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“Are you calling us dishonorable?” Kerry’s voice was trembling with anger.
“Yes,” Erwan said calmly. “I am.”
“How dare you?—”
Erwan’s magic slipped, and Cladhaire and Baoth could move again, though they didn’t seem to make any attempts to do so. They looked as if they’d seen a ghost.
“You have a brothel here!” Erwan yelled it so loudly the entire camp must’ve heard it. “How dare you call yourself honorable when you have a fucking brothel right here in the camp?”
Oh fuck. This was not how it was supposed to go. But how could Rhene be angry with his mate for revealing their knowledge of the red tent when he had been fuming with fury as well? Erwan’s indignation was righteous, and Rhene could not and would not stop him.
Kerry crossed his arms. “I assume the reason you’re so upset is that your consort made good use of one of the whores this morning. From what I’ve been told, he fucked the poor omega for a good hour. Beat him up too. So maybe don’t lecture us when your so-called mate is doing the exact same thing.”
Erwan met Rhene’s gaze, trembling with panic. Yeah, he’d backed them into a corner there. Either Rhene would have to deny everything, which would risk Zacharias’s safety, or he would confirm it, thus losing his reputation.
“A brothel?” Gregor asked as if Kerry hadn’t even mentioned Rhene. “You’re saying there’s one in the camp?”
“It’s called the red tent, and apparently, it’s a regular occurrence. Every Council, another clan runs it. This year, it’s the Murphys.” Erwan pointed at Kerry and Alistair. “Except they didn’t have omegas, so the O’Connors supplied some.”
Oscar from the O’Connors held up his hands in defense. “Hold on. We only did it as a favor to the Murphys.”
“Does it matter?” Erwan asked. “The result is the same, isn’t it? Omegas are being forced to whore themselves out against their will.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Alistair waved his hand. “Omegas have no will. They’re our property to do with as we please. They’re worth less than half of what alphas are.”
“Not according to the Code,” Fergal said in a sharp tone. “In fact, the Code commands alphas to treat the omegas well since they’re weaker.”
“The Code was written centuries ago. It has evolved,” Kerry said. “You can’t expect us to stick to rules that were written in the early Middle Ages.”
“Why not?” Erwan asked, and the room grew quiet again. “Why can’t we? The Code is a moral law, teaching us what is right and honorable for dragons. That is timeless, and so are its principles for leading a clan. Why shouldn’t we still follow those moral guidelines when our ancestors did? It’s your generation that deviated from it. Your generation caused the Great Shame by breaking the ancient oath we swore to the wolf shifters. Your generation stood by as the wolves almost went extinct and, at best, did nothing and, at worst, helped those who plotted against the wolves. Your generation has brought us nothing but shame and dishonor, war and destruction, brutality and injustice.”
Erwan was glorious, radiating a confidence and strength Rhene had never seen from him. His words, spoken with such deep conviction, carried weight. Fergal had been right. The White Dragon had found his calling, and Rhene had never been more in awe of his mate.
Erwan spun around, pointing at the Murphys. “Twelve of their omegas left their clan. Did you all know that? Twelve. And you all know why.”
“They didn’t leave. You stole them,” Alistair snapped.
“We gave them a choice, and they chose freedom,” Rhene said. “All we did was offer them safety, a place to stay, and bread on their tables. That was enough to make them leave their clan and come to us. That was how low the bar was. We didn’t have to steal, bribe, or blackmail them. All we had to do was give them the choice. They chose us despite all the unknowns because nothing could be as horrific as staying in your clan. That’s the truth, and you know it.”
“Yet for all your pretty words, you still ended up in the red tent this morning and fucked an omega,” Kerry snarled.
“No, he didn’t.”
Rhene spun around. Zacharias stood there, his chin held high despite the bruise on his cheek and his split lip. And behind him, more omegas filed in, one after the other, until the meeting tent was packed.
How had they known to come? Oh, wait. Gregor. He must’ve somehow given them a signal.
“My name is Zacharias, and I can vouch for the character of King Erwan’s consort. I was assigned to him, but he didn’t have sex with me this morning.”
“Sheila said she saw the evidence herself,” Kerry protested.
“She saw what we wanted her to see.” Zacharias stood fearlessly. “Rhene Hightower did not have sex with me.”
He was smart not to say Rhene hadn’t touched him because, technically, he had. Just not in the sense most people would understand that phrasing.
“What’s the meaning of this?” King Donál asked, sounding downright panicked. “You have no right to be here.”
“We’re leaving our clans,” Zacharias said. “All of us. We’re following the White Dragon.”
