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There were disloyal members in our midst. Right now only one, but maybe more. Four-leaf had already signed his death warrant, and it was my job to show him and anyone else who had the same idea that once you belonged to the Shadows youdid not come back.
I couldn’t focus on the meeting as normal business was taken care of. Reports on our business and distribution, checking in on the patrols which hadn’t gone wrong. General club business. I didn’t care about that.
“Now,” Silver said. “There’s some shit we need to address, and listen, because I’m not going to say it twice.”
Profound silence overcame the church. Not even a creak of a pew. Our fae stillness took precedence now, all instincts answering the call of the King.
“If you don’t want to be here,” Silver said, voice even, “then get the fuck out and don’t come back. This is your one chance to go without me putting a bullet through your skull, so if you have any doubts about me, my leadership, or how Irun this club,thenLEAVE.” His roar shook the windows and walls.
No one moved.
I don’t think anyone breathed.
“Time’s up. You’re here. And if you’re here, you’re here. You want to disagree with something? Bring it up in church. You’re allowed to have thoughts and opinions different from mine. That’s fine. But if I make a decision, it’s final.”
The words hung in the air, taunting. “Once I make the call, your opiniondoes. Not. Matter.Keep the opinion. I don’t fucking care. But if you take your opinions beyond this club? If you take action to harm this club and this Court? It will not be tolerated.”
Silver jerked his head toward the side of the church, and Grave left. I didn’t move yet. Everyone knew I was here, but it was easy to make them forget.
Door bursting open, Grave dragged Four-leaf in front of the altar and shoved him on his knees. His entire head was covered in shadows, hands cuffed tightly behind him.
Silver twisted his hand and recalled his shadows. Four-leaf coughed, sputtering, his head whipping around. He had no idea where he was.
“Silver, I didn’t do this.”
I reached into the back pockets of my leathers, pulled out the brass knuckles I always kept on me and slipped them on to both hands.
“You have one chance,” Silver said. “To confess in front of the club. In exchange, I’ll offer you a quick death.”
“You’re going to kill me for a mistake? I rode over a piece of enchantment I didn’t fucking see. You know I’m loyal, Silver.”
Our President just smiled, pulled out his phone, and started reading. “‘Silver’s not going to pull the trigger. If you guys want a fight you’ll have to do better than that.’ That’s the message you sent to a member of the Blazing Legion, isn’t it?”
Four-leaf’s skin went pale. The scent of his fear reached me, even across the room. The fucker was done for.
“You went through my phone?”
Silver just tilted his head. “So you admit it’s your phone.”
“Fuck.” He tried to fight his cuffs, and couldn’t. They weren’t human handcuffs we could bust through in seconds. They were warded. No one was getting out of those except the five of us and Sky.
I watched Silver walk around him casually, his shadows tightening around Four-leaf’s arms and wrenching his shoulders back even further. “Here’s a couple other things you said.‘Of course I do. Better than us all being pussies over a five mile strip of land. Over some fucking dancer. They were right. I didn’t want to believe they were right, but they were.’ And, ‘just get it done.’” He came to a stop directly behind Four-leaf and slipped his phone into his pocket.
Hand whipping out, Silver grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back, exposing Four-leaf’s throat. Every word spoken was soft, yet heard with crystal clarity through the church.
“Even if you’d only gone to them to start a fight, it would be enough. But you didn’t do that. You werewilling. The magic of that spell shouldn’t have been enough to even touch your mind. If you were as loyal as you claim to be, it wouldn’t have.
“Instead, it turned you into a weapon. And yes, it’s about a fucking dancer. My—our—âmmelune.”
Through the room there was a collective intake of breath. We hadn’t told them before, and I didn’t grudge it now. If there was a perfect time to announce she was our mate, it was in the middle of an illustration of what happened when you touched her.
“Shit,” Four-leaf whispered.
“That’s right,” Silver growled. “She’s not just a dancer. She’s our mate andyour queen.”
Looking up, Silver locked eyes with me and nodded once. I strode across the space and struck Four-leaf in the face. His head snapped to the side, and only Silver’s shadows kept him upright.
Silver strode to stand in the aisle as I hit him across the face again, splitting the skin. My mind was cooling and sharpening, focusing on the task in front of me.
