Page 80 of Tempting Fate

I clasp my hands together. I’m certain, too, that I don’t deserve it. Because Jamie’s right. They’re not trying to solve the problem, not really. I’m the problem. I exposed us because I was too scared to tell my mate the truth.

“Please, let him go home,” I say. “This was my fault. I will accept any punishment you see fit.”

I’ll be sent away, that’s for certain. With luck, they’ll let me go to a pack I know, but when Alpha Axel turns his flinty gaze on me, I know I’m not about to be lucky at all.

“And how do we solve the larger problem?” Alpha Deacon asks. “That video has already been viewed thousands of times. Every pack in the country will be in touch with me tomorrow, not to mention the clan. The Hunt.”

“I…” Em’s voice shakes. “I could tell everyone it was fake. A hoax. I’ll say Patch is an actor. It was a joke.”

Alpha Deacon doesn’t look convinced. Alpha Axel is so red in the face, I think he’s about to explode.

“Actually…” Sam leans into the room a little more. Lucien wears a faint smile now, but Alpha Axel looks wary in the way most wolves do when faced with the mage. “We could do something with that, I think. Give me a day? I’ll have to get Ophelia and Dante on it, but we might be able to… mitigate the damage.”

Alpha Deacon looks at Alpha Axel, who nods. “Very well,” Alpha Deacon says. “That does not change the fact that he cannot remain here for long.”

“Let us fix this first,” Alpha Kieran says. He bares his throat, eyes downcast. I sigh. It isn’t his fault that he didn’t know about Em, either. None of us did, and Jamie and I have spent the most time with him. “We can deal with the rest after.”

“For now, he remains inside. No night-time walks. No troubling wolves outside of your pack. He is your responsibility. Have I made myself clear?”

Alpha Kieran nods. “Yes, alpha.” He looks at Jamie, then Em. “Let’s go. Now.”

Em gives me a low, sideways look before he gets to his feet. Lucien steps in to guide him past Alpha Axel and Alpha Deacon, both of whom clearly frighten him. Jamie stands there for a second. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to.

At least Dax was brave enough to say it. He knows. He’s worked it out, which means he knows, too, that I have no intention of claiming them. Not now. Not after this.

I don’t watch them go. I can’t. My wolf is howling, throwing himself against the edges of my mind, and the urge to shift itches under my skin, but that will only make things much, much worse.

When the door closes again, only Alpha Axel and Alpha Deacon remain inside the office with me. Alpha Axel takes his seat behind the desk again. Alpha Deacon sighs and drops into the other chair. He looks tired.

“Well,” Alpha Axel says. “What are we going to do with you?”