Hunter’s P.O.V. As I had ordered him that morning Frank made sure every Pack-member was at the Pack-house and I could hear the rumors flying around as to why they had been summoned, not that any of them had been correct in their assumption. My Mates were standing on either side of me, while my friends and family stood to the left in front of the porch and Alpha Quinten and his family stood to the right. Mac and Paul were there as well with their Mates and Ellen was standing next to Frank. “Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming, even though I know you were all ordered to show up. Just so you know, I told Alpha Frank to gather you all here. I am Princess Hunter and to my left are Prince Jax and Prince Justin, to my right are Prince Jayce and Prince Jason. Almost two weeks ago your King came out of hiding and with that a few old, nearly forgotten traditions will return. One of them being visits to Packs, announced and unannounced and your Pack is the first to get a surprise visit. However there was another reason why I wanted to come to this Pack, the people to my left are my family and Aunt Sasha’s siblings informed me of a strange situation in this Pack. Giving me an extra reason to come here as it fits perfectly with my studies. I am studying Law and my current classes are on Pack Hierarchy and Succession.” I let my words sink in as I see Uncle Luke’s men move in from the corner of my eye. They keep their eyes on Ellen, Mac and Paul as I look around the crowd in front of me. “Our Laws are made to ensure that everyone is protected from harm, whether you are a High-ranking member or a Low-ranking member and they are meant to benefit all of us. It had already been brought in front of the King and the Elders that some of our Laws have been forgotten. They have been held out of study books deliberately and hidden in the deep corners of the digital Library, just to make sure that someone can’t benefit from it. Our King has granted my request to investigate who and or why we have forgotten certain Laws. As the King is my Stepfather I have the authority to carry out punishments stated in our Laws, I also am allowed to draft up any changes needed in a Law or to draft up any new Laws we might need.” Again I allow them to process my words and Max gives me an encouraging smile. “When I met Alpha Frank I knew something was wrong, but I was not sure what it was and when I figured it out I wondered why. As everyone of you knows things changed after Alpha Frank met his Mate and brought her home. He didn’t follow the Succession Law, he never intended to do so when it came to his future Beta and I think most of you know why. Truth be told I agree with him on that, a Beta with a tainted bloodline can become a liability to a Pack and no Alpha would want that.Alpha Frank took over from his Father after meeting his chosen Mate and that is where this story becomes complicated. Alpha Frank, Beta Mac and Gamma Paul don’t feel like High-ranking Wolves to me and it took me a little bit of time to figure out why. The ceremony to pass the position to the next generation was “make believe” and the only one that knew was Frank. Despite them running this Pack for over eleven years they never truly were your Alpha, Beta and Gamma.” Paul and Mac are yelling at Frank and Ellen is staring daggers at him, but Uncle Luke’s men quickly grab them before they can try to attack Frank. “After coming home with his Mate Frank began to realize that something was off, Ellen’s persistent nagging for taking over from his Father made him weary and he decided to confide in his Father. Alpha Quinten started to pay more attention to Ellen and her siblings and discovered something disturbing. Their Father had been banished from the Pack after assaulting the Beta’s Sister and through Frank he hoped to gain control of this Pack as he believes it is rightfully his, but this gets a bit more disturbing as we have found a conspiracy to take out Alpha Quinten and his Son.” I stop talking as the crowd erupts in roars, growls and shouting. Uncle Luke’s men have Ellen, Mac and Paul completely boxed in and by the looks on some of the faces it is a good thing no one can get to them. I am not trying to get everyone’s attention back to me, I just wait until they all have blown of some steam. It takes several minutes before the crowd has settled down and I lean against Jayce to draw some strength from him, knowing the best part is still to come. “When dealing with conspiracy one only needs to present his or her case to three Elders and they will render a verdict. After that our Law books state that they are either put to death or turned rogue and that the decision is made by the Alpha. However, as I already said some of our Laws have been forgotten and that also includes our Laws and punishments for conspiracy or treason. Today you, as Pack-members, will have a say in their punishment. I will let Frank give his testimony first, after that you will hear from Alpha Quinten and lastly Prince Jayce will give his testimony.” I say and I gesture to Frank to step onto the front porch. Frank tells his Pack-members everything, from the moment he met Ellen, her Father and her siblings until this morning and everyone listens without interrupting him. Alpha Quinten does the same thing after his Son and again the crowd stays quiet. When my Mate steps forward I see two females giving him lustful looks and Justice starts growling in my head, “Stop it, Justice. He doesn’t even notice them.” I say and it is true, he doesn’t notice the two females looking at him. Jayce tells them what he overheard and I honestly believe that Ellen, Mac and Paul should be grateful that Uncle Luke and his men have them surrounded, some of the Pack-members look close to attacking them.Others are close to shifting and those have chosen to step to the side just in case. This time it takes much longer for everyone to settle down, but I don’t care about it as they need to let out their frustration and feeling of injustice of what they just found out. “I want everyone to think about what they think should be a just punishment, write it down as detailed as possible and hand it to Emma, Ella or Max before dinner. After dinner I will go through your suggestions with Alpha Quinten, Frank and the Princes and I hope that by breakfast I will be able to tell you what their punishment will be. If it gets delayed I will inform you of that as well and you will get informed on when they will receive their punishment.” I nod my head at the crowd before I turn around and head back into the Pack-house with my Mates close behind. I crawl onto the bed with Jax right beside me and I put my head on his chest, needing his comfort to settle myself. I realized today that I don’t like it much to sentence someone to death, but I know that it is sometimes necessary to hand out that punishment. Punishments are set within our Laws to make everyone aware of what the consequences of their crimes can be and depending on the severity of the crime the sentence can vary from a short imprisonment to death. Alphas, Elders and Royals get to decide what will happen, but in some cases I think it is only fair that others get involved too. In this case an entire Pack became a victim and if they had succeeded in the rest of their plan it could have turned out even worse. For that reason alone I believe the Pack should be involved in their punishment and not just the Alpha. Jax is gently placing kisses all over my face, while Jayce’s hand is stroking up and down my back and slowly my eyelids become heavier. I try to fight falling asleep, but it is a lost cause and soon I am sound asleep. “Princess, it is almost time for dinner.” I hear a voice whisper near my ear and on reflex I swat my hand up, hearing “Ouch” and laughter. I slowly open my eyes to see Jason covering his nose with his hand and I realize I probably hit him harder than was necessary. I sit up straight holding out my arms to him and he jumps on top of me as a huge smile spreads across his face. He places his head on my chest and I gently kiss his nose before I ask, “Is that better, Puppy?” All four of my Mates growl at my words and I get flushed as I remember the last time I used that word. With Jason on my chest, I can’t hide my face and all four of them can see the shades of red on my face. My Mates all chuckle at my flushed face and Justice silences them by growling loudly, making me giggle.