“Due to increasing globalization and general species interconnectivity, the need for a trans-species, multi-level policing service has become essential. Combining services will not only lead to greater efficiency and cost savings but will allow each group to benefit from the various strengths and areas of expertise the others might hold. While the exact structure and form of this police service is still evolving, we acknowledge the right of other species to assist in law enforcement provided Lycan Link and the governing body of the other species in question are in agreement.”
Machado set down the page he’d been reading from. “Mr. Smith has served as a spokesman for Lycan Link on numerous occasions and asked for my client’s assistance. I believe that fulfills the requirements.”
McGuire stood. “We concede Mr. Smith has spoken for Lycan Link in an official capacity on numerous occasions. However, it doesn’t address the trustworthiness of the Ursa. Nor did a member of the bear clan royal family condone his involvement.”
“Given that Mr. St. John is second in line to the throne, the Ursa prince, or Regulus as his people say; it would be rather like giving oneself permission to sneeze, don’t you agree? And questioning the honour of the Ursa royal family...” Machado shook his head while making a tutting sound.
Armand slunk lower in his chair as he felt all eyes turn towards him. Damn. He’d lived under the radar for years and had hoped to do so for many more. He wasn’t suited to be royalty, never had been. In fact, he had indicated his intention to abdicate the position if it ever became his. His older brother could have the dubious honour while he enjoyed his peaceful life in Stump River.
“Mr. St. John, is this true?” The Speaker addressed him. “I thought the current Ursa Rex, or monarch, was Le Jean.”
He stood and nodded, answering in his mother tongue. “Oui. Antoine Le Jean c’est mon père. He is my father.”
“You changed your name?”
“I anglicized the surname.” He wished he dared turn around. What was Lucy thinking? He’d hoped she wouldn’t find out, at least not for some time.
The Council was conferring, speaking in hushed tones. He tried to read their body language, but they were a dour-faced group that gave few clues as to what they were thinking. One minute turned into another and then still more. Finally, they resumed their seats, eyes fixed on him.
“In light of this new information and in order to maintain good relations between Lycans and Ursas, High Council has decided to dismiss the case against Armand Le Jean, also known as Armand St. John. Case closed.”
The room erupted in conversation while he blinked, trying to process what had just happened.
It was over?
They hadn’t said he wasn’t guilty, but it didn’t really matter. All he cared about was that he could finally talk to Lucy and hold Caleb. Turning, he tried to locate them in the crowd.
Most of the people in the gallery were leaving while Lucy, Melody and the others were walking against the stream to reach the front. He kept his eyes fixed on them, barely aware of Daniel and Ryne at his side. Machado was trying to gain his attention and he forced himself to look at his counsel.
“I’m sorry we had to share your secret, Mr. St. John, but it was the only way to guarantee the outcome we wanted.”
“I…” Before he could reply, the counsel for Lycan Link, McGuire, approached.
“Congratulations, Mr. St. John and Mr. Phillips-Rhodes. Well played, Ricardo.” The woman gave them the briefest of smiles.
“Thank you, Fiona.” Machado shook her hand. “You’ve had a hard go of it lately, given the current state of Lycan Link. Perhaps next time you’ll have a more…agreeable case.”
She shrugged. “I’m paid to take whatever case Lycan Link assigns me and present it to the best of my ability. Whether the charges are personally agreeable to me or not doesn’t factor into the job.”
Armand had no interest in the woman’s ethics and returned his attention to Lucy and the others. They had almost reached the front. About to go meet them, someone tugged at his arm.
“Mr. St. John, could I get a statement from you please?” A reporter stuck a microphone in his face.
He bit back a growl. This was another thing he disliked about being a royal; having to weigh his words when answering questions from pushy press. With an inner sigh, he schooled his features into a polite but distant expression…
Reno remained in his seat, letting the chamber empty out rather than joining the throng. He leaned back, legs crossed and watched the scene unfolding near the front.
Jenna Lewis was talking to her sister, Gin, and he eyed them with interest. Pack-raised humans; it was an angle he’d never considered. Sharp of Fielding to put them to use. Completely undetectable from the general human population, they’d be an effective tool for gathering intelligence from unsuspecting Lycans. The captain would likely try to get mention of them stricken from the official transcripts of the proceeding.
Brad Owens slipped into the seat beside him.
“Hey, Reno. You just couldn’t sit back here and be quiet, could you? You had to let High Council know you were in the room and try to rile them up.”
“Knock it off, Brad.” He gave his friend a dirty look. “I couldn’t let them blame the guy.”
“Yeah, you always have to be the one on the white steed charging in to save the day.”
“And where were you when Phillips-Rhodes was being buried up to his neck?”
“I planned to be here but got held up in a meeting. I barely made it in time to see you go into action.”
“Let me guess, this meeting was with the new clerk in archives.”
“Nah, it was about a possible security breach.”
“A breach?” That caught his attention.
“Yeah. An alarm went off for sub-level thirteen but—”
“There is no sub-level thirteen.” He mentally reviewed the buttons on the elevator but they stopped at twelve.
“Technically there is, but it was closed over a quarter of a century ago due to structural instability; something to do with a tremor and water leaking in. Anyway, it’s sealed off and no one can go down there so when a security alarm for that area started pinging, it caused quite a stir. We traced it to an electrical short, probably moisture.” Brad gave a one-shouldered shrug. “We’re going to send a maintenance team down to sub-level twelve and see if they can access anything through the flooring.”
“Interesting.” He thought he knew the building inside and out. Were there any other unknown areas? He made a mental note to check the archives for an original blueprint of Lycan Link someday.
“But back to more important matters.” Brad nodded towards the front. “Fiona McGuire.”
“Lycan Link’s counsel?”
“Yeah. She’s been chilly towards me ever since she arrived here, but she has to warm up eventually. After all, who can resist me?”
“Well, since she just lost her case, I don’t think this is the time to approach her.”
“She might need cheering up, who knows?” Brad gave him a crooked grin and headed towards the front where Fiona had just finished packing her briefcase.
Reno debated staying to watch Brad get shot down by the prickly counsel. Nah, he’d leave the guy with some dignity…for now. Tomorrow was soon enough to tease Brad about his love life.
What he should do was head to the High Council’s table and talk to the Speaker. He shifted his gaze to the front of the chamber and noticed Ryne Taylor was still there. The Alpha had his arm slung around his mate’s shoulders while they talked to Ricardo Machado. The young girl, Tessa, was standing near Daniel and must have said something to him for he suddenly grinned. Young love; Brandi would be all dewy-eyed at the sight but it made him shake his head.
Did the two youngsters know what they were getting in to? Love, real love, was never easy. It was a journey filled with twists and detours, unexpected bumps and break downs. To make it work required stern stuff; patience and compromises and lot
s of forgiveness. But the good times…oh yeah, those made up for the hardships along the way. And…
Shit.
He stopped and rolled his eyes at himself. Was he turning into some kind of sap? What happened to the hard-edged, rule-breaking rogue he used to be? He stood, rolled his shoulders and shoved his hands in his back pockets then once again considered if he’d search out the Speaker or not.
The man had said they’d need to discuss his actions but, on the other hand, why go looking for trouble? He shrugged and made his way towards the door. Yeah, that was more like it. There was plenty of work that needed his attention more than High Council having its nose out of joint over a minor point of protocol. Plus, Brandi had said she hoped to make a stopover between cases.
Brandi.
The very thought of her brought a smile to his lips and he left the chamber, happily closing the door on Lycan Link in favour of spending time with the woman who was his mate, his love, his life.
Armand struggled to remain patient with the reporter’s tedious questions. Lucy was standing a few yards away with Caleb, nervously biting her lip while she waited for him to be free.
“Mr. St. John?” The reporter prompted him.
He realized he had no idea what the question was and, quite frankly, didn’t care. “I’m sorry, I have pressing matters I need to attend to. Contact my father if you want an official statement.”
With that, he brushed past the reporter and hurried to where Lucy was waiting. He swept her into his arms, pulling her as close as possible given that Caleb was between them. “I’m sorry you had to wait.” He muttered the words, his lips pressed to her temple as he savoured having her near.
“I didn’t mind waiting. You’re an important man and—”
“Nothing is more important than you. Never forget that.” He pulled back and stared into her eyes.
“Oh, Armand! That’s so sweet of you.” She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering. “And you’re important to me. I was so worried for you!”
“And I was worried for you. You shouldn’t have been here. If—”
“If she hadn’t been, you could have been in big trouble.” Melody interrupted as she passed by making a beeline towards where Jenna stood on the far side of the room.
“Humph.” Begrudgingly, he admitted Melody was right. A stirring near his chest caught his attention and he looked down to see his son staring up at him. “Caleb.” He breathed the word and then reached out to brush his hand over the dark curls that were so like his own. His hand was enormous next to the small child, his fingers trembling as he stroked the soft skin of the baby’s cheek.
“Would you like to hold him?” Lucy stepped back and held the baby out to him.
He nodded, awkwardly taking Caleb in his arms. The small bundle felt so light and fragile and yet there was such a rightness about cradling the baby close, breathing in its scent. There was a feeling in his chest, a warmth that seemed to be expanding until it filled his entire being.
“Isn’t he perfect?” Lucy leaned against his arm, gazing down at the baby.
“Oui.” He cleared his throat. “Yes, he is.”
“I can’t wait until we can go home and be a real family. ”
“Home? ”
“To Stump River. ”
“What about Chicago? I’ve put the bar up for sale and—”
“And I’m taking it off the market. You love that bar and the forest. ”
He shook his head. “But you love the city. And the people in town will have a lot of questions. You don’t look that different. Someone will realize who you are.”
“Probably, but we’ll think of something.” She shrugged and glanced towards the front of the room where the others were standing. “Ryne always seems to come up with a way to fix these kinds of things. Or maybe I can say I had amnesia. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I really am. ”
“I knew who you were the first time I saw you. You were perfection and that will never change, no matter what.” He used his free hand to reach out and brush his knuckles over the curve of her face. “You’re my sweet, beautiful Lucy. That’s all that matters. ”
“And yet…” She paused and seemed to be choosing her words carefully, “it took you years to finally make your move.”
“I suppose I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“Oui. Non.” He sighed. “I suppose I doubted my ability to keep you. I feared you’d grow tired and move on to someone else.”
“I’d never do that!”
He shrugged. “I don’t have much to offer. I live in the middle of nowhere. I like to ice fish and play darts. I look like un sauvage more often than not.”
“Well, you do have that prince thing going for you,” she teased. “But I think I prefer your ‘wild man’ look to a crown.” She reached up and gently brushed a stray curl from his face.
“I’m glad. The Ursa royal family doesn’t live in a palace but there’s still a certain image that needs to be maintained, functions to attend that require suits and ties and tight-fitting shoes while one makes meaningless conversation.” He plucked at the uncomfortable suit he was wearing. “It’s not for me.”
“It sounds boring.”
“To me it is, but you liked living in a big city, maybe you—”
She shook her head. “Armand, give it a rest. I don’t care where we live as long as we’re together.”
He saw the determination on her face and the corner of his mouth curled upward. His Lucy could be as fierce as a shifter when she needed to be…which brought another consideration to mind. “We do need to talk about me being a shifter and the fact that Caleb will likely be one as well. He glanced down at the child in his arms. “There is a lot of secrecy involved. It’s like we live behind a veil of lies but it’s necessary to keep us safe.”
“Mel and Jenna explained that to me and I’ll do whatever is needed. I admit it’s going to be hard to keep Roxi at a distance though. We’ve been through a lot together but she sees everything—”
“About Roxi…”
“Yes?”
About to explain that her roommate wasn’t quite so ordinary, someone bumped into him from behind. “Never mind. I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here.”
She nodded and he put his arm around her, pressing a kiss to her scar then guiding her to the front where the others were talking. He wasn’t sure how they were going to get home but, as she’d said, Ryne always did seem to have a way of fixing things.
A home, a mate and a cub. Could life be any more perfect than that? His bear rumbled happily to itself. It had known all along this was how things were meant to be. Its silly human had just taken forever to figure it out!
~ FIN ~
A Message from Nicky
Hi!
At the end of a book, everyone always asks me, what will the next story be about? I usually have the germ of an idea but this time I have four—yes, four—possible stories percolating in my head and I’m not sure which needs to be written next. They’re all so tempting, however I can only write one at a time. So, the final chapter of this book may, or may not contain a hint as to what is coming.
Sorry!
However, I will give you something definite to look forward to; I’m beginning the process of creating an audio version of The Mating. It’s a costly project so, depending on how sales go, I may or may not make audio books for the rest of the series. Keep checking my Facebook page and website for updates!
Finally, thank you for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed the story. If you did, please consider leaving a review where you purchased it and/or email me. I love hearing from my readers!
~ Nicky
**Just a reminder to not use the name of ‘the character who must NOT be mentioned’ (aka ‘Lucy’), if you are leaving a review somewhere. Your respect and courtesy to other readers is appreciated!
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Books by Nicky Charles
Forever in Time
The Law of the Lycans series
The Mating
The Keeping
The Finding
Bonded
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue
Betrayed: Book 2 – The Road to Redemption
For the Good of All
Deceit can be Deadly
Kane: I am Alpha
Hearts & Halos
(Written with Jan Gordon)
In the Cards
Untried Heart
Veil of Lies Page 42