It was time to find out just how true that was.
“Dean did not commit a crime,” I announced, and ignored the snorts from the galleries. “For there to have been a crime, Alpha Draeven, Dean must have been in control of his own actions.”
“He was not under the influence of any spell nor geas,” Carson snapped, rising to his feet in apparent ire. Good to know I was as capable of getting under his skin as he was mine. I buried my smirk.
“Indeed, Alpha Carson,” I agreed with a benign smile. “I bow to the expertise of your talented enforcers. Dean was not under the influence of a spell. He was under the influence of something far more powerful.”
I turned to Alpha Draeven.
“He was under the influence of his alpha.”
I paused a moment, then turned on my heel towards Dean.
“Tell me, Dean, under whose orders were you acting when you sabotaged the lock in the shifting room?”
Dean hesitated. I knew what it would cost him to speak ill of his father in this room – and I knew what it would cost him not to.
“Answer the question, please.”
“My father’s.” He stared down at his hands. “Alpha Cooper.”
I paused, as though something had just occurred to me, and I hadn’t given it hours of thought over the last weeks.
“Did he specifically tell you to tamper with that lock?”
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
Dean raised his eyes a fraction.
“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. The class due in there the following morning were third years.”
“So, when the lock didn’t hold, it would have looked dangerous, but the third year would have been able to control themselves?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose no-one can blame you for not knowing that Instructor Brendon was giving a private lesson that night. Remind me, when you realised your mistake, did you run away and hide, and establish your alibi?”
“No.” Dean’s voice was rough, like my words offended him. “I hit the alarm, then tried to stop the student getting loose.”
I frowned, making sure Draeven and the other alphas saw my expression.
“But you were in your human form, right?” I paused long enough for Dean to nod. “If help hadn’t arrived in time, you could have been killed.”
I paced, giving that time to sink in for my audience, and then changed the subject without commenting on it.
“Tell me about the second incident.”
“It was on Halloween,” he began, and I cut him off.
“Why Halloween?”
He glanced down at his feet.
“My father had been pressuring me to arrange the next attack. He said that Tara was going to a Halloween party, and if I didn’t stage the attack by then, she might have an…” His jaw clenched, and he forced the word out. “Accident.”
“Who’s Tara?”
“My sister. She’s seventeen.”
“So you arranged the attack on Halloween to protect your sister? You set the chimera loose on the grounds. Why not inside the academy itself?”
“Instructor Fletcher usually patrols the grounds at night. If he came across the chimera, he’d have been able to handle it. Most of the students were at the academy’s Halloween party. I thought they’d be safe.”
“And you couldn’t have known that two of us would choose to take a late-night stroll through the grounds.”
“No. I chose that spot because it was isolated, I swear.” He looked around the courtroom as if he was seeing the gathered alphas for the first time, his eyes wide with panic. “When I heard shouting, I got back there as quickly as I could.”
“This is all very touching,” Carson said, sounding bored. “Though it does not change the accused’s deeds.”
“Very astute,” I shot back, and caught Draeven’s raised eyebrow. I straightened, and tacked on a hasty and just about respectful, “Alpha Carson.”
I took a breath, made sure my snarky streak was in check, and continued.
“I came upon you myself prior to the fourth and final attack. You were digging up the anti-portal ward. I note the good alpha did not call me to the stand to describe what I saw that night, but if he had, I would have characterised you as distraught. Would you say that is accurate?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You guess? Come on, Dean, you can do better than guess. What were you doing there?”
“My father gave me orders, under pain of death if I defied him or delayed again.”
“And that’s why you were distraught?”
“No. I didn’t want to follow the order. I knew people might get hurt.”
“And everything you’d done up to that point was aimed at avoiding exactly that?”
“Yes.”
“But,” I said, turning away from Dean and pacing, and drawing the eyes of the alphas with me – because Dean looked about one more sentence from breaking down, “You were given no alternative. Your alpha gave you a command, and it was your duty to obey it, no matter the consequences, no matter your own personal opinion on the subject. The whole of shifter culture is built on this creed. The alpha speaks, and the pack obeys.”
I reached Draeven’s podium and stood in front of it.
“To break this creed would have meant Dean’s death at the hands of his own father. Faced with death, a shifter is permitted to defend himself. Therefore, all of Dean’s acts this year and last, intended to prevent his murder, were acts of self-defence. What other choice did he have?”
Carson spoke from behind me.
“He should have allowed himself to be killed.”
“What?” Shit.
“He should have welcomed death rather than oppose the Alpha of Alphas,” Carson said, “As he should now.”
“I do,” Dean said, and I spun round, glaring at him. He continued anyway. “What I did was wrong. My life is nothing compared to the dozens I put in danger. I don’t deserve Alpha Draeven’s clemency, and I don’t ask for it.”
“I do,” I said, finally catching Dean’s eye. “And I speak for the accused. His so-called crimes were committed under duress, as acts of self-defence. He cannot be found guilty.”
“An act of high treason can never be considered an act of self-defence,” Carson said, and several of the alphas nodded. “To destabilise the power structure is to endanger all, including the accused. Therefore, such an objective would not reduce the danger faced by an individual, but increase it.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I mean, I knew it was bullshit – Dean’s father would have killed him if he’d disobeyed, and imminent death trumps pretty much everything – but there was no way I could stand in front of Draeven and tell him that dethroning him would have less impact than the will of one now-deceased alpha. And Carson knew it.
“If Alpha–” Carson cut off and gave me an ingratiating smile that was all teeth and bad intentions. “I’m sorry. If Ms Hart has no further philosophy to debate, then I propose we move to sentencing.”
“Wait!”
Everyone turned to stare at me. Crap. I cleared my throat and tucked a stray strand of hair behind one ear. Draeven quirked an eyebrow at me and I raised one hand, thinking frantically. There had to be something I’d missed. There just had to be.
“Ms Hart?” Draeven prompted.
“Dean,” I said, hurrying several steps towards him. “If you had refused, and Alpha Cooper had killed you for insubordination, would he have called off his coup against our honourable Alpha of Alphas?”
“No.”
“No, I suppose not. What, then, might he have done? Might he have sent another in your place, perhaps? Tell me, when is your sister due to study at Fur ‘n’ Fang?”
“In September.”
“And would she have disobeyed your father, or stalled, or have tried to find some way to keep from following his commands?”
“She is unquestioningly loyal.”
“As is the duty
of any daughter of an alpha. She will marry whomever she is told and kill whomever she is told. And with you dead, she would have been the eldest child of an alpha – her responsibilities would have doubled. Would Tara have gone to such lengths as you to minimise the damage of the attacks you were compelled to carry out?”
“I… can’t say.”
Wouldn’t say, more like. I kept from rolling my eyes, just barely. This was not the time to play the chivalrous elder brother.
“I can. And it is my belief that she would have carried out those attacks without hesitation, that many lives would have been lost, and that the ability of Alpha Blake – Alpha Draeven’s appointed man – to run the academy would have been called into question, and with it, our Alpha of Alpha’s fitness to lead. Worse yet, given an extra year to rally his forces and his allies, Alpha Cooper’s coup may have succeeded.”
I sucked in a much-needed breath, and turned to the podium, a smile creeping onto my face.
“So, I put it to you, Alpha Draeven, that in carrying out these regrettable but carefully planned attacks in a way that cost not a single life, Dean was able to prevent the escalation of hostilities against the established order, and ultimately cause the failure of his alpha’s coup.”
Draeven watched me through unreadable eyes, and I pushed my gaze as far as his chin.
“Dean’s self-sacrifice may very well be the reason this court still stands. As such, it was not a crime, but an act of selfless heroism.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When the end of the week rolled around, I was still in shock that I was somehow alive. And not just me. Dean sat across the table from me and Cam, and Mei and Leo took up two more of the seats. The rest of our table sat vacant, but not even Madison’s absence could ruin our sense of jubilation. Hell, who was I kidding? It increased mine.
Dean rubbed at his wrists, where now only one lightweight cuff sat, in the place of the two heavy cuffs that had shackled him for the last few months. We all pretended not to notice, just like we pretended not to notice the newly healed skin where they had been chaffing that entire time. But at least his physical wounds were healing. His mental ones? They might not be so straightforward. More than once he glanced across at Madison’s table, where she sat with Tiffany and Victoria, pretending they couldn’t see him. Guess we were all hiding from stuff today.
“How much longer until they give us our results, do you think?” Mei asked no-one in particular.
Okay, almost all of us were hiding from stuff. Mei was ready to tackle life head on, as usual.
“Soon,” Leo said, glancing over at Blake, who stood at the head of the hall, deep in discussion with Fletcher. In front of them were several stacks of envelopes. “And I wish they wouldn’t. If I get held back again, I’m never going to live it down.”
“Hey, what are you moaning about?” Dean asked. “You didn’t miss three months of lessons.”
“Sheesh,” I said. “You got to skip three months of Cultural Studies and you’re still complaining?”
“Aye, lad,” Cam said with a grin. “All that time sitting on yer arse, there’s nae pleasing some folk.”
“The sitting was good,” Dean said. “But the view was crap, and the food was shite.”
“Hey!” I protested. “I brought you some of that food. And I made you that cake.”
“Yeah. Let’s just say you’re a better lawyer than you are a cook.”
“Rude.” I flicked a bean at him from my plate, and then caught movement from the corner of my eye. Blake was stepping up to the podium. Our banter died away, and silence fell over the whole room.
“Good morning, everyone,” Blake said. “A few words, before I hand out your results. This has been a trying year for us all, and I am proud of each and every one of you for meeting and overcoming its challenges. Through your hard work and diligence, Sarrenauth academy has grown stronger, and our legacy will continue for many years to come.”
He turned to the row of instructors standing behind him, each holding a stack of envelopes, and nodded to them.
“The instructors will bring round your exam results. Those of you who have not passed all their subjects will be required to repeat this year. No amount of surviving coups will spare you that. Sorry.”
There were a couple of nervous chuckles, and the instructors started moving through the room, handing out their envelopes to the students. I glanced at Dean, but his face was a careful mask. Not everyone had survived that coup, and I suspected it would be a long time until Dean could move on from his father’s death.
“Portals will be opened from mid-day to return each of you to your packs. Please see departure times at the back of the hall. The rest of the morning is yours to do as you please with. I look forward to seeing you those of you who will return next year.”
Shaun reached our table and deposited five envelopes on it.
“Good luck,” he said, shooting me a wink, and then moved away to distribute the rest of his envelopes.
“What was that supposed to mean?” I asked, trying to keep the panic from my voice. “Why did he wink?”
“Because yer too easy to wind up,” Cam said, wrapping an arm around me. I considered tearing it off and beating the sarcasm out of him with the soggy end, but in the end decided that I quite liked his arm right where it was. I leaned into him as Mei sorted through the sealed envelopes and passed them round. She gave us a nervous smile, then tore hers open and scanned it anxiously. After a few seconds, she sagged back in her seat, her relief obvious.
“Can we stop letting the brainy people go first?” I grumbled. “It makes me even more anxious watching you all pass.”
“Go on, then,” Leo said, nodding to mine.
I snatched it up and opened it without prising myself from Cam’s chest.
“Well done, lass,” he said, scanning the sheet over my shoulder. “I knew ye would pass.”
“That is not what you said last week.” I picked up his envelope and shoved it at him, not bothering to hide my grin as I glanced back down at my sheet. The word ‘pass’ featured a whole lot of times, preceded by words like ‘good’, and ‘excellent’. Not bad for a cur outcast.
Cam set his sheet down next to mine, and I tried not to notice that he had less ‘good’s and more ‘excellent’s because that seemed uncharitable.
“Well done,” I said, twisting my head round to kiss him.
Leo made a disgusted sound and tore open his results. After reading through them, he leaned back with a cocky grin.
“I was never worried,” he said.
All four of us turned to look at Dean. Three months was a lot of study time to miss, even with the textbooks Blake had let him have. I reached over and placed my hand on his.
“We’re here for you, whatever that says.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” He gave me a lopsided smile, and I withdrew my hand as he reached for his envelope. He flipped it over in his hands and I nodded my encouragement to him.
Then he tossed the envelope to Mei.
“I can’t,” he said. “You do it.”
She ripped open the envelope, pulled the sheet from within, and scanned it quickly. Her face fell.
“Bad news,” she said, and looked over at me. “We’re going to have to put up with Dean’s snoring for another year.”
Her face cracked into a grin, and she tossed the sheet into the middle of the table.
“You passed, Dean! We’re all going into third year!”
“Bitch,” he said playfully, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He reached for the sheet hesitantly, like he didn’t dare touch it, then scooped it up and read it.
“I can’t believe it. How the hell did I pass?”
“You had an excellent tutor for an hour a day,” I said.
“Really? I must’ve been out when he came.”
Everyone laughed, and I joined in. It felt good to be putting this behind us, as much as we could. Next year was going to be challenging, but at
least we’d all be facing it together.
Which brought me to my next question.
“Where are you staying during break?”
His face fell.
“I, uh, I’m going to check into a motel. My mum made it clear I’m not welcome with her and my sister after telling Blake about my father’s plans.”
I glanced at Cam.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking. I know I should have spoken to you about this before, Cam, but I was thinking maybe we wouldn’t spend the whole summer with your pack?”
His shoulders rose and fell in an easy shrug. He was close with his family and his pack, but not so close that he couldn’t bear to be away from them for a few weeks of our break.
“When I moved into my uncle’s farm, I promised I’d do the place up. But I haven’t stayed there since I was bitten, you know, what with being busy saving the world and such. How would you feel about staying there this summer? And Dean, you too, I mean, if you want.”
“Seriously? A whole farm to ourselves?” He shot a grin at Cam. “Just think of the parties, mate.”
He reached across the table and fist-bumped him, and I frowned at them both.
“Uh, you better not be planning the sort of party that’s going to trash that farmhouse, because we’re meant to be fixing it up, not tearing it down.”
“Semantics,” Dean waved me off.
“Open invite to you, any time you want to visit,” I said to Mei, and then turned to Leo. “And you, too. And, uh, that includes Kelsey.”
He looked shocked, but recovered quickly with a nod.
“I can’t resist a good party.”
I groaned. Uncle Bob’s farmhouse was going to be so trashed. But who cared? Buildings could be fixed – a few wooden slates and a coat of paint, and no-one would be any the wiser. I wasn’t sure people could be fixed so easily, but this seemed like a good start.
We had the whole summer ahead of us, and soon we’d be coming back to Fur ‘n’ Fang for one final year, one final set of challenges, and if the five of us stuck together, I knew there was nothing we couldn’t overcome. Pack was more than just hierarchy and blood. It was family, and I’d found mine, right here.
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