“See?” Patricia stirred creamer into a mug of coffee. “The gender imbalance does have its advantages.”
“Not the point, Mom.” Jace listened as one of his brothers let my parents in through the front door, before they could even ring the bell. “The most likely penalties, if she’s found guilty, include losing her incisors or her claws, both of which would be permanently disfiguring, not to mention painful. Or incarceration in the capitol of a neutral territory. Which means she’d be locked up in the basement of one of the Alphas who has no blood or personal connection to her.”
“Wait, Abby only killed one bad guy.” Robyn’s heart beat so fast, I was afraid she was about to keel over. “I killed four of them. Does that mean I’m in the same trouble?”
“Yes.” My father stepped into the kitchen from the hall with my mother on his heels. “But I believe the council will go easy on you, considering the mitigating factors, if you’re willing to make a serious concession of your own.”
My dad pulled me into a hug, then held one hand out for her to shake, with his left arm still around me. “It’s nice to see you again, Robyn, though I am sorry about the circumstances.” They’d met a few times before when my parents had come to see me at school.
Robyn took his hand, and for the first time since she’d been infected, she bowed her head, as if the urge felt completely natural. She could not have picked a better time to display her new respectful instinct. “Nice to see you,” she said. “I think.”
“Robyn, this is a man you want to have on your side,” Jace said as she took my mother’s hand. “Abby’s dad is the council chairman, and if he says he can help you, he can. If you cooperate.”
“What would I have to do?” Robyn asked as Patricia handed fresh mugs of coffee to each of my parents in greeting.
My father nodded to thank Jace’s mom, then turned back to Robyn. “You’d have to agree to remain in one of the US Prides voluntarily and to let our doctor run a few simple tests. And you’d have to undergo training with one of our Alphas until you learn to control your new urges and instincts.”
“I don’t have to have any babies?” Robyn said, obviously relieved.
My father chuckled. “Of course not. Though no one would object if you were to change your mind. I’m not going to lie—there are council members who see your existence as a precious opportunity for that very reason.”
“So, if I agree to belong to one of your Prides, you won’t try to execute me? Or lock me up? Or break off my teeth or anything?”
My father nodded. “That’s the gist of my offer, assuming it gets enough support from my fellow Alphas.”
Robyn looked to me for an opinion, and I nodded. That was the best offer she was going to get. “Okay, then.” She held her hand out for my father to shake again, and that time, he looked relieved.
“Now, let’s talk about what you can do to help my daughter…”
NINETEEN
Jace
Ed Taylor gripped the arms of his chair and glanced at the Alphas seated on either side of him at the Lazy S’s formal dining room table. Then he turned back to the woman sitting at the far end, her hands clasped nervously in her lap. “And is it your sworn testimony that Abigail Wade never scratched or bit you, nor injured you in any way that broke the surface of your skin?”
“That’s right.” Robyn Sheffield took a sip of water from the glass on the table in front of her, then met Taylor’s gaze. “Abby would never hurt me.”
I exhaled softly from my folding metal chair against the wall. The infection charge was Abby’s biggest obstacle, and even though I’d known how Robyn would answer, hearing her official statement was a big relief. She’d been prepped for the hearing, but there was no way to truly prepare someone who’d been born human to sit in a room full of people her brand new-instincts labeled as dangerous, powerful, and commanding.
The Territorial Council was the shifter equivalent of the United Nations—except that our leaders could rip each other’s throats out with the flick of one wrist.
“Ms. Sheffield, would you please tell the council how and when you were infected?” Rick Wade followed up, from Taylor’s right.
Abby’s dad had appointed Ed Taylor as the acting council chairman for the duration of his daughter’s trial to avoid any appearance of nepotism, so for the first time in more than four years, he was not sitting at the head of the table. The chair to Taylor’s left was occupied by Paul Blackwell, who’d made a rare trip to the ranch in spite of his advanced age and failing health.
The entire council had shown up to meet the first female stray ever confirmed to exist in the US. Robyn was a miracle. A violent, largely feral—in feline form, anyway—miracle.