Chapter 30
THIRTY
VIVIENNE
There didn’t seem to be any choice. I felt like the eyes of the entire town were on us as Kor and I made our way to the town hall—a dinky little building that doubled as a bingo parlor and the meeting lodge for the Order of the Benevolent Gray Wolves Men’s Club (for Pack members only.)
As we walked into the hall, I noticed that it was already half full—I saw plenty of townspeople I recognized and all of them were staring at Kor and me with accusing eyes.
At the front of the hall, on the shallow stage that was two steps up from the main area, the Council of Elders were sitting at a long table.
They looked like a quartet of ancient crows, waiting to pass judgment.
I wanted desperately to take Kor’s hand and squeeze it—to feel his warmth for reassurance—but I didn’t dare. It wouldn’t look right to be seen holding hands with a handsome young Alpha when my husband wasn’t cold in his grave yet.
Kor must have had the same thought, because he didn’t reach for my hand either. But he walked close enough beside me that his arm brushed my shoulder, and the back of his hand touched mine. It wasn’t much, but it helped.
“Ah, there they are.” Elder Leary beckoned for us impatiently. “Well come on—come up here, the two of you.”
We walked up to the foot of the stage and stopped, as though by mutual consent. Kor frowned at the Council of Elders.
“What’s this about?” he demanded. “What do you want with me and Vivienne?”
I heard murmuring from the crowd at our backs and wished that we were back at Wolverton Manor, eating waffles again. Or anywhere, really, where we weren’t so obviously being judged.
“That’s enough, young man,” Elder Leary snapped, giving Kor a withering look. “You’ve both been called here today because there have been complaints made against you. Very serious complaints, I might add.”
“Complaints? About what?” Kor said, frowning. He didn’t seem cowed at all, and I tried to draw courage from him.
“Well…perhaps we’d best let the plaintiff come forward,” Elder Leary said. “Harris? Come out here and state your case.”
Harris Murdoch came swaggering out, both thumbs hooked in his thick leather belt. He still wore some bruises from his fight with Kor the day before.
“Oh, you’ve got to be joking!” Kor exclaimed, frowning at the Council. “You called a whole meeting just because this male complained that I whipped his ass?”
“You didn’t whip anything, pup!” Harris growled, glaring at him. “And besides, I have a legitimate complaint against you!”
“Yeah, right.” Kor rolled his eyes. “Look, Murdoch—it’s not my fault you can’t win a fight on your own, so you have to get the Council of Elders to back you up.”
Harris Murdoch’s face flushed bright red.
“Fuck you, Jamison! This doesn’t have anything to do with the way you attacked me yesterday.”
“The way I attacked you?” Kor shook his head. “You know, a real Alpha fights his own battles instead of begging for help.”
“I told you, this ain’t about the fight!” Harris snarled.
“Well, what is it then?” Kor asked, lifting one eyebrow. “Did I hurt your feelings when I came to town to claim my birthright? Maybe you don’t think you can win the Alpha Challenge if I’m one of the Alphas fighting?”
“Hey—I can fight you any day of the week and mop the street with you!” Harris’s face was purple by now. His hands were balled into fists of rage, and the crowd was murmuring.
“Right. Just like you did yesterday.” Kor nodded coolly.
“Why, you—” Harris began but Elder Leary interrupted.
“All right, enough of this! The complaint that was made has nothing to do with the altercation that occurred on Main Street yesterday.”
“Then what is it about?” I asked, daring to speak up at last.
Elder Leary leveled his gaze at me.
“A complaint has been made—not just by Harris but by several people—that you are acting in a lewd and licentious manner and not upholding your husband’s sacred memory, Lady Jamison,” he thundered, raising his voice almost to a shout.
“And that you have been profaning the sacred title of ‘Moon Widow’ which was bestowed upon you at the passing of our beloved Pack Leader, Carter Jamison!”
At this the entire audience broke into chatter and every single one of them was looking at me.
In that moment, I wished that the ground would open up and swallow me whole. I could feel my heart pounding in every part of my body at once and it felt like my face was on fire, I was so hot with blushing.
I might as well have had a scarlet A pinned on my chest.
Did they know? Had someone seen us? Had they found out that Kor had touched me and made me come? That I had slept naked in his arms last night?
All these thoughts raced frantically through my brain, and I didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Kor was calm.
“And what evidence do you have that Vivienne has been acting in a manner unbecoming of her station?” He asked, lifting his chin. “Because she’s been nothing but completely proper ever since I met her.”
“Evidence? We don’t need no evidence!” Harris Murdoch growled. “Just look at her—look how she’s dressed and how she’s acting. She ain’t no grieving widow!”
I had to fight the urge to pull the sides of my cardigan closed to try and cover the cleavage the sundress I was wearing showed.
How I wished that I had worn one of the stuffy black outfits in my closet at home!
Why had I thought I could go out dressed in a pretty little sundress when I was supposed to be in mourning?
“So you called a Council meeting and allowed the entire town to attend if they wanted to without any evidence of wrong doing?” Kor lifted both eyebrows at the Council. “Just because Vivienne is dressed differently?”
“She ought to be in mourning—not gallivanting around with you, pup!” Harris exclaimed. “We all know you’re fucking her! We know what you’re up to—the two of you all alone up at that big old mansion. You’re filling her pussy with your cream and your cock every chance you get.”
“And I repeat, where is your evidence?” Kor thundered. “How dare you accuse me of defiling a Moon Widow—one who was married to my uncle! How dare you smear my reputation and Vivienne’s good name just because you’re afraid I’ll beat you at the Alpha Challenge?”
“You’re not fucking beating me!” Harris practically howled. “You widow fucker!”
“Enough! Enough—silence. Silence!” Elder Leary bugled.
Finally, Harris shut up and the townsfolk who had gathered in the audience quieted.
“All right, now.” Leary wiped at his bald forehead with a folded napkin. Clearly he hadn’t expected any pushback from either me or Kor.
I was glad Kor was there to speak for both of us. The whole town thought I was guilty as charged and I doubted I could change their minds, no matter what I said. So I kept quiet and let him do the talking.
“Councilor Leary,” he said now, looking directly at the elderly councilman. “I am not breaking the Unbreakable Laws with Vivienne Jamison. I am staying at my late uncle’s estate with her, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that we’re doing anything untoward.”
“But the two of you look so happy together,” one of the other council members said plaintively.
“And that’s a crime? Or a punishable offense somehow?
” Kor demanded. “Can’t we enjoy each other’s company without you drawing dirty-minded conclusions about the two of us?
Didn’t you hear what she said at my uncle’s funeral?
She doesn’t even have Heat Cycles anymore.
How could I be breeding her, even if I was so unwise as to want to break the Unbreakable Laws—which I don’t,” he added, frowning.
The Council members didn’t look happy about this, but there didn’t seem to be much they could say about it. They whispered together like a flock of old crows gathered on a telephone line. Finally, Elder Leary straightened up.
“This Council does not have evidence of any wrongdoing at this time,” he began.
“Oh please—just look at the two of them!” Harris interrupted. “They’re fucking! He’s fucking her!”
“Enough, Harris! One more outburst like that and I’ll have you ejected from this meeting!” Elder Leary gave him a stern look and Harris glared back, but at least he shut up again.
“As I was saying, this Council does not have any evidence of wrongdoing at this time,” Leary repeated.
“So we will not sanction or punish you for now. But let me give you both a very strong warning—breeding a Moon Widow is forbidden by any save the new Leader of the Pack if he chooses her as his Omega.”
“Which is exactly what I’m going to do,” Harris Murdoch sneered. He cupped a hand over his crotch and gave me a lascivious look. “Gonna stretch out that pussy real nice under the full moon, Lady Jamison. I’ll have you begging for it before I’m done.”
This statement seemed to finally pierce Kor’s cool.
“Don’t you dare speak to her like that.” He took a step forward, coming face-to-face with Harris Murdoch. “Don’t even think of putting your fucking filthy hands on her. If you even try I swear by the Goddess herself I will fucking end you.”
I saw Harris pale, though he tried not to show it—like all bullies, he was a coward at heart. He took a single stumbling step back before apparently remembering that the entire town was watching.
“You…you’ll be sorry,” he said, pointing a finger in Kor’s face. “Once I’m Pack Leader, I’ll—”
Kor grabbed the dirty finger pointed in his face and made a swift jerking motion. There was a brittle sound like a dry twig snapping and then Harris was howling and holding his hand to his chest.
“Did you see that? He hurt me!” He howled at the Council. “He broke my goddamned finger!”
“That was for speaking disrespectfully to Lady Jamison,” Kor said coolly. “And this is your one and only warning to stay away from her. Next time I won’t just break your finger—I’ll break your fucking neck.”
He turned and looked at the crowd.
“And that goes for all of you. You can say what you want about me, but I won’t tolerate disrespect directed at my uncle’s widow. Come on, Vivienne—we’re leaving.”
And he took me by the hand and swept me out of the town hall before I quite knew what was happening.