Return of the unwanted daughter

New Beginnings

For two years Abigail lives on the human world, using her degree in law and legally changed name to hide from the Pack and parents. Her former name has been left behind when she emancipated herself and changed her name to Abigail, honoring the grandmother that had loved her while her family completely ignored her and her achievements. Her life was simple, work, gym, martial arts and home.

Her work in Supernatural Law however had a benefit that she hadn't realized when she began working for the Human firm that employed her. It let her travel to the different Packs and Covens of different creatures, negotiating settlements that had long eluded everyone involved for over a hundred years. She had in fact just returned from a trip to the Dragon Capitol to handle a property dispute with the Humans that has been dragging on since the signing of the Treaty that ended the Supernatural Wars.

She wasn't surprised when her boss Henry Wallace entered her office, a file with the details of her next case inside. "Sorry to do this to you, but no one else can handle this next case. The Lycan King has requested our best to handle a property dispute between one of their Packs and the Humans attempting to claim Eminent Domain on their lands." he said handing her the file. As soon as she saw the name of the Pack she growled at him without thinking.

"No, that isn't going to work for me." she said holding it out for him to take it back.

"They are about to lose which would set a precedent for the entire supernatural community. If you don't take it, the result is nearly guaranteed." he told her as she sighed. It was the last thing she wanted, especially after the last two years of work.

"Fine, but I will not be meeting with the Alpha of the involved Pack." she replied as he smiled.

"They will want to know why." he replied simply.

"Don't care what you tell them, but so long as I represent them the Bright Horn Pack has no say on how I handle it. I also have absolutely no questions for them as I am already well informed of the situation." she said before she began typing on her computer.

"The hearing is in three days in Harrisville, the Alpha will want to be there." Henry told her.

"Tell him if he shows up I will leave regardless of what the status is, it isn't negotiable in any way. If any member of the Bright Horn Pack is there, I will leave." she said firmly as he nodded.

Henry knew how to pick his battles, this one not worth it despite his being her boss. "I will relay the message but cannot ensure they will listen." he said as she waved him off.

Her motions were complex, as she knew that the law they were trying to use was as well.

The day before the scheduled hearing she landed on the human city, going straight to the office that her company had here. It was a pleasant surprise that no one recognized her, probably owing to the fact she hadn't been here since she graduated from high school at 10 years old. The Werewolves from the Pack however looked at her curious, the first thing they noticed being she had no Pack scent whatsoever. She recognized a few of them, including her brother who did a double take when he noticed she has no Pack scent but failed to recognize her.

As soon as she stepped into the office though, she could feel the presence of the Alpha demanding to speak to whoever it was that would be taking over his case. She showed the receptionist her badge as she walked past before the receptionist sighed.

"Sir, Ms. Houston hasn't arrived yet. She isn't due to be here until this afternoon, however that won't help you as she isn't accepting appointments. It was made clear to you by Senior Management that she is the best in the entire industry and that if you show up to the hearing tomorrow she will leave your Pack to its fate." she heard the receptionist say as she stepped into the temporary office that had been set up for her.

"Have you confirmed the filings with the court?" Abigail asked the Paralegal that had been assigned to her.

"Yes ma'am, both have been confirmed with the court and delivered to opposing council via the electronic system." Monica Stuart replied formally knowing that she was busy.

"Excellent, we have a lot of work to do before court tomorrow." she said as she ignored the Alpha who was now arguing with the Office Manager.

The next day she was in the court room that her case had been assigned too, waiting for the 0900 start time. She had smelt 2 different Wolves enter the room, knowing immediately they were Zeta's from the Pack. She smelt the air carefully and recognized Jason Montoya's scent, one of her friends from college that had graduated 6 years earlier. She sighed as she had expected this very thing, making a note to penalize the Alpha for his arrogance thinking it would go unnoticed.

The next time the door opened however, she knew the opposing council had entered when he was talking on the phone about how easily they were about to handle this case. She smiled realizing he hadn't even bothered to look at her court filings, calling into question his entire ability to even bring the case.

"Sorry you got dragged into this, terrible thing that happened to Peter. Don't think I will agree to a continuation though." the man sneered.

Abigail looked up at him with a smile. "Continuance? Why on earth would you think I am requesting a continuance after the two submissions I made just for this hearing?" she asked the man who did a double take expecting that very thing.

Daniel Steele chuckled as he assessed her quickly, determining she was too young to have any real experience. "Sweetheart, you have nothing that would surprise me in this hearing. Whatever you filed isn't going to make a difference once this gets underway."

Abigail looked him over and shook her head. "You will be rethinking that by the end of this hearing, I assure you of that. You see, you forgot the first rule of combat. Never underestimate your opponent. You are relying on the fact that the Pack sits entirely within your borders to try and establish standing that doesn't exist and never will. So go ahead and think you have this in the bag, it will be so much sweeter a victory for me that way." she said turning away as he scoffed and opened his briefcase to pull out the file.

That was when he saw the two motions waiting for him, the first a motion for directed verdict, the second a change of Venue for lack of standing in this court. His eyes about bugged out of his head, Peter arguing against the Eminent Domain in a more traditional way. When the court was ordered to rise, he hadn't even made it past the first page of her motions as the court was called to order.

"This hearing is called to order, Harrisville v. Bright Horn Trust. Mr. Steele, the floor is yours." Judge Henry Parker said his voice flat before Daniel Steele started into the arguments of his own Motion.

Abigail had to give it to him, he had an eloquent argument in favor of the court granting his motion. If she hadn't known better, she may have even believed him. After 20 minutes though she knew he hadn't prepared a single argument he hadn't filed with the court as she took notes on his speech. She was glad when he finally sat down and the judge motioned her to say her peace.

"Apologies your honor, as I have a quick question for the court. Am I expected to rehash the arguments in my filings, or am I free to address his argument directly, allowing the record to reflect my motions as filed?" she asked as the judge smiled.

"If you have other arguments, please deliver them to the court now. As far as your motions, the record can reflect them as it is expected everyone is prepared to move forward with them." Judge Parker said warmly.

"Thank you your honor. Mr. Steele here has argued beautifully for the court to move ahead with the order of Eminent Domain, believing it is the inherent right of the human population to improve the life for their people. While his argument is technically correct that the project both begins and ends inside the territorial boundaries of Harrisville District, it fails to account for one very important fact of law that he failed to disclose. The proposed route no matter how direct, treads on the territorial lands of the Bright Horn Pack that although fully within the Harrisville District, is an entity completely separate from them. As such the proposed route is untenable, as it would cut the lands that the Bright Horn Wolf Pack have owned and maintained separately for the better part of a thousand years.

"As such, the project cannot move forward under court ordered Eminent Domain Seizure, as Mr. Steele and his client lack standing to bring the case in this court. Furthermore, this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction in the first place. The Supernatural Treaty is quite clear on the fact that matters such as this must be heard at the Supernatural Courts, that both the Human Government and Lycan Packs have agreed. As shown in my filings, the Bright Horn Pack is an original signatory of the relevant Treaty. As such we ask this court for directed judgement dismissing this case with prejudice in this court, and changing the venue to the proper authority under the Supernatural Court where it should have been filed in the first place." she argued as Daniel Steele looked like he had been slapped with a very painful reality.

"Your honor, there is nothing in the record that indicates the Bright Horn Trust is indeed a Werewolf Pack." he said as the judge chuckled.

"Mr. Steele, did you bother to review the filings of Ms. Houston prior to this hearing? She submitted her response in perfect time and submitted over a thousand pages of evidence, the first of which was the notice served upon the Government 135 years ago that it was indeed a Werewolf Pack. I was prepared to grant you a continuance to fully prepare your arguments, but as you failed to request it, I must rule in favor of the dismissal. Due to lack of standing by the Plaintiff and lack of subject matter jurisdiction, this case is dismissed with prejudice." Judge Parker ordered as Daniel Steele fell back into his chair as the judge stood and left the courtroom.

Abigail looked over at him as she pulled out another file. "Consider yourself and your client served, hopefully you come far more prepared for the next hearing than you did this one." she said before she walked down the aisle and locked eyes with Jason. "Follow me with your buddy." she said not bothering to stop.