Fighting the Lies

by Anna Edwards

  “It is nice to finally meet the infamous brother. I'm sure we will see each other in Court. If…" He stressed and word and left a dramatic pause. "…it get's that far. I'm sure we both know the day that Emma last saw your father, and it certainly wasn't the day he died. She was four years old and about to be given to my pack by a true saviour."

  Phillip let a soft roar reverberate in his throat, “Alas, I have evidence to the contrary. My sister entered my home, while my father slept and used a family heirloom sword to remove his head from his shoulders. I found his body the next day. When the sword was examined, her prints were all over it." He spat out the last words, with a self-righteous triumph.

  “Prints can be forged especially by magic.” He was not going to let him win.

  “That is for the Courts to decide. I’ll see my sister suffer the full power of the law. She will die for her crime.”

  Kas shook his head. This was a witch hunt...well a lion hunt. Emma would be guilty, before she even walked into the Court.

  "What does your mother say? Her daughter killing her husband?" Phillip’s confidence faltered; it was momentary, but Kas had seen it. Was it a weakness he could exploit?

  “My mother died after my birth. If Emma had been loyal to her family, rather than a pack of misfits, then she would be aware of this and mindful of the fact that she had a brother. But no, she chose to stay with you. She was blinded by your evil." Nuka placed his hand on the lion's arm. At first, he went to shake it off but then quietly stood back and smirked. His fangs protruding from his gums.

  “One by one, brother. I promise you that.” Nuka proclaimed as Ciaran reached out for his alpha and their friend, and in a puff of smoke, they all disappeared.

  Kas stood there for a moment. His breathing was fast as he tried to get his temper under control.

  “I have a copy of all the evidence and the charges.” Jessica placed her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t answer her. He still needed to process everything. “Kas?”

  “Get us home!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Scott fidgeted in his chair. He couldn’t get comfortable. The wound in his side was already healing, but it still hurt, and the waiting for more news was so frustrating. He was as lazy as they came. Well, he was a male lion; it was in his genes, but when mixed with the fact that he did not have anywhere near the patience of a saint, it made for one irritated shifter.

  "Here, have this." Jane handed him a leg of pork. It was part of the banquet that she'd prepared for Brayden’s and Selene's mating ceremony. He couldn't actually remember the last time he'd eaten. His stomach thought the connection to his mouth had been cut. The delicious smell of the marinated joint caused him to dribble a little, but then he thought of Emma. Would she have any food? It certainly wouldn't be on a par with Jane Dillon’s cooking. He shook his head.

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Scott Frazier. Now you listen to me." The little whirl wind that was Brayden's mother placed the leg of pork down into his lap. Thankfully, she'd brought it over on a plate and then proceeded to waggle her finger in front of him as she spoke. A collective hush settled in the room. "You may be a lion, and a particularly docile one at that, but you are also an adult and not a child. I don't need to tell you that you need energy, and the best way to get it is through eating. Now I want to see all that pork eaten and the bone licked clean. Do you understand me?"

  “Mom.” Brayden, who must still have had fresh memories of Scott’s earlier breakdown, was there in an instant and pulling his mother away.

  “It’s ok.” He picked up the joint of meat and took a mouthful. “I’ll eat it all, Mrs Dillon.”

  "Good boy." Jane smiled and shook her son off with a frown at his over protectiveness. Brayden rolled his eyes.

  The air suddenly fizzled with energy; Jessica and Kas appeared. Jessica held loads of papers in her arms and Kas a sullen look of anger on his face. The mouthful of meat stuck in Scott's throat. Emma was in big trouble.

  “What’s happening?” Brayden stepped forward and took the papers from Jessica. “Is Emma alright?”

  “She’s in a private cell. She had some privileges, extra bits that Ethern gave her but…" Jessica looked down at the floor, and a tear fell from her eye. This was hard for her. She was a sensitive person and through her magical abilities always kept a part of each of them with her. She felt the emotions that they did. Zain came up to her and brought her into a big bear hug before settling her down on his lap. Jane poured her a cup of green tea and gave that to Zain who helped Jessica to drink it. Scott was on the edge of his chair. He understood the time the witch needed, but equally, his first thoughts were of Emma. Kas hadn’t moved, during this entire time. His fists were tightly balled, and the muscle in his jaw ticked.

  “Kas.” He placed the leg of pork down on a nearby antique wooden table. The fat would soak into the French polished wood, but at this moment, Scott couldn’t care less. Something was happening. Something deeper than Emma just being arrested. “What does Jessica mean by had?”

  No answer.

  “Kas.” Jane put her hand on the polar bear’s arm. The look that his alpha gave Jane damn near broke Scott’s heart.

  “Ethern was doing all he could. He’d given her a private room and improved the sleeping arrangements.” The bear silenced again.

  “Kas, please.” Scott was on the edge of his seat, pleading.

  "She is charged with murder and being held in the lowest dungeons. Conditions are not good there. The other patrons are shifters who have gone wild. The whines of savage animals haunt the rooms. Ethern protected her from all of that as best as he could. He doesn't believe the charges; he knows Emma and our pack. But his hands are tied now that Ciaran is employed to oversee the magic at the Reichstag." The women in the room let out a heart filled gasp of compassion for their friend.

  “He’s what?” Scott was on his feet in an instant. The wound in his side sending a sharp shooting pain up his side, which he ignored in favour of the fury that was raising within him.

  “All investigations into Nuka’s pack and the incident with Selene have been shelved. Ciaran is responsible for ensuring magic is not shown to the humans. He and Nuka are working with Emma’s brother on her conviction.”

  "Emma's brother?" Scott's mouth fell open in surprise. "She never said she had a sibling."

  "She didn't know, not until today. The pack fell silent, when her father died. I did not think they would be an issue, so I kept the news from Emma. Her brother is behind the accusation. He is saying that she murdered her father with an old family sword; her prints are all over the weapon."

  "Bullshit!" Scott thumped his fist through the table. Wood and pork splattered everywhere.

  "Don't you think I know that?" Kas' eyes narrowed upon him warning him to keep his temper in check. He had a moment to decide if he was foolish enough to stand up to his alpha.

  "How do we get her out?" He backed down and bowed his head. Even without the hole in his side, Scott wasn't stupid enough to go against the superior strength of the polar bear.

  "I'm guessing we go through this lot." Brayden leaned with legs crossed at the ankles and his hand on the pile of papers that Jessica had brought.

  "Correct. These are the evidence and background information for the trial. We should not have it all, but Ethern has supplied it to us for Emma's defence. Katia, Jane, you'll help Jessica and me start going through it all." Brayden handed the mountain high pile of papers to the Tigress.

  "We'll set them out on the table in the dining room. It's the biggest one." Katia and Jane left the room together.

  "Tyler and Brayden you have the best noses. I want you to investigate the scene of the crime. This is the address." Kas pulled an address from the pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to his beta. "You'll need to be careful. Emma's brother, Nicholas, has Ciaran's magic and my brother's mistrust on his side. It will not be easy to get in or out undetected, but for Emma's sake, you must. Take Selene with you.
"

  "We'll go and suit up." Brayden kissed his mate on the lips, and then, he and Tyler left to find an arsenal of weapons that they may need for any fight.

  "Zain, I want you to go to Ethern. He will allow us a look at the sword. See what you can get from it. You've always had a sixth sense about these sorts of things. Use it now, and I'll give you an extra honey pot this month.

  The American bear dipped his fingers into a, now, virtually empty jar. He scraped a tiny bit of honey from the bottom and placed it into his mouth. Scott always found his friend’s way of thinking about a task rather frustrating. He wanted to hurry him up, get the answer out, but Zain did things in his own time.

  "Jessica will have to send me in."

  "Ethern will bring you to him when he is ready. He needs to ensure that nobody is around when you see it."

  The American bear frowned.

  "Do we trust him?"

  "He created Selene." Kas answered as if that was a justifiable reason.

  "That doesn't give me grounds to trust anyone. No offence Selene." He waved his hand in apology at the multi shifter who was still awaiting further orders.

  "None taken. May I answer this Kas?" Selene replied.

  "Of course."

  "Zain, I wasn't sure who to trust, when I first came here. It was hard to understand what was happening to me. I made mistakes, a pretty big one in believing Nuka over Kas when the former told me our Alpha had betrayed me. Gradually, I developed a sense of trust. Ethern gave me life to save the sorrow of my parents." Scott recalled the story Selene had told the pack. She'd been a baby, but Death had chosen to take her. Ethern had bartered his own soul in exchange for hers. Eventually, the Reaper had agreed, and Ethern gave life to Selene as the first female multi-shifter. "He has given his soul for me. We can trust him. I know we can."

  "If you say we can then I will. But if he kills me, I'm coming back to haunt you and Brayden. Every time he does that thing that makes you squeal so much. I'm swooping down as a ghost." Selene went bright red and hid behind the sleeve of her long jumper. "I'll go get ready as well. Won't take long, just grab a little snack to eat on the way."

  Zain placed Jessica onto his chair and tucked a blanket around her. The witch was emotionally drained and had drifted into a sleep from the warmth of the bear's arms. Zain passed Brayden re-entering the room, when he left. The snow leopard went straight to his wife's side.

  "What about me?" He'd sat and watched everyone else being given something to do. Now he wanted to help.

  "How injured are you?" Kas motioned towards his side. He hadn't changed clothes when he'd redressed after shifting. He simply put the bloody T-shirt on. Emma would have normally gotten him a change of clothes. It was the dynamic in their relationship. Normally as the better fighter, she'd been the one to get them dirty.

  "I can fight if I need to." His reply was adamant.

  "No fighting. But your task is the most important. Selene will take you to Emma. I want you to watch over her. Don't interfere in her captivity at all. Stay the other side of the bars from her. Reassure her. Ask her what she remembers about her childhood. Ciaran's magic will know you are there. Be prepared for him." He had to go and see Emma in her prison. Had Kas gone mad?

  "Are we supposed to visit her?"

  “What do you think?”

  “Will he do any harm to her?” That was his major worry. He didn’t care if the druid burnt every last hair from his body, as long as Emma was safe. Wait, did he really just say that?

  “Nuka is not a fool. He’ll not allow Ciaran to touch Emma. He needs the spectacle of the Courtroom show to get his point across. As long as you stay on the other side of the bars, you may well just be the distraction we need to find the evidence to clear her.”

  “He doesn’t know you have these papers?”

  "No. He believes that we have basic evidence. Not enough for us to find a way to clear her in any way, shape, or form." Kas winked at him. "See why I trust Ethern."

  “When this is over, I’ll have to thank him myself.”

  “I think we all will, but we need to get Emma off first.” Scott nodded at his Alpha. Kas lumbered over to his chair and took a seat on it. He didn’t gracefully lower himself into the chair but flopped down. The weight of the world on his shoulders.

  "I'm not sure about Selene going into the Dungeon. What if it’s another trap?" Brayden had been standing quietly, listening to the conversation but now voiced his concern.

  "My brother is no longer interested in Selene." The reply was short. Scott thought that Kas ended his response rather too quickly. There was something that had not been added to that sentence. What was it?

  "Can you be a hundred percent certain on that?" Brayden was worried about his mate. He wasn't going to let her go until she was safe.

  Selene walked over to Kas and kneeled before him. She placed both her hands on his lap and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, her pupils had disappeared to be replaced by only the whites of her eyes and patterns of swirls covered her smooth skin. She had transformed into a witch.

  “Selene.” The words were barely distinguishable on Kas’ breath.

  The patterns disappeared, and Selene bowed her head. Her pupils returned, and a few tears tumbled down her cheeks.

  "I'm safe Brayden." She gave Kas an acknowledging nod, and he reciprocated. It was then Scott realised she had read the polar bear's mind and whatever she’d seen had reduced her to tears.

  “Um. Scott. You should change your T-shirt. Emma will worry about you being hurt.” Selene was back on her feet and wrapped in her mate’s arms, in a matter of seconds.

  "What did you see?" He wasn't changing anything until he knew what she'd seen. If it involved Emma, he had a right. He was her boyfriend, well he wasn't but still was not going to budge until he had an answer.

  "Leave it. If Sel says that she is safe, I’ll let her take you to Emma. That is all you need to know." Brayden gave an authoritative answer that would not wash. Scott looked to Kas. The alpha had his hand over his eyes.

  “Nuka plans to kill us all one by one. This is why Emma is in prison. She is our best fighter. He takes her out, and he weakens us."

  “Fuck.” Brayden brought Selene closer to his chest.

  “He won’t succeed. I will kill him first, if I have to. I made a mistake not to do it last time. Scott, change and go to Emma. She needs you. Don’t let her down.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The heavy door did little to shield Emma from the putrid stench of the shifters in the other cells. She’d only ever seen one wild shifter before. She’d been out with her adoptive parents when the beast attacked. He was more animal than human, he no longer spoke and lived purely off the land. All aspects of personal hygiene had vanished, especially grooming. Thankfully her father had been able to capture the animal. Kas had come, and she remembered her mother shielding her eyes while the shifter's life was extinguished. It was the best thing that could happen to him she was told. The alternative was what lay beyond that door. Captivity for eternity and to be used for experiments. She shuddered at the thought. Is that where her future lay? No, she couldn’t think about that. The pack would find a way to get her out of here. She stepped forward to the bars and rattled them gently. The metallic jingle that flooded the room symbolic of the desperation of her situation.

  “I don’t think even your strength can break them.” The deep timbered voice had her head jolting upwards to be met with eyes the same sapphire hue as hers. They were the same colour as her mothers. She didn’t need to ask who the man in front of her was.

  “I don’t even know your name.” She kept her slender fingers twisted around the rusted iron bar. Her head was held high and shoulders resolutely backwards. The man before her was an Alpha. If things had been different, he would have been her Alpha, but she had no loyalty and certainly no respect for him for putting her in here.

  "Nicholas, after our grandfather. A proud leader's name." Her eyes rolled. She may have only bee
n very young the last time she'd seen her father, but the lion before her was as pompous in his own superiority as her father. "You are lucky I don't get Ciaran to force you to your knees before me."

  “No, you’re lucky I haven’t actually broken these bars and shoved your head into the wall to shut up your lies.” She clicked her tongue against the side of her cheek. It was better than snapping her fingers in the air which she really felt like doing at the moment. But that would just make her seem like a bratty diva.

  Phillip laughed.

  That got Emma’s back up even more.

  “What are you getting out of making up these preposterous lies?” Both hands now gripped the bars.

  “They are not lies. You murdered our father.”

  "You are either insane to actually believe that or receiving a high reward to continue with the lie. I haven't seen him since I was four."

  “No, you saw him the night he died. You were the last person to see him alive because you killed him. I have a weapon with your fingerprints all over it, which proves it." There was no reasoning with this man. She couldn't decide if he was mad or what? She suspected not. He was sharply dressed, and the cut of his stance showed he was supremely confident. She turned away from him and seated herself on the bed. Well, bed was a fancy word for the flea infested mattress. “You give up too easily, sister. I expected better; Nuka told me that you were a great fighter. I guess he over estimated your abilities.” Her brother laughed when she raised her head and gulped for air like a fish at the mention of her pack’s arch enemy. He was indeed behind this. Kas suspected it, but this was confirmation.