L

    My palms are sweating and I’m clutching my hands so tightly in myp that my knuckles are white. Alpha Cyra reaches bover /band gently bcovers /bmy hands with hers.

    “Alpha Sten, please step forward,” Councilman Edward says.

    When he walks by, he makes sure to re at me. I don’t look up, but I can feel the heat of his anger.

    “Alpha Sten, you are facing three charges in this courtroom today. First, you had knowledge of another Alpha’s embezzlement band /bbkept /bthat information from the Council. You then used that information to force an alliance bond with Alpha Arden, using his daughter bas /bcoteral in the agreement. Alpha Cyra was underage at the time and unable to give her consent, therefore making the agreement illegal in the eyes of this courtroom. Second, you are also charged with knowingly and intentionally using information about Alpha Cyra’s inheritance to gain ess to her inheritance for your own gain. You are charged with attempting to force your mark on Alpha Cyra against her will and threatened to rape her toplete the bond in order to obtain that inheritance money. Third, iyou /iare charged with tampering with ba /bbsupply /bof birth control that was delivered to Alpha Cyra’s pack. This tampering has caused multiple unwanted pregnancies in older she–wolves, putting them and their pups at risk. How do you plead?”

    “We plead not guilty on all counts, Councilmanb,” /bhis attorney says.

    “Fine, let us start with the first one. Knowledge of Alpha Arden’s embezzlement,” he turns to the triangle of people standing off the side, waiting to be called upon. “Tracker?”

    “Councilman…” she begins, and then outlines the process of how the money was tracked. The other two, Hacker and Hijack, also speak to their roles in acquiring the information they found. A recording of the conversation between Alpha Arden, Alpha Christer, and Sten is yed, clearly outlining not only his knowledge of the embezzlement, but also Sten’s suggestion of the alliance bond.

    I grip my hands even more tightly together. I was such a fool.

    When Alpha Cyra is called upon, she steps forward and states what happened when the alliance bond was presented to her and that she wasn’t given a choice in the process.

    ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Alpha Yorick’s voice filters into my head.

    I look up at him. ‘You didn’t know. He used your mate bond against you. Don’t me yourself. You’re not stupid. You were in love and you trusted your mate.‘

    I nod my head at him as Alpha Cyra returns to sit beside me, putting her hand over mine.

    Ipletely agree with Yorick. You didn’t know and when you did, you told Piperi,’ /ishe says in the mind link.

    I nod again, taking a deep breath. Sten may hate me, and while my wolf, Bree, is howling at his betrayal of us, my Alphas believe me and have faith in me.

    I tune back in just in time to hear the Council give their verdict of Sten’s knowledge of the embezzlement and alliance bond.

    “This court finds you guilty of your first charge.”

    b“/bTHAT’S INSANE!” Sten roars.

    One of the military men steps forward, putting a hand on Sten’s shoulder. He pushes bit /bboff/bb, /bbut two more step up, brestraining /bbhim/b.

    “Calm down, Alpha Sten, or you will be removed from this courtroom,” Councilman Edward says, his voice bbooming /bbaround /bbthe /bbsmall /b

    Chapter b290 /b

    bspace /bband /bbmaking /bbme /bbjump/b.

    bI /bbdon’t /bbknow /bhow Sten is surprised, the audio very clearly identified him and his role in what happened.

    Sten finally settles and the military people release him, but they don’t step back, ready to jump in again if he gets bout /bof hand.

    b“/bYour second charge is knowingly and intentionally using information about Alpha Cyra’s inheritance to gain ess to her binheritance /bby attempting to force Alpha Cyra into an unwanted mate bond. ire McIntosh, please step forward.”

    Sten immediately turns to re at me. When I stand, Alpha Cyra stands with me and steps forward. The Councilman looks bat /bbher/bb.. /b

    “Alpha Cyra, you will be called when we’re ready to hear your information.”

    “I am L’s Alpha, that’s the name she goes by. I am here in a supportive role for her. Alpha Sten is her mate and while their bond bwas /bneverpleted, standing against her mate is difficult for her.”

    He turns and quietly talks to the other council members before turning back.

    “We’ll allow it. Warrior L, please tell us your knowledge of what happened and how you ended up having information about Alpha Sten’s n to gain Alpha Cyra’s inheritance,” he says. I notice his voice is kinder with me than it was with the others.

    I feel support being pushed into me by both my Alphas, Alpha Warren, and all of their family members.

    “As Alpha Cyra said, I am Sten’s fated mate. For the longest time, I didn’t know what was going on. Sten told me that it was Alpha Cyra who insisted on the alliance bond, and he was trying to get out iof /iit so we could be together. I believed him. It wasn’t until one of bAlpha /bbCyra’s /bAcademy mates called me, telling me about Alpha Cyra finding her fated mate and not wanting the bond that I started to ask more questions. I realized that Sten never really answered my questions and would distract me with … intimacy. Then, one evening when I was asking him questions, he said his brother, Alpha Christer, needed to speak with him. I followed him and hid outside Alpha Christer’s office. That’s when I realized that Sten had been lying to me. Alpha Quirin had bought the loan and was calling it. Alpha Christer didn’t have the money to pay for it, so Sten told him he was going to the Academy to force Alpha Cyra into the mate bond. That’s when he said he would get the money to pay the loan. I didn’t know what any of it meant, I just knew that I’d been lied to and I needed to inform Alpha Cyra. I still had Piper’s phone number, so I called to tell her to warn Alpha Cyra.”

    The council asks me a couple of questions about where I was hiding, ibo /iabout Alpha Quirining to attack the pack to notice me.

    no one had seen me, and I exined that they were too worried

    “Is there anything else, warrior?” the councilman asks me.

    I nce at Sten, seeing that ihis /ichest is heaving with his anger.

    “I want to reject him as my mate. I don’t wnat him. He lied to me and used me,” I say, my voice quivering.

    ‘No, L!” Sten snarls. “I won’t ept it.”

    Councilman Edward ignores him and I watch the military team step closer, grabbing hold of Sten again.

    “If you want to reject him, Ms. McIntosh, this council will assist you. Say the words to reject your mate,” he says.

    “Don’t you fucking do bit/b, L! Don’t iyou /ifucking dare! You’re mine! Do you hear me! You’re mine! You’ll always be mine.”

    Alpha Cyra reaches out to take my hand, gripping it tightly, but she doesn’t say anything.

    I take a deep breath and look up at the councilman so I don’t have to look at Sten.

    b“/bI, ire L McIntosh, reject you, Alpha Sten McDonald, as my mate.”

    b19:50 /bbFri/bb, /bb15 /bbAug /b

    I feel the pain sh through me as Bree begins howling in pain.

    “I told you I wouldn’t ept it,” Sten snarls. When I nce at him, he looks nearly feral. He’s started ito /ifoam bat /bbthe /bbmouth /bbin /bbhis /bbfury /b

    “ACCEPT IT!” Councilman Edward booms again, this time his aura pushes out, hot and heavy. I yip at the pressure and bpain /bof bit/b.

    Alpha Cyra wraps her arms around me and then Alpha Yorick is there, scooping me into his arms, his wolf purring at me bto /bease the bpressure /b

    of the councilman’s aura.

    Thear Sten fighting, his wolf snarling against themand.

    “… Alpha. Sten. McDonald …i” /ianother snarl. “ept your rejection.”

    His wolf, Dolph, howls in pain. I expected to feel terrible pain, but as the councilman’s aura recedes, I smell one of my favorite scents bin /bbthe /bworld. It’s my favorite beef stew, the stew that I love to eat on a cold winter night when I’m snuggled in a nket in front bof /ba fire. bIt’s /bmyfort food.

    I hear a deafening growl behind us and Alpha Yorick spins around, still holding me in his arms.

    The man steps out of the seating area into the aisle, his chest panting as he sniffs the air, then looks right at me.

    “MATE!”

    My eyes go wide as Bree howls happily in my head.

    “Mate,” I say.

    I hear Sten scream “NO!” behind me, but I barely notice, mesmerized by the man in front of me.