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Meanwhile, Ryan is deeply troubled. “Tell me again what happened?”
I had to explain it to them over the phone, more than once, but I can understand why it’s too surreal for them to fully grasp. Once more, I recount our late-night kidnapping, the banishment of the traitors involved, and the dissolution of my mating pact to Ashton.
“So, in conclusion, I’m queen now. Or, I will be, in a couple of days. But only if Ashton’s challenge doesn’t work in the council. Which was kind of why I called you.”
“I’m not on the council,” Ryan reminds me. “I’m only shortlisted for a vacant seat.”
“And a seat is now vacant, and the council has given it to you.” It does feel good to break the exciting news, but it feels selfish that I’m asking him for a favor at the same time.
“Are you kidding?” he asks, an uncertain smile growing across his face. “You’re kidding. This is a prank.”
“Yeah, it’s a prank. She somehow got everyone in the palace to put all this together and go along with it. Including the King.” Hannah makes a Gallic shrug and turns to me. “Are you okay? Are you like…a prisoner here?”
No sense in sugar coating it. “I’m pretty sure I am. He said to stay in the private residence.”
“He might be anticipating some kind of retaliation.” Ryan falls into deep thought. “Listen to him on this.”
“Listen to him about everything. He’s the king,” Hannah admonishes him, and makes a cut-it-out motion across her neck while pointing at the ceiling.
I haven’t given any thought to the fact that Nathan might have ears all over the palace, and that even this private meeting could be surveilled. Maybe the reason he didn’t want to be here is because he thinks our tongues will be looser if he’s not around.
I can’t trust him at all. He’s going to be my mate and we’re somehow connected by forces we didn’t know could even exist, and I can’t trust him.
“I say all of this as a friend, of course.” Ryan gets it, to my great relief. “I would never imply that you should disobey an order from the pack leader, but I know how you are.”
“Nathan will make sure I’m protected.” That part, I fully trust. If anything, his possessiveness is a huge red flag that I’m purposely ignoring. “He’s very attentive when it comes to my safety.”
Hannah nods slowly. “Of course, he is. Oh, but allow me to express my sympathy over your family’s involvement in the conspiracy against your future mate. That must be devastating. I mean, finding out that your family is full of traitors but also, finding yourself completely isolated from them.”
“Isolated” is the key word that stands out. Nathan has isolated me from my family. “He did what had to be done. They’re traitors.”
What I’m really saying, and what I’m sure Hannah and Ryan are picking up on, judging by the stilted conversation between us, is I know that what Nathan is doing is extremely fucked up but I’m not taking my family’s side.
“You could bring that up during your testimony. It would look very good for His Majesty’s rightful claim.” Ryan says, and I translate it to, “If you want Nathan to win, say this.”
I reassure him with, “I’ll do anything I can to fight Ashton. He doesn’t have the right to dispute my future mate’s claim.”
That’s not code for anything. It’s just what I truly believe.
“Remember back in the day, when we did all that research on pack law?” Hannah asks. Of course, we do. It’s how I learned about the Right of Accord. She goes on, “Maybe it would behoove you to brush up on challenges like this. We could help you.”
“No, we can’t,” Ryan says quickly. “I’m a member of the council now. I’ve offered a little too much friendly advice already.”
“Fine,” Hannah says. “But my friendly advice? Get thee to the library.”
“I can’t leave,” I remind her. “But a thrall could.”
“I’m sure the king has resources available here,” Ryan reminds us. “It’s not just a pretty house. He works here.”
“Then let’s eat, so you can get to work,” Hanna suggests. At a look from Ryan, she protests, “What? I’m not passing up food fit for a queen.”
We avoid the topic of the challenge, talking about normal friend stuff only while we eat, but it’s never off my mind. Neither is my inability to trust that my future mate won’t be keeping an obsessive eye on me. Am I ever going to be able to have an honest conversation with my friends again? Can I ever be assured of my privacy?
The more I consider the situation, the more I realize that no matter the outcome of the challenge, the conspiracies and machinations are far from over.
CHAPTER 22
After Ryan and Hannah leave, I snoop through the residence and find a study. As one would expect, the king’s bookshelves are filled with volumes on pack law, including the intimidating twenty-volume pack charter.
