His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) (19 page)

But Crane took the floor, clearing his throat rather nervously before he spoke. "
Tehya
and
Rhyan
enjoyed meeting you two yesterday. As we were leaving, they mentioned that Erik is a shifter, too, which was a big surprise to me. Obviously I can't sniff out stuff like that, and I had no idea."

"I am, yeah," Erik said.

"How'd that happen?" asked
DeLuca
.

I answered. "I bit him."

"Accidentally?
By that I mean before you became,
er
, friends? Did he startle you? Were you two fighting…?"
DeLuca
let his voice trail off.

"Not at all.
It was on purpose to turn him." I tried to explain. "Those gang members were breaking into the cabin Wednesday morning. We needed to get away, so he… I mean
I
thought it would be best if we were wolves." I don't know why I lied about whose idea the bite was. Maybe because the weird vibes I'd picked up seemed to be getting weirder.

DeLuca
sighed as he and Crane exchanged troubled looks.

"Why?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"You broke a preternatural law that goes back for centuries, Bronte," said Crane. "It's the very law that has put most of The Arm behind bars."

Erik sat up straight. "How was she supposed to know that?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's not like I was given a manual or anything." Though I probably should've been scared at that point, I really wasn't. I'd bitten Erik in innocence. How could they possibly hold me accountable for breaking a law I'd never even heard of? And shouldn't the character of the bitten count for something, not to mention my motives for doing it?

Crane seemed to be very uncomfortable. "That'll be taken into account, of course, when you face the
Corteggio
judges."

I sucked in a startled breath.
"The what?"

"The
Corteggio
judges.
They call themselves 'Counselors.' There are five. You're going to have to explain your actions to them."

"You mean you're arresting her?" Erik sounded shocked and way pissed off.

"That won't be necessary." Ben
DeLuca
squirmed a little. "I think we can trust you to answer your summons."

"What summons?" I asked.

"This one."
Crane pulled a piece of folded parchment paper out of his jacket pocket.

I stared at it in disbelief and jumped to my feet to glare at them. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Bronte." Erik stood again and placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, as if to keep me from attacking.

That rankled. Shouldn't
I
be holding
him
back? He'd said he would protect me, after all. I brushed his hand off my shoulder. "I can't believe this. Haven't I gone through enough paranormal torture? Don't I have any rights at all?"

"Of course you do," said Crane. "And that's actually why I tagged along today. I work for a lawyer named Lucas Norris, who is well-known in the
Were
community and has quite a reputation for defending werewolf rights.  Traditionally
Weres
are the underdogs, no pun intended, and don't fare well in legal battles. I've already talked to Norris, and he said he'd be glad to take your case."

I
huffed
my exasperation.
"Oh yeah?
And who's going to pay for this?" I could hardly ask Dad for a loan, though he'd probably have given me one.
Hey, Dad.  May I borrow some money to pay for a lawyer to defend me in werewolf court…?

"He doesn't charge for his services." Once again, he offered me the summons.

I hesitated and then took it. Erik looked over my shoulder as I broke the wax seal and scanned the document, which had been written by hand in a very fancy script. It was pretty clear. I was required to face
Corteggio
Counselors tomorrow night at 7:00 via videoconference at the Countryside Inn in Branson. I couldn't believe my ears. Was this really happening?

"Please get there early. As for Erik," said
DeLuca
. "He'll have to take the cure, of course."

"What!"

Now I was holding my boyfriend back.

He yanked his arm free of my grasp and got right in
DeLuca's
face.
"Not
no
, but hell no."

DeLuca
never blinked. "I'm afraid you have no choice, son."

"I'm not your son."

"Why can't he stay a wolf?" I asked, slipping between the two of them. "He can sign that contract of yours just like I did."

"It doesn't work that way."
DeLuca
stood. "You should never have been bitten for the sole purpose of turning you."

"What if I'd been bitten accidentally? Say, in the heat of a fight?"

"That would be a different story altogether. But we all heard Bronte admit she did it on purpose, so that really doesn't apply here. She's subject to the same punishment as every member of
le bras du
loup
that broke the bite rule and deliberately turned kidnapped teens."

"But it's not the same thing!" I exclaimed.

DeLuca
wouldn't back down. "The end result is, and that's all those Counselors will care about."

"Okay.
All right."
Erik motioned for us all to calm down. "Let's be cool about this. What would it take for you two to forget what she said? I don't have any money, but this cabin and the hundred acres it sits on are all mine. What if I give
--
"

I slapped my hand over his mouth. "Are you insane? You are not sacrificing your inheritance."

He peeled my fingers aside. "I am if it will keep you out of a dungeon."

DeLuca
cut us off. "What I'm going to forget is that you just tried to bribe us. As for Bronte's confession--" He pulled a small digital recorder from an inside jacket pocket. We saw that it was turned on.

"You taped me?" I as good as screeched.

He nodded.
"Standard procedure.
So it's all here, and the court will be hearing it."

"I'll call Lucas," said Crane to Erik, who was visibly fuming. "I'm sure he'll represent you, too."

Erik shook his head. "This is wrong, and you know it."

Crane seemed to agree. "The
Corteggio
is a dinosaur, man. We all know that. But they've been around for
eons, which means
two young
Weres
in Missouri aren't going to be able to buck the system. We're lucky they've finally agreed to let Norris represent your kind. That was an uphill battle from the get-go and only happened because the Interplanetary Species Committee intervened."

Interplanetary Species Committee?
My temples began to throb.

"I'll be with her tomorrow night," Erik said.

"I'd expect nothing less, and since you will, we'll get a decision on your wolf dilemma then, too."

"It's only a dilemma for you."

With a solemn nod,
DeLuca
stuck the recorder back in his pocket, got up, and walked to the door.
"Until then."
He exited the cabin.

Crane didn't follow immediately. "Hang in there, you two. Norris knows his stuff and has a great success record. He'll give '
em
hell."

I couldn't even answer.

When the door closed behind Crane, I burst into tears. Erik tugged me close and wrapped his arms around me. Though I hugged him back, the comfort he offered did little to lift my spirits. Our situation was unbelievable, the kind of contrived circumstance found in really bad fiction. I was so not going to rot in a dungeon no human knew existed. This was reality. Stuff like that didn't happen.

But it had happened; Yarbrough was proof of that.

My stomach knotted with anxiety, and for a few seconds I actually thought I might hurl my breakfast. "What are we going to do?" My words sounded muffled against Erik's shirt.

"The only thing we can do. Trust this Norris guy."

I tipped my head back so I could see Erik's face. "We could shift and run away."

"I have a feeling they'd find us."

So did
I
, though I didn't admit it.

"And when they did, they'd just have something else to charge us with." He shook his head. "No. We've got to stay and fight this. They're a bunch of asshole bullies who need to be taught a lesson."

"As if we could teach them one.
I'm pretty sure smarter
Weres
than us have gone down."

Erik didn't answer. Instead, he led me back to the couch, where he sat and pulled me onto his lap. "I know we haven't known each other very long, but there's something I need to tell you. Something I've been thinking about a lot."

"Okay."

"I think I love you. No, I'm sure I do. That part I know. What I'm confused about is what it means in our situation. The whole dual nature, mating-for-life thing complicates what should really be simple, you know?  I haven't exactly tapped into my wolf emotions."

"I know."

"I mean, what if I'm not the wolf you're predestined to love for life. Will
me
loving you derail what's really supposed to happen? I'd like to think I'm your life mate, but if I can't wrap my brain around forever, how can I possibly be?"

I groaned. "You're making my headache worse."

"I'm sorry. But I had to tell you, okay?
Just in case."

With a sigh, I framed his face with my hands. "I love you, too. Have forever; will forever. So if you're worried about me possibly taking a wrong turn, forget it. I already have."

Now
he
groaned.

"Sorry, but what else can I tell you at this point but the truth? I refuse to consider that fate--something you don't believe in it, but I do--brought us together just to tear us apart."

"When you look at things your way, it doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Not at all."

"Maybe you should call on that goddess of yours for help."

"I've actually read instructions for praying to Danu. There was even a picture of the altar you have to make. But what will I say?"

"How about: '
Yo
, Danu, it's Bronte. I'm in deep shit here. Will you please get me out of it'?"

That made me laugh
. "You're exactly right, as usual."

One of Erik's eyebrows shot up, probably because I'd admitted such a thing.

"I'm going to need a blue cloth, some river rocks, a glass bowl full of water, and four white candles."