Secrets Of The Woods: Werewolf Story

Chapter 42: Court Drama

Elizabeth Miller's PoV

I barely get any sleep because Matthew and I stayed up so long talking with a couple pack members about being mates. I can tell it's a lot harder for Matthew then it is for me. I went and slept in one of the bedrooms. I got texts from my mom telling me to sleep over at a friend's because there's a lot going on at home. When I wake up there's a lot of people wandering around the house. Kids and adults. It's crazy. The basement door is open so I'm guessing they let the wolves out. I go over to the kitchen and I get some pancakes. One of them is making pancakes. I sit down at there dining room table with other pack members to eat my pancakes. After eating pancakes I go put my dishes in the sink. One of the members tells me "I'll take care of it."
I tell her "You don't have to do it."
She smiles and tells me "It doesn't bother me."
I leave my dishes for her to wash then head back to the main room. I'm looking for Matthew. I know they told us to not always be right next to each other but he's one of the only people I really know here. I see him sitting on a couch talking with other pack members so I head over to him. He smiles at me when he sees me coming so I smile back. He makes space on the couch so I sit right next to him. There's so much noise and chaos going on. We both look to see Morgan and Zoe walking downstairs together. I thought they didn't get along? They seem better now. Zoe seems tired. Morgan seems fine. The pack members and kids all start going outside to play games and have fun while the rest are still inside eating, talking, or cooking and washing dishes. It's almost like they never left. Zoe comes over and tells us "I hate mornings."
Morgan laughs and tells us "I miss the craziness of everyone being here."
We look and see Mason and Crystal walking towards us. They are smiling and joking around. Mason seems very happy. Mason tells us "You never actually got to know Crystal so I thought I'd introduce you. Crystal this is Matthew and Elizabeth."
She smiles and tells us "It's so good to finally meet you two! Sorry about our previous meetings."
Matthew tells her "It's alright...I've seen worse."
Crystal looks at Mason and asks "What has he seen?"
Mason tells her "Uh...you know...our ways to train."
"Oh. That..."
What do they mean there training? Crystal smiles and says "Mason told me you two are mates. Werewolf Human mates."
I tell her "Yeah. We're still figuring it out."
Crystal laughs and tells us "It's probably not as bad as us. Mason found out I was his mate shortly after I shifted. He kept pushing aside his mate feeling because I couldn't be there for him. So we were both pretty out of it when I felt it and he did."
Matthew tells her "You seem to focus on the positive a lot."
She smiles and tells us "Of course I do! That's my personality. I think it goes good with Mason who's all over the place and keeps stuff to himself a lot."
Morgan tells her "That's gonna be hard to keep secrets now that he has a mate and he's the new Alpha."
Crystal says "Yeah it will be. I'm just happy the guy I have had a crush on for a long time is my mate."
More pack members head outside so now it's just the couple of us. It's dead silent until Crystal asks "Mason? What's wrong? I can tell something is bothering you."
Mason does look conflicted. He suddenly blurts out "It's my fault my parents are dead."
He shocks all of us... except for Matthew. Did he tell Matthew? Crystal asks "What do you mean? You kept saying they were alive and fine."
Mason sits down on the couch and tells her "They've been dead for a year. It was my fault. My mom found out I've been lying to her. That I don't travel all over for my job. That I could communicate with them more often then I did. It broke her heart. She thought I hated her. She killed herself in front of me. I could've stopped her...but I wasn't paying enough attention. Then a couple months later my dad died. He was heart broken without my mom. He started drinking a lot and smoking which lead to his death. It was my fault."
Crystal tells him "It wasn't your fault. You don't make your parents choices."
"It was my fault. I lied to them because I always took Liam's rules so seriously."
"It's not your fault. I know you want to blame yourself but don't. You didn't know lying to them would lead to there deaths. There could've been more reasons other then that. Maybe your mom had been depressed a lot longer then that so she used it as her excuse to finally kill herself. You weren't around them enough to know for sure what did it."
Morgan tells him "I know you, Mason. It wasn't your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself for there deaths. It won't help. It's in the past."
Crystal sits down next to Mason and wraps her arms around him. His face is expressionless. He really does hide stuff and bury it down. Matthew tells us "He told me last night after I found my mom who was dying. He told me her death wasn't my fault. And then he told me about his parents."
The rest of us head outside to give Mason and Crystal some privacy. Kyle comes over and asks "Is everything ok? Where's Mason and Crystal?"
Zoe tells him "Mason just finally told us what he's kept buried for a year. Crystal's comforting him."
Kyle says "I'm sorry to hear that. But it's probably a good thing we don't all see Mason a emotional mess."
Mason walks outside with Crystal and tells us "Elizabeth, Matthew, and I have to go to court for a court hearing."
Morgan asks "Do you want anyone else to come with?"
Mason tells her "No, but if we need you I'll call you."
Crystal asks him "Are you sure you don't want me to come with?"
Mason tells her "I'm sure. People still think you're out of town."
"I can say that I just got back."
"I don't want to get... distracted by you."
"That's fine. I'll be here if you need me."
Morgan takes me inside to get changed for court. Mason and Matthew also go inside to change. With Morgan's help I pick out a basic blue dress and I curl my hair real fast. I head back downstairs and see the boys dressed up. They are both wearing dress shoes, pants, and long sleeved shirts. Mason asks "Are you ready to go?"
I tell them "Yeah."
We all head out and get into one of the rental cars. It's easier then taking one of the cars in the garage which is blocked. Matthew and I sit in the backseat together while Mason drives. It's a court case against who killed Matthew's mom. He tells me "My mom before she died...said your dad killed her."
I tell him "It makes sense. He's crazy."
"You don't care that he's gonna go to jail?"
"No. He's never been a good dad to me. I'm fact...he's never been good to me or my mom."
"What do you mean?"
"My mom married him after she graduated high school. He's never let her get a job or make friends. Her cut her off from her friends and family. He moves us around all the time so he won't get in trouble. He verbally abuses us...and physically does to my mom. Occasionally he does to me but it's mainly my mom. She's too scared to tell anyone. I have been to...until now."
Matthew's grip gets tighter. We've been holding hands in the car and now his grip is getting tight. I ask "Matthew? Can you loosen your grip?"
Matthew let's go of my hand and puts his hands on his head. I can see his eyes changing colors back and forth. I tell Mason "I think Matthew's...losing it."
Mason looks through the mirror real quick and tells me "That's what happens when you tell your mate something like that. At least you told him now versus the court room. That would've been bad. But you have to talk with him. Reassure him that your ok. That's the only way to help him."
I reach my hand over and put it on his shoulder. I tell him "I'm ok now. He's gonna get locked up so he can't go after me anymore."
Matthew takes some deep breathes and calms down. His eyes go back to normal and he takes his hands off his head. He looks at me and I smile at him. He tells me "I don't know...what just happened."
Mason tells him "It's your inner wolf crying out that it wasn't there to protect her. It drives you crazy but with time you'll learn how to control it."
We pull into the parking lot then get out. After we get out I grab Matthew's hand and we walk inside. A police officer takes us into the court room. We sit in a row with my mom. She smiles when she sees me holding Matthew's hand. They bring my dad in with his lawyer and another lawyer comes in representing Matthew's mother. They all sit down in there seats. The judge tells us "We are hear today to hear the case for the death of Dr Elaine Knight. She helped save so many lives and helped people. Her life was ended too early. She leaves behind her son, Matthew Knight. How do you plead?"
My dad's lawyer tells us "We plead not guilty. Technology can easily be changed now a days to make it sound like his voice on the phone instead of someone else's."
The judge asks the other lawyer "What do you believe is a good deal?"
The lawyer says "Life in prison. He not only murdered Elaine Knight, he constantly annoyed the private property owners. There is also evidence that he abuses his wife and daughter. He was caught this morning hunting. He was trying to kill some wolves even though he was told he wasn't allowed to anymore because wolves are an endangered species now."
The judge nods and tells us "First up to question is Officer Petroe."
Office Petroe, dressed in a suit heads up and sits down on the stand chair after pledging to tell the truth. First up to question the officer is my dad's lawyer. My dad's lawyer asks "What evidence did you find that my client is guilty?"
The officer tells him "We found the phone call on her phone that has his voice in the background."
"Technology can easily be changed."
"That is true but there was no time to change it. Matthew was on the phone with his mother and then your client showed up. His voice can faintly be heard on the phone. Matthew and his friend, Mason showed up at the house because they were not too far away when they didn't hear her speaking on the phone. Matthew tried to save her but it was too late. Then they called us and we came."
"So there was a time they could've edited the phone call. They didn't immediately call you when something happened. And last we knew... Matthew and Mason were at the private property. How did they get back to the Knight's house so fast? There's no way they would've been walking from the private property to the Knight's house that late at night. So that means they didn't call you right away. It gives them more time to edit it."
"We showed up to the house right after they called us. We have her time of death. The autopsy shows exactly what they said."
"That doesn't explain how they got back so fast."
"This is a small town. People do crazy stuff all the time like walking around late at night."
"So, getting framed for murder is crazy?"
"No, that's not. What I meant is our teenagers and young adults do crazy things like take a long walk late at night. They could've walked from the private property to the forest path. The forest path eventually leads back to town or they cut through the woods and headed straight to the Knight's house."
"Teenagers and young adults are crazy, but they wouldn't frame someone for murder? Matthew's friend, Mason and the others who live on the private property are known for helping preserve the woods. I'm assuming that would include the wildlife as well. Perhaps...they framed my client because they wanted to get rid of the hunter killing the wolves."
"That's unlikely. The autopsy shows the bullet was poisonous. The only people using poison bullets are the hunters. They told the police station and hospital. They all had to sign agreements that if they shot a person instead of a wolf they would pay for the person's medical bills. The first person to eagerly sign it was your client."
More questions are asked and then the other lawyer, the one that's for Elaine Knight gets to ask questions. He tells us "Like you said, there's a forest path they could travel on. But isn't it also correct that they have lived here longer then the Miller's have to they know there way around town better?"
The Office tells him "That's correct."
"How long have you known the Knight's?"
"Not personally but they've been a great family. She was a doctor for our hospital. She worked all kinds of shifts to help people. There plenty of times the other doctors said if she wasn't there the patients would've died. Her son is a good student. Occasionally gets into trouble for partying or not doing his homework but he's a good kid. He's been working on getting on a better path now."
"Would a good family like that lie about who killed her?"
"No sir."
"Was there enough time to edit the phone call?"
"There wasn't. Unless they lied about how long they were there but the autopsy proves differently."
He keeps getting asked questions until he can finally step down from the stand and sit in a row. The judge says "Next up is Mason Foster."
Mason gets up and goes to the stand. He does the pledge to tell the truth then sits down. My dad's lawyer goes first again. He says "Mason, may I call you that?"
Mason tells him "If you want to."
"Alright, Mason you've slowly getting close to Matthew. And now your his guardian. Am I right so far?"
"Yes that's true. I met him through-"
"I'm asking the questions here. Why did you become friends with Matthew? Was it because he doesn't have a father figure around?"
"No. Like I was going to say I met him through Zoe."
"Who's Zoe?"
"A friend of me and the others I live with. Liam hired her to help run our store and clean the house when we are gone on vacation or for work."
"How long has she been working for you?"
"For over a year now."
"Why didn't you hire her sooner?"
"It took a while to convince Liam to hire some help."
"Where is Liam now? You talk about him but no one's seen him in a while."
"He works part time here and part time elsewhere. It depends on his online clients. He's a lawyer."
"Really? He's a lawyer but he didn't come back to help defend your side. Why is that?"
Elaine Knight's lawyer says "Objection. He's leading the witness."
The judge nods and says "Move on."
My dad's lawyer says "I was getting there."
Mason tells him "We know Liam, if he defended us then he could get called out for defending people close to him."
The lawyer asks "Why isn't Zoe here to testify how she works for you?"
"Because she was busy."
"Too busy to come to a court case?"
"We can call her and have her come if you want to question her."
"No it's fine. I'm just curious that she's not here."
"How were you able to become Matthew's guardian? You aren't too much older then he is?"
"He's sixteen. I told the police officers I can care for him for two years then after that he's legally a adult who can care for himself. He doesn't really need to to provide for him now but since he's not a adult he needs a guardian."
"You wouldn't have hired someone to kill his mother then step in as hero and take him in?"
"No I didn't. I'm busy helping out at my house. It's a huge house and a lot of property. I also help at the store. Why would I willingly want to hire someone to kill his mother then take him in?"
"So you could put him to work at your house."
My dad's lawyer keeps asking him questions until he finally let's the other lawyer have a chance. The Knight's lawyer asks "How long have you known Matthew for?"
"Not too long. Maybe a month or two?"
"So for a short time. You became friends pretty fast. So when he lost his mother you decided to take him in because you didn't want him to end up with a complete stranger?"
"Yeah. I felt bad he would've ended up with someone he didn't know if I didn't take him in. He's like a brother to me even though I haven't known him very long."
"Was there something in your past that caused you to feel bad for him?"
"My parents died last year so I know what it's like to lose your parents. I am older then him but not too much older. It's hard losing your parents at a young age."
"What happened to your parents?"
"My mom killed herself. She was suffering from depression. My dad died a few months later because of his smoking, drinking, and depression from losing my mom."
"Your lose helped you connect with him and decide to be his guardian."
"Yeah it did. I felt...guilty for a while that I wasn't able to save my parents. I moved away to live my own life. Matthew felt guilty too but I'm slowly helping him deal with it. Losing people is hard."
The lawyer asks more questions until he can step down. Next up is my dad. My dad goes up to the stand with a smirk and a walk of authority. Like he believes he's going to win this.