Sold to the Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 1)

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” intervened the dragon councilor, Calder Grimmr. “We offered her our protection and she’s in our custody now. We’re thinking that her shocking declaration might upset some people.”

The silent, calculated Calder Grimmr was a sight to behold. Golden eyes, long, silvery hair, noble features… he looked like an ancient god. If there was one thing about dragon-shifters that everyone agreed on, was that they were all pure epitomes of beauty and majesty.

“That was a very good call,” said Max. “Still, what is she accusing us of?”

Councilor Willamar was the one to answer that question, and with every accusation he added, Avelyn felt her heart pick up the pace just a notch. Not out of fear, but out of anger. Everything was a lie.

“Biting and turning Sabine Miller, your ex-wife, into a werewolf. Locking her up in a dungeon when she couldn’t give you heirs, because you wanted to take a human bride. Keeping her locked up for half a century, then attempting to murder her when she tried to escape. Hunting her when she finally escaped, thus causing her to kidnap humans and turn them into werewolves so she would form her own pack to defend herself against you. Butchering her, most of her pack, and the werefoxes who had tried to help and protect her, then covering all traces of the battle. Is that all?” The werebear turned to the other councilors, inviting them to add anything he might have missed. “I guess that’s all.”

All the Blackmanes at the table were dumbfounded. Karl clasped the edges of the armrests in his big, strong fists, his muscles tensing under the pressure of sheer anger. Jocelyn fought the urge to stand up and scream in the councilors’ faces, and instead forced her body to relax and lean back in her chair. Max started rubbing his beard and taking deep, steady breaths, while Avelyn reached for his hand for support. He squeezed her fingers and he suddenly felt a bit better.

“I’d like a moment in private with my family,” he finally said, his voice barely betraying the anger boiling in his veins.

The bear-shifter crossed his arms over his huge chest and was getting ready to say something not very pleasant when Christian Kwahu, the eagle-shifter stopped him.

“I think we can do that,” he said.

Zachary Willamar shot him an annoyed look. “I say let’s get this over with now. We ask the questions, you answer. Plain and simple.”

“I insist we should take a break. I’d like to go over the accusations in private, with my wife, my sister, and my brother.”

“I see no problem with that,” offered the dragon-shifter, Councilor Grimmr.

“Fine. Let’s vote,” said Willamar. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the Blackmanes alone. By now, he was convinced they weren’t completely innocent. There was a fair chance that the young she-wolf had exaggerated parts of her story, but there must have been some truth in it.

“I’m in favor,” said Calder Grimmr.

“Against,” voted Jonathan Redfur without as much as a thought.

“In favor, of course,” said Christian Kwahu with a pleasant smile. Right then, Avelyn decided he was a cool guy.

“Against,” said Willamar.

Arthur Harington was playing with his pen, thinking how much he hated this situation. He knew exactly what would benefit him, so he really didn’t need time to make a decision. He took it nonetheless. The dragon-shifter had been too eager to agree, and the fox-shifter had been too quick to refuse. Councilor Kwahu was probably neuter, as usual. Willamar just wanted everyone to play fair and finish before dinner, if possible. He looked at Dimitri Voinom, who had been silent for a while.

“In favor,” said Voinom.

“All right,” thought Harington, “he’s on the Blackmanes’ side.”

“In favor,” he finally said.

The bear-shifter sighed in defeat and threw the Blackmanes a displeased look. “Fine. You may have the small conference room across the hall.”

***

They had all agreed to meet twenty minutes later in the main conference room, which meant they still had ten minutes left. The secretary brought Avelyn the glass of water she had requested, and Avelyn drank it greedily. She instantly felt better, her brain more willing to focus on what Max, Jocelyn, and Karl were saying. Currently, they were far from a unanimous agreement.

“Just think about it, Karl,” said Max. “We haven’t done anything wrong. There’s no reason to pile up even more lies on Sabine’s.”

“The she-wolf’s lies, actually,” said Jocelyn.

“No, I don’t think so. The girl only told the Council what Sabine had told her. If we manage to prove to them that Sabine was dangerous and quite insane, then everything will be solved in minutes.”

“Do you really think it’ll be that simple?” asked Karl, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Apparently, we’re guilty of everything, and my guess is that someone wanted to throw all the blame on us. What did they say about the werefoxes? That they were protecting Sabine? That’s bullshit! And it’s the kind of bullshit that would benefit the fox councilor.”

They were all silent for a minute.

“What about the dragons?” asked Avelyn. This whole thing was starting to look like a mind game. “They only mentioned them twice, never said Viggo’s name… What’s up with that? I mean, okay, the foxes were protecting Sabine, but Viggo was protecting us.”