Madeline’s POV
Death? The punishment was death?
No! I couldn’t let that happen! I couldn’t let Dimitri kill his mom because of me!
An overwhelming wave of guilt washed over me, but before I could do or say anything, Dimitri cupped my cheeks and made me look at him.
“This isn’t your fault, Maddie,” he said sternly. “You don’t have to feel guilty about it. It isn’t your fault.”
I felt the tears burning the corners of my eyes. Of course it was my fault. She was going to get punished because of me. He was going to lose his mom because of me.
‘You shouldn’t have said anything, Skye,’ I told my wolf. ‘You should have kept quiet.’
She sighed but didn’t respond.
I focused back on Dimitri and shook my head.
“Of course it’s my fault,” I said, my voice quiet and raspy. “She is going to be punished because of me.”
“No, Mads,” Will spoke before Dimitri could. “She is going to get punished because she made a choice to hurt an innocent person. She is going to get punished because she made a choice to hurt a future Luna.”
I looked at Will and swallowed a lump in my throat. Will smiled at me.
“This can in no way, shape, or form be your fault, Mads,” Will said softly. “She made a terrible choice and the law is clear on what should be done.”
Dimitri caressed my cheek and made me look back at him.
“It’s not your fault, princess,” Dimitri said as he leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose. “Janet and Savannah are the only ones at fault here.”
The intensity of the guilt lessened, but it didn’t disappear. I understood what they were saying, but if it wasn’t for me, Dimitri’s mom wouldn’t be in that position. What if someday Dimitri looks at me and sees the person who took his mom away from him? What if he starts blaming me for that? What if he starts hating me?
Dimitri narrowed his eyes and I knew that Skye told on me.
‘Skye,’ I whined just as Dimitri mind-linked me.
Stop it, Madeline. Dimitri said sternly. It’s not your fault and I will never blame you for it. My heart would break if I tried to hate you. It will never happen. It can’t ever happen. Stop thinking that it will, princess.
I gulped and took a deep breath.
Dimitri leaned in and placed s soft kiss on my lips. I kissed him back and felt my whole body tingle.
“It may not even happen so there really is nothing to worry about,” Will said and I could hear annoyance in his voice.
I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows.
“Oh, it will happen,” Dimitri said angrily. “The council can go to hell. I will make sure that they are both punished for what they did.”
“The council?” I asked, looking back at Dimitri.
“Unfortunately, they also get a say,” Dimitri said as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Will and I are worried that they will be reluctant to punish a former Luna.”
“But the law is clear,” Ellie said, furrowing her eyebrows. “No one is above the law, not even you, Dimitri. They can’t just let her get away with what she has done.”
Dimitri looked at Ellie and sighed. “They won’t let her get away. They will probably suggest a lighter punishment.”
My heart raced. I agreed with that. I didn’t want her dead. I didn’t want Dimitri to have to go through that.
“That is unacceptable,” Ellie said angrily. “She isn’t a Luna anymore. She fucked up. She needs to be punished.”
I looked at Ellie and gulped. Her eyes met mine and she took a deep breath.
“I know that you feel guilty, Mads,” Ellie said softly. “I know that you don’t want it to happen, but it needs to happen. She hurt you. She hurt Dimitri when she hurt you. She hurt us all when she hurt you. She almost left an entire pack without a Luna and an entire Kingdom without a Queen. She hurt a lot of people by hurting you and she needs to be punished for it.”
Dimitri leaned in and kissed my temple.
“Ellie is right, princess,” Dimitri said softly. “She needs to be punished.”
I agreed, but was death really the right punishment? Maybe there was something else we could do.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “But does she really need to be punished so severely? Maybe there is another punishment we could consider.”
Dimitri gave me a small smile and kissed me softly again.
“I am so in love with your kind heart,” he mumbled quietly. “You are an amazing Luna, princess.”
I smiled back at him and caressed his cheek.
“No, Maddie,” Will said, making me look at him. “The law is clear. The only thing that could stand between us and the law is the council. They could protest and ask for a lighter punishment.”
“I have a feeling they will do that,” Ellie mumbled angrily. “Kendrick is a piece of work and he was always cozying up to Janet.”
Dimitri and Will both nodded. Ellie took a deep breath and smiled at me.
“Well, at least we can be sure that Maddie will never get hurt again now that she has such an awesome bodyguard,” Ellie said, her smile turning into a grin.
“Oh, you can bet on that,” Will added, laughing. “Ellie is a total badass and everyone should be afraid.”
I chuckled and Dimitri smiled.
“Do you know how to fight, Mads?” Ellie asked me.
I shook my head. “Not really. I would say that I know basic stuff they taught us at my old pack, but I am a bit clumsy so I would probably end up hurting myself more than the other person.”
Ellie chuckled and shook her head.
“Well, that is about to change,” Ellie said. “You need to know how to defend yourself and I will teach you.”
I smiled and gave her a small nod. She was right. I did need to learn how to defend myself. If I knew how to do that, Janet wouldn’t be able to hurt me. She wouldn’t have to be punished and Dimitri wouldn’t have to make such a difficult decision.
I needed to get stronger. Not just for myself, but for my mate as well.
