by Alanea Alder
"He's not taking you from me. I'll kill them first!" he roared.
"We'll fight and die for you, Alpha!" Rex yelled. Lions all around them roared out their agreement.
"You can't fight them without destroying the pride," Lachlan said, sighing heavily before sitting down on one of the armchairs. "I was afraid it would come to something like this. They knew they couldn't fight us in the open, so they resort to using our laws against us." Lachlan growled.
"What do we do, Alpha?" Kyle asked, sounding scared. Liam, with his back to his pride, looked at his mates. Only they saw the fear in his eyes. Kent looked around the room at the lions and back to his mate.
"In a battle, if you find yourself outmaneuvered, what do you do?" he asked Liam softly.
"You fall back, reassess, call in cavalry…" his eyes widened and Kent nodded.
"Call in the rest of your family, Liam. You have been there for them, let them be there for you," Kent said softly.
Liam grinned and leaned forward to kiss Kent over Sebastian's head. He then pulled Sebastian in his arms, turned the tear-streaked face up and kissed him deeply.
"No one is taking you from us, baby. Believe that." Liam turned, and Kent could see that there was no longer any fear in his eyes, only fire.
"Rian, call Rebecca and…" Rick James's "Super Freak" floated out over the room.
Sebastian fumbled for his phone out of his pocket, wiping his eyes on the backs of his hands. "Rian, you suck!" he said before answering the phone. Rian smiled.
"Sebastian, what is it? Why are you so upset?" Rebecca demanded. Seconds later another cell phone went off. This time it was Sam The Sham and The Pharaoh's "Li'l Red Riding Hood."
Liam grabbed his phone.
"Hey Kate. No, everything is not all right. That fucking lawyer was back, they are trying to take Sebastian and Felix…I wish I could gut the bastard, but they are operating within shifter law…yes please come we need everyone we can get. Later." Liam hung up the phone and Kent concentrated on Sebastian's conversation.
"And then he said we had to go with him, and then the lions almost died from attacking the wolves, and then he smiled all smarmy like he had a secret. Oh Rebecca, I don't think we can fight this one," Sebastian wailed.
"Oh fuck that! Aleks! Aleks! Call your ma and your brothers. We are going to Liam's. That asshole lawyer is threatening to take my Sebastian. I'm calling Ashby." Everyone in the room clearly heard her yelling into the phone. Sebastian began to smile.
"We're on our way, Sebastian. Don't worry, no one is taking you guys." Rebecca hung up the phone and Kent raised an eyebrow at Sebastian.
"She really likes me." Sebastian blushed.
"She clearly loves you. But what about me? I don't have a mate or friends like that," Felix said softly.
Kent had forgotten the small man was there. Sebastian rushed to his side. "You have me and my mates. We're not going back Felix. We're not." Sebastian shared a look with Felix that Kent couldn't decipher. Kent glanced over to Liam and saw he had caught the look shared between the two hybrids as well. Kent prayed that they would never find out what that look meant.
* * * *
The next hour was crazy. Kate, Caleb and Bran showed up with a large portion of the pack, mostly their best fighters. Ma and Pa showed up with Leona bringing trays and trays of food. Kent had to hand it to Ma, when there was a major crisis, that woman could throw down in the kitchen.
The Arkadion brothers worked with Rex and Talon to set a perimeter around the pride house, effectively locking it down. Thirty minutes after that, Gabriel and Ashby showed up with David, Daniel and Baptista. Gabriel said that the other vampires were watching over the town from the surveillance cameras that he had installed the week prior, when Rebecca had incessantly voiced her concern that Alpha Devon's wolf pack still had access to town.
Kent suggested that Sebastian call Mojo to advise him to keep Peyton at the bar and out of the lawyer's sight. Kent had a feeling the nervous lion was also on the list of 'rogues'. Mojo said he was shutting down the bar and not to worry, that Peyton hadn't set foot outside the bar since Alpha Devon's visit weeks ago.
Kent looked around as everyone worked together trying to keep the two hybrids safe. Kent glanced over to where Liam stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bran and Aleks. The three Alphas looked deep in discussion. Ma and Rebecca were comforting Sebastian and Felix.
When Kent looked across the room, he saw that Lachlan was watching him, the older man's face drawn tight with worry. Kent felt his stomach sink. He looked around and realized everyone was preparing for an attack, which wasn't the case. This battle would be fought using law and arguments, not tooth and claw.
Lachlan nodded and Kent knew that his realization must have been on his face for everyone to see. Come morning, if they stood their ground and fought, the entire town could be considered rogue and dealt with. Feeling sick, he saw that Liam and Sebastian had stopped talking and were looking at him.
"Sweetheart, what is it?" Liam asked, walking over.
"He has come to the same conclusion that I have," Lachlan said.
"We can't fight this," Kent whispered.
"Like hell we can't!" Liam shouted. Kent shook his head.
"We literally can not fight this. They are operating within the letter of the law. If we resist, then we could all be declared rogue. Arkadia could lose its sanctuary status." Kent stared at Sebastian.
"We could leave and hide," Felix offered.
Kent shook his head. "By giving his word that you would not run, Lachlan has put his council seat on the line. If he lost it, all felines would lose their voice and we would lose a known ally on the council," Kent explained.
"You gave your word?" Ma whispered, her hand covering her mouth.
Lachlan nodded. "It secured us a twenty-four-hour continuance to organize a defense. It also kept Liam from being arrested if he had attacked the guards that would have taken Sebastian."
Liam looked over to his grandfather, a panicked look on his face. "You didn't have to risk so much for me!" Liam clenched his fists.
Lachlan's face softened. "If not for you, then who? You are my grandson and my heir, it is my job to look after you, cub. You still have some growing up to do," Lachlan said, smiling sadly. Everyone looked around at each other, a feeling of hopelessness filling the room.
Liam turned to Rebecca. "Becca, you've been studying shifter law, what can we do?"
Kent's eyes went to the small human latched on to his mate. Her eyes grew wide and she looked around the room.
"I–I don't know. I've only scratched the surface. I don't know everything about shifter law." She hung her head and instantly Aleks was there, wrapping an arm around her, glaring at Liam.
"I'm sorry to put you on the spot, Becca, it's just that you stood up to that asshole in the diner, and I hoped you would know what to do. It's my job to defend my mates, not yours, please don't feel bad." Liam ran his hands over his face.
"I wish I had the answers," Rebecca said, burying her head into Aleks's shoulder.
Kent inhaled. "You do have the answers! Rebecca, you're a genius!" Kent said, picking up the tiny human and swinging her around.
"I do?" she asked breathlessly, when Kent set her back down on her feet.
"You work in the library. Can you help us find the law books? We have all day to look for some answers." Kent grinned.
Rebecca's face lit up. "My keys are in my purse! We can go now." She raced over to the sofa and grabbed her purse off the floor.
"Talon, Rex, Aleks, Caleb and Emmett, you guys are with us to do the heavy lifting," Kent said. He walked over to the large clear bowl on the pedestal by the front door and fished out keys. He threw a set at Talon, who left with Rex and Caleb and grabbed his own.
It took them nearly two hours to identify the books that may have the answers and get them boxed and loaded. It took nearly another hour to get them spread out in the family room at the pride house.
Everyone grabbed a couple b
ooks and settled in to start reading. Groups formed to discuss what had been found and rotate reading circles. Only a few could sit down and read for hours at a time. Kent was hard pressed to keep up with Rebecca. The way her eyes flew over a page, at first he thought she was skimming. His mouth dropped when he realized that not only had she read and understood the material but could recall it perfectly. Her only limitation was how fast her small hands could turn a page.
When the sun set, everyone had to fight with Rebecca to get her to put the book down and join everyone for dinner. Kent felt the same as Rebecca. His mate was in danger and he wanted to do everything he could to keep him safe. He eyed the petite human and knew they had made the right choice to stop for a break. She had dark circles under her eyes and he knew she couldn't afford to skip a meal.
Lachlan had spent the day with the vampire twins Daniel and David setting up a video conference panel in Liam's office. Lachlan had insisted on covering the costs for the upgrades, as he knew Liam would have to use it for council meetings he would be expected to sit in on as his heir. In the morning they would meet in the office and plead their case before the council members that Lachlan had contacted.
Kent sat between his mates and tried to eat one of Ma's sandwiches, but nothing tasted good to him. He was still going over what he had read in his mind when Sebastian took his plate from his hands and climbed into his lap.
"I want to memorize how it feels to be held by you in case they take me away tomorrow," Sebastian whispered softly.
Kent barely heard the heartbreaking words. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian and his eyes immediately looked for Liam. Their Alpha was looking down at them with tears in his eyes. Kent reached his hand up behind him and motioned for Liam. Liam walked up behind their chair and wrapped his arms around the both of them. He felt Liam's body shudder behind him and knew that Liam was fighting back tears.
"Shifter law sucks! And the council sucks!" Rebecca exclaimed loudly, sloshing her soda.
Liam's head came up and he smiled at the indignant Rebecca.
"Becca, my grandfather is on the council," he said as her chin came up in defiance.
"What good are laws and councils when innocent people get hurt?" she asked. Everyone got quiet.
"You're right, Rebecca. No one's perfect. We can only learn as we go and hope that our changes benefit everyone." Lachlan patted Rebecca on the knee.
"You don't suck," she said in a small voice.
"Don't spread that rumor, I may never get lucky again," Lachlan drawled and winked. Both of Rebecca's hands flew to her mouth in an effort not to giggle. Kent looked up and saw Liam's mouth hanging wide open.
"Grandfather?" Liam asked, stunned.
"Wonderful sandwiches, as always, Margaret," Lachlan commented.
"Why thank you, Lachlan," Ma said, hiding her grin.
"Okay people, enough play time. Back to work. Chop chop!" Rebecca said, clapping her hands. Grinning down at Rebecca, everyone stacked their plates and headed back out to the family room.
"Come on David, Daniel, we still have a network to finish." Lachlan said, also standing and putting his plate aside.
Sebastian reached up and closed Liam's mouth for him before hopping down. He turned and grabbed Kent's hands, pulling him up.
"Time for you to get back to the books. I get to fantasize about seducing you in the library as you flip through pages with your glasses on," Sebastian said, leering at his mate, who blushed furiously.
"Maybe we can change things up a bit after we send that lawyer packing. I'm dying to feel you inside me, Sebastian. We're going to put you between us and not let you go," Liam said huskily. Sebastian swallowed hard.
"We can do that!" he squeaked. Kent laughed and kissed both of his mates before heading back out to the family room to continue his research.
Chapter Nine
By morning, pack, pride and sloth had consumed more gallons of coffee than Kent could count. Despite the extra caffeine, everyone was yawning and rubbing their eyes when the sun began to rise. Rebecca stood and walked into the center of the room.
"Okay people what do we have? Jerk-o lawyer will be here soon, we need to have our defense ready," Rebecca said, climbing on top of the ottoman so that she could be seen. Aleks scrambled and stood behind his mate to keep her steady.
"I have been looking at Liam's Law, why can't they just be grandfathered in?" Rex asked.
"Because by the time the law was passed, everyone who escaped and been declared rogue. We are not fighting to use Liam's Law, we are trying to overturn the rogue status. Once they are cleared of those charges, we will be able to use Liam's Law," Rebecca explained.
"I have a case Davidson vs. Alcott, where a woman was declared rogue until she presented her case before the council. She was a legal member of the pack and left without permission. The Alpha declared her rogue but she was able to prove that he was abusing her and got the charges reversed," Talon said, holding up a book. Aleks took it and put it in a pile at Rebecca's feet.
"Great job Talon, that sets precedence. They have overturned rogue status before after someone has run due to abuse," Rebecca said, clapping excitedly.
"I'm afraid that may be all we have, except for our testimonies. The council has rarely sided against their Alphas, which is why Liam's Law is so important," Lachlan said. Everyone looked defeated.
"We have Peyton's written statement along with Felix and Sebastian's accounts of what happened. It will have to be enough," Liam said, holding Sebastian.
Rebecca picked up the book that had the case Talon had found and began to memorize the case. She motioned to Daniel and David and whispered in their ears. Both men began to nod and ran off to jump on their laptops.
Less than an hour later, the doorbell rang. Pack and pride members lined both sides of the room as Liam opened the door, letting Salsiby and the wolves in.
"Let's make this quick, we need to get these two back to their Alpha," he said as the wolves stepped forward.
"Not so fast. We have a council session scheduled for this morning in Alpha Liam's office. We will be presenting a defense for both Sebastian Wakefield and Felix Kilpatrick," Lachlan said, gesturing to the hallway which led to the office.
"How do I know that it isn't a trick?" Salsiby demanded.
"If we wanted to kill you, you would already be dead. Look around. Not only would these men gladly help me tear you limb from limb, but they would also help me hide the bodies." Liam's cold smile made the lawyer shudder.
"Very well, it shouldn't take long. There is no possible defense for this case," Salsiby said, following Lachlan, Liam, Kent, Sebastian, Felix, Bran, Gabriel, Aleks and Rebecca into the office.
Kent walked into the office for the first time since the video upgrades were installed by the twins, and he was impressed. Along one wall was a panel of monitors. Each LED screen held the face of a council member.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Lachlan began.
"Morning, Lachlan. Is your grandson ready to present his mate's defense?" A deep voice came from the screen with an older man with black-and-white-streaked hair.
Rebecca looked around, eyes wide. Lachlan placed a hand on her back in support. Kent could identify with how she felt. Looking around the room that held Lachlan, Gabriel, and the presence of the shifter council, it was easy to feel small and unimportant.
"We're ready, Ora," Lachlan confirmed.
"Rebecca, starting in the upper, left-hand corner, the gentleman that just spoke is Ora Takumi. He is the Whale Elder. Below him is Phillip Marah the Horse Elder. In the upper center slot is Olson Brock the Badger Elder. Below him is Giles Andor the Eagle Elder, and finally in the upper right-hand corner is Ramsey McGregor." Lachlan introduced each Elder to the small Alpha Mother. She stepped forward and stood squarely in front of the monitors.
"It's nice to finally have faces to go along with names," Rebecca said and unleashed her potent smile. Kent turned his head to grin. He could visibly see each man relax. She really w
as too adorable to resist.
"Are you ready to start, Alpha Mother? Do you need to sit?" Ramsey asked. Kent saw Rebecca beam up at the man.
"I'm ready, and no, I can stand. I'm doing much better now. I know that Bran keeps you updated on how things are in town. I didn't know I was a topic for discussion," she said, turning to look at Bran who had a blush creeping up his neck.
Ramsey laughed. "Bran sings your praises, Alpha Mother."
"I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but we do have business to attend to," Salsiby said, stepping forward.
Kent watched in fascination as each council member's face shut down and became stoic. They clearly did not like the man.
"By all means." Ramsey bit off each word.
"We'd like to cite the case of Davidson vs. Alcott," Rebecca began before Salsiby interrupted.
"That case, though similar, bears no resemblance to the one before us today."
"I agree that they are not the same but…" Rebecca started.
"Good, then moving on," Salsiby said.
Rebecca's head whipped around until she faced the monitors. "If he interrupts me again can I shoot him? I'll use little bullets." Rebecca asked. Everyone got quiet. Ramsey coughed to cover his laugh.
"I hate to disappoint you, Alpha Mother, but no," Ora said kindly. His eyes hardened when he looked up at Salsiby.
"If you interrupt her again, I will order you silent for the rest of the proceedings," he said.
"You can't do that. I am my client's representation!" Salsiby protested.
"Then it's in your client's best interest that you not interrupt her again," Ora said.
"Thank you." Rebecca practically purred.
"Now, in the case of Davidson vs. Alcott, Helena Davidson left her Alpha. They were not mates and he had become abusive and she feared for her life. In the case notes, I see that there was no physical evidence, just Helena's and the pack housekeeper's testimonies about the sequence of events. It was enough to remove her rogue status," Rebecca recounted.