***
After months of preparation, the beginning of the tribunal felt almost anti-climactic.
High Court differed from Low Court in that there were very few people in the actual courtroom. Teal would argue his case and the state would defend the status quo in front of a panel of five judges who would make the final ruling.
Schulman and Carson believed the state would not argue its own position too vociferously. Despite the loud and obnoxious voices of the pro-alpha groups, public sentiment sat on the side of omega rights. That’s what Mikel’s call last night was about. He’d given Teal the results of the latest polling by the state media agency. Support for Dayson Bannon and his cause continued to grow.
It felt like Teal’s case to lose. Thankfully, he was confident in the witnesses he’d amassed and the arguments he’d built.
But that was inside the courtroom, where the ideals of reason and justice held sway. Outside the courtroom was a different matter.
Pro-alpha demonstrators yelled insults and profanities at Teal on the High Court steps as he walked in. Although none of the protestors did enough to warrant getting hauled away by the police, the vile words and veiled threats spiked Teal’s adrenaline.
“Omega scum!”
“Know your fucking place, omega!”
“You need a baby in your belly to remind you who’s in charge!”
“What’s wrong? Did your bitch of an alpha not fuck you hard enough!”
“Little omega prick!”
The short walk up the steps was horrendous. And Dayson endured the same when his car arrived two minutes later.
But once Teal was in the silent courtroom, with five dignified judges looking down at him with neutral visages, he felt at ease. All he had to do today was deliver his opening prose and lay out the basics of the positions he would argue on Dayson’s behalf. The state would do the same, outlining its defense of the current decrees. Tomorrow, they’d start with witnesses. First Teal’s, and then the state’s.
The two lawyers sitting at the state’s table, both alphas, didn’t seem interested in intimidation. They were very professional when greeting Teal, shaking his hand and exchanging pleasantries before the judges arrived. Maybe his bosses were right, and the state wouldn’t fight too hard to maintain the current decree. Teal sat with Schulman, Carson, and Mikel, but he would do most of the speaking.
The day passed quickly. Teal’s opening prose lasted almost two hours. The proceedings broke for lunch, and then the state presented an opening of half that length. Each judge spent a few minutes afterward stating which issues he’d like to see addressed during the tribunal.
Before Teal knew it, he was striding back down the steps, through the gauntlet of hateful alphas who apparently had nothing better to do with their time than hang out in front of High Court and be awful. Thank stars, he reached the town car quickly, gratefully accepting a bottle of water from Barden before heading home to his family members.
He couldn’t wait to see all seven of them.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ronan
Ronan left the job site early. Several of his co-workers gave him side-eye as he walked past, and he shook his head at how ignorant some alphas could be. They knew who he was married to. Were they giving him grief because they thought less of him for going home to support his omega, or was it just general annoyance because they didn’t believe in Teal’s cause? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He just needed to feel Teal in his arms.
While plenty of his colleagues were understanding, from others he’d endured under-the-breath grumbling as the men caught snippets of the tribunal.
The High Court proceedings were being televised without interruption. The little TV in the corner of the trailer where Ronan did admin work had shown both sides’ opening proses in full, along with breathless commentary from reporters.
Many of the reporters ventured to the front of the courthouse to interview the pro-alpha and pro-omega factions waving signs.For everyone’s safety, police had cordoned off the opposing groups on different sides of the street. Unfortunately for Teal, it was the pro-alpha men who assembled on the courthouse side.
Ronan gnashed his teeth and growled at the TV as he watched his husband ignore taunts and verbal assaults. He wished he’d been there, but he’d honored Teal’s request to attempt some normalcy.
The alpha had felt immense pride watching Teal’s opening prose. His husband’s arguments were clear and concise. Schulman, Carson, and even the normally-dickish Mikel sat behind him with pleased, although appropriately subdued, expressions. It was difficult to imagine the state’s opening would be as compelling. And it hadn’t been. Most of the judges stated in their brief responses that they wanted to see more from the state about why, with so many new rights granted for omegas over the past few decades, the decrees about who could own heat services should remain unchanged.
It seemed like a positive start for the tribunal, which was a good thing considering how much it was costing everyone in their very-crowded house.
Ronan came in through the garage door to find Niall watching over the twins as they did their schoolwork.
“You’re home early.” Niall looked at the alpha inquisitively.
The twins had headphones on and appeared to be taking tests on their tablets. They gave Ronan gap-toothed grins in hello. While Garin and Kino were far from identical in so many ways, their wide smiles were the same. Ronan had been so on-edge at work all day. It was nice to come home to this.
