17. Nathan
NATHAN
The old kirk that serves as our community hall is today arranged in a poor imitation of a courtroom. Kato and I are led to a couple of mismatched plastic chairs at the front and told to sit in them. We do. Kato immediately shuffles his closer to mine. I wonder if he even realises he’s doing it.
The prospect of seeing Cas today was the carrot dangled to get us here.
I expect by the end of the trial we’ll be getting more of the stick, however.
Our mate isn’t here yet, though. I know he’s further away thanks to our bond, yet I look for him anyway, my gaze sweeping the uneven rows that line the room.
Members of the pack are sitting in every available space. I scan their faces, knowing every one of them as well as my own.
And yet, most are practically strangers to me.
Alphas who’ve shunned me for who I love.
Some in the pack are young enough that they wouldn’t remember what happened to me, but they’ve been warned off, no doubt.
Not many alphas want to put their own standing on the line for the good of another.
A few duck their heads when my gaze passes over them—shame more than submission, feelings I’m unfamiliar with.
I’m no longer ashamed of who I choose to be with. Admittedly, our mating was less choice and more instinct, but I trust my wolf’s decision. He thinks Kato and Cas are worthy mates.
Therefore, all of me does.
I catch Adrian’s eye where he sits in the second row with a couple of other omegas I barely know. One of them, whose name I can’t recall but whose actions I do, flirted with Kato when he first arrived here.
How much has changed since then.
The members of our council file in—Declan first, naturally. He’s followed by a representative from each designation. I won’t be getting much sympathy from Graham, who’s always hated me. Doubt I’ve done much more to endear myself to him now that I’ve killed his friend.
Niall slinks in after the big lumbering alpha.
He’ll be on our side, I’m sure, but given that the last member of our small jury is Eden, I’m pretty certain he’ll get outvoted.
Not that I believe Eden will be happily condemning us—he’ll support Declan, like he always does, because it’s all he’s ever known.
I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes if he went against Declan’s wishes, so I don’t blame him.
Sorrow is all I’ll ever feel for Eden, and perhaps a bit of guilt that I’ve never done anything to stop Declan mistreating him.
Technically, Declan should report our actions to the Scottish shifter council, but it’s understood that we deal with our own first and foremost. It works in our favour today, at least. We can continue to keep Cas’s presence a secret from those who might be looking for him.
We have enough problems as it is without worrying about Bash as well.
I can only hope that Cas’s ex-employer decides it’s too much trouble to come after him.
I doubt it. But that’s a problem for another day.
Because stone-cold murder lies within Declan’s glare when I meet his gaze across the room. Humans here no longer pass down the death penalty, but the same cannot be said for shifters. Our crimes were committed on pack land, so human laws can’t protect us.
I don’t need to hear Declan’s verdict. I’m pretty sure I’m a dead wolf walking, even if it weren’t for the potential time bomb growing in Cas’s belly.
Except for the fact we’re also mated to Kato.
He’s the only thing standing between us and certain death.
With Declan’s blood part of the equation, we’re in a stalemate.
I have to trust that Declan won’t want to kill his nephew.
In turn, I won’t reveal my resistance to his commands and undermine his leadership.
It’s a precarious position; if I expose Declan, he’ll take it as the challenge it is.
It all comes down to one crucial fact: one wrong move on any of our parts and we’re all dead.
Kato lets out a whine—not because he’s heard my thoughts, but because Cas has arrived.
I’m on my feet in an instant, Kato doing the same beside me, the two of us growling in displeasure.
Cas’s shock of white hair matches his pale face as he’s led in by a couple of the other alphas, sandwiched between them like they’re expecting him to make a run for it.
I don’t like seeing him penned in. He looks younger than ever, especially beside the two big alphas. It only reinforces that I’m the one who needs to take responsibility today. Cas shouldn’t have to face any of this.
His eyes widen as he sees us, and my gut twists with worry.
My heart hammers against my ribcage, threatening to burst right out of my chest. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this much for someone I hardly know.
The relief at seeing him whole, at the very least, is short-lived when he’s led to a single chair on the opposite side of the room, set apart from everyone else.
One of the alphas presses a firm hand on his shoulder and our mate sinks down into his seat, a desolate, lost expression on his face.
I move towards Cas, intent on getting to him no matter what.
“Nathan,” Declan warns. “Don’t.” It’s not an alpha command. Even if it were, it wouldn’t stop me.
I muscle my way through the crowd, not stopping until I’m right in front of Cas, reaching out and holding his face, turning it this way and that to inspect him.
I let out a breath of relief when I see no harm has been done to him.
Other than the marks Kato and I left on his neck, of course, which peek out from under the collar of his oversized cable-knit jumper.
I press my hands to the marks. They’re already beginning to scar, the heat emanating from them no longer caused by blood flowing from the open bites.
Instead, the warmth is a signal of the union that binds us, all three of us.
Briefly closing my eyes, I can visualise the tendrils of our connection.
They’re new, like tender green shoots poking through spring frost. One day, our bond will grow and flower, blooming bright, standing out like the luminescent white of snowdrops in a vast sea of green grass.
I yearn to see it. It breaks my heart that it might never come to pass, should I play my cards wrong today.
“Nathan?” Cas’s voice is tiny, tentative. I gaze down at him, his face pale, the dark circles under his eyes a clear sign of his stress. I want to scrub them away. I settle for ghosting my thumbs over them in a soothing touch.
“It’s so good to see you,” I say.
“I’m glad to see you too.” Cas’s eyes dart nervously to Kato behind me before flitting back. “Both of you.”
I nod, trying to convey that I understand.
It’s not lesser for him to want us both—it’s more.
Cas has so much capacity for love and care, it would be wasted on one shifter.
It’s right for him to be mated to us both.
It’s what he deserves. The two of us can take everything he gives us and return it tenfold.
I’m not sure I can communicate all of that in a look, but I sure try.
Muscling in, Kato sweeps Cas off his feet, hugging him to his chest. The way his feet dangle in the air makes the corners of my lips tick up, despite everything.
“Hey, little ghost,” Kato says, nuzzling into his mating mark.
“Hi,” Cas breathes back.
“How heartfelt,” Declan says, deadpan. “But the reunion is over. Get back to your seats.”
I lift my chin. “We’ll be as long as we need.” Let him try to command me in front of all these shifters.
“Don’t make this worse for yourselves.”
If anything, Kato hugs Cas closer, clutching him like a toddler asked to share their favourite toy. With our mortal fate in the balance, I can’t help but hope I’ll get to see the sight again.
Declan coughs and jerks his head towards us. “Nathan, if you don’t corral them, I’ll be forced to put you all in chains for this. Do you want to see your omega in chains?”
The image of Cas in heavy bondage isn’t quite the threat Declan thinks it is, but popping a boner at my murder trial probably won’t help me, so I give Kato a nudge. “C’mon. Let’s get this over with.”
Begrudgingly, Kato sets Cas down. Declan watches like a hawk as I press a soft kiss to Cas’s forehead and lead him back to his chair. “You’ll be okay,” I promise.
“You don’t know that,” he responds, gnawing on his lower lip.
“Course I do. I’m your alpha. I know everything.”
“Kato’s my alpha, too,” Cas points out.
“So you’ve got one of us who knows everything, and one of us who knows nothing. Between us, we have it covered.”
“I can hear you,” Kato says, indignant.
I loll my head around so I can look at him. “Aye, I know.”
He glowers at me, though there’s humour in his eyes that wasn’t there before. I feel a rush of pride. Dominating him into a submissive mess worked to ease his worry somewhat, but knowing I can make him smile lights up a different part of me, something warm and fuzzy I don’t often feel.
It’s not the emotion I need today, however. Shooting one last glance at an irate Declan, I return to my seat and sit forward, elbows resting on my knees, while Kato plays at nonchalance, slouching like a moody teenager.
Opposite, Cas is perched on his seat, fingers digging into the sides, his knuckles white. I hate that he’s there alone. He’s innocent in all this—he doesn’t deserve to be treated like a criminal.
Neither does Kato. Neither do I, for that matter.
But one of us has to take the fall, and there’s no way I’m letting it be either of them.
Declan can take his wrath out on me and leave the others out of it.
My bond with his nephew protects me from death, and I can face anything knowing I’m shouldering the punishment for my mates.
It’s an easy solution, ultimately.
“If everyone is quite ready to start proceedings—” Declan begins, but I’ve already decided I’m not going to let him spin whatever story he’s concocting.