by Olivia Arran
Before I knew what I was doing, I had lurched forward. “Me too.”
Gregg paused, already halfway back to his seat, then tilted his head.
“What are you doing?” Ana hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
I took a step back, my hand reaching for hers. “Standing for you.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means I have a stake in what happens and that I will have my turn to give evidence, if it’s needed.” That was the simple version anyway.
I felt her stiffen a second before she flung herself forward. “Me too! I call it too...the trial. I want to give evidence!”
“Mom! What are you doing?” The cry came from the far side of the clearing, then Josh erupted from the bushes, his face stark with horror.
“Josh?” Ana whispered, her face stricken.
“Dad!” Josh cried, launching himself into the inner circle, straight toward Bert.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ana
Josh pelted across the dirt floor, his arms stretched out, reaching toward his dad. The scene played out as if he were moving in slow motion, my scream of denial sticking in my throat.
If Bert got hold of my baby...
Seconds before reaching his dad, Josh was plucked from the ground, his little legs kicking, small fists flying as Oliver tried to restrain him.
“Let me go!” Josh shrieked, doubling up his efforts to squirm free. “Dad!”
“Your father needs to stand trial for his actions. It will be a fair hearing, and if he’s innocent he’ll be free to go.” Oliver tried to reason with him, getting an elbow in the ribs for his trouble.
“No he wouldn’t! You’re lying.” Tears were rolling down his face, his large eyes blinking furiously as his bottom lip quivered. “Dad, tell them it’s all lies, that you wouldn’t do anything bad.”
Bert sneered at him, contempt written all over his face. “I haven’t done anything wrong. Everything I’ve done has been my right. Why should I have to answer to them? All pussy-whipped, the lot of them.”
“See! He hasn’t done anything!”
My heart fractured at the hope in my son’s voice, the blind belief that he still held for his dad.
Oliver met my eyes, and I knew what he wanted me to do.
Setting my shoulders, I strolled over, my focus wholly on Josh. I was doing this for him. “Who am I, Bert?”
Josh’s head whipped around, his eyes darting back and forth.
“My mate,” was the snarled response.
Forcing back a shudder, I continued. “How did we meet?”
“Why all the questions? A man has the right to do with his mate as he feels fit! This is an outrage!”
A Councilmember rose to his feet, his deep voice booming across the clearing. “Answer the question.”
“No. She’s mine, claimed under pack law.”
“You stole me from my home, kidnapped me and…forced me.”
“Dad?”
“You wanted it!” Bert snarled, spittle flying.
And the sick thing was, I could tell he had convinced himself of that fact. In his twisted mind it didn’t matter what I really wanted, so long as he was satisfied. “I didn’t. I still don’t.”
“Tough! I’m not letting you go,” he growled, licking his lips.
This time I did shudder, the spasm traveling down my spine and coiling heavily in my stomach. An arm came around me, warming me.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Bert screamed, his face turning a peculiar shade of red. “Josh! Kill that fucking bastard, tear his skin from his bones, rip off his face. I don’t care how you do it, but honor me now.”
Josh stiffened where he stood next to Oliver, still loosely restrained. “But—”
Gold eyes narrowed at Josh, flickering with madness. “Fucking do it, or are you weak, like your mother? Like your brother was?”
No! Josh didn’t need to—
“My brother?”
“Human.” Bert spat the word out, like it was a foul curse.
“My brother was human?” Josh’s voice sounded small and lost as he struggled to understand.
“Something I rectified,” Bert growled. “I only need strong children, ones I can train.”
Josh turned to me, his eyes pleading me to deny it.
Reaching out a hand, I brushed a lock of hair back from his forehead, prolonging the moment all the while damning Bert for making me do this. “Sebastian was human, baby.”
At my confirmation, Josh’s face hardened, walling off all emotion. “You killed my baby brother.” It wasn’t a question, rather a confirmation, just so he could get it straight in his head. “Then you deserve everything you get.”
He turned his back on Bert, physically shunning him.
“You’re weak too! All of you are! You should all be put down. Following rules, living with honor? We’re shifters, born to rule the world. Take what we want, destroy—”
Oliver slammed a fist into his face, cutting off the tirade.
Shaking his hand, Oliver shrugged. “Sorry, he was getting on my last nerve.”
A loud wheezing chuckle started up behind him. Bert spat blood onto the ground, thick and wet. “You should have been on my team. I’ve seen your work, it’s impressive. Takes a certain type of man to walk that close to the edge, to stare into someone’s eyes while you literally dig, stripping the flesh from a man’s body, searching for that single fear that will unlock the secrets.”
“You know nothing about me.” Oliver’s voice was so cold, I imagined I could see frost forming in the air.
“I know everything about you. Hell, I’ve trained men like you. I know how you think, what you feel…tell me, do you feel? Or does everything come in a shade of gray?”
I grabbed Oliver’s hand, urging Josh to go stand with the others. “He’s just trying to get to you,” I hissed, trying to pull him around, but he was unmovable.
“You know nothing about me,” Oliver repeated, his shoulders bunching up under his T-shirt as he tensed, thick forearms cording as his hands curled into fists.
I darted around him, putting myself between him and Bert, shoving at his chest in an effort to grab his attention. “Let go of the past, remember!”
“Are you going to let this woman order you around like a pussy? I had high hopes for you,” Bert sneered.
Why wasn’t anyone doing something? Anything! The clearing was silent, everyone watching the scene playing out.
Oliver yielded under my hands, his arms coming around to gather me close. “This woman can order me around any day,” he declared, his voice rumbling through his chest directly against my ear.
With that, Oliver turned his back on Bert, dipping and brushing a kiss across the top of my head. Curling his other arm around Josh, he escorted us back to the outside of the circle.
When we got there, he bent down on one knee and it was as if all the air had been sucked out of me. My legs quivered at the sight of him crouching in the dirt.
“Josh, your mom tried to protect you, but maybe you understand a little more now? You’ve got people who really love you here, who want the best for you.”
Shit. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, my human upbringing putting silly thoughts in my head.
Josh stared at the ground, one foot scuffing in the dirt, his narrow shoulders drooping under the weight of Oliver’s gaze. “Did you mean it?” he asked in a small voice.
Oliver replied immediately, obviously one step ahead of me and figuring out what Josh meant. “Yes. Every word.”
“But why? Why would you let my mom boss you around? Dad always said…” His voice trailed off as his face screwed up, valiantly trying to hold back the tears.
“Because your mom is a wonderful woman, someone who deserves my respect. And”—Oliver looked away, then squared his shoulders, continuing—“I love her. Is that okay with you, Josh? I’m not trying to replace your dad, I’d never do that, but if you let me, I’d like to have a ch
ance to look after you both.” Fine grooves bracketed Oliver’s mouth, his lips set in a thin line as he waited for my son’s response.
As was I.
Josh seemed to think about it, his face creasing in intense deliberation. “You promise you won’t force her? Not like he did?”
“I promise.”
“And you promise to make her happy?”
“I promise. Every single day.”
Josh frowned, his eyes flicking back to his dad. “But you’ve got to ask her first. Okay?”
Oliver’s lips quirked at the edges, but he managed to hold his solemn face. “I am going to ask her, kid. But first the Council needs to finish the trial, and then I was thinking maybe you’d like to go for a run in the forest?”
I had never seen Josh light up as fast as he did just then. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement. “As wolves? Really? Wow!”
Oliver ruffled his hair, chuckling at his exuberant answer. “Of course as wolves. Running as humans isn’t as much fun!”
I sent up a silent prayer in thanks. I knew Josh had a hard road to travel and a lot to come to terms with, but there were advantages to being six—one of them being a single-track mind.
“He can’t stay here through the trial,” Oliver murmured, rising to his full height, his body carefully shielding the center of the clearing from Josh’s direct view.
“I’ll take him back.” Startled, I turned in the direction of the unknown voice.
“Are you sure, Cole?” Oliver asked, surprise coloring his voice.
The man shrugged, his hands tucked into his pockets. “Yeah. I don’t have anything personally involved in this trial, other than I think they’re all bastards. I’ll take the kid back and shoot some hoops with him, or something. Take his mind off stuff. If that’s okay with you, Ma'am?”
Josh had been listening, his wide eyes following the back and forth. At the mention of shooting hoops grabbed my hand, squeezing tight. “Can I, Mom?”
I couldn’t help it, I snorted, my hand flying to my mouth to smother the sound. “I haven’t been called Ma’am in a long time! Ana,” I said, sticking out my hand, “and if you really don’t mind taking him back, that would be great!”
“Sure thing, Ana,” Cole replied, his honest expression backing up his words. “Let’s go, kid. I bet I can bag more hoops than you.”
“Bet you can’t!”
“Oh, we’ll have to…”
Their voices faded as they walked away, disappearing back into the forest.
“That was nice of him.”
“Cole’s a nice guy, it’ll be a shame to see him go.”
I was about to ask Oliver to explain but a scuffle in the circle caught my attention.
Squeezing back into the crowd, I found myself next to Lisa, her eyes glued on the prisoners.
“What did I miss?” I whispered, trying to figure out what was happening. Jacob was standing, his hands out in what looked to be a beseeching motion.
“The Council have heard the charges of kidnapping, drugs, and general treachery. Now Jacob is pleading for leniency. He’s offering the Council full evidence in exchange for his life,” Lisa explained in a low voice.
“And they’re considering it?” Oliver spoke from behind me, his tone incredulous.
“Apparently. They’re taking into consideration the fact that he was conditioned at a young age, that he doesn’t know right from wrong because no one has shown him.”
Just like Josh.
I must have whimpered the words out loud because Lisa squeezed my arm, her eyes full of compassion. “Josh wouldn’t have turned out like him.”
“We don’t know that.” But it didn’t matter now; we were free. Still, it reminded me that I needed to live each and every day to the fullest, because you never knew what was around the corner. A mad man could take you, and poof, life as you knew it disappeared.
Gregg stalked forward, moving to stand in front of Jacob, ready to deliver the Council’s verdict.
My eyes immediately sought out Jason. He was standing to the side of the clearing, his arms wrapped around his chest, his face haggard with pain. And longing—I could recognize the emotion having seen it in the mirror every day.
“Jacob Sunclaw, you will be held accountable for your crimes. But, in light of your wish to repent and change your ways, I have decided to give you the chance to rehabilitate. You will be my charge and I will attempt to re-educate you. If you fail to adapt, you will forfeit your life. This is not an easy road you chose. Are you sure you want this?”
Jacob’s hands were trembling, but he stuck his chin out. “I will make it up to everyone I’ve harmed. I vow it.”
Nausea churned in my stomach. How was I going to explain this to the women and children? Some of them wanted Jacob dead, no—needed him dead.
“This is the kind of justice we can expect from the Council?” I shook off Oliver’s hand from my arm, whirling around to face him. “And what if Bert says he repents, that he’ll change his ways? What then?” My voice had risen to a shriek, carrying clear across the forest.
“Ana, that won’t—”
“Won’t it?”
“Ana.”
I spun around at the sound of my name. Gregg was staring at me, kindness and compassion in his eyes.
“Jacob is a special case. He didn’t make the choices he made as an adult; they were made for him as a child. I will show him the way, then he can choose his own path. If he chooses to break our laws again, he’ll pay the price. But if he chooses to face up to what he has done then he’ll also have to live with it. He has a long and difficult road ahead of him, because believe me, he will face the consequences of his actions, and it’ll either make or break him.”
“And Bert?”
“He made his choices as a fully informed adult. No one coerced or brainwashed him. He’ll stand trial for his crimes.”
My eyes traveled back to Jason, whose eyes were now filled with hope.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Oliver
Ana was struggling with the decision, her sweet face drawn into harsh lines I ached to smooth away.
“He’ll pay, one way or another.”
I don’t know if she’d heard what I said, or if she’d already come to the decision because the lines smoothed away and she nodded at Gregg.
Jacob staggered to the side, relief clear in the sag of his shoulders, the bend in his spine. He looked broken, his spirit shattered. Gone was the cocky son of a bitch I had spent a couple of hours working over in my workshop. In his place stood a man with a grim set to his lips and determination in his eyes.
I sure hoped Gregg knew what he was doing with that one.
Not my fucking problem. Thank the Mother.
A scurry of movement snagged my attention. Gary was making a break for it, sprinting as fast as he could for the edge of the forest, his face white with fear.
Sean broke out of the crowd, heading him off. In seconds he had him, an arm locked around Gary’s neck from behind, bending him like a sapling in the wind.
Gary’s bound hands flailed, glinting with claws. Twisting, he raked them down Sean’s face, digging into his arm.
Sean grunted, his mouth twisting in pain, but he held on. “What’s the verdict?” he growled, his eyes flashing to gold, muscles rippling under the strain of holding the other man.
One by one the three Councilmembers spoke, each an echo of the one before. “Guilty.”
“Good riddance,” Sean snarled, then flashing a claw, yanked Gary’s head back and flicked it across his throat. The other man fell to his knees, blood spurting and oozing down his chest, his eyes wild as he clutched at the gaping wound. With a thud that reverberated through the clearing, he slumped onto his front, his mouth open in a wordless scream, his fingers twitching as the life drained out of him.
Sean stalked back to the crowd, wiping his hand on his jeans, a satisfied gleam in his eye. “I told you I’d take care of him, didn’t I?”
he murmured to Lisa, who promptly threw herself into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her lips found his in a way that left no doubt as to her appreciation.
Just Bert left to deal with now. My fingers twitched with the need to get my hands on him, to make him pay for what he had done to Ana.
My knees nearly buckled as the Councilmembers declared Bert guilty, sentencing him to death. Now!
I took two steps forward, skirting the edge of the circle. “I call challenge and the right to carry out the sentence.”
The dragon shifter Councilmember rose from his seat with agile grace, his skin glinting in the moonlight. “On what grounds?”
“He abused my true mate. I would fight in her honor.”
“Who is your true mate?”
“Ana.” I didn’t dare look at her, not wanting to see how she was taking the news of me telling the whole world about us.
The dragon shifter frowned, lines furrowing deep around his mouth. “Is this true?” he asked, addressing Ana directly.
This time I did sneak a look. She was standing stock still, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else but here. “I...um...I don’t know.” She wouldn’t look at me, her gaze darting everywhere but toward me.
The Councilmember’s frown deepened as he considered her words.
He wasn’t going to let me fight!
I strode over to Ana, taking her hand in mine. She was trembling, the shaking traveling up her arm and I could see a fine tremor along her jaw. She was terrified, but why?
“Don’t you trust me to fight in your honor?”
She chewed her bottom lip, the flesh pink and bruised.
The urge to kiss it better, to take that lip between my teeth and soothe it with my tongue hummed inside me.
“I do, but I don’t want you getting hurt!”
If that was the only—
“And this true mate thing? I don’t know if I want that.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush of honesty.
I took a stumbling step back, her words acting as if she had thrown a physical blow. I had known she might be resistant, understandable given her past, but this sounded like… “What are you saying?”
