Fighting the Lies

by Anna Edwards

  Scott nodded. Over Brayden’s shoulder, he caught sight of Jessica. Her eyes had gone white.

  “What is happening?”

  Brayden just shook his head, as if to tell him to ignore what he’d seen.

  Selene let out a little gasp. Brayden grabbed her hand and squeezed it tighter. Jessica and Selene were performing magic. One protecting the other from being spotted. What were they doing?

  Brayden motioned towards the sword and winked.

  Scott turned his attention back to where Ethern was examining it. It was then that he saw it. A subtle change but one of the multi-shifters eyes was different; so different that it was in fact the same colour as Jessica’s. She was in the councilmen’s body somehow and examining the sword with him. Fuck, his mates were good.

  The judge returned and banged his gavel.

  “Time is up.”

  Jessica returned to her body and opened her eyes. A tear slipped from it. Selene turned white.

  “Fuck.” Brayden muttered.

  “There is no evidence of magical use on the sword.” Ethern’s words replayed in slow motion through his head. No evidence! “The sword has not been transported magically nor the prints placed there with the use of a spell. They could only have been made through the defendant actually touching the weapon.” Ethern’s whole body slumped, and he returned silently to his chair. No magic. Emma was now standing on her feet. She was swaying as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He wanted to go to her side, but he would be restrained if he even tried.

  “Thank you, Mr Lennox.” The judge looked down at the paper work in front of him. “Mr Lincoln. I believe that your argument has been disproved. Do you have anything else to add?”

  Kas run his hand through his head. “All I can ask is for the jury to consider Miss Bryant’s character. To murder her father would be totally out of character. I’ve already said that she was on a mission for me that day. She is a conscientious member of my pack. Respected and loved. She is not violent, unless severely provoked. In my time with her, I’ve never seen that except for Scott, another member of my pack. And he deserves to be bashed on the head a few times.” Kas’ words brought a much needed moment of light-heartedness to the proceedings. I don’t know what else to say. Miss Bryant would not kill her father; the day she came to me, she left him behind without a second thought. She embraced her future with us. She had no reason to do this heinous act. Out there somewhere is a murderer who will get away with a terrible crime if you do not act to find Miss Bryant innocent.” Kas bowed his head towards the jury, when he finished speaking. Phillip stepped forward next. Emma’s brother had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as she did, but that was where the similarities stopped. Phillip obviously left the hard work of the pack to others. His designer suit could not hide the protruding stomach he had. Typical male lion; eat, fuck, and repeat. Scott was different though. He liked to exercise and fight as well. He would squash Phillip in a one on one encounter. It would be the easiest victory he would ever have. He sneered when the other male lion looked up at him with stuck up expression.

  “I was not aware that I had a sister for most of my life, and when I found out about her, I wanted nothing more than to welcome her back into my life, my pack, my home and have her rule by my side. We are the same flesh and blood. Kin from a father who was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.” Phillip paused in his speech to swallow back emotion that was so evidently fake. Scott growled and Brayden put his hand on his knee to calm him down.

  “He will get his.” The beta tried to placate him.

  Scott just growled again.

  “But the sister I dreamed of is not the one that I found in reality. The one here before you, all day, has become a monster, no doubt a product of her upbringing in a pack of no rules. She stole into my father’s bedroom while he was sleeping and used a prized family heirloom to decapitate him as he slept. This has been proved by the fingerprints on the sword. Fingerprints that two authorities on magic have said can only have been made by touch. Why? Will she ever give us a reason? He allowed her to stay where she chose, away from her family. This was nothing but a cold blooded kill of an Alpha greatly respected in our community. My sister does not deserve absolution for this crime. She deserves the full punishment proscribed by the law.” By the end of his passionate speech, Phillip was shaking; the words flying out of his mouth in spits of fury. Scott’s claws had appeared and were dug into his thighs in order to keep him seated and not scream what a load of bull shit was being spoken.

  “Thank you, Mr Bryant. I understand how difficult this must be for you. Please take a seat.” Phillip sat and grinned smugly behind his pack to where the Glacial Blood pack all sat. The judge turned his attention over to the jury.

  “Members of the jury. Do you need time to deliberate this case?”

  They huddled together for a moment, and the owl shifter stood. He had thickly rimmed glasses and hair that spiked up on the top of his head to give him what looked like two ears.

  “We are all agreed on a verdict.” He spoke.

  “Do you find the defendant, Emma Bryant, guilty or not guilty of murder?” Scott could tell that Brayden was poised next to him for the verdict. The snow leopard’s hand were tightly clenched in a ball. He felt different though. His heart was cold, like it left his body to wrap around Emma to protect her. There was silence. The verdict not coming straight away, and then…it did.

  “Guilty.” His world fell apart. The members of the pack around him screamed out ‘no’. Kas lay his head on the table at which he was sat. But Emma, she just stood there emotionless in the dock.

  “Emma Bryant, you have been found guilty of the murder of your father. It falls to me to pronounce upon you the punishment for this crime. We have heard how out of character this is for you, but in my eyes, that makes it all the more dangerous, because the kill was of a man asleep in his bed. It is for that reason that I must sentence you to death. In two days, you will be taken from your cell at dawn and hung by your neck until you are dead. This is our custom.”

  She let out a pained cry. It broke him. The mists descended, and before Brayden could grab him, he was over the seats, shifted, and pouncing onto Nuka who was sat with Phillip at the prosecution table.

  “This is all your doing.” He whacked his paw around the polar bear’s head splitting the skin and blood poured from the wound. “What has she ever done to you?” Nuka smirked at that. Any ounce of sensibility evaporated, and he struck Nuka again, wiping the smile from his face. The next thing he knew; he was lifted into the air by strong arms. Brayden’s and Zain’s scents surrounded him. He shifted back to human, except for his claws, and used his free arms to strike out at the bear and leopard restraining him.

  “Let me go. He needs to die.”

  “Scott, stop it.” Selene screamed at him.

  “Let me go,” He yelled again. His chest was so tight. What was this pain he was feeling? All he knew was that he needed to kill anyone who had caused Emma to be in pain. He needed to rid the world of Nuka, something Kas should have done years ago. The screams and shouts around him blurred into one, as he narrowed his sight on Phillip who stood horrified over Nuka. He struck out again at Brayden and Zain. His claws embedded in their arms, and they had no choice but to let him go. He was on Phillip in less than a second. The wimp of a brother, nothing like his brave sister, was pleading for his life. Scott allowed his fangs to emerge and opened his mouth ready to clamp down around throat of Emma’s traitorous sibling. He felt wet cover his naked body. The fool had wet himself; man, he was covered in some dude’s piss. He never got a chance to finish that thought, though, as he felt a sharp jab into his neck. He put his hand to it and pulled out a dart. He’d been drugged. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Tyler standing with a tube. He’d been drugged by Tyler. He turned back to the terrified lion underneath him and went to bite again, but another sharp pain in his neck had him roll to his side. This time, Katia stood with a tube. Tears were stre
aming down her face. He gasped for air; the world closing in, darkness edged his vision. No, he needed to save Emma. He needed to kill. With his last conscious thought, he looked towards where Emma still stood in the dock. Her lips were moving like she was trying to talk to him, but nothing was coming out. He’d failed her. He loved her, and she was going to die, because he couldn’t save her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Come on then. Show me what you’ve got.” Emma stood with her hands on her hips. She didn’t look like a woman who was about to find herself flat on her back. Scott’s dick stirred at the thought of the proud lioness flat on her back. Hmmm. “Stop thinking about that flea ridden blonde you fucked last night and attack me.”

  "I didn't sleep with her." He frowned.

  "Oh, so she just screams 'Scott, Scott, Scott, damn you’re so good' for the hell of it." Emma even acted like she was in the throes of an orgasm. His dick jumped again. Would she call his name, if they slept together? He shook the thoughts away.

  "I went down on her, but that was it." He thumped his foot down like a petulant child. He didn't like her thinking he slept with others all the time. It was her that he wanted.

  "Ok." She held her hands up. "You couldn't get it up. I'm sorry to hear that."

  "I'm perfectly capable of rising to such an occasion." Now he was mad. Nobody insulted Scott junior. It was a love machine capable of going at it for hours without so much as a slight droop. He growled.

  "Ok." She was trying not to laugh at him. He could tell, and it pricked his ire even more.

  "You want me to prove it I will. Strip and I'll fuck you here and now. You won't be able to walk or think after." There was no witty comeback this time, just the hint of a scent of arousal. She liked the thought of him.

  He didn't have a chance to finish imagination in his head as she pounced on him.

  "What the hell?" He deflected a shot to the side of his head and twisted around to prepare to launch his own attack.

  "Stop procrastinating about your sexual abilities, and show me the fighting ones. Kas has let you stay here but you need to be able to help defend the pack."

  He defended another attack, this time to his ribs. Yeah, when he agreed to stay here and join the pack, he didn't think it would mean he would end up sparing with the woman he had stayed for. Or that said woman would turn into a demon when she was told to train him.

  A third shot caught him on the jaw, and he reeled back. He was supposed to hit her. Damn it. He said a silent prayer that he didn't cause too much harm and lashed out catching her shoulder. She twisted around, and he went flying past as he followed up with another punch. Left, right, it didn't matter. He could hit equally as hard with both. He used the tree he was heading for to sprint up and backflip over her head, landing behind her. In an instant, he had her in a strangle hold. She jumped and flicked her legs over his head to break the hold. They both returned to their corners for a momentary breather. He kept his fighting stance, though, as did she.

  "Impressive." He offered.

  "You don't know the half or it."

  This time they traded a quick succession of perfectly placed punches. Neither met the intended target of a knock out, but it must have looked majestic to watch. Knowing that she would not succeed that way, Emma ran at him and swung her legs around his neck to pull him down on the floor. It happened so quickly he didn't have a chance to defend against it. She back flipped onto her feet and prepared for the death drop. He rolled away just in time and got to his feet. Damn, she may be tiny, but she packed a punch and moved like lightening. She gave him no more respite and pressed forward again. The pounding shots she landed sent him further backwards until he found the knarred wood of an old oak tree behind him. She caught his head and signalled that she was about to break his neck. The fight was over. He lost.

  "You're good. A bit weak on the left side but we can work on that." Emma was panting, her perfect chest heaving up and down.

  "Thanks." He uttered completely perplexed as to what had just happened.

  "No worries." She turned and skipped off.

  The other gentlemen of the pack came from their observation place. He'd completely forgotten they had been there.

  "Don't worry mate. She's never lost a fight."

  His head pounded like he had drunk ten, no, make that twenty bottles of whiskey last night. Why couldn't he just stay in his dream land. Oh yeah, he'd been tranquilized, and it was probably wearing off. So much for being part of a pack. It was his own pack members who sent him under. He groaned long and hard.

  “Have a sip of this.” A bottle of water was rolled towards him. He opened an eye but quickly shut it again when the light flooded in and he felt sick.

  “Turn the lights off.” He moaned.

  “There are no lights on.”

  “Then shut the fucking blinds.” He placed his hand over his eyes.

  “Scott we are in the basement. There is only one small window with no blinds or curtains.”

  Basement. Not prison. Unless the basement was in the prison and he had a female guard who sounded and smelt exactly like Katia.

  “Are we at the mansion?”

  “Yes.” The tigress was never one of many words.

  “Why not the Reichstag?” He gingerly sat up, with the world still spinning.

  “Nuka didn’t press charges.” She was going to continue her sentence but then thought better of it.

  “Why not?” He opened the bottle and took a mouthful of the water. The barren desert wasteland that was his throat rejoiced.

  “He just didn’t.” She was flustered and keeping something from him.

  “Katia?”

  “Promise me you won’t go mad again. I didn’t like having to shoot you.” He had both his eyes open now and was looking directly at the tigress who was on the other side of bars. It was then that he realised he was in a cage.

  “I’m not going to promise anything.” He stalked towards the bars on all fours and used them to pull himself up. He’d been dressed in a pair of jogging bottoms and a t-shirt. Not his usual fancy clothes but he was grateful they hadn’t left him naked.

  “Then I’m going to go and tell Brayden you are awake, and he can talk some sense into you.”

  “Sense.” He rattled the bars checking their ability to hold him. They were strong, but in the right frame of mind, they would crumble. He could feel that state of mind rapidly approaching.

  “You can’t just try to kill people in the middle of an open court session. No matter if they deserve it. How is that going to help Emma?” Katia had her hand on her curvy hips and was berating him like a little child. “I mean she was so distraught when they took her down. Kas said it took him over an hour to get her to stop crying. She was so worried about you. Thankfully, Nuka saw that the verdict was why you went crazy and didn’t press charges. Although he really didn’t need to add the bit about you being so distraught as you realised the women you loved was a cold-hearted murder. I’m surprised Kas didn’t thump him as well for that. Oh shit.” She had been rambling on and pacing outside of the cage while speaking, but when she said the last bit, she paused and brought her hand to her mouth.

  “He said what?” Scott ground his teeth together, his hand gripping even tighter to the bars.

  “Nothing.” She manoeuvred herself away from the cage. “That’s not what we need to think about now. Kas says you are to stay in there, for now, as he can’t be worrying about you while he is sorting out an appeal for Emma.”

  He rattled the bars and the Tigress stepped back even further.

  “I’m to be kept caged up?”

  “Yes. Just for a little while.”

  “Katia, unlock this cage and let me out now.” He wasn’t in the mood for Kas’ orders. He was going to go back to that court and take Emma from her cell and disappear with her. He wasn’t going to leave her in that dungeon for one more minute.

  “No.”

  “Last warning.” The anger was almost palpable enough.

>   “She said no, Scott.” Brayden appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading up into the kitchen. “You cannot be trusted at the moment, so you need to stay there for your own health.”

  “Trusted. I love her Brayden. You know what that feels like. What if it was Selene in that dungeon? Selene, who they were going to string up and let hang in less than two days. Would you willingly stay locked up in this cage?”

  “I would do what my Alpha tells me to do and trust him to get her out.” Brayden folded his arms across his chest in defiance.

  “No you wouldn’t. You would hunt down the man who put her in there and rip his head from his body. You’ve been in my position and went against Kas’ order.” He was referring to the time that Brayden took Selene to Nuka to try and eliminate a spell they thought had been placed on the multi-shifter.

  “And look how that turned out? I nearly died.”

  “And you would do exactly the same again and die if it meant Selene survived.” Brayden looked away from him.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Brayden, you can’t even be considering this?” Katia pleaded with him.

  “Not now.” Brayden gently pushed the tigress away.

  “I’m going to get Selene.” Katia took one last look between them both and ran up the stairs.

  “What are you going to do?” The snow leopard repeated.

  What was he going to do? He wanted to kill Nuka and throw Phillip into that mix, but he was thinking a little more clearly now. That wouldn’t solve the problem and could in fact make things worse for Emma, or at worst, they would hang together. His heritage flooded back into his memory. The thoughts of his father telling him that he should be proud of who he was, because it was the greatest blessing he could ever have. He knew what he had to do.

  “I’m going to do something I should have done at the start. I’m going to use my brain to save Emma and not my fists.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN