Yvonne glanced around. “I’ve run this place for a long time. I’ve loved every minute of it. But I’m tired. And not all the memories here are good ones. I’ve been looking at houses online. I saw this gorgeous little house by a lake. There’s room for you and Marlon there if you want it, though the rooms are a lot smaller than the ones here. And it has plenty of land so that I can build a cabin where Donnie can grow old. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
Marlon’s brow creased. “Why would we be mad?”
“This is your home.”
“Dylan asked me to move in with him,” Marlon admitted. “I’m not ready just yet, but one of the reasons I held back was that I didn’t want to leave you.”
Yvonne huffed. “I’m not an invalid.”
“No,” allowed Gwen, “but this place isn’t something you could run on your own.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Yvonne leaned her elbows on the table. “I never intended to spend the rest of my days here. You two need to live your own lives.”
Marlon shifted in his seat. “It would feel like I was abandoning you.”
Face softening, Yvonne put a hand on his arm. “You know how it feels to be abandoned, and you don’t want to repay me for giving you a home by leaving me. I understand, but that’s a load of crap. Fleeing the nest is a normal step in life. And I’m sorry to say this, kids, but you’re murder on my sex life. You scare away every guy who shows any interest in me. I know you do it to protect me, but . . .”
“A girl’s gotta eat,” Gwen finished.
Yvonne laughed. “Exactly. If you’re not ready to move out, fine. But don’t stay for me. You have no idea how happy it will make me to see you taking such a natural step in life. It means that I didn’t screw you up when I married husband number two.”
“We prefer to call him Asshole,” said Marlon.
“An apt description.” Yvonne sighed. “Zander’s good for you, Gwen.”
Yeah, but . . . “A relationship with a shifter would be far from simple.”
“Sweetie, no relationship is simple. They’re what you make of them.”
“But it’s not like I could leave if things didn’t work out. Zander and I would have to mate. You can’t escape a mating bond.”
Yvonne looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would you want to escape it? He adores you. Protects you. Looks at you like you’re some kind of gift to him.”
Marlon nodded. “He’s good to you. Good for you. I think if you don’t leave with him, you’ll always regret it.”
And that was what made up Gwen’s mind. She would regret it if she said no. She didn’t want to live with regrets. She also didn’t want to live a life that didn’t have him in it.
When she gave Zander her answer later while they lay in bed, he smiled and crushed her to him, eyes glinting with triumph and contentment. His eyes flashed wolf, and she saw that same satisfaction there. Both man and beast were smug bastards at times.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gwen did her best not to fidget nervously when Derren turned the SUV down a dirt road that led to the building where the hearing would take place. The large piece of territory was bordered by three mountains and had a lot of forested area. “Do the council members all live on this land together?”
Beside her, lightly digging his fingers into her skin as he massaged her nape, Zander replied, “No. It belongs to one of them, Parker Brant.”
“He’s the eldest of the four members, right? The one you said is pretty fair and neutral.”
“That’s him.” Zander had told her about the council. Harrison Whittle and Landyn Green were also known for being relatively impartial, albeit not quite as diplomatic as Parker. But Emilio Mendes was something of an asshole who didn’t like loner shifters much. It was possible that Emilio wouldn’t give much of a shit about Andie’s attack.
Finally, Derren parked the SUV in a little parking lot. Moments later, Marlon’s car whipped up into the space next to theirs. Riding with him were Yvonne, Julie, and Chase. Donnie had opted to stay at home to guard and patrol. That was no surprise to Gwen.
No sooner had they gotten out of the vehicles than four guards came and escorted them to a small courthouse-type building.
Glancing around the empty reception area, Gwen said, “There’s no sign of the Moores. Maybe they won’t come.” One could but hope.
Zander spoke into her ear. “Opposing parties use separate entrances.”
Hearing a door creak open at the other side of the room, Gwen turned to see a beefy, official-looking male. He ran his eyes over them all as he said, “The council is ready.”
With Zander practically fused to her side, Gwen crossed to the door and walked into a partially wood-paneled room. As courtrooms went, it had the basics down. A gallery, a walkway that ran between the pews, a simple chair that seemed to pass as a witness stand, and even a wooden bar with a gate that divided the gallery from the council’s space. But there were no desks for the plaintiffs and defendants. No lecterns, no jury box, no state flags. Four men sat at a raised bench, facing them. They weren’t wearing black judge robes, but they each had that judge-type frown going on.
At the beefy wolf’s urging, Gwen and Zander strode down the gleaming, polished floor to the front of the gallery. Instead of sitting, though, Zander stopped and urged the others to slide into the left-side pew-style bench. Once they were seated, Zander and Gwen joined them, which placed her at the end of the row.
“Is the left side of the gallery for applicants or something?” she asked him quietly.
“No. The party that arrives first is taken through the front entrance and asked to sit on the left. The other party will then come in through the back and sit on the right.” Zander gestured to a door on the other side of the room. “The Moores and their supporters will enter through there.”
Not liking the smells of lacquered wood and citrus cleaner, Zander kissed her shoulder and took a long, savoring breath—letting her luscious scent override them. She brought him a peace that couldn’t be equaled. Right then, though, he wasn’t feeling peaceful. Unease and anticipation hummed through him, leaving him edgy. He tried hiding it, though. He knew she was nervous and didn’t want to make it worse for her. But it was hard, especially while his pacing wolf was urging him to get her out of the building and take her someplace safe.
“I’m thinking they’ll bring Colt. Probably the families of Rowan and Mack too.” Gwen suspected that Ezra would want the boys to back Brandt’s story. She just hoped that the council didn’t put much stock in their versions of events.
As everyone waited for the other party to arrive, the council members chatted quietly among themselves. Not the most patient person when she was nervous, Gwen found herself repeatedly grinding her teeth. Her muscles were so tight with tension that they actually ached. Every little noise grated on her nerves—the ticking of the clock, the rustling of papers, the whooshing of the air conditioning, and the creaking of wood as people shifted on the benches.
Zander pulled her closer, but it only annoyed her. He made absolutely no effort to give her any room. In fact, as he sat with his head up, chest out, gut sucked in, and legs spread, he took up the space around him as if he belonged there. More to the point, he took up her space. She already felt smothered by the tension in the atmosphere. She jabbed his arm with her elbow. “Move over.”
He nuzzled her. “Why?”
“Because I need a little space.”
“You need to know someone’s here for you. That you’re not alone and someone has your back. That’s me.” Truth be told, Zander needed the contact as much as she did.
“Stop saying nice stuff or I can’t stay mad.” She glanced down the bench to check on her family. Yvonne gripped her purse tightly, offering Gwen a strained smile, as Marlon eyed each council member. An anxious Julie was leaning against a rigid Chase, whose mouth was tight with annoyance. Yeah, she was annoyed herself. The Moores seemed to be deliberately making them wait—probably to convey a m
essage that they didn’t find the hearing important.
It was a further ten minutes—literally one minute before the hearing was due to start—that the door on their far right opened and the other party filed out, led by Ezra. Aside from a snarling Brandt, the others cast smirks at Gwen. Ezra and his supporters all settled on the benches at the front of the gallery’s right side.
Ezra placed himself on the edge of the bench, meaning he was almost within touching distance of Gwen. He shot her a smug smile. Well, he wouldn’t be so pleased when he realized she was there to damn his precious and exceedingly stupid son.
The gray-haired council member cleared his throat. “I am Parker Brant.” After introducing the other members, he rested his gaze on Gwen. “According to what I have read, you witnessed a shifter, Andie Windsor, being attacked and are here to tell your version of events—a version that massively conflicts with that of the accused.” His eyes then cut to Brandt. “Before we go any further, I must ask if you still wish to plead your innocence.”
Brandt lifted his chin, looking like a petulant kid. “I did nothing wrong.” The thing was . . . he probably didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
Parker turned back to Gwen. “We would like to hear from you first, Miss Miller. Please come forward.”
It went against everything in Zander to let her walk away. He wanted to scoop her up and take her home. Instead, he lightly squeezed her shoulder and spoke into her ear. “You’ll be fine, baby.”
Gwen nodded, blowing out a breath. On legs that were surprisingly steady, she moved through the gate and crossed to the chair at the right side of the panel. Feeling all eyes on her made her skin itch. She shifted on the uncomfortably hard seat.
“Please tell us what happened that night,” said Parker.
She took a deep, preparatory breath. “I heard laughing. Loud, boisterous laughing. Straight away, I knew someone was either on our land or nearby. It wouldn’t be the first time that teenagers had gathered there to get drunk or smoke cannabis. I grabbed my shotgun, and I followed the sounds. Soon, I heard the cries, the horrible sounds of metal hitting bone. I hurried, and then I saw them. Andie was on the ground, her face all messed up and her clothes dirty. She was trying to crawl away from someone—he kept hitting her with a metal pole while his friends laughed and urged him on. I shot at the ground near their feet to make them run off. Then I helped Andie back to my house and called the sheriff to report the incident.”
“Can you identify this male that you saw assault Andie Windsor?”
“Yes.” Gwen glared at the asshole in question. “His name is Brandt Moore.”
Curses and abrasive mutters came from Moore’s group. Only Ezra and Colt seemed unsurprised that she’d reneged on her deal. They’d probably half expected it, given that Brandt had turned up at her house again.
Emilio studied her carefully. “This is the same account that you gave to Sheriff Johnson the night it happened, but you recently altered your statement.”
Gwen straightened her shoulders. “It was made clear to me that it was the only way I would keep my family safe. I didn’t see the harm in giving a different statement to the sheriff—he hasn’t exactly had any official involvement in the case, so I doubted he’d care.”
Harrison narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean when you say the sheriff had little involvement?”
“Sheriff Johnson didn’t hold the boys for more than an hour. He seemed skeptical when he took Andie’s statement, he didn’t do a drug test to corroborate or even dismiss her story, he didn’t take photos of her injuries, and he wouldn’t have even taken my statement to support her story if I hadn’t insisted on it. He was also of no help to her when Brandt and his friends terrorized her, harassing her into altering her statement. Finally, she did.”
“As did you,” Emilio pointed out. “And you say it was to keep your family safe?”
“Brandt and his friends harassed me to change my statement.” She told them how the harassment had begun as pranks and steadily got worse. “Brandt didn’t once plead his innocence to me or insist that I’d seen someone else that night. Brandt confessed that he wasn’t sorry for what he’d done and that, in his view, Andie’s nothing more than an animal.
“After one particular night when Brandt almost assaulted me with a bat, his father showed up at my house and tried to bribe me into changing my statement. Like his son, he’s very much anti-shifter. When I refused, he threatened to make me pay.”
Landon flicked Ezra a brief glance. “And did he?”
“A couple of weeks later, I was attacked by a flock of goshawk shifters.”
From his seat, Ezra snickered. “I don’t associate with shifters. How can I have had anything to do with that attack?”
Parker shot him a hard look. “When I want to hear from you, I will say so.” His eyes returned to Gwen. “Please continue, Miss Miller.”
“They came out of nowhere. Knocked me to the ground. Descended on me. Clawed and bit at me. If it wasn’t for the Mercury wolves, I don’t know if the goshawks would have stopped. I believe Ezra Moore hired them. I’ve heard many goshawk flocks are happy to sell their services.”
Harrison rolled a pen between his fingers. “Yes, that is true.”
“I didn’t just fear for myself, I feared for my family and for the Mercury wolves who were living with us to offer protection. So I altered my statement to keep us safe.”
After a long moment, Harrison said, “You may sit down, Miss Miller.”
Well, thank God for that. Ignoring the glares that she could feel coming from Moore’s side of the gallery, Gwen returned to her seat beside Zander. He kissed her temple and rubbed her nape, and she leaned into the contact, needing it.
Parker looked at Brandt. “Please take a seat over here, Mr. Moore.”
Brandt’s stride was cocky as he made his way to the chair. He didn’t sit on it; he lounged on it like it was a park bench or something.
“Tell us your account of what happened.”
“Me and my friends found the cougar crawling through the marsh on Miller land. We tried to help her, but she seemed confused and scared. Looked at us like we’d been the ones who’d hurt her. When Gwen shot at us, we ran—who wouldn’t when bullets are flying? I’m not saying the cougar was lying when she pointed fingers at me; I think the drugs just muddled up her mind, and she confused me with the person who’d hurt her. I think she later realized she was wrong and that’s why she changed her story. She herself says it wasn’t me. There’s really no reason for this hearing.”
“There is every reason for this hearing,” clipped Parker. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking this operates like a human hearing. If we believe a matter needs exploring, we’ll explore it.”
The door opened, and the beefy-looking guy from earlier crossed to the panel. He whispered something to the council members.
Gwen leaned into Zander. “Did you catch that?” He shook his head.
Once Beefy was gone, Parker spoke again to Brandt, “So, you believe that the cougar was possibly so confused by the drug that she mistakenly blamed you.”
Brandt nodded. “It’s what makes most sense to me.”
Harrison sighed. “I won’t deny it’s possible that Miss Windsor was confused by the drugs, but it wouldn’t account for Miss Miller seeing the accused beating the cougar with a pole. From what I understand, Miss Miller wasn’t drugged.”
“Considering that Miss Miller changes her mind so often and feels it is no problem to do so, I would say it’s obvious that she’s not a credible witness,” said Moira, Brandt’s mother. A harsh look from Parker made her mouth snap shut.
“Mr. Moore, you may return to your seat,” said Parker. “Sheriff Johnson, I would like to hear from you.” Once the human was seated, Parker said, “You questioned Mr. Moore and his friends, but you didn’t feel it necessary to charge them. Why?”
Colt lifted his chin. “There was no evidence that Brandt was the cougar’s attacker.”
&nb
sp; “There was a pole, which I’m assuming had fingerprints on it.”
“Brandt admitted to picking up the pole when he found it on the ground, but he maintained that he didn’t strike her with it.”
Emilio’s brow lifted. “And you believed that?”
Colt’s jaw hardened. “Two witnesses upheld that Brandt was not the attacker. The cougar said she’d been drugged, so I couldn’t be sure if her testimony was reliable. It was also very dark out there, so I couldn’t be sure that Gwen truly did see Brandt attacking anyone. The bottom line is, there was no evidence.”
“Did you make any effort to find out who the attacker might be?” asked Parker.
Colt’s mouth opened and closed like a landed fish.
Ezra slowly rose. “May I please speak?”
Parker sighed. “Fine.”
“I know exactly why Miss Miller claims my son was the cougar’s attacker. She is trying to pin the attack on Brandt to get back at him for ending their relationship.”
“What?” Gwen burst out. She looked at Zander. “He can’t be for real.”
Even as a growl of rage built in his throat and his wolf swiped his claws in anger, Zander clasped her nape as he whispered, “Shh. You don’t want the council throwing you out of the room, and you definitely don’t want to give the Moores the satisfaction of seeing you pissed off.”
No, Gwen definitely didn’t want either of those things. Feeling her nails stabbing her palms, she relaxed her clenched hands and took a deep breath.
Ezra continued, “I asked him to end it because, since she is much older than he is, I felt their relationship was quite inappropriate. She is angry with me for that.” Ezra spared her a brief glance. “She claims our family is anti-shifter, but it is in fact she who is prejudiced.”
Landyn slowly lifted a disbelieving brow. “You believe Miss Miller is anti-shifter?”
Ezra jutted out his chin. “I can prove that she has connections to the extremists. Kenny Cogman—a man who we all know is rumored to sponsor extremists—is her biological father.”