Chapter 170 - The greatest sacrifice

The judges' faces were unyielding, their verdict clear. "Alex, you have been found guilty of treason against our kind. Your punishment will be death by public execution." Draken stepped forward, his voice ringing out across the court. "Wait! I speak for Alex. He is not beyond redemption. He was young and foolish, blinded by love. He did not know the consequences of his actions." The judges turned to Draken, their expressions skeptical. "Go on," one of them growled. Draken took a deep breath. "Alex has regretted his actions every day since. He knows he was wrong to mate with a human, to put our entire pack at risk. But he did it out of love, not malice. And he has paid the price, abandoning his family to protect them from our world." The judges conferred, their voices low and urgent. Finally, one of them spoke up. "Very well. We will commute Alex's sentence... to life imprisonment. But he will never be allowed to leave our territory again. He will spend the rest of his days in solit