Accidentally Mated To Four Alphas-Chapter 263: _ At The Hearing

The drive to the Pack Court is too quiet and it’s not the peace one would expect from silence but the suffocating kind. The kind where the air feels thick, like it’s pressing against Heidi’s chest, daring her lungs to fight it. The vehicle paddles over the stone road with the pack blurring after it.

Darien sits beside her, broad shoulder nearly brushing hers. Morgan sprawls in the seat across from them, one ankle resting casually over his knee, posture loose like he’s headed to a private execution he already knows the ending to. Grayson is forward, elbow braced against the door, eyes scanning the road ahead with sharp focus. Every so often, his jaw tightens in anticipation.

Heidi keeps her hands folded in her lap. She tells herself not to fidget. Grayson’s voice echoes in her head: Maintain your stable expression.

Stable. Calm. Untouchable.

She breathes in slowly through her nose and lets it out just as carefully. Her wolf paces beneath her skin, alert but not panicked. Ready.

The Pack Court comes into view sooner than she expects.

It rises from the land like a judgment carved in stone. Massive pillars etched with runes surround the structure, each one representing laws written long before Heidi was born. Laws that never accounted for girls like her.

Or maybe they did—and decided she should never exist.

The moment the car slows, Heidi realizes something is wrong. No, not wrong. Crowded. Far too crowded.

"There are... a lot of people," she murmurs before she can stop herself.

Morgan lets out a short, humorless laugh. "That’s one word for it."

Almost half the pack is already gathered outside the court, forming clusters that ripple and shift like restless animals. Wolves in fine coats and expensive dresses. Elders leaning on carved canes. Soldiers stationed along the perimeter with hands resting casually but firmly on their weapons.

And girls. So many girls. Heidi’s stomach drops. They linger in groups near the steps, their eyes lighting up the moment the car door opens. Whispers splash through them like sparks catching dry grass.

"Is that them?"

"Oh my Goddess..."

"That’s Darien—"

"Look at Morgan—"

"All three of them—"

"Where’s Amias?"

None of them are here for justice. They’re here to be seen, Heidi’s eyes nearly go round as her own possessiveness of her mate sprawls to life.

The door opens and Darien steps out first, tall and composed, his presence immediately shifting the atmosphere. The noise dips, not silenced but tempered. Respect or fear demands it.

Heidi follows suit and the moment her feet touch the ground, she feels the weight. All the eyes crashes into her like a wave she didn’t brace for. Hundreds of them. Some look curious. Some hateful. Some hungry in a way that makes her skin crawl.

Whispers fly around.

"That’s her."

"The cursed one."

"She’s smaller than I thought."

"That’s the girl who ruined Sierra."

"She seduced them, obviously."

"Moon Blessed my ass."

Heidi stiffens. It feels like walking around naked watching the whole pack judge her like that without even hearing her own side of the story.

Darien’s hand brushes her lower back to remind her she’s not alone in this. She knows she isn’t but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s being openly crucified.

Morgan steps up beside her like a wall. Grayson moves just behind her shoulder, close enough that she can feel the heat of him through the thin fabric of her dress.

Pack soldiers begin clearing a path.

They don’t shout because they don’t need to. Their uniforms alone demand obedience. The crowd parts slowly, reluctantly, like flesh pulled away from bone. Still, the murmurs persist. A woman spits on the ground as Heidi passes.

Another hisses under her breath, "Monster."

A mother clutches her child closer and glares. "She should’ve died instead," she mutters, tears streaking her face. "My son loved Sierra."

Heidi swallows hard. Her chest aches. She wants to scream that she didn’t ask for any of this. That Sierra tried to kill her. That she didn’t steal anyone’s daughter or son or future.

But she keeps her face neutral. Stable as she’s been told to.

Grayson leans down slightly, voice barely audible. "Eyes forward. Chin level. Don’t shrink, Heidi."

She obeys because they know this pack better than her, and they handle all the scrutiny well. She doesn’t. They reach the steps. Cameras flash suddenly—bright, invasive.

Paparazzi, of course.

They line the outer ring, snapping photos, murmuring commentary, some bold enough to speak loudly.

"Miss Heidi, how does it feel to face judgment today?"

"Are the Alpha heirs defending you because of the bond?"

"Do you regret what happened to Sierra Castell?"

One man scoffs loudly. "Looks like the cursed girl finally gets what’s coming."

Morgan turns slowly and the temperature drops. He doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t even bare his teeth. He simply looks at the man like he’s already decided where to bury him.

The paparazzo pales and steps back, lowering his camera.

"Heidi," Grayson murmurs. "Breathe."

She does. Inside the court, the air changes again and gets cooler.

The circular courtroom opens wide, tiered seating rising around a central stone floor etched with sigils of judgment. The ceiling is high, arched, allowing light to filter through narrow windows like watchful eyes.

As Heidi’s eyes travel around, they land on the Castells.

Mrs. Castell looks... wrong.

The woman who once strutted through pack gatherings with sharp words and sharper smiles now appears hollow. Her posture is hunched, her hair dull, her eyes sunken and rimmed red. She looks like grief has been chewing on her for weeks and she finally decided to swallow.

Beside her is... Sierra.

Heidi’s breathing ceases with guilt. Sierra sits in a wheelchair.

Her legs are limp and useless. Her once-vibrant hair hangs lifeless around her face. Her skin is pale, almost translucent. Her eyes, when they lift, are wide and glassy, darting nervously around the room.

When they land on Heidi, she flinches hard like she’s just seen the devil himself. She shrinks back into her chair like a frightened animal, hands gripping the armrests, breath quickening. A soft, broken sound escapes her throat.

Heidi freezes. Her heart twists painfully. This girl ruined her life. Tried to murder her. Framed her. Turned the pack against her.

And yet... Seeing her like this hurts.