Page 65 of Crave

“What evidence do they have?” I stepped forward and lowered my voice. “If I admit guilt, what would happen?”

“You’d be forced to leave, and I’d be forced to petition the Convocation for grievances, all that bullshit.” He shook his head. “Don’t hastily throw away the possibilities of your future. Susannah didn’t kill Wilkie, so they have no proof.”

“What do they have then?”

“Errol.”

I stumbled back, shocked. Why would the Beta we set free give evidence that Susannah killed Wilkie? He’d been there. He knew full well who’d ripped out Wilkie’s heart. It didn’t make sense.

Sensing my confusion, he shrugged. “Look, I don’t understand either, but we’ll let this all play out, and then if we have to, we’ll take more drastic action. I think Gwenda is grasping at straws, and I want to know why. There's something more going on here, other than loyalty to an Alpha who had no loyalties himself. I want to know what it is.”

Quinn’s mother, Gwenda, was number one on my fucking hit list.

“All the while, my girlfriend rots inside a prison cell.”

Courtland’s nostrils flared, like his patience was waning. Fuck his patience. “I promise she’s not uncomfortable, Tanner. As soon as I found out about all this bullshit, I had either Dominic or a trusted Legion soldier in there at all times. The Shiny Rock Cafe is taking her three hot meals a day, and we’ve given her so much Omega-approved bedding that she’ll be able to turn the whole place into a nest.” His eyes softened. “Man, do you think Bonnie, of all people, would let me get away with making that cell anything but a hundred percent comfortable for your Omega? It’s basically a waterfall shower head away from being a resort hotel room.” I huffed, and he stood, coming around the desk.

“It’ll be all done soon. Radic has reported that there are some ill feelings among the population regarding Wilkie’s whereabouts, and suspicion about Merrick and Murphy ostensibly swooping in to steal his Omegas. We both know how wrong that is, but maybe it’ll be beneficial to the future of your Pack for all this shit to be aired out.”

He was probably right. You’d have to be blind not to see the way the town looked at them. It would only get worse when they realized Jericho and I were a part of their budding Pack.

And Bowie. Fuck, how was I going to explain Bowie?

“Uh, so if Dominic is guarding Susannah, tell him not to worry if it appears like she’s talking to herself. She isn’t losing it.”

Courtland cocked his head to the side. “The Legion guards have reported she was talking to someone. We assumed it was one of you outside the cell window keeping her company, so we didn’t interfere.”

Well, it kind of was, I guess. But they weren’t outside.

“Uh, kinda. Hey, did you ever see that movie from the nineties with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, and they did that thing with the pottery wheel?”

“What?”

I shook my head. One problem at a time. “Never mind, I’ll explain after all this shit is over.” I was exhausted. I needed to feed, and hug Susannah, and tear and rend anyone who was trying to hurt her. But tearing and rending was what had gotten us into this situation in the first place. “I’m heading back to the clinic. If you come to any decisions—”

“You’ll be the first to know. Or Merrick and Murphy. They’ve been on my ass as much as you have. Trust me, I want this whole circus over with as fast as possible too.”

I believed him, but I still wasn’t going to make it easy. I grunted goodbye and left the temporary Legion building. There was a bite in the air, autumn hitting us hard and fast, though I didn’t really feel it. My core body temperature was much lower than the Manix who were donning long sleeves and sweaters.

Angry words drifted just inside my range of hearing, and I stopped on the sidewalk, not apologizing to the people who had to walk around me.

“Why are you fucking doing this? Why can’t you just let me be happy?”

I knew that voice, knew that pain. Quinn.

“You forget yourself, boy,” a barbed voice responded, and I found myself moving toward the conversation.

“It’s over. Wilkie is gone, and it had nothing to do with Susannah! I’m mated. I’ve found my own Alphas. You need to fuckingstop.” He hissed in pain, and that was all I needed to start running.

I was between two small buildings before whoever hurt Quinn could take another breath. Still, I stopped just out of sight, waiting. His parents were with him, and they had him backed up against the wall. Quinn was staring pure hatred at them.

His father, a Beta, stepped forward. “Weak. How could you keep being an Omega from us? The money we could have gotten for you if we’d known. Maybe we could have given you to a Pack that wasn’t Wilkie’s, but you were too selfish to think of anyone but yourself.” He spat the words like acid.

I knew Quinn’s parents had promised him to Wilkie, but I had no idea it was for money. Like Quinn, I’d always thought it was for influence and power. Quinn looked like he’d been slapped. “You sold me like a prized horse?”

His mother curled her lip, baring her teeth. “Probably could have gotten better money for a horse. The whole family could have been rich if you hadn’t hidden your Omega status, but that's the way you’ve always been. So hung up on everything that Beta bitch said, and I have no doubt it was her fucking idea to run when you were a teenager, and hide your designation from your Alpha. Hell, I bet she’s the reason you remained unbonded too,” she snarled. “I can see the truth on your face. Well, guess what? Your little girlfriend is going to fucking rot in prison, if she isn’t executed. The Manix believe in an eye for an eye, boy, and you bet I’m going to fucking make sure that I get an Omega for an Omega.”

“Fuck you!” Quinn shouted, and his father lifted his hand again.

---