Well, damn. So much for sneaking off…
We were maybe fifty yards from the hotel when I saw salvation. Sheriff Clyde stepped out of his office that doubled as the jail and headed straight for us. We crossed half the distance to the hotel by the time he arrived.
“Ah, Alpha Wyatt,” Clyde said, “I was looking for you. I’ve heard back from the Attorney General’s office. We can present our case as soon as we can arrive in the capital. She has arranged for the state’s Supreme Court to take us in as soon as we can be there.”
That didn’t add up for me at all. “Why would the state’s Supreme Court hear our case? I thought issuing warrants and such happened at the magistrate level.”
“It’s because we’re shifters. Since someone has to have a security clearance just to know we exist and what the no-hunting zones really mean, any cases involving humans and shifters go straight to the Supreme Court.”
That set me back on my heels a bit. “Wow. That’s… that’s kind of daunting.”
Clyde replied with a dismissive shrug. “This won’t be my first rodeo, as the youngsters say. It’s no biggie. With the evidence we have, including Lewis’s statement, that Paul fellow is already ours. He just doesn’t know it yet. Do you think your sister might portal us over there? It’s about a four-hour drive, otherwise.”
“I wouldn’t see why not. I’ll give her a call right now.”
“Uhm, no,” Gabrielle interjected.
Karleen agreed, saying, “You have something else that requires your attention, at least for the next few minutes. Then, you can call Vicki about the portal. Twenty minutes won’t make much difference when they’re expecting you to take hours.”
Clyde chuckled. “I’ll have everything ready, Wyatt. Just come by the jail when you’re finished.”
Karleen and Gabrielle smiled sweetly to Sheriff Clyde, thanked him for understanding, and resumed our journey to the hotel. It didn’t take us long to arrive, and we found the feline councilor sitting in the lobby. That’s when I realized I hadn’t seen any of the other councilors’ vehicles in the parking lot out back or outside the hotel.
My confusion must have shown on my face, because as she led us to a quiet seating area, the feline councilor said, “The other councilors are already on the way back. I told them I’d be fine flying commercial, but I won’t lie that I’m hoping you might prevail upon your sister for a quick portal to Chicago.”
I chuckled. “Well, she’ll probably be here anyway to portal Sheriff Clyde and I to Olympia, so I wouldn’t see why not. The last time I visited our grandparents, I found a scratching post in my old room, so she owes me if she wants to escape retaliation.”
The feline councilor’s eyes shot wide. “A scratching post? Really?”
“Oh, yeah, my sister’s an imp. A one-hundred-percent, fully verified, mischievous imp. I thought I smelled kitty litter through the door of her bedroom, and she doesn’t have a cat, so there’s probably a litter box in store for me, too. Vicki has a rhythm to these things, which means the litter box will appear around our birthday… unless she has a rough day and needs a distraction.”
The feline councilor just shook her head. “Well, at least your family’s doing well with the change. Normally, when a human becomes a shifter, they have to cut all ties, and that’s always difficult.”
I nodded my understanding. I was afraid the small talk might become awkward, so I tried to stave that off. “So, you said you wanted to discuss a courtship, but I wasn’t in a position to respond. The thing is that I’m kind of already spoken for.”
Then, I gestured to Karleen and Gabrielle like a gameshow hostess displaying a prize.
“We thought we should come back with Wyatt so that we all could discuss the matter,” Gabrielle explained. “Karleen and I have told Wyatt we don’t mind the pride growing, but we want a say in who joins.”
“And what are your thoughts about all this?” the councilor asked me.
I grinned. “Well, at the very basic, I’m a guy, and I haven’t seen a female shifter yet who is ugly. So, yes… I think you’re attractive. You also seem like a decent person, which is important. The major thing for me is that there will not be a hierarchy or anything similar. Karleen, Gabrielle, and anyone else who joins will be too special to me for that kind of thing to happen. Oh, and she—meaning any new prospects—will have to be fine with me coming from a Magi family and still having close ties to them; having an issue with Magi—especially my family—is a deal-breaker, right there.”
“Have you three discussed children?” the feline councilor asked.
I blushed as Karleen and Gabrielle beamed. Karleen answered, “Oh, we all want children, but we thought it best to wait maybe a year so that Wyatt truly has become accustomed to life as a shifter.”
“And we won’t be doing any of that silly rotation stuff some shifter families do,” Gabrielle added. “Once we decide to pursue children, any member of the pride who wants to try is welcome.”
“Hey… weird question,” I interjected. “How do shifters differentiate between the Alpha’s pride and the overall pride? Like, I thought a group of shifters led by a feline is called a pride, whereas it’s a pack when led by a wolf.”
All three ladies smiled. Karleen laughed. The feline councilor explained, “We don’t tend to organize along pack or pride lines. Normally, there’s an Alpha over a town, county, or region, and that Alpha’s family is often called a pack or pride. But how it often goes is that people identify with the location rather than the Alpha.”
I leaned back against my seat and relaxed. “Whew! I was worried about that.”
“Your principles and how you stick to them are two reasons I find you so attractive,” the feline councilor said. “I like strong men who stand by their convictions against all challenges. That you are like this when still of such relative youth makes you all the more remarkable.”
I couldn’t keep from blushing again, and the feline councilor returned a predatory smile.
“Well, anyway, I’m not opposed to exploring the possibility of you joining us, and if you don’t mind, I’ll leave you to work things out with the ladies while I arrange that portal for you.”
The feline councilor gave her assent with a slow, regal nod. I stood and left the hotel, trusting Karleen and Gabrielle to handle matters.
“He is such an innocent sometimes,” the feline councilor said as she watched Wyatt leave. “I wonder how he manages remaining so.”
Gabrielle was quick to say, “He’s a genuinely good person. He cares about people, and he believes in discharging his responsibilities the best he possibly can. I know being named Alpha wasn’t his choice or even to his liking, but he’s been very good for Precious and Godwin County.”
The feline councilor nodded her agreement as she took a breath. “Well, we should probably get to this. I am Lyssa Veronica Westridge, and I am the third daughter of my litter. I have never been married, and neither have I sought a mate before. And yes, I am a lioness, in case you didn’t know.”
“So, why Wyatt?” Karleen asked. “If you’ve never sought a mate before, why choose to pursue him?”
The regal and reserved demeanor of both a lioness and a councilor faded. Lyssa dropped her eyes to the floor for several moments before she lifted them back to look at Karleen and Gabrielle. “Because I was never sure my previous would-be suitors wanted me, instead of a lioness. I promised my father not long after I became a woman that my mate would be someone who appreciated me for me and not my breed or whatever successes or accolades I accumulated in life. And besides all that, Wyatt is simply a beautiful cat. There’s just something about him that makes me want to rub against him all day long. I resisted saying something as long as I could, especially since events draw Wyatt more and more into the world of shifter leadership.”
Karleen and Gabrielle both chuckled. Karleen said, “Oh, trust me; we know that feeling very well. I still haven’t forgotten what it felt like to be standing in a kidnapping scene,
just having shifted to my wolf, and all she wanted to do was rub against Wyatt from snout to tail.”
“So, is there any way we can work this out?” Lyssa asked.
I stepped outside the hotel and turned toward the sheriff’s office, but I stopped and leaned against one of the columns supporting the hotel’s portico. Then, rubbed my face with both hands. Was this really happening? Were Karleen and Gabrielle really negotiating a potential courtship for me? And what was with the feline councilor pretty much throwing herself at me? I didn’t see how I would ever get used to this part of being a shifter.
The lioness would make a good addition to the pride, the growly voice remarked.
Where have you been? It’s been over a week since you talked to me.
My cat sent a strong feeling of exasperation. There is no ‘you’ or ‘us.’ There is just ‘me.’ I haven’t made too many mistakes, so I didn’t need significant comments. But I want to go for a long run. Soon. I miss my fur and claws. Today was frustrating in its brevity.
That sounds excellent. As soon as we get Lewis and that Paul guy dealt with, we’ll go on a long run. Maybe even spend a couple days in our fur.
Good. Then, my cat sent an image of lazing into an afternoon nap in the shade of the sole tree on a prairie or savannah, and I took that to mean he was finished talking for now.
I reached to my back pocket for my phone and then remembered it had been in the pocket of the pants I shredded when I shifted in the town hall. Oh, well… at least the administration building was close.
* * *
When I stepped through the door of the admin building, the staffer sitting at the reception desk grinned and held up my phone. “Forget something, Alpha?”
I returned his grin with a smile of my own. “Yes, thanks, Jeff. I appreciate it.”
He handed it to me, and I unlocked it to call my sister.
She answered on the second ring. “Hello, my furry sibling. How are you today?”
Jeff couldn’t keep from grinning, and it looked like he fought back an outright laugh. Shifter hearing… yay.
“Hi, sis. So, I need a favor. You mind hopping over here and making a couple portals?”
“Not a bit, brother mine. Who’s going where?”
“A group is going to Olympia to speak with the Attorney General on a matter, and the feline councilor stayed in town to handle a couple matters and hoped you could save her from flying commercial. Oh, and we’d appreciate a portal back from Olympia when we’ve finished there.”
“By ‘we,’ I take it you’re going to Olympia, too?”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “Yeah, we have a bit of a mess over here, and the resolution path involves discussing the matter with the Attorney General and a presentation to the state Supreme Court. Sheriff Clyde wouldn’t let me deputize him to act in my stead, so I’m going too.”
There was a brief pause, and then, I heard, “Grams, I’m going to Precious to help Wyatt with a few things. I’ll be back later.”
The next thing I know, the call dropped and Vicki stepped out of nowhere and into the lobby. She slipped the phone back in her purse and pulled me into a tight hug. “Grandpa and Grams send their love, and you’re not going to Olympia without me. The government’s been weird enough lately that I’m not going to risk you. Granted, my run-in was with the federal government, but I’m of the mind we should approach all governments with caution and healthy skepticism right now.”
Vicki stepped back and seemed to notice Jeff. He was about our age, and I felt like handing him a paper towel to clean up the drool on the desk, given how he gazed at my sister.
“Oh, hello. I’m Vicki, Wyatt’s sister.”
“Uhh… I’m Jeff. Uhm, nice to meet you.”
I suppose, if you didn’t grow up with her, Vicki was rather stunning. She’d pulled too many pranks on me, though. I saw past the gorgeous cheerleader captain facade and knew her for who she really was. An incorrigible, unrepentant imp.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Vicki replied as she fell into step beside me. Then, she waved her fingers over her shoulder as she said, “Toodles!”
Vicki and I headed down the street to the sheriff’s office. As we walked, we saw Karleen, Gabrielle, and the feline councilor leave the hotel. When they saw us, they changed course to meet us, and they caught us two doors down from the sheriff’s place.
“Hi, I’m Vicki, Wyatt’s older sister,” she said, holding out her hand to shake, “and you are?”
“By all of eight minutes, sis…” I grumbled.
“Lyssa Westridge,” the councilor answered as she shook hands with Vicki. “I stayed behind to talk about a possible courtship with Wyatt and have been discussing the matter with Karleen and Gabrielle.”
Vicki beamed. “Well, I love Karleen and Gabrielle like sisters, and I trust them to watch out for Wyatt. Just so you know, though…” all semblance of the happy, up-beat cheerleader vanished “…if you hurt my brother, no one will ever find what little remains of you. Do you understand?”
“Seriously, Vicki?” But the two ladies went right on like I’d never spoken.
Lyssa gave my sister a firm nod. “The wrath of a Magi is something no one in their right mind would risk, and I’m glad to see you value Wyatt so much.”
The beaming cheerleader was back. “Well, of course, I do. He’s just the purr-fect brother. So, you wanted a portal somewhere?”
Karleen and Gabrielle snorted a laugh, while I just shook my head. I loved my sister, but sometimes, she was a handful.
“Yes, please, if it isn’t too much imposition,” Lyssa said. “The other councilors are already on their way back to Chicago by now.”
“Okay. I’ll need a reference point. A street address or GPS coordinates will do.”
Lyssa rattled off an address, and Vicki lifted her hands to trace a series of complex gestures as she recited words in an ancient language. Soon enough, a portal winked into existence.
“Is that the place?” Vicki asked.
Lyssa poked her head through before turning back to us. “Yes, thank you.”
Then, she took the few short strides necessary to approach me and tip-toed to kiss my cheek. When Lyssa turned and stepped through the portal, and Vicki closed it.
Now that it was just ‘us,’ I gave my sister a scolding expression. “Did you really need to threaten her like that, Vicki?”
“Nope, not at all, but you would’ve done it for me.” Her impish smile was positively gloating.
10
Vicki’s portal delivered our odd group to a nondescript entrance to the building where we should start by meeting the Attorney General before moving on to the state’s Supreme Court. Given the dramatic reversal of Lewis’s understanding, we dressed him in casual clothes for this trip. He seemed to be a decent enough individual that I was considering him becoming a shifter. But… I wasn’t about to offer that without getting to know him a little more.
Sheriff Clyde approached the door and pressed the button marked ‘Ring for Access.’ Within moments, a uniformed officer opened the door, his demeanor stern.
“Hello, young man,” Clyde said, “I’m Sheriff Clyde Wilson of Godwin County, and the Attorney General is waiting for me and my party.”
The officer looked at each of us in turn. After a moment, he nodded once and stepped back from the door. Sheriff Clyde motioned for all of us to follow him, and a second officer standing a few feet back from the entrance took up the rear while Clyde chatted with our greeter during the walk.
We stopped at a checkpoint in front of a bank of elevators about sixty feet into the building from our point of ingress.
“These people are for the Attorney General,” the lead officer said, addressing the officer at the checkpoint.
The checkpoint officer lifted the handset of a nearby phone and dialed an extension.
A mousy voice answered, “Attorney General’s office.”
“This is Side Checkpoint One,” the officer said. “I ha
ve a party of six for the Attorney General, led by a Sheriff Clyde Wilson of Godwin County.”
“Hold please,” the mousy voice replied.
Over the two months and change since the rogue cougar attacked me, I had grown to appreciate the enhanced senses a shifter possessed. It’s unlikely the officer that led us to the checkpoint heard the other side of that phone call, and I stood some fifteen feet away from the desk yet heard both sides of the call like they were at a table with me.
“Officer?” The mousy voice came back on the call. “The Attorney General said that Sheriff Wilson and his party are sufficiently ahead of their expected arrival time that you should conduct them straight to the Supreme Court. He has already called to inform the court of Sheriff Wilson’s arrival, and they are ready to hear his case now.”
“Thank you,” the checkpoint officer responded and returned the phone’s handset to its cradle. Then, he looked to our guide. “The Supreme Court will receive Sheriff Wilson and his party now.”
Our guide nodded once and gestured for us to follow him, saying, “Follow me.”
He resumed chatting with Sheriff Clyde as we walked down the hallway. We spent maybe twenty minutes navigating hallways and elevators before we approached a set of double doors bearing the seal of the state’s Supreme Court. Our guide led us through the double doors and into a courtroom with an expanded bench, a large gallery, and no jury box. Exquisite wood paneling lined the walls, and our feet sank into fine carpet as we walked down the aisle.
A side door on the opposite wall from where we entered opened, allowing another uniformed officer to enter. Our guide told her that we were the Sheriff Clyde Wilson party, and she nodded once before disappearing back through the door.
The officer guiding us gestured to the first row of the gallery, then said, “Feel free to sit here while you wait for the court to convene.”
He then walked back to join his associate standing at the doors where we entered.
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