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But of course, this isn’t her home, this is her prison, and even that for only a few weeks.
Maybe sooner.
I make a mental note to get my personal physician in to examine Willow, and determine exactly where she is in her cycle, and sit back in my chair to watch the interrogation, grateful I can’t smell her through the one-way glass.
Hermione motions for her to sit on one side of the gray steel table and pulls out a chair on the other. “Would you like a water or a coffee before we start? We also have tea, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It isn’t the good stuff.”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.” Willow settles into her seat, pushing up the sleeves on the orange sweater she chose from the closet.
It was the least formal option made available to her, and a part of me takes that as further evidence that she isn’t anything close to my type. Another part can’t help noticing that she looks beautiful in the color, and yet another snarls that all parts should stop thinking about Willow as anything but a prisoner at once.
“But I confess, I’m a little nervous,” Willow adds, motioning to the mirrored wall, behind which I sit in near darkness. “I feel like I’m on one of those cop shows. I would ask if I need a lawyer, but most Alphas don’t seem to be into due process, so…”
Hermione’s lips curve a bit, not enough to really be called a smile, but enough it seems to put Willow at ease. “We’re here because the room is already equipped with cameras and audio recording devices. You’re not under suspicion for anything. We just want your statement on record, and this was the easiest way to accomplish that. Okay?”
“Okay.” Willow threads her fingers together on top of the table with a nod and a rush of breath. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. What exactly do you want to know?”
“Just a sequence of events, the hours leading up to when you crossed the portal. It was the night of the mate claiming ceremony, you were at home getting ready, most likely. Let’s start there.”
Willow exhales again. “I actually got ready at the lab. My…” She bites her lip, looking up into the corner, at one of the small cameras mounted on the wall. “Can you just please promise me this recording won’t get back to Victor or Pax or any of the Blood River enforcers? It would be really, really bad for my family if it did. I know I’m probably a lost cause, but I don’t want to get my parents in any more trouble than they’re in already.”
“This is just for our people,” Hermione assures her. “And we don’t have leaks. Say what you will about Maxim, but he has the unwavering loyalty of our people. Nothing you say in this room will get back to Victor or anyone else.”
Willow’s shoulders relax a little. “Okay. Then, yeah…I got ready at the lab while my parents quietly slipped out of town. Not too far away, but far enough they could be ready to run if they needed to. They’d already been through a mate claiming ceremony gone wrong once. I’m sure you know about my sister.”
Hermione nods.
“Right,” Willow continues. “So, they knew how bad things could get, but they didn’t want me to be forced into a relationship with someone awful. And there are, sadly, a lot of awful men in my pack. So, we made an agreement—if I didn’t call Mom and Pop to tell them how excited I was about my match before nine, when the ceremony was over, they’d get out.”
“Get out?” Hermione leans in. “How do you mean? Did they come through the portal, too?”
“No, they made other arrangements, Parallel side.” Willow nibbles her lip. “I’d really rather not say more than that, though. They’re innocent in every way. Their only mistake was giving birth to two girls with crappy horoscopes.”
My second-in-command’s eyes narrow. “That’s odd though, isn’t it? That both you and your sister were paired with a Darius, when your family is so low on the Blood River food chain. No offense, of course.”
“None taken,” Willow says. “And yeah, it is a little strange, but Kelley and I were both born in March and Pax and Collum were born in November so…I suppose it might make sense astrologically.”
“You don’t have any reason to believe the matches were arranged by your Alpha? That Victor might have taken liberties with your star charts? Or influenced the matchmakers in any way?”
I nod in approval in my dark room, pleased Hermione is exploring my suspicions so early in the interview.
Willow shakes her head. “No, I don’t. And I can’t imagine why Victor would do something like that. Even before my sister rejected his nephew and my family hit rock bottom status-wise, we weren’t exactly popular. My father’s a lawyer and my mother’s a political scholar. Victor doesn’t like smart, educated people who enjoy thinking for themselves. Or who can see that’s he’s just a big bully with an army of other bullies, not a real Alpha.”
Hermione hums beneath her breath, her brow furrowing as she nods. “Okay, so you and your parents had a contingency plan, you got dressed for the ceremony at the lab. What happened next?”
Willow presses her lips together for a beat. “I went to Victor’s house. He has a renovated mansion from the 1850s and hosts the ceremonies in the old ballroom. I joined the other women in the waiting room, but I’d only been there a few seconds when…” She trails off, her gaze dropping to the tabletop. “Victor sent a doctor in to confirm I was a virgin. None of the other women had to be examined. Just me. It was humiliating, as I’m sure you can imagine. The doctor took me behind a screen, but I could still hear everyone whispering, figuring there must be a reason for Victor to suspect I’d broken his rule about female pack members remaining celibate until marriage.”
“And had you?” Hermione asks, before adding quickly, “Just for the account of what took place. I’m sorry you had to go through that. All the wolves in our pack are encouraged to abstain from sexual relationships with other wolves before they claim a mate, but it happens, of course. And it’s not a big deal. Our Alphas understand that we’re animals, not robots who can turn our sexuality on and off at will.”
“That’s great, but I don’t think my sex life or lack of one should be any of your business.” Willow pulls at the cowl neck of her sweater before crossing her arms at her chest and sitting back in her chair. “But yeah, I was verified to be ‘intact’ if that answers your question.”
Intact. So…she was a virgin until sometime last night, when Pax Darius was her first.
Fuck.
She deserved so much better. From him, and…from me. I shouldn’t have teased her about being with her “one true mate.” I felt like an ass about it at the time, but knowing her first time was with a man like that…
A man who probably gave no thought to her comfort, let alone her pleasure…
