Oath Sworn

by Kristen Banet

  “Where’s Keith?” Heath asked.

  “Gone,” Tywin answered. “He was overwhelmed.”

  Heath threw his head back and howled.

  It was over.

  23

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Daddy!” The moment Carey was out of the cage, she was running, leaping at him as if she hadn’t been hurt. He was still in wolf form and lay down as she threw her arms over him. The howl ended as he nuzzled into her and she held his big head.

  I was glad to see the end of it. It felt worth it in that moment.

  Everyone started shifting back in their human forms, and I was the first done, with nothing to wear. I sat down in the corner of the room, trying to keep to myself. Carey was walking between her father and her brother, making sure they were okay.

  I was fine with that, too.

  The wolves returned to their human forms after several minutes, Ranger and Sheila running out to the Explorer to get the first aid for everyone. I was too tired to think, too tired to talk. My body hurt, so I looked over everything. The wolves had gotten me a few good times, especially the bite on my stomach, but I wasn’t bleeding too badly. I would be walking funny for a couple of weeks, and I definitely wasn’t going to try any heavy lifting. That much was certain.

  “Here,” Heath said, tossing me something. I held it up after it landed in my lap, frowning. “It’s a shirt. Put it on.”

  “Thanks,” I murmured, pulling it on. I winced as the movement tugged at all the small injuries I had.

  “And these,” Ranger said, walking over to me. “We put a pair in the Explorer, just in case.” He held out sweatpants for me. I grabbed them and pulled them on, but didn’t leave the floor and the small spot I had found that didn’t have blood on it.

  “And we should look over everyone’s injuries,” Landon reminded them.

  I stayed quiet, not finding the energy to get up. I wasn’t bleeding out or anything. I was just tired. Nearly a week of wolves, being shot, and fights, I was done.

  “Jacky?” Carey greeted me softly. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m just tired,” I answered her. “How are you?”

  She lifted her left hand, showing me the purple, swollen wrist. “It hurts, but I’ve broken my wrist before playing, so…”

  “Ah.” I gave her a weak smile.

  “You came for me,” she said, sitting down on the clean spot of the floor with me. “You said you weren’t allowed to come here and help Dad.”

  “They took you and I made a promise,” I reminded her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. “I don’t break my promises.”

  “That’s good. You’re going to be okay, right?” Her eyes fell to the blood spot slowly coming through the shirt.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said gently.

  “Promise?”

  I shouldn’t. I can’t promise her that. I’m probably going to be executed. “I promise,” I said, throat tight.

  “Good.” She nodded as if that was enough. Then she looked away, her face paling at the sight before us. I knew the shock was wearing off, the adrenaline was leaving her just like it was leaving the rest of us. That meant her brain was going to start processing exactly what was in the room.

  Carnage.

  “Heath,” I called out softly. He was with Landon and Tywin, talking quickly and quietly, probably making sure everything was ready for when the Alpha Council arrived with more wolves.

  “What?” He looked back at Carey and me, confused. “Is something wrong? Ranger’s tending Sheila, but—”

  “I’m taking Carey outside,” I explained, pointedly looking down at the floor and the dead wolves between him and me. His gaze followed mine, and he nodded. I didn’t need to hear any more, standing up and helping Carey to her feet. “Let’s go. You don’t need to keep staring at all of this.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered, taking one of my hands in her good one. I led her out, and once I saw that Ranger and Sheila had moved the Explorer closer, I opened it and sat her down in the back. I left the door open, leaning against it and sighing.

  “I’m sorry they took you, Carey. I’m so sorry.” The urge to say it was too strong. “You should never have had to see tonight. You should have been safe with me, and—”

  She lunged at me and her little arms wrapped around my waist. I tentatively wrapped my own arms around her, holding her tightly for a long time.

  “You came for me,” she said into my shoulder. “You came for me with Dad. I’m so glad I met you, Jacky.”

  “I’m really glad I met you, too,” I whispered into her hair. It might have ruined my life, but damn, I was glad to have met her. I wanted to promise her that I would always come for her, protect her, but I knew at dawn, I wasn’t going to stay. I was going to be carted off. At least I would be taken for something worthwhile. At least Carey was going to be with her family again.

  “Jacky? Carey?” Ranger spoke behind me. “I need to look over your injuries.”

  “Carey first,” I ordered him, letting go of her and stepping back. I stumbled a little and sat down on the ground. My ass was one of the few things that didn’t hurt.

  “Jacky first,” Carey said, pointing down at me. “She’s bleeding. All I have is a broken wrist. I’ll need a hospital, right? With the x-rays?”

  “That’s right,” Ranger said, ruffling her hair. “I have no ice packs, but once I get everyone patched up, we’ll head out for you. Take these. They’ll help.” He held up a hand and Carey took whatever he offered.

  “Thank you.” I had never seen a kid take pills without water, but Carey could. Impressive kid.

  Ranger turned on me again and frowned. “They got you pretty good. Let me see.” He knelt and pointed at my stomach. “Let’s go.”

  I pulled it up and let him work. It was nice being able to lie back and let someone else do all the hard work for a minute. It stung when he cleaned the wounds off, then it hurt as he stitched them up.

  “I should be ashamed. Carey’s tougher than me,” I noted, smiling. I was getting a tad lightheaded.

  “She’s a tough kid and she’s used to breaking bones. In the last two years, she’s fallen off a rock and broken a wrist, broken her leg while trying to climb something we told her not to, and broke four fingers when she tried to push around some rocks to make a fort. Her building plans weren’t…weren’t secure.” Ranger was smirking when he was done. “It’s why her family isn’t hovering. She hates it when they do that and so they leave her be unless she’s crying.”

  “Oh, that’s cute,” I murmured, looking over at her. She was cradling the wrist pretty well, even trying to move her fingers. When I saw her wince, I sighed. “Don’t play around with it. Just wait until we get to a hospital.”

  “Okay…Ranger, are Dad and Landon going to come out soon?”

  “Any minute now,” he answered.

  Sure enough, he was working on my last stitch when they walked out. Heath, Tywin, and Landon, a solid line of wolf and power. Top three ranking wolves in the region. I could feel why, deep in my bones. Sheila trailed behind them, limping but stable.

  They all passed over me and went to the Explorer. Heath looked over his daughter’s wrist, then kissed her forehead. “Hospital,” he said gently. “Let’s move out. Landon, help Ranger get Jacky into the back.”

  “I can get up,” I said, a little grumpy he would think I couldn’t. I pushed up slowly, and stumbled to the Explorer.

  “Back seat.” He pointed to the spot next to Carey. “Ranger, is she going to be okay?”

  “No internal damage,” the wolf answered patiently. “A bit of blood loss might be making her lightheaded, but nothing life-threatening. Sheila’s hip was worse. How are all of you?”

  “Tywin and Landon need to eat and rest. I’m fine. Minor flesh wounds.” He grabbed me around my waist and lifted. “Get in there. You’re moving too slow for me.”

  “I can walk,” I snapped. I slapped his hands away as he reached for the seat belt. “
I can definitely put on my seat belt!” I grabbed it and buckled in. “Are we leaving all of this?”

  “Tywin and I are staying. Landon is taking you ladies to the hospital.” He pointed at Sheila. “I meant all three of you. Get in.”

  She bared her teeth. At least I wasn’t the only one being babied. Ranger took the back seat with Carey and me, looking over her wrist again.

  The doors were shut and I made sure she was secure as Ranger wrapped her wrist in a quick splint.

  We were at the hospital in twenty minutes. Carey was ushered in quickly for x-rays. Sheila and I were taken to a room, sat down, and waited.

  It wasn’t a doctor who walked in. It was another wolf. I tensed, but Sheila grabbed my arm. “He’s a rogue, but he’s a doctor. We let him stay and not join the pack if he treats us all equally. Neutral.”

  “Not that it matters anymore,” he said with a sharp smile. Then he sniffed the air. “So you’re the werecat. Well, let’s see.”

  “Carey, Landon, and Ranger?” I asked, lying back on the bed.

  “Are with a human doctor looking over her x-rays,” he said after Sheila nodded. “Ranger did a good job cleaning you up. Give it some time to heal. You’ve got a lot of stitches in you. Had a rough week?”

  “You have no idea,” I mumbled, sitting back up and pointing at Sheila. “Your turn.”

  “Yup…”

  It was quiet, everyone getting checked out. I met Ranger, Landon, and Carey back at the Explorer with Sheila. We didn’t leave, just loitering around for a moment. Carey had a new bright blue cast and somehow already had her hands on a sharpie, which she held out to me.

  “You have to sign it,” she demanded, holding it out.

  I chuckled, taking the sharpie and putting my name and ‘get well soon’ on her cast with a cat face next to it. “Happy?” I asked, holding the sharpie out for her.

  “Yeah. So…you’re going to be our friend now, right?”

  I looked up to Landon and the other wolves. How was I supposed to tell her?

  Landon frowned. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “Jacky, after all of this, you’re more than welcome with our family.”

  Sheila began to cough and grabbed the old wolf. “We need to talk.”

  He seemed confused as Sheila pulled him away. Ranger only sighed, giving me a sad look.

  “I’ll be your friend for as long as I’m able,” I promised Carey. It wouldn’t be very long, but it would be as long as I damn well could. “Are we going to head out? Where do we go from here?”

  “Heath and Tywin will meet us back at the safe house.” Ranger thumped the hood of the Explorer. “We’ll leave when those two are done.” He nodded to Landon and Sheila. I winced as Landon looked my way, his eyes wide as Sheila explained.

  Oh yeah. The werecat that helped save your family? Going to be arrested at dawn for it. You know, the Laws and all that. Don’t tell Carey. She doesn’t deserve that.

  At the warehouse, Heath grabbed Carey and forced her to stay by his side.

  “I’ve been really nice, letting you go to the hospital without me. You’re not leaving my sight anymore,” he explained, pointing to a seat.

  “Okay, Dad. Is it over? Are we going to go back to normal? Are we safe?”

  “We’re safe,” he promised softly, kissing the top of her head. “There’s going to be a lot of changes coming. How do you feel about moving?”

  “I would like that,” she answered. “I don’t want to go home where Richard…”

  My heart hurt too much for one night. Heath looked up to me, his eyes betraying a deep sadness. “I’ll leave you with Landon for a minute. I want to talk to Jacky.”

  “Yeah.” Carey pulled her legs up to her chest, her brother sitting quietly beside her. Heath didn’t need to say any more. I followed him out of the room, crossing my arms as I leaned on a wall out of sight from the other wolves. It hurt, but felt secure.

  “They’ll be here any minute,” he told me. “I…”

  “It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I did what I thought was right. I knew it was going to get me in trouble, but that’s the decision people have to make sometimes.”

  “I’ll speak for you,” he promised again.

  “I know.” We stood in silence for a minute until I couldn’t hold it back anymore. “I’m sorry about Richard. If he hadn’t…He came after Carey.”

  “That’s more my fault than it’s yours. I don’t think you should carry the blame. I should have realized he was unhappy. After so many years…” He propped himself on the wall next to me. “Thank you for protecting Carey. That’s all that matters. That’s all you had to do. Richard made his decision. It was envy and rage that were his downfall. I might have been able to be a better father, I’ll never know, but it’s over now. Carey’s half in shock. She’ll miss him tomorrow. Landon’s been his captive since this started. He’ll be over it quickly, though he’ll have a hard time trusting anyone for a time. He was always stand-offish with everyone except the family.”

  “Then his family betrayed him,” I finished.

  “Exactly. But we’ll heal.”

  “Emma and Dean?” I asked. “They have a son…”

  “Dean was still alive when I sent all of you to the hospital. We got him into a holding cell before you got back. He’ll stand for the crimes committed by his mate in front of the Alpha Council. Maybe the Tribunal. His son will be sent to some extended family, but that’s going to take time to figure out.” He was fiddling with his hands. “I’m having a hard time reconciling the Emma and Dean I knew with the ones from tonight. I had no idea they were so…”

  “Power-hungry?” I filled in.

  “Yes. I should have seen it coming.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I say that because…a week ago I could have never seen me going this far for anyone, and yet, the opportunity came and I took it. They might have been fine…Until they weren’t.”

  He nodded, looking away from me, his eyes distant. We stayed there in silence for a long time until someone knocked on the door.

  “Sir. The Council is here.”

  “Send them in,” he called back. The door swung open and several wolves walked in. A few of them glanced at me. “Welcome to my safe house, Harrison.”

  An old-looking wolf inclined his head. I recognized his voice as the Harrison I had spoken to when he started talking. “It’s good to see everything has been resolved. You have two prisoners for us?”

  “I’m going to send wolves out tomorrow night to look for any stragglers from the coup. It’s going to take a couple of weeks to stabilize. But yes, right now I have one prisoner and—"

  “I’m turning myself in,” I said, cutting him off. “Hi, Harrison.”

  “You knew it was going to end this way, Ms. Leon.” Harrison pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

  “I did.” I put my wrists forward and let him cuff me. Another wolf grabbed my elbow and began to pull me out of the room. I looked back at Heath. “Tell her…That I’m fine with this.”

  Heath nodded.

  As I was led out, some of Heath’s wolves saluted me. Some wished me well.

  Carey begged Landon to explain to her why I was being led away like the bad guy.

  24

  Chapter Twenty-four

  They held me in a hotel in Dallas for over week. Ten days, actually. My guards included several supernatural species, from vampires, werewolves, and witches, to fae, a rare kitsune, and more. I wasn’t allowed to leave unless it was to be taken in front of the Tribunal, where I wasn’t allowed to speak. Not until the last day.

  There were procedures to Tribunals. Upon being taken into custody, they descended like riders of the damn apocalypse on whatever location they needed to be in. They came to Dallas to deal with me. It took a few days, since they came from everywhere, including the lands of the Fae.

  After that, there was a week of trial. I was on the last day, but the previous days hadn’t been so bad. The Tribunal put a call out for supernatural
creatures to speak on my behalf. They didn’t need anyone to speak against me because my crimes were clear. They were looking for people who might help make my punishment more lenient.

  Not like they really wanted to do that, but they were required to try. There were no executions without exhausting all other options.

  Lani showed up to speak for me as fast as she could, arriving on day two. Heath and the pack spoke on my behalf every day, filling up entire days with recounts of my actions and behavior through the entire event.

  Brin showed up, and strangely enough, the fae were hushed for him, letting him speak about my time at his motel. That had been nice. His family showed up as well, including his human wife—unheard of. No one stopped him, though.

  But it was now the last day. It was my day to speak for myself.

  I washed my face, staring at my reflection. The bruises were gone and most of my stitches were removed already. I was healing better, which was a blessing. My body had taken a beating, but I wouldn’t be limping into the chamber for the last day. My eyes were finally my human hazel again, too. I was finally able to pull back the werecat a couple of days after turning myself over to Harrison.

  I got dressed, putting on the set outfit they left for me. There was a dress code for appearing in front of the Tribunal. My clothing was supplied to me before they showed up. It was a severe black suit, much like a lawyer would wear, but instead of pants, like any decent person would wear, they gave me a pencil skirt today.

  How nice of them.

  My guard was waiting for me in the little kitchenette of the hotel room, a sword strapped to his back. He was a vampire, one of the few I had met—all of them in the last week. “Time to go,” he said, gesturing to the door. “Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said softly, swallowing. Heath had promised me on day one that he wouldn’t let Carey come to this, but on day six, I had asked him to bring her on the last day. Just so I could see her and say goodbye. Tell her that meeting her and helping her family made me feel like a hero for a minute. A good person. She made my world a little less lonely. She deserved to know that.