Page 6 of The Girl in the Forest

The elder turned and raised his voice. “You’ve heard the rumors, too. How the raiders were after Noa Bishop and Laura Porter.”

Grumbling voices rose and fell. Mosbach spread his hands earnestly.

“And if that’s true, then aren’t we sitting in the ruins of Azul because Grayson Devante is reckless? He offered sanctuary to what belongs to the Alpen, two girls, one who escaped from them in Seattle, and the other who ran from them years ago. If Halwyn, or the other dead wolves could speak today, they’d agree that I’m right and Grayson Devant’s decisions have always been disastrously wrong.”

I leaned back in the gods-awful chair that dwarfed other alphas and stared, deciding how, one day, I would let my wolf loose on Mosbach. And let him take a long, long time with the punishment.

But the pack was watching, and I said, “Stealing a wolf—enslaving her—is indefensible and against our law.”

“But not Alpen’s law, a fact you understood when you adopted both females into the pack. You made us a target. Protecting wolves with no connection to Sentinel Falls. Laura Porter, a wolf from a pack that no longer exists. Noa Bishop, a faille without a pack mark until you gave her one. Perhaps we should discuss your actions instead of blaming the Alpen.”

The wolves were silent. Levi had moved closer to Laura, his expression tense. Laura was pale, but she sat stiffly, her chin raised. The women sitting around her closed ranks, protective, glaring at any wolf who dared to look their way.

With my elbow bent on the ornately padded armrest, I propped my chin against my knuckles and studied Mosbach. “After our previous conversation, I expected at least the pretense of civility from you.”

“How can you prove the Alpen used the witch?” he challenged, turning to the crowd for either vindication… or support. “How can anyone know who hired dead wolves?”

“I might surprise you,” I murmured.

“But—” In his zeal, the elder missed the shifting mood of the pack, and my warning. “Even if both facts were true, any rightful Alpha of Sentinel Falls would put the pack ahead of his own base desires. Find Noa Bishop. Hand her and Laura Porter over to the Alpen, and be done with it.”

“Careful, Mosbach,” Mace’s tone was not as subtle as mine, and his alpha canines flashed. “While you’re free to think what you wish, if you spread lies that harm others, you’ll deal with me.”

“And anyone foolish enough to lay a hand on either female will deal with me,” I added, holding the elder’s gaze. I was tired of his clumsy challenge—if that was what it was.

Mosbach turned away rather than dip his chin, so—a challenge. I breathed in. Waited.

“Grayson Devante refuses to acknowledge the destruction he caused,” the elder said, staring at the crowd, gesturing with an authority he didn’t have. “The secrets he hid in Azul for so long. Why do we accept his explanations? Why do we allow him to remain as Alpha?”

The pack grew restless. They’d worn their best clothes, men and women forming a sea of color, and no one wanted a bloody challenge fight when children were present. Even a hint of one. Some men traded murmured comments. The women exchanged frowns. Most of the arguments ran through the pack bond. I didn’t bother listening because I was thinking about what Julien told me weeks ago.

Someone had provoked the feral wolf, sending him toward Sentinel Falls and into the middle of a crowd. That person hoped to shatter loyalties by forcing me to kill in front of children. Creating doubt in my ability to lead, mistrust where my wolf was concerned, if he could turn as feral as the wolf he’d had to kill.

I wouldn’t overlook Mosbach as being that person, or at least knowing who it was. He’d tried to undermine me, using Noa on the Night of the Beacons. And now this open disrespect with both words and gestures.

It would be interesting to see how far he would go.

“This is a new low for you, Mosbach. Attacking females to protect your coddled comfort.” I decided to provoke, if only to see what popped out of a foolish man’s mouth. “Perhaps you’ve lost your morality, and we’re all just realizing it now.”

“And perhaps we’re all realizing your failures, how you’ve reignited a war with the Alpen.”

“You cannot reignite a war that never ended.”

“We had a truce,” he reminded the pack.

“Which the Alpen broke. I shouldn’t have to point out to you the many infractions. They tried to kill Leo two years ago. They went after Noa Bishop in Seattle and trapped Levi. As for the Gathering, the Alpen thought they’d killed everyone with knowledge of their involvement. But Mace found one wolf who was still alive and eager to confess when I questioned him.”

Which I’d done with ease, because a wolf without a pack mark had no defense against an alpha like me. I’d used the ability all alphas had to search a wolf’s thoughts, his memories, and I’d searched with malice and deliberation, taking my time. Digging until I’d uncovered every bit of useful, sordid information.

“One hopes,” Mosbach sneered, “that this wolf is still living and able to corroborate your accusations.”

“Did you expect mercy from me, Mosbach? Or are you relieved the man is not here to speak?”

“Forgive me,” the elder mocked. “But my responsibility is to protect my people, not your decisions. What concerns you more? The needs of the pack or your personal interest in two females given unusual privileges, placed in coveted positions demanding trust, with one being—”

“A faille?” I threatened softly.

Mosbach seemed unaware of the peril, or perhaps he was simply too arrogant to listen, because he said, “Considering the superstitions surrounding failles, my concern is natural.”

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