The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 187: Verdict

Sophie

Jake makes a note on the tablet in front of him then turns to our table. “Luna Jocelyn, have you been forcefully kept from your mate? The court recognizes that you have Alpha Hunter and Luna Sophie at your table. If you would prefer to have them removed, we can do so.”

“No, I want them here. I asked them to be here with me. And to answer your question, no, I have not been forcibly kept from my mate. I’ve finally been given the space from him that I’ve been requesting since he forced his mark on me against my will,” she says.

“Which is the whole reason we came to Hunter’s pack to begin with,” Zahn yells. “So we could work through that.”

“You had no intention of working through that Zahn. You and I both know that. You just wanted reinforcement that you’d tried and I’m the one who was unwilling to move forward. But that backfired on you, didn’t it? Luna Sophie was very upfront with you about allowing me to decide when and how I spent time with you. You just thought that Hunter would step in and override her. Now that you know that he actually respects his mate and listens to what she has to say, you want to say he’s keeping me from you. It’s ME keeping me from you, Zahn. Accept my rejection and be done with this,” Jocelyn says forcefully.

“Look at you, all high and mighty while you hide behind another Alpha,” he sneers.

Faster than I was expecting, Jocelyn stands, her chair flying backwards and slamming against the other chairs and tables against the wall.

“I don’t need to hide behind anyone. Now that I’m finally getting the medical treatment that I need, now that my wolf is finally getting strong enough that I can feel her presence again, I don’t need to hide. What I need is for you to get out of my life. I never wanted you as a mate. You were never intended to be my mate. I would never have willingly accepted you as my mate and neither would my wolf.”

“What will it take, Jocelyn? What will it take for you to return to our home with me?” he says, looking at her. “No matter how it happened, you are our mate. Kortan and I want you at our side. You are our Luna.”

Jocelyn smiles sadly. “Do you know, I’ve learned a lot lately about what it means to be a true Luna, the way they interact with their pack, the way they care about their pack, how their mates treat them and respect them. Being around this group of women has taught me a lot about the life that I want for myself. I don’t ever see myself having that life with you.”

“You are my mate!” he snarls, standing up before the warriors close in on him, putting their hands on his shoulders and holding him back. I can feel Hunter, ready to attack if Zahn makes a move toward Jocelyn.

“Have a seat, Alpha Zahn,” Jake says forcefully.

When everyone is seated, I look up at Alpha Jake.

I make

Luna,” he says. I stand and look at Alpha

think you should get on your knees and beg her forgiveness,” I

he scoffs at

peers, the other ranked members in this room, then publicly shame yourself for others to

with?” he asks the council as Jocelyn looks up at me frowning and I feel Hunter going through my mind, trying to understand the purpose behind my words. When

Luna?” Zahn asks, as if my title means less than the

it’s what you did to her, Alpha,” I say with as much

there. I saw you in the woods. I saw how you shoved Jocelyn to her knees, stripped her bare in front of your pack members and shamed her by mating her and forcefully marking her as she sobbed and begged you to stop. If it’s good enough for your Luna,” I snarl, getting angry all over again, “it should be good enough

didn’t know. I

the law,” he says quietly, but looks

you’re going to stand behind?” Nikki asks.

is what we live by,”

asks. I was glad to see her here. She’s not technically Ezra’s mate, but she was a Luna, so everyone agreed that she should have a place

run. None of us could find our mates,”

you Alpha Zahn? You found her and she chose to end her life rather than be with you. Isn’t that correct?” Robin

ill,”

Dutton asks. “Because I remember meeting her and I don’t remember thinking

quiet, gritting his teeth so loudly that everyone in the room can hear it. Everyone knows that he’s

is the

and my former Beta prepared for an attack. While Alpha Zahn’s warriors were decimated, mine had minimal

law,” Jake stresses, “states that if an Alpha attacks another Alpha, wages war against their pack, or in any other way tries to overthrow them and that Alpha loses, it is up

more than one occasion, and he has argued and fought every step of the process that Sophie and I have attempted to take to help heal Luna Jocelyn so that

nods and looks down at the

Lucas, I understand that you have excused yourself and