Page 5 of The Girl in the Forest

“I wish to testify on behalf of Noa Bishop,” Miranda said.

I glanced at Owen. Concern wreathed his face, deepened the creases near his mouth and eyes. The other elders were respectful, with varying levels of interest.

Miranda drew in a deep breath. “I was rude to her during the Night of the Beacons, Alpha. I should have been more welcoming, but I was not, and I’m ashamed of my behavior. Despite my rudeness, she treated me with grace and generosity at the Gathering. When I asked if she had time to meet Albert, she offered right away. She eased him the way she did for Oscar.”

Miranda turned to the listening wolves, and said clearly, “Noa Bishop sat with Albert for more than half an hour. She wanted to visit him again. But then she sensed something I couldn’t, and became worried. She said I should find Owen right away. Ask him to take us home. We were caught in the open when the fighting started. Albert was too frightened to move. Owen was telling me through the pack bond to get indoors. Everywhere I looked was blocked, and I didn’t know what to do. But Noa Bishop did, and she asked a… a vampire to take us to Leo’s clinic. Then she helped us through the passage. We wouldn’t have gotten far without her. But there was fighting in Azul too, and she told us to stay in the passage where it was safe, and to warn any others who came through. The last I saw of her was when she ran to join the fight. She was trying to help. That’s all she was doing, and Albert and I might not have survived without her.”

“Thank you, Miranda Kirk,” I said. “I appreciate your testimony.”

“I would speak next.” Catrina jumped to her feet, gripping her hands and ignoring her scowling mother, who sat beside her.

I tapped into the mother’s pack bond, realizing she was afraid her daughter wasn’t showing the respect due to the Alpha.

“Catrina.” I nodded in the girl’s direction. “All are free to voice their experiences or concerns.”

I noticed the pink stripe was back in Catrina’s hair. Her chin lifted, as she said, “Noa Bishop saved me too, Alpha. You should have seen her.”

The younger boys snickered, and Catrina spun with a glare—gods, she was already so like Noa.

“I was hurt and bleeding,” Catrina continued. “She got me to the clinic and talked to me until I wasn’t scared anymore. It wasn’t her fault that pig got me. She was getting bandages, and she left the door open so I wouldn’t be alone, and when I screamed, she was right there, throwing that thing off me. I knew she was scared…”

Catrina took a breath. “Scared of it, but more about what she did in front of me… with the scalpel. I never got the chance to tell her I was glad she killed that pig. I would have done it, too. And when all of us in her posse didn’t have the pink stripes in our hair, I know she thought it meant we hated her. But our moms told us to wash the pink out because of the rite being a somber occasion. So, if you could tell her for me…”

My throat tightened. “I will.”

Catrina dropped her gaze to her feet, then looked up fiercely and said, “Noa Bishop did nothing wrong. Every wolf here would have done the same thing with that pig. Or with helping people. She showed us how to be strong, even if we don’t have wolves yet, or if we’re too old and think we can’t fight.”

The old ones beneath the canopy were nodding. Some eyes were bright with moisture.

“And all the bad things people are saying—” Echoes of a young Noa vibrated in Catrina’s voice, her indignation and anger. “It’s because of those old stories that aren’t even true.”

Hanley stomped on the ground, and I looked at him long enough for Pawley to dip his chin toward me and put a hand on Hanley’s knee. I waited for some other sign of challenge or discontent. Catrina’s mother hissed an order to her daughter to return to her seat; she quieted the instant I made eye contact with her.

“Your daughter displayed great courage during the attack on Azul,” I warned evenly. “Speaking out today was also an act of courage that I respect.”

Both Fallon and Mace nodded their agreement. Catrina’s mother offered her apologies, while Catrina tipped her chin and scurried back to her seat before her blush became embarrassing. Murmurs rumbled through the pack. Some of the loudest voices came from the front row, and looking toward the elders, I held Mosbach’s gaze for the longest.

He rose to his feet. “I wish to offer apologies for my behavior during the Night of the Beacons. But if I may speak?”

The apology was for show, and by not addressing me as Alpha, Mosbach made his disrespect obvious. The elder would always struggle with his loyalty. I’d killed his nephew in an alpha challenge, a challenge Mosbach had encouraged. The fight had been savage, and his nephew had taken a long time to die. Neither Mosbach nor I would forget it.

With a nod, I gave permission, since the pack didn’t need our animosity.

“My condolences go to the families who lost loved ones,” the elder said. “Although I question adding the witch to your list of those mourned.”

“You don’t care about a girl used by those more powerful?”

“I’m certainly sympathetic,” he said. “However, I wonder how you confirmed the witch’s abuse when the Alpen have denied involvement. We know nothing of the attacking wolves, since the destroyed pack marks concealed their affiliations. They are also dead, with no way to defend themselves, and I cannot see how you determined who was responsible—other than yourself.”

“Fascinating,” I drawled, so coldly amused that Mosbach couldn’t have missed it. “But I’m curious about your theory. Please continue.”

“I’m sure you’d rather not explain how the enemy got through your defenses. Or how they attacked the Gathering after you assured us security was in place. It couldn’t be because your wards were at fault, or your spies, failing to gather accurate information. Your seconds were surely capable of the job, and your dalliances shouldn’t have distracted you to the point of negligence. But perhaps I’m wrong.”

The breeze fluttered along the edges of the white canopy. Bits of grass scattered, while Fallon and Mace studied the fidgety crowd.

I waited.

“We’ve listened to the rumors.” Mosbach’s smile held the clear disdain I remembered from the Night of the Beacons—when he believed I couldn’t touch him since he’d issued no challenge. All he did that night was intimidate Noa, frighten her—and she’d been right, calling him nothing more than the rude, pudgy little snake that he was.

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