Page 51 of The Alpha’s Sin (Forbidden Omegaverse #7)

POPPY

I don’t sleep a wink.

They locked Logan away in some abandoned building on the edge of town, and no one will tell me anything or let me see him.

I spent the night curled in the front seat of my ancient Chrysler , shivering under an old blanket I’d left in the trunk.

Every sound of the wind against the car made me flinch.

Every minute that passed without him beside me left me feeling colder… emptier…and more scared.

At some point, I must have dozed off, because a brisk tapping on my window jerks me awake. I sit up fast, my neck stiff, my heart pounding. One of the Alphas from last night is standing there, his expression hard.

“You are being summoned,” he says flatly. “ The trial of Logan Hayes , the male you broke the Unbreakable Laws with, is about to begin.”

My stomach twists. The blanket slips off my shoulders, and I force myself to straighten, fumbling the car door open. My legs feel like they’re made of glass, but I follow him inside.

The building looks deserted on the outside, but within it’s been transformed into something grimly ceremonial.

Rows of mismatched chairs line the floor.

At the far end, raised high above the rest of us, sits a middle-aged man with a round, smug face and a belly that strains against his leather vest. His piggy eyes scan the room like he owns it—and I realize with a sinking heart that he probably does.

“This trial will come to order,” one of the Alphas proclaims importantly. “ All rise for our honorable Packmaster , Larry Townsend .”

Everyone stands. I do too, though my knees shake so badly I can barely hold myself up. Townsend waves a pudgy hand and smirks.

“Sit,” he says. “ Let’s get this thing started—bring out the accused.”

They drag Logan in, bound in thick silver chains. The sight of him makes my throat close. The metal is already leeching the strength from his massive body. He looks pale, tired—but when his eyes find mine, they blaze with fierce light.

“Don’t be afraid, baby,” he says hoarsely.

“Shut up, you fucking lawbreaker!” one of the guards snarls, yanking hard on the chain.

Logan stumbles forward and is forced to his knees in front of the dais.

Townsend peers down at him with mock solemnity.

“You stand accused of breaking the Unbreakable Laws of our people by lying with and impregnating your own sister. How do you plead?”

Anger sparks in Logan’s eyes.

“The Unbreakable Laws shouldn’t apply in this case! And what makes you think I broke them?”

“Call the witnesses.”

Kyle and Leroy shuffle out, smirking like they’ve already won. I glare at them both—those bastards must have reported on Logan after they saw me pregnant! Sure enough, when the Packmaster asks them to present their evidence, they both turn to stare at me.

“We saw her,” Kyle says, pointing. “ Before Christmas she was fine. You know—normal-looking. But just last week we saw her again and now she’s pregnant!”

“Yeah,” Leroy chimes in. “ He musta got her pregnant ‘cause she was in Heat . We could both smell it!”

“And she ain’t his wife,” Kyle adds. “ She’s his brother’s wife. I know, ‘cause I’m friends with him—with Dirk Hayes .”

I squeeze my hands into fists. Of course they’re friends with Dirk . Rats stick together, right? Assholes .

Townsend nods at them smugly and then turns his attention back to Logan .

“Well, well—it sounds like an open-and-shut case. How do you plead now, Hayes ?”

Logan glares up at him.

“You know exactly what these two are like—how much they can be trusted around a female in Heat . Did they tell you they attacked her? Did they admit I had to Shift and fight them off to keep them from dragging her away?”

The Packmaster shifts uneasily in his seat but waves a hand.

“That’s immaterial. You still broke the Laws .”

“Immaterial?” Logan snarls. “ You’re just going to take their word for it? These two were expelled from the Pack for a reason! Poppy was abandoned by my brother when she was already pregnant. I took her in and gave her shelter. You can’t prove I broke the Laws with her!”

The room ripples with murmurs. For a moment, my heart leaps. Surely they can’t argue with that! Surely they’ll have to let him go?—

But then another Alpha steps forward, dragging a reluctant Dr . Elizabeth with him.

“Tell us what you found in Poppy Hayes ’ last ultrasound,” he orders.

She shoots me an apologetic look.

“I really don’t think?—”

“Just answer the question, Doctor .” The Packmaster glares at her, his piggy eyes narrowing. “ And remember this is a Pack Court —if you lie, you can be sanctioned or even expelled from the Pack .”

Dr. Elizabeth clearly doesn’t want to answer, but she has no choice. She twists her hands together as she talks.

“Poppy Hayes is carrying two babies. One is a female Were child and the other…well the other is an Alpha pup.”

There’s a low gasp from the people around me and several of them shoot me some extremely unfriendly and judgmental looks.

“Indeed.” Townsend pounces on her words. “ Since Logan is an Alpha and his brother Dirk is a Beta —and a Beta cannot sire an Alpha pup—the second child must belong to Logan Hayes .”

“Yes…unfortunately.” Dr . Elizabeth’s shoulders sag and this time she can’t even look at me. I would feel bad for her if I wasn’t so worried about Logan .

“Thank you. That will be all,” the Packmaster says, dismissively.

But she resists when they start to drag her away.

“Wait— I have something to say! Poppy Hayes was entering her Secundus Calor when she first came to me. For those of you who don’t know medical terminology that means her Second Heat .

This happens sometimes with a first Were pregnancy and it can be very dangerous for the expectant mother.

I advised Logan to knot her and breed her often—she needed it for the pregnancy to stay healthy! ”

Gasps ripple through the crowd, even louder than before.

Townsend glares daggers at her.

“And did you know then that he wasn’t her true mate—that in the eyes of the Law he was her brother?”

“No,” she admits miserably. “ But in the absence of her true mate, Logan did what he had to do. He shouldn’t be punished for giving her what her body needed when her true mate abandoned her.”

Logan lifts his head and looks at the Packmaster .

“Just let us leave. I’m not part of your Pack . Poppy is about to get a divorce on grounds of abandonment anyway?—”

A new voice cuts through the air like a knife.

“I never abandoned her. I just left for a little while…so I could make a better home for our little family.”

The crowd starts murmuring, looking over their shoulders.

I whirl and it feels like my heart has frozen in place.

From the shadows steps the man I thought I’d never see again.

Dirk.