by KH LeMoyne
A point in Breslin’s favor, but he needed them both dead. Immediately.
His cat vaulted onto the bear’s back, sinking his teeth deep below the base of the skull behind the ear. His victim flung the wolverine high above the flaming ridgeline and turned, smashing Breslin’s back into the tree roots in an attempt to dislodge him.
Blistering spikes of fresh pain streaked through every nerve, and he could also hear a faint cry from the hidey-hole several feet away.
The bear twisted and fell to the ground, wiggling to free himself of his attacker.
Half-dazed from pain, Breslin refused to let go even as black and gray clouded his vision. He needed to save Hazel. Needed to look into Rayven’s violet eyes one more time. With that mere thought, he could almost sense her nearby, taste her instead of the acrid copper of the bear blood in his mouth.
Rayven. He needed more—time. Energy. Strength. His claws sank deeper into fur, but not enough to make a difference. If only he could force the bear to shift.
His enemy dragged them to the water’s edge, plunging Breslin beneath the water’s surface. Cold killed the jagged pain in his back, and now he couldn’t breathe.
Shift, damn it. Shift.
A ripple of power jolted through Breslin’s muscles and rattled through his brain, leaving him disoriented. But as the fur in his mouth changed to flesh, he used his last bit of oxygen to snap through the spine of the human now in his hold. The shifter went slack on top of him. Breslin thrashed and kicked it aside. Finally surfacing, he gasped for air.
Thick smoke entered his lungs instead as his cat shook his head.
Fire blazed around him, but he staggered from the water and pivoted toward Hazel’s hiding spot. The tree roots were already ablaze; only a few feet remained untouched. He stuck his maw into the hole and grasped the knots holding his shirt around Hazel, then backpedaled and tugged until the bundle was free of the hole.
When she didn’t move, he started to lower it to the ground, but her small hand shot out through an opening and grasped his fur. He gently grasped the knot with his teeth and stepped back.
Relief washed through him, quickly dispelled as more flaming debris rained around them. His cat growled softly, taking in fire with a deepening sense of panic. Shit.
A shift would speed up his healing, but he needed his cougar to navigate the unfamiliar woodland and firestorm. His multiple shifts had also drained his energy, and, at best, he had one more shift in him. He didn’t dare risk it until he had Hazel free of the flames.
Darting back to the water’s edge, he followed the serpentine flow that he thought went south. But fifteen minutes later, his energy was flagging and he was dizzy from blood loss. He barely had the strength to carry Hazel in her sling, much less drag one paw in front of the other.
Worse, he had no idea where he was. Without the sky or the breeze, he couldn’t decipher direction. The roar of flames blocked out sounds enough that even if his team were ten feet away, he wouldn’t hear them.
For the first time in his adult life, indecision wrapped its tentacles around him in a slick, icy clutch of panic.
It wasn’t that he feared death. Regret held him hostage. Not seeing Rayven go free and hearing her laugh, feeling her lips on his. Not having Hazel taste freedom and joy. All churned with the bile in his throat. The small child’s confidence in him shouldn’t have earned her this fate.
He stumbled, barely catching himself, and eyed the water ahead. Recently downed tree trunks covered the stream. He’d have to crawl through the narrow opening, and even then he wasn’t certain whether that wouldn’t take them into the heart of the flame or trap them beneath more debris.
The path to his left, just over the stream, still burned bright. To his right lay embers. What lay beyond could be either a stronger burn or a mosaic of untouched forest missed by the fire. He had no way to tell.
He closed his eyes, seeking a resurgence of the strange gift that had transformed the bear shifter for him. Nothing lay behind his mind’s eye except black. A tremor rocked beneath his paws, and he sidestepped in case it signaled a rush of flame or an unearthed tree breaking lose.
Despite his movement, the tremor grew stronger.
Breslin.
He whipped his head around and saw nothing. Yet everything inside him latched on to Rayven’s voice. He took another step toward the water, prepared to continue on his same course. The tremors under his feet returned, fainter.
Breslin.
Rayven? Heart pounding, he searched again. This time, Hazel tugged at his fur. When he glanced down, she stuck her other hand out, finger pointing toward his right.
Could she know? She was born in this territory. Too young to pledge, she was still vulnerable to the whims of the mantle. He paced that direction again, now sensing a steady, rhythmic beat to the tremors. Not a rumble or a warning, but a constant thrum. He shook his head, too weary and drained to make sense of anything.
But Hazel tugged again, and he followed her urging. They had a deal after all. With ears flattened to his skull, he dragged one paw after the other across the singed forest, cautiously making his way. What spun before him was an untouched trail that wound around the black spikes of torched tree trunks.
And still the vibration beneath his paws grew stronger.
A faint breeze blew across his nose. Was that fresh air? Just as quickly, more smoke clogged his nostrils.
Heartened if not quite convinced, he plodded on as he calculated how long they’d been out here. An hour? More?
Too long for his team to have waited.
Roughly five minutes later, he emerged from the forest into the tall prairie grasses. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that fire still raged behind him, but the wind was blowing it away from his position. He could now hear the grating beat of a jackhammer not too far away.
His abused muscles trembled and twitched. He gave in to the exhaustion weighing him down and sank to the ground with a huff. He nuzzled the knot of the shirt holding Hazel captive. However, she’d managed to undo several of the buttons and free herself. Too tired to do more than lie there, he snorted as she crawled against him and curled her arms around his neck.
Just a few minutes. That was all he needed. Then they’d move on. Yet the blood continued to seep from his wounds and a cold lethargy took hold. The option to shift for healing was now an impossibility. He’d waited too long, was too injured. The magic normally enabled by a switch to his alternate form had dissipated along with his strength.
Hazel curled against him, crying into his fur. His cougar rumbled, but the air in his lungs didn’t even produce a hiss.
Suddenly, a shadow blocked his view of the sky. He squinted as two more joined the person standing over him. Distinct, familiar scents tickled his senses. Unthreatening human. Coyote. Grizzly.
“Well, it’s about time, Breslin. I thought I’d need to round up some hotshots to go into the fire and drag your sorry hide out.”
A strong wave of power rippled over him, clean and fresh, and totally alpha. His skin tightened as healing rushed along his wound and energized his blood. Breslin drew in his first painless breath since the fight had begun and slowly shifted into human form. “Is Nathan safe?”
“The boy is already on the plane with Aubrey, Brindy, and the other children.”
He scooped Hazel into his arms, rolled onto his back, and looked up. “I don’t think Deacon would appreciate you risking your life for mine, Lena.”
Arms crossed over her chest and hip cocked, she gave him a soft smile in return. “He’d be the first to admit you’re worth the risk.”
“Thank you.”
“May I ask you a question?” Rayven asked as she toyed with her coffee cup at the kitchen table.
Deacon’s mouth twitched as he sank into a chair across from her. “I’ve never noticed you hesitate before, so go right ahead.”
“How did the alpha—my father die?”
Dread knotted in Rayven’s stomach as Deacon remained
silent for a moment. Part of her would be happy never to know, but she wasn’t a coward, and Karndottir was her father. A bastard, perhaps, though some part of her couldn’t have closure about their relationship without knowing. “It’s that bad?”
“I debated whether to tell you or not. The information will be presented during the tribunal. I think you should know what the other alphas have already been told at this point. In addition, we can go over the tribunal process and what you can expect.” His lips thinned in a tight line as he clasped his hands on the table. “A witness, an elderly female shifter in the clan, saw your father enter an apartment building, where his body was eventually found. This evidence deviates from the information first given to me when I learned of Gauthier’s death, so we’ll have to see what the investigators make of that. But he’d been seen there with a young woman several times before his death.”
Her eyes widened. Why had it never occurred to her that they had witnesses? Probably because knowing she hadn’t killed him, she hadn’t considered how it could have been orchestrated. But someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure that she was in custody with the proverbial noose around her neck. “Let me guess, her description matches mine.”
“That’s a given,” Deacon said.
“I can’t imagine anyone my age getting that close to him. He wasn’t charming.”
“You’re thinking from your viewpoint, not his.” He drew in a breath and shrugged. “He was an alpha with power and was found in bed—let’s just say with his guard down.”
She pushed back her chair and sprang up, clutching her arms around herself to stop the goose bumps rising along her skin. “Eww, disgusting. No one could possibly believe I’d do that with—no!”
“Certainly no one who’s ever met you. But I suspect he made visits to that apartment with other women. He either trusted this person or didn’t fear them. In spite of that, they caught him by surprise and shot him—silver bullets through the heart—then another dozen stab wounds.”
“No love lost there.” She wished the words back in her mouth the moment she’d said them, but fortunately, Deacon nodded.
“Exactly. The building supervisor found the body when he checked on water leaking from the running tub in the bathroom.”
She leaned against the wall and tilted her head back. “They wanted him found.”
“But to me, that makes the timing of the murder speculative.”
“I—” How to have this conversation. “I haven’t ever killed anyone. Without my bear, I avoided fights whenever possible. Don’t get me wrong, I can hold my own. Just not—well, it’s not my first or best option.”
He was silent for several long moments, his expression guarded. “As an alpha, that is something you need to get over—and quickly. You are the first defense, sometimes the last, between harm and your clan. Sometimes presenting your beast will be enough, but you have to be prepared to fight to the death every single time. To make an example of the worst offenders.”
Could she do that?
“Fortunately, whoever is behind this doesn’t seem to know your true nature. I also doubt they’ve considered what lengths my team would go to find proof of where you actually were at the time of the murder. Because of the details you’ve given Brindy, we isolated your whereabouts. Traffic cameras, satellite images, and other information. However, I expect complications. None of what we have will do us much good if we don’t have our own witness too.”
She was back to hurry up and wait. “Well, what next?”
“In addition to you increasing the speed for your shifting, we’ll to do some other training. I want you to work on your alpha senses: scenting emotional layers on others and letting your beast scrutinize people. For the rest of the day, I want you to focus on Callum, Shanae, Matthew, and Trevor. See what you can detect from them.”
“What about searching you?”
“You could try,” he said, frowning. “But with another alpha of my caliber, you should be actively shielding yourself. Attempting to read one of your peers, touching them with your magic, would be seen as a challenge by several of the board members. I discourage you from going down that path.”
“Yet they’ll get to scan me.”
“They will. They won’t see you as a peer, more like a lesser subject. Don’t let that rattle you. For now, we keep your powers low-key in front of the others.”
Right, subterfuge. She’d hidden in her clan for so long, she could certainly master the nuances of a calm and serene façade at the same time that she acclimated to her alpha powers. But the fact he wanted her to master fast shifts could only mean he expected her to have to fight.
“This is only until the tribunal is over. After that the decisions on who you scan and how are yours.”
Because then she’d either be dead or responsible for the well-being of all the people in her clan. “Brindy mentioned earlier that Callum had arrived with my package from the safety deposit box,” she added hopefully.
“The samples and data inside will be helpful to us once we locate the right scientist to work on reversing the problem, but there’s little or nothing in the packet that we can use to vindicate you. It proves you were in a warehouse with the chemicals—but that could be construed as good or bad. For now, I want to take you on a tour.” He stood and gestured toward the back door.
Once they were outside, he cut across the lawn toward a large stone structure just visible through a break in the trees.
“Where are we headed?”
“The structure houses the clan assembly hall and my council chambers, among other things. I’ll show you the layout. It’s used for large gatherings, though I have occasional alpha lieutenant meetings here as well. We’ll run through the tribunal agenda, and I’ll give you an overview of the rules and how I plan to approach the trial.”
Uneasy, she followed him up several wide stone steps, through massive double wooden doors that opened on an expansive entryway, and from there down into a cavernous room. If grass and boulders with a ceiling a hundred feet above them could be called a room. The space was divided roughly into three major sections: a lower level with four heavy wooden armchairs, another section to her left divided by a stone wall that housed nearly three dozen large flat boulders organized in pairs, and a third open grass section to her right.
“Why all the boulders?”
“Each of the other alphas is permitted to have their mates attend. Some will have their second-in-command or guards present. As to your next question, Vendrick holds the overriding, controlling position by himself. In a hung vote, he breaks any ties.”
“But the tribunal is missing an alpha.”
“Vendrick will vote for himself and Gauthier.”
That her life was in the hands of a man she never believed existed didn’t comfort her much. Of course, only if there was a tie. As if pulled by her thoughts, Breslin’s scent wafted from the jacket she wore, followed by a wave of calm. He knew Vendrick. Had been trained and protected by him. If he’d managed to win Vendrick’s support as an innocent youth, perhaps she stood a chance too.
Deacon strode down a serpentine trail to the lowest level and turned to face her. “The alphas will arrive first. When we come in you’ll be presented to each of them. Something very similar will happen to what you experienced with Alarico and Whit in my home. Except it will feel a thousand times more invasive, and they won’t bother to hide their power.”
The power emitted by just those two alphas had nearly caused her bear to erupt. What would happen when she was aggressively contested by even more beasts? “All at one time?”
Deacon shook his head. “No. I can control that. Your job will be to remain calm and maintain your shield.”
Glancing back at the flat boulders, not wanting to see the expression on his face in case it was worse than she feared, she prepared her question.
“I will be here on the trial floor in the chair beside you.” He’d read her mind. “When Lena arrives, she will join
us. Vendrick will sit with the others.”
Of course he would. Because he’d be judging her as well. “I hate to admit I thought Breslin was just kidding when he said he was trained by the ancient of legend.”
“He is real.” Deacon’s lips twitched. “Once we sit, I’ll put up a barrier between where we are, where the rest of the board members will sit, and the area for guests.”
“That makes this sound like I’m some macabre entertainment. Who can show up as guests?”
He watched her carefully. “Jacob has requested the right to represent the Karndottir clan and present the accusations against you. Whether he will be allowed to speak is up to Sheridan. I suspect others from your clan will also arrive. We don’t require advance notice, but I will have my own security team here as well as Lena’s.”
Her throat closed. Of course the enforcers would come. Another thing she hadn’t considered. Because, for a brief time, her stay among Deacon’s people had almost seemed idyllic. But she nodded. She could handle this. She had to handle this. “What will happen at the end?”
“There will be a vote.”
“And if I’m found guilty?” She hated that her voice wavered, though she wasn’t immune to the fact that even with all the help she’d received, she could still be sentenced to death.
Deacon exhaled slowly. “Past protocol dictates the board members must eliminate the threat. I’m not telling you this to frighten you. You need to know this isn’t a human verdict of justice. There is no jail. No parole. Once decided, in theory, this is over.”
Her bear brushed angrily inside, wanting out. Wanting to roar and shout and destroy for the injustice of this whole farce. “What does theory have to do with any of this?”
Deacon’s wide, terrifying grin stopped her. Her heart raced out of control, but hope flared for a moment. Deacon knew more about manipulating loopholes than anyone she’d ever encountered. And while she wouldn’t admit it to him, she believed he’d use everything he knew to help her. “The joint members of this board have never participated in a tribunal before. Their parents and some older siblings, yes. That works in our favor. I can use and manipulate any rule already on the books. Breslin isn’t the only one who spent a great deal of time with an ancient. I understand why the rules were made, and, more important, what they were not intended to be used for.”
