Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron) novel Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

As we walk into the first ring, the moonlight and firelight ahead bring the taller stone circle and the wolves gathered outside it into focus.

Our ancestors brought their traditions to the New World, and the power that radiates from this sacred area reminds me that I am but one wolf in a long, long line of shifters.

Magic saturates this space. Borne of nature, the Goddess and this earth.

Pack wolves convene outside the circle. They kneel and await the trial. Some are thoughtful, others growling low, their anger at my misdeeds so very clear. There are dozens of them gathered. Distant family, people I once called friends. Members of a community that I’d known my whole life.

They’re here to watch me pay for my sins.

I silently walk past them and into the main ring.

At the top of the circle sits the Alpha, with three seats on either side for the Elders. I remember the first time I saw Cameron take his place at the head of the circle. I’d been so proud.

Cam’s father sits there now.

A fire is lit. It burns bright.

We stop before the Alpha and Elders.

The heat of the fire warms my back like the sun after a storm.

This isn’t too different from the last time I’d stood naked in front of my pack. That was the day Cameron married Ashley.

I’d been singled out then too.

Alone, targeted. Rejected. Other.

I call on Nala for strength, lest my fear bleeds through. It pulses though, like a living thing about to leak through my pores.

I see the hunger for justice burning in too many eyes and sense the eagerness to kill.

The Elders…they just look bored.

I repress my shiver, surprised when I see Morgan enter the circle. She stands at the edge of one of the tall standing stones, with Jace, Declan and Michail. She meets my gaze with a fierce one of her own.

I’m guessing she’s just as afraid as I am, because outsiders aren’t allowed in the circle.

Which means… if they brought her here, she’s not intended to survive.

She’s still bound in rune chains. She won’t be able to help me.

She won’t be able to help herself.

Part of me feels bad about that. Deep down, I know she’d never willingly harm me, and her guilt is a palpable force.

Not that it matters now.

What’s done… is done.

I spare one last glance at Jace. He’s stricken with the knowledge that HE brought me here. He started this cycle of events and now I can only reap whatever may come.

Alpha Healmsworth stares into the fire.

Elder Tomlin stands. He’s a big wolf with a grizzled beard and bright blue eyes. “We are called together this night to bear witness and trial to Mia Riorsen.”

Elder Isla stands next. Her long white hair is braided and she looks regal and wise. “For those of you who do not know, these are the crimes that have transpired…”

She recites the events and I stand quietly. She doesn’t embellish or add any inflection to her voice. The facts are relayed rather blandly.

“Is this the truth of the actions as they transpired?” she asks me.

“Yes,” I say.

“We have very strict rules,” Gemma says. This Elder is not as tall as Isla or nearly as old. But she carries strength and wisdom and she’s long been a wolf revered by our people. “Our laws have allowed us to survive as we have for these many millennia. Our laws keep our packs safe.”

I wait silently.

Tomlin shakes his head. There is no mistaking his disgust. “Mia Riorsen has conspired with witches! With this information–with our blood–they can cast targeted spells, and even wipe out our kind!”

The grumbling outside the circle turns into gasps and growls of outrage.

I cringe. I can’t help it. That much rage directed my way is impossible to ignore.

Alpha Healmsworth watches me, his expression hard to read.

Tomlin sits, and now Elder Marco stands. “What say you, Mia?” he asks.

Of all the Elders, I always admired him most. He says very little, but his lessons as a child stayed with me. His eyes are kind, and his face, though weathered and woven with lines, has always radiated happiness.

Although he doesn’t look happy now. Not at all.

“I was falsely accused once and banished from this pack. Ashley’s duplicity has been revealed, and yet there is no recompense for what was done.”

This causes some murmurs in the pack and I watch as the Elders shift in their seats.

I step forward. Away from the warmth of the fire. Away from my ‘captors.’

“I was innocent then. I maintain my innocence now.”

There are a number of mutterings and curses from the pack.

Isla raises a brow and everyone grows quiet once more.

“In my exile, I discovered I was pregnant with the Alpha’s babies. My only thought was protecting them. Ensuring that Cameron’s children were born healthy and safe.”

There’s a slight uplift in the pack’s energy. Wolves are fiercely loyal and protective of their young.

“Mia had no knowledge of what we did!” Morgan shouts.

Jace grabs her arm, silencing her.

“It is true,” Marco allows. His voice is strong. The pack settles instantly. “Mia has not willingly conspired to these events. We acknowledge this.”

Is it possible? Will they finally understand that I am innocent?

“But the fact remains,” Marco goes on… ”That we are vulnerable as a result of it.”

“Cast your decree,” Alpha Healmsworth says. There is no elaborate ceremony. No drawn out trial or call for witnesses. Morgan might be here, but she is a witch. Her opinion carries no weight.

Tomlin’s eyes change to his wolf’s. “The penalty is death.”

Isla nods and stands beside him. “The penalty is death.”

One by one, each of the pack elders stands and echoes, “The penalty is death.”

I look at the Alpha, Cameron’s father.

He has the last word.

As Alpha he can accept the outcome of this ‘trial’ or he can do as he pleases.

A thousand words race through my head.

You helped raise me.

I’m bound to your son.

I may carry his baby.

Please. Please. Please. Don’t do this.

Wolves start shifting. The moon hits me like a spotlight. And I’m reminded again, that I don’t belong.

I probably never did.

“Alpha Healmsworth.” My voice is hoarse. “I am connected to your son. Banish me. Imprison me. But don’t risk Cameron’s life like this…”

His eyes widen at my audacity. Then they narrow. “Do not speak to me about my son! What you’ve done jeopardizes his children!”

Ah, there it is.

Maybe I should be surprised, but I’m not. With Cameron’s decline, the Alpha powers would have returned to his father. And he’s accepted that. I think maybe he’s even happy to have that absolute power back.

With me gone… he’ll have his heirs.

My children have secured his bloodline.

I look at Jace.

He is filled with so much regret it’s like a wave of pain that slams into me. “I’m sorry!” he shouts.

He takes a knee.

Michail, Liam, Christian, Declan.

Even Claire.

They kneel.

Some of the women and my old friends, I see them when I glance outside the circle. They kneel.

It is their one show of support for me.

But it won’t mean a thing.

I want to be with Cameron as we were when the days were long and our love was pure.

I want to have one last moment with Eric. I didn’t have the chance to love him, but in the brief time I knew him, I did. I wish I could say goodbye.

Above all, I just want to hold my children once more.

The Alpha stands. “Mia Riorsen, you are found guilty of endangering this pack. And the penalty for that … is death.”

Before he can shift, the fire blazes up into a wall of flames.