Chapter 144: Chapter 122-2

Chapter 122-2 “Welcome, Steve. Thank you for agreeing to tell your story to the Alphas and the council today,” Alpha Lars said. “Could you start with introducing yourself?”

“Yes, Alpha Lars. My name is Steve Miller, I am a member of the Ocean Shore pack, as my family has been as far back as we can remember. I was a warrior in the pack up until five months ago,” Steve told everyone. I knew him, he was a good warrior and I had hoped he would have come with me when we left the pack. His loyalty had been too firmly rooted.

“Thank you. Can you tell us why you are no longer a warrior in your back?” Alpha Lars asked.

“Me and my mate made the decision to leave the pack,” Steve told us “And why was that, if you had a good role in the pack, why leave?” the head of the council asked.

“The situation in the pack was getting too dangerous for me and my family. Me and my mate have a pup, a five–year–old girl.

She is the most precious thing to us and she is also the last pup born in the Ocean Shore pack,” he told us. I was stunned by the information. We had never thought about asking, but if it was true the last pup to be born in my brother’s pack was five years ago, it explained why Ryan was getting desperate. If no new members could be recruited from other packs and no new pups were being born, his pack was slowly dying. “My mate and I have been spared from the worst of what is happening in the pack.

But the thought of our daughter needing to go through with forced matings is not something I can accept.”

“Can you please describe what new rules have been enforced in the Ocean Shore pack which made you decide to leave?” Alpha Lars asked.

“All mated couples are to report to the top tier how often they have sex and they have to track the woman’s reproductive cycle.

All birth control are forbidden. All non–mated females above the age of fifteen need to track their reproductive cycle and report it to the top tier. When she is at the height of being fertile, she have to accept to sleep with a male chosen by the top tier. This man can be any male in the pack below the age of sixty. Only exception is if he has a mate who is pregnant or has been given birth in a six- month period. Otherwise, all males have to comply and take part in the breeding program. All forms of homosexuality are forbidden.” The room was silent after Steve stopped talking. I felt the anger course through me even if I had heard it before from families staying in our pack and from the meeting we had with our allies. Their rules were cruel and didn’t consider the sanctity of the mate bond. It went against the moon goddess herself. Just the thought of being forced to be with someone who wasn’t Amie had my wolf stirring. After Steve had given his testimony, we got to hear from two women and a man. One of the women told us how she had been forced into sleeping with a man as she hadn’t found her mate yet, but she was nineteen, so she should do her part for the pack. The other woman testified about the questioning she had to endure because she and her mate hadn’t become pregnant despite being mated for three years. The threats they had made to forcefully separate her from her mate and place them with other people to see if that would help. The man testified about being forced to sleep with a woman despite having a mate. How guilty it had made him feel, how it had impacted the relationship with his mate and how he still had a hard time forgiving himself. When it was all over, I had my arm around Amie as if I could shield her from the ugliness of it all. Amie had tears running down her face. She wasn’t alone. Most of the lunas present were crying and even some alphas had tears in their eyes.

“Do you have any further evidence?” the head of the council asked Alpha Lars.

“No. I rest my case,” he told them. Council nodded as one.

“We will break for lunch. After lunch, Alpha Jonas will present his case in front of the alphas,” the head of the council said.