Two Tails

Chapter Three- "On Trial"

"Wolves are said to have a better instinct on telling who their mate is." My mother says, looking at Aatu. She then gives a small growl. "Go and shift, take your clothes with you!" She says. Aatu whimpers, and then grabs his clothes in his jaws and pads behind the house. My mother clears her thought. "So, is he your mate?" She asks. I shake my head, "Zara thinks he is...but Isa doesn't. And I definitely don't so; I guess he's not my mate." My mother shakes her head, "Isa must be your tiger. The tigers always refuse to accept their mate as their mate. But your tiger may be right. He may not be your mate." She says.

I shrug, "But then, that would make Zara wrong." I say. "Either way." My mother says, and heads back into the house just as Aatu returns. I stare at him, "How old are you?" I ask. "I'm eight-teen, why?" He asks. I shrug. "How high are you in the ranks?" I ask. "I'm the Alpha." He says. I give a fake cough. "That's hard to believe."

"Then believe it"

"I don't need to believe a wolf." I say, staring at him in the eye. "But you're a wolf." He says innocently. "So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Oh, honey, trust me, it does." Aatu says, with a crooked smirk. It's the kind of smirk that makes it hard not to want to smirk back. My sister, Stella, called it a centaur smile. It's the way a guy would attract girls to the good things about him, and take off his less appealing side.

I smirk back, "So, does Omega want a bone?" I joke. Aatu growls, "I'm not the Omega." He says, and then mutters, "My sister is." I burst out laughing. "So, you're Alpha and she's Omega. Nice. How did that happen?" I ask, Aatu rolls his eyes. "Parent stuffs." He replies.

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I feel like dying. Right now. In this very spot. My mother has called a Pride Meeting, and held Aatu and I in the council, on trail.

FLASHBACK

"Why am I on trail?" I asked my mother, she shrugged, "The Pride may not trust you if you have a wolf as your mate" She replied, and I growled. "Great. And we just made her runner-up for you." One of my advisors said. I frowned.

"What if the jury finds me guilty of having a wolf mate?" I ask. My mother frowned.

"Then, you will be stripped of your title as Holy Daughter, and given to Alpha Aatu's pack." My mother said with sorrow. I growled, but then quieted down.

Accept it, they probably won't find you guilty. Isa mewed, Zara growled. Of course they'll find you guilty! I looked at the ground. Shut up you two. Thankfully they stopped talking.

I stared at the ground, as my mother placed a golden necklace with a silver charm on my neck. "Gold is a cat-type's weakness, silver a wolf-types." She said. The Pride Guards were putting a silver chain-like necklace on Aatu's neck. He seemed quite depressed, then looked at me, mouthing "I'm sorry." I glared at him, and then looked away.

.....

I was now sitting in front of a judge, and Aatu was at my side. The judge looked at my mother. "Can you take off their necklaces...? Please? I need to see how they act with each other when they shift." Fear jolted up my spine, and I can smell my mother's fear scent, too. "Alright." She said, and took a step towards the two of us. She took off the necklace on my neck, and I looked at the judge, afraid. This was my pride. What would they do if they found out I was a werewolf and a werecat? I could hear eyes on me, and I looked at Aatu. He was staring up at me intently, with wide, wolfish eyes. He's already shifted.

My fear became larger as I shifted into a tiger. Gasps came from the pride-members behind me. And my mother and father played along. Fury exploded through my body. Traitors! They know very well about this! I hissed in my mind. Should we kill them? Isa asked. No, I don't want any charges put against us. Zara said, and I nodded in agreement. Aatu's tail thumped on the ground happily. And I glared at him, and then looked up.

Aatu took a step closer to me, and I was still glaring at him, sitting down. The room became silent, and he tried to lick my cheek. I rose up, arched my back, and hissed in cold fury. Don't kill mate! Zara howled in fear.

I spat at him, and then shook out my fur. Aatu seemed taken aback by the way I'd behaved, and I purred in delight. I'd scared him. Good. Aatu was padding back up to me, and I glared at him again. I unsheathed my claws, and lashed out at him, but right when I had a paw near his head, I put it down. I could not kill this guy. My name would be scarred for my life if I did. But there was something about him that made me not want to kill him.

The people around us were murmuring what they thought, I heard one say "If she's not his mate, then she should kill him," I stared at Aatu, and winked. He seemed to get the gist of what I was doing, but he came back up to me again... I couldn't stand it! I hissed, and spat at him, arching my back, I leaped onto him, pinning him down with sheathed claws. I hissed in his face, my heavier weight allowed me to hold him down.

I didn't unsheathe my claws though, and all eyes were on us once again. He whimpered in submission, and I got off of him, sitting back down, I lifted a paw and licked it. The crowd exploded into applause, and I purred, and this time, when Aatu came up to lick me on the cheek, I allowed him to. The room grew very silent.

I jolted up, and stood up. I flicked my ears. Had I just let him lick my cheek? Ew! Wolf slobber! Isa yowled. Yeah, and I guess cat drool is worse? Zara growled.

Meanwhile, I was just staring at him is shock. Then, I hissed at him. The judge clapped his hands. "I've seen enough." He said. "Petra Faith Stripe is found guilty, along with Aatu Howl." To himself, the judge murmured, "What strange last names they have."

....

We were walking outside when my mother rushed up to us. "I'm sorry, sweetie." She said, and frowned, I saw tears go down her cheeks, and it made it hard not to cry, too. I hugged her. "I'll see you soon." I said with a tiny smile, to show no hard feelings. My mother gave a short nod, before turning around. I could see her lips move as if she were talking, but no words got out. She must've been talking through the mind-link.

I shook my head, and looked at Aatu. He reached up to place a hand on my shoulder for comfort, and I swatted it away. "YOU'RE THE WORST MATE ANYONE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE! YOU'RE NOT EVEN MY MATE!" I hiss at him, and glare into his eyes. I can see genuine hurt in his soft, aqua eyes. I scowl at him, and push him away from me. I glare at my former pride-mates, then dash off into the forest.

All I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears. I could shift, but I know I shouldn't. You hurt mate! He's going to see us as a monster now! Zara howled. I don't give a shit, okay? He's the person who broke my relationship with my mother, my pride-heart. So butt off! I hiss, and I can feel Isa's whiskers brush against me. You're okay. Just, forgive him. He did nothing wrong. He was just trying to love you, and be a loyal mate. Isa mews calmingly. NO! I hiss, swatting her away. I can hear her yowl of shock as she tumbles away. I stop near the lake, my chest heaving heavily. I'm panting heavily. I sit down, and look at my mud-covered heels. I frown at my reflection. A stray tear falls into the lake, sending ripples to ruin my reflection.

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Wow, Petra can be quite harsh, poor Petra. She's been separated from her pride. Oh well. But good things come out of the bad....I guess.

Anyways.... Up top is a picture of Isa c:

Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far

:D I'm getting three of my friends to help me out in the story! What great ideas the three of them have! And what great characters we've come up with so far!

Love you all!

-Taggs