miller advised Gabi. Teresa went up to the table and they all started discussing it between themselves. Now that the verdict was in, she was allowed to go back to making decisions along with the rest of the Council. She was only exempt from voting on the same case that she was defending. I also knew that the whole Council had been sent invitations to the wedding, so they would all be coming as well, but with them never announcing their whereabouts, for safety reasons. They would certainly not be announcing that fact to the courtroom. I knew for a fact thought that Teresa and Leader Miller would both definitely be coming to the wedding. There will be a high number of powerful pack leaders there, and security will be tight for the event. Gabi has been in charge of all the security details.

“I know that you are still working on your answer, but I wanted to say that Von and myself will also be able to help to keep an eye on Cassidy and Trevor at the wedding. I am confident in the fact that they are both very happy staying at Ever Green, and neither of them has any plans to leave. They are both welcome additions to my pack. I am not trying to sway your vote, but I know how much Peyton loves Cassidy. I was there when Cassidy drank the poison to kill herself. Peyton felt she knew Cassidy even in that short amount of time and believed in her enough to risk her own well-being to save Cassidy’s life. Please consider allowing Cassidy to be able to participate. I feel like she has missed out on enough happy moments in life, and it is time to get some normalcy for all of them now” Heath said to the courtroom. He was still seated in the witness box and could probably hear what was being said. Anyone that knows him, knows that he had a big caring heart, and would do anything for Gabi, and his grandchildren.

“I will be there as well, with DeAnna, we do not mind being a chaperone for her as well. I agree with Heath, I do not believe that she or Trevor will be a flight risk. They are very happy together from all I have heard over the past few weeks. Not to play favorites, but I want my daughter to have all of her bridesmaids if it is at all possible. Plus, you know with this wedding, the whole pack will be locked down like Fort Knox with a great deal of added warriors, and protection spells included in it” King Sebastian also chimed in from the bench. He spoke in a lower tone so no one in the gallery would hear, but I am standing directly in front of them, and I heard him include himself in vouching for me.

I cannot help it, I started tearing up. I have never in my life experienced so much support as I have received today. Never, in my life. I am overwhelmed as my life had been spared, but for important, powerful men to also believe in me, and be willing to speak up for me, I could not stop the tears from falling. I felt a hand on my back, and it is Trevor. He stood next to me and pulled me in for a hug. I heard a chair scrape the floor and I see Jasper two feet from me, held up in the air about two feet above the floor. I sighed, I guess seeing me with my mate, and not about to lose my life like I suspect that he is about to, made him try to kill me again. I turned to look at Sloan and mouthed the words, “Thank you” to her. She smiled and then flicked her hand to put Jasper back into his seat. I guess he figured that since everyone was talking and not watching that he would try to kill me again.

“Cassidy, we will allow you to travel to B***d Rose with your mate. This is a one-time trip, and allowance for you as we were aware that you had been asked to participate in the wedding. We are allowing it, as the people standing up for you have all shown the kind of people that they are throughout the years. I believe that you will not give anyone any problems in going on the trip, and we will allow you to leave Ever Green for a total of three days for this wedding. Our verdict of four-year probation will stand from this date, and is in effect for the four years, with the potential of it dropping off a year early, with good behavior. Good luck in your life Ms. Bridges. I believe that the Goddess does have a vested interest in your future” Leader Miller called out to the quiet room. No comments were made, no snide remarks, and neither set of parents had threatened me, or said anything since the verdict was given. I am hopeful that my life may be on the upswing.

“Now, Jasper, I see you just want to keep racking up your charges. You have attempted to attack Ms. Bridges twice now, with the intent to kill. The second time was after our verdict was just confirmed as she was NOT getting the death sentence. What would possess you to try to kill her, after we had just come down with her judgment? Or are you in such a hurry to anger the whole Council, as I believe you already know what your Verdict is? Leader Miller asked Jasper.

“This is a travesty. You want to pin this all on me, but she killed two Lunas. I cannot believe that you think what I did was worse than what she did?” Jasper yelled back towards Leader Miller.

“We weighed the facts, Jasper. Plus, technically she did die to pay for her crimes, at her own hands. Now you need to remember you have so many charges against you, that you really need to be more specific about the “worse than what you did”. Which time? Which heinous act? The attempted k********g when she was 14? Or the one you just tried to do? The room that you built to hide her in until you could bend her to your will? Lying to two different Beta couples to lure their daughters to your pack? Cheating on your Lunas? Cheating on your mate? You really need to be specific about where you are going with this. Because as far as I and the majority of the Council is concerned. It was indeed YOUR actions that caused her to go out of her mind and choose to hurt those innocent women. So, you indirectly were the cause of their deaths, your actions were the root cause of what happened to them both. Your actions are the very reason that Luna Victoria died, and that Peyton was abused for years. If you hadn’t made the choices that YOU made, none of that would have happened” Leader Miller told Jasper. This time when Jasper jumped up, he ran straight up to attack Leader Miller.