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I felt for him, I really did. I didn’t know the words that would ease that anxiety, though. Fate had dealt the lot of us a shitty hand, we all knew it. But also, those of us who had settled down with their mates were living the lives they had always dreamed of. It just took time.
Please let me enjoy the same kind of life on the other side of this one.
When we arrived at Steelwick, we were met by Armand and another person I didn’t recognize. They were calm and didn’t act like we were the enemy. That was a good sign. Maybe it meant my mate had softened their hearts and showed them his innocence. Or at least gave them doubt of his guilt.
“Can I see him? Can you take me to him?” I asked the minute I exited the car.
Armand grimaced. “You are certain he is innocent? You just met him the other day.”
It was a fair question, one I’d have asked in his position.
“He’s my mate,” I said. “He would never do this.” I stood my ground. I did not care that I was facing down the large alpha bear, my mate was not guilty of the crimes he was accused of.
“Nearly every alpha who has committed any crime and every omega who has committed a crime is somebody’s mate,” Armand said.
I growled. “That may be true, but my mate didn’t do this. You didn’t see him when I found him.”
Armand nodded, and his eyes showed compassion. He might not have fully believed me, but he was open to it.
“I have one of my more senior investigators reviewing Beckett’s findings and the evidence being presented against Silas. I agree that the investigation was rushed and that he took the Alpha’s word for it when, in reality, he should have looked on his own.” That was something, and honestly more than I’d have even thought possible if this was in the council’s hands instead of Steelwick’s.
“I’d like him released into my care,” I said, surprising myself. Admittedly I didn’t have a plan for when I arrived here. I simply wanted to see my mate. Requesting that my mate come home with me hadn’t been on the agenda. Would Morgan even allow Silas back on our territory? Probably. Maybe. I’d cross that bridge if we ever came to it.
Armand raised an eyebrow. “I cannot release him to go stay with Asilo until I believe for certain that he is innocent. I would also need the approval from the Forerunner.”
“I know,” I said. “Can I see him, please?” This conversation could wait. Seeing my mate? My beast wouldn’t allow us to be apart any longer.
Armand nodded.
Steelwick lived in a hotel that had been repurposed as their pack lands. It worked out quite well, as most members of the pack got their own rooms, and there was plenty of space for everyone. They had added holding cells in the basement, or at least I hoped they had been the ones to do so. Perhaps the hotel had been built with prison cells. Humans were weird.
Armand took us down there. I’d never seen the holding cells before, though I’d known that they existed. In my head they would resemble the dungeons in old movies. I was pleased to learn that this was not the case.
Inside one of the closed-off rooms sat Silas, his hands in cuffs. They were made of pure silver and probably magicked in a way that prevented him from shifting. Not that he could shift. But they either didn’t know that or it was protocol. At least it didn’t look painful.
I ran to him as soon as I saw him, but Armand circled me around the waist and held me. “Wait,” he said. “We need to search you for weapons or anything that can be used to set him free.”
Silas’s eyes darkened when he saw Armand’s hand on me. I didn’t blame him. I felt similarly.
I glared at Armand, feeling the distrust.
“I’m sorry, Pol. It is protocol,” he explained. He took his hands off me. “If I break protocol it puts my pack at risk. The last thing our pack needs is the council on our backs.”
My mate’s jaw clenched as he watched while Armand patted me down. He didn’t care about protocol. I was his. That was that.
Another guard stood there, with Thomas next to him.
“Happy now?” I said once the search was over.
He nodded. I went to my mate’s side and pulled him into my arms. He slipped his cuffed hands around me so that he could hold me.
“Did a healer see you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not yet. They mentioned that they would, though. My lion is already feeling better seeing you here.”
“I’m sorry that they found you,” I said. Tears poured from my eyes and dropped onto my mate’s neck where I had my face buried.
“It’s quite all right. I know that I will be proven innocent in time.” He had more faith in the system than I did. That was for sure.
