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“Audio?” Ashton’s barrister scoffs. “Councilman, it’s impossible to positively identify—”
“If you check the surveillance video footage from my parents’ former home, you’ll see his arrival. The timestamps on my recording and the security recordings should leave no doubt.” And while I know I should shut up and let the legal experts handle things, I can’t help but editorialize a little. “Mr. Daniels is a traitor to his king and pack leader. He broke the terms of this challenge and he assaulted me. He isn’t a worthy mate for any woman in this pack. Certainly not for me.”
“Thank you!” Nathan’s barrister says, openly nonplussed. He takes the phone from me with a look that entreats me to stop talking, so I do.
“Let’s hear this audio recording,” says Councilman Renner.
Someone from Nathan’s side runs off, presumably to somehow get the security video here. I didn’t think of that. The delay might mean there will be no decision tonight. I’ll have a full year before I have to worry about the mating pact to either of them if the council decides to wait.
The barrister turns up the volume on the phone and the room is a silent as the grave while the recording plays. My jeans pocket muffled the sound somewhat, but it’s unmistakably Ashton, promising to break pack law by sweeping me away on a private jet, aided and abetted by Councilman Coleman. From his council chair, Coleman signals his innocence with a smirk and a shake of his head.
When I say that I slept with Nathan…that’s unmistakable, too. I don’t sound so much like the type of person who’d be a great queen. That’s part of the equation I didn’t consider before. The council isn’t just deciding on who deserves the marriage pact. They’re deciding if I should be queen.
What have I done?
When the recording finishes, Ashton’s barrister says, “That did paint a vivid picture for us. My client has a small detail he’d like to add, however. Councilman Renner, if I may?”
Renner rolls his eyes and motions for the barrister to carry on.
“‘We need to talk. There’s been a terrible mistake. Come to my parents’ house. Hurry, I don’t know how long I’ll be alone,’” Ashton’s representation reads. “That’s the text message my client received from Miss Dixon last night, urging him to break a pack law that, if the audio recording can be believed, was known to her and not to Mr. Daniels.”
Council members quietly talk amongst themselves at this. I glance over at Nathan. He looks hopeless and furious.
Furious with me.
“It seems to me that Miss Dixon entrapped Mr. Daniels, with the intent to interfere in this proceeding,” Ashton’s barrister finishes.
“I believe we’ve heard all we need from Miss Dixon,” Councilman Renner says, condemning me with a glare for wasting his time. It’s the night of the full moon and no doubt all the council members are ready for the Lupercalia celebration forming at the ceremonial grounds and the transformation ritual that will follow. The sooner they get this trial over with, the sooner the party begins.
They rush me out and, though everything in me screams not to, I catch Nathan’s eye and I mouth, “I’m sorry.”
Two female guards wait outside the chamber doors to lead me away. We’ll go to the ceremonial chamber.
And I have no idea which man will join me.
CHAPTER 24
The chamber is as cold and dark as I imagine. My arms ache. I’ve been waiting, chained, for what feels like hours, but through the grate overhead, I can tell the moon isn’t directly above us yet.
This isn’t how Tara said it would go. She’d mentioned a ceremony, other people being here with us.
I’m all alone, in a cell that smells of earth and is oppressive in its chill humidity. The acolytes did anoint me, that part was true, but they didn’t wait for my mate to arrive. Now, with my back to the door, chained to a damp wooden post, there’s no way for me to tell who will come in. And if I change my mind…
It’s too late to change my mind.
I stifle a sob of fear. I can do this. I gave my testimony. Sure, I messed up by playing that recording and by entrapping Ashton. I thought I was doing the right thing but apparently, I wasn’t. Whatever happens, whoever comes through the door, I’ll face the consequences of my actions and I’ll do it without becoming a sniveling crybaby.
I really want to cry, though.
In the center chamber, an acolyte begins to chant. My heart races. I think I feel a flicker of the familiar pull, but I can’t be sure it isn’t just nerves. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter and tighter as my mate approaches. The door screeches on its hinges and he enters.
My knees go weak with relief, and I sob aloud. It’s Nathan. I feel him. It’s undeniable.
