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"Bailiff!"he snapped "Restrain the defendant immediately"

Matt tensed As Gwen Sawickiheld while duct tape rapped round and round his et up So they duct-taped him around his waist to the chair As they final y left hie said, "If he runs off with that chair, you wil pay it out of your own salary, Miz Sawicki"

Matt could feel Gwen Sawicki trenize the about-to-explode expression and realized that she was going to be next And then the judge would hold her in contempt and ould speak up for him?

He met her eyes and shook his head firmly at her But he also shook his head at every lie Caroline came up with

"We had to keep it a secret, our relationship,"Caroline was saying deray dress "Because Tyler Sht have found out Then he would have - I mean, I didn’t want any trouble between theht bitterly: you’d better walk careful y -

because Tyler’s dad probably has as ood friends in here as yours does More Matt tuned out until he heard the prosecutor say, "And did anything unusual happen on the night in question?"

"Well, ent out together in his car We went over near the boardinghouseno one would see us thereYes, I - I’ive him aa love-bite But after that I wanted to leave, but he didn’t stop I had to try to fight him off I scratched him with my nails - "

"The prosecution offers Peoples’Exhibit 2 - a picture of the deep fingernail scores on the defendant’s ar Matt’s, looked dulBeaten She showed Matt a picture of what he ree malach’s teeth when he had pul ed his arm out of its mouth "The defense wil stipulate"

"So adhtWell, he was too strong, and I - I couldn’t - "Caroline tossed her head in agony of remembered shame Tears flooded from her eyes

"Your Honor, perhaps the defendant needs a break to freshen her etting on my nerves The prosecution can care for its own clients - I mean witnesses - "

"Your witness" - from the prosecution

Matt had scribbled as much of the real story as he could onto a blank sheet of paper while Caroline’s theatrics had gone on Gas now reading this

"So,"she said, "your ex, Tyler Smal wood, is not and has never been a" - she sed - "a olf"

Through her tears of shahtly "Of course not Werewolves aren’t real"

"Like vampires"

"Vampires aren’t real either, if that’s what youinto every shadow of the rooood job, Matt realized Caroline’s de to chip

"And people never come back from the dead - in these modern times, I mean,"Gwen said

"Well, as to that" - o to the boardinghouse in Fel ’s Church, you can see that there’s a girl cal ed Elena Gilbert, as supposed to have drowned last year On Founder’s Day, after the parade She was Miss Fel ’s Church, of course"

There was athe reporters Supernatural stuff sold better than anything else, especial y if a pretty girl was involved Matt could see a s the rounds

"Order! Miz Sawicki, you wil keep to the facts in this case!"

"Yes, Your Honor"Gwen looked thwarted "Okay, Caroline, let’s go back to the day of the al eged assault After the events you have narrated, did you cal the police at once?"

"I wastoo ashanant or have some horrid disease, and I knew I had to tel "

"But that horrid disease wasn’t lycanthropy - being a olf, right? Because that couldn’t be true"

Gwen looked anxiously down at Matt and Matt looked bleakly up at her He’d hoped that if Caroline were forced to keep talking about olves she would eventual y start to twitch

But she seee see lady, I won’t have my court made a joke with anyHe was going to jail For a long ti he would never do And besides, now, there house to bother Elena and Stefan

Daet that in despite the blood oath she’d ned that oath as well For a ht here, to take revenge on her Matt didn’t care how ot cal ed "Mutt"if Damon would just appear But Damon didn’t

Matt realized that the duct tape around his ainst the defense table He did this,a smal boom

"If your client wishes to be completely immobilized, Miz Sawicki, it can be - "

But then they al heard it Like an echo, but delayed Anda table

BOOM!

And again

BOOM!

And then the distant, disturbing sound of doors sla ram

At this point the people in the courtrooo?

BOOM! Another, closer door sla open

"Order! Order in the courtroom!"

Footsteps sounded down the wooden floor of the corridor

"Order! Order!"

But no one, not even a judge, could stop this , in a locked courthouse, after al that talk of va closer A door, quite near, crashing and creaking

A ripple ofsoasped, clutching at her bulging stomach

"Bar those doors! Bailiff! Lock them!"

"Bar them how, Your Honor? And they only lock from the outside!"

Whatever it was, it was very close -

The doors to the courtroo hand on Gwen’s wrist, twisting his neck to see behind hi, as always, as big as a smal pony Mrs Floalked beside hi footsteps as Saber, alone, went up to Caroline, as gasping and quivering

Utter silence as everyone took in the sight of the giant beast, his coat ebony black, his eyes dark and moist as he took a leisurely look around the courtroom

Then, deep in his chest, Saber went h, as if they itched al over He stared and saen staring along with hi

Final y Saber tilted his nose to the ceiling and howled

What happened after that wasn’t pretty fro Caroline’s nose andher eyes recede into sers shrinking into helplessly waving paidespread, with black claws That wasn’t pretty

But the animal at the end was beautiful Matt didn’t know if she’d absorbed her gray dress or shucked it off or what He did know that a handsoray wolf leaped from the defendant’s chair to lick up at Saber’s chops, rol ing al the way on the floor to frolic around the huge animal, as so obviously the alpha wolf

Saber made another deep hmmf sound The wolf that had been Caroline rubbed her snout lovingly against his neck

And it was happening in other places in the rooe hie their social bonds with this huge wolf, an alpha if ever there was one

"We talked to hi the duct tape in Matt’s hair "About not being aggressive and snapping off heads - Damon told me he did that once"

"We didn’t want a bunch ofas he was So we concentrated on bringing out al the wolf in hiot the tape on this side Sorry about this, Matt"

A sting as tape ripped free - and Matt put a hand to histhe duct tape that held him to the chair Suddenly he was entirely free and he felt like shouting He hugged Stefan, Elena, and Mrs Flowers, saying, "Thank you!"

Gwen, unfortunately, was being sick in a trash can Actual y, Matt thought, she was lucky in having secured one A juror was being sick over the railing

"This is Ms Sawicki,"Matt said proudly "She caood job for me"

"He said ’Elena,’"Ghispered when she could speak

She was staring at a s down froe’s chair to cavort around Saber, as accepting al such gestures with dignity

"I’s

"The one who’ssupposed to be dead?"

Elena took aGwen "Do I feel dead?"

"I - I don’t know No But - "

"But I have a pretty little headstone in the Fel ’s Church cee in countenance, "Did Caroline tel you that?"

"She told the whole room that Especial y the reporters"

Stefan looked at Matt and se on Caroline"

"I don’t want revenge anyo home I mean - "He looked at Mrs Flowers in consternation

"If you can think of my house as ’home’while your dear mother is away, I am very happy,"said Mrs Flowers

"Thank you,"Matt said quietly "I real yto write?"

"If they’re s at all"