Page 107 of Her Knotty Alphas

"I'm a hairdresser," my voice wavers slightly, "at Designation Hair Salon."

"And Ms. Beckham, can you please tell us how much you make a month?"

"Objection!" Brody calls out, raising his hand. "Relevance, Your Honor?"

"It is relevant, Your Honor," Niles says, looking smug.

"Overruled. Please answer the question, Ms. Beckham." Judge Doyle gives me a nod.

"Around thirty five hundred a month I suppose."

Niles wastes no time with his next question. "How much does a heat clinic visit cost?"

I frown. "It depends on where you go, how long your stay is, what amenities you select—"

"To the best of your knowledge, please."

"I don't know, anywhere from a couple hundred to a thousand dollars." I shrug.

"And Ms. Beckham, how many heats have you had at a Heat Clinic since you presented?" They're pulling thisagain? I feel flickers of my alpha's frustration through the bond. It can't be easy for them to watch this either.

"Objection!" Brody cuts in again. "Your Honor, under the Omega Privacy Act, Ms. Beckham is protected from having to disclose any details regarding her heats."

"Please be mindful of the OPA in your questions, Mr. Herman," Judge Doyle chastises. "The objection is sustained."

"Withdrawn," Niles says, raising his hands in mock surrender. "So let's just, hypothetically, say that there's an omega who iscurrently around the age of twenty-nine. Let's say she presented at eighteen, and has had four heats a year on average since presenting. That's around forty heats, isn't it? Then if we take an average of five hundred dollars a visit. So it's reasonable to assume that an omega could spend around twenty thousand dollars over a period of ten-ish years, is it not?"

"Objection, relevance!" Brody sounds as exasperated as I feel.

"Mr. Herman, we can do math. Proceed under the assumption it's reasonable, and please get to the point." Judge Doyle snaps.

"Ms. Beckham, did you manipulate your step-grandmother into changing her will because you'd been rejected by so many packs you had no choice but to spend thousands of dollars a year on heat clinic visits?"

My jaw drops in outrage and I feel in the bond the moment Austin's control snaps, his usually pale complexion red with anger as he shoots up from his seat. "Now wait just a godsdamn minute here! Ain't nobody gets to talk to my omega like that!"

Enzo turns immediately and starts whispering to him, but it's too late. The judge scowls as Austin. "Young man, there will be no more disruptions in this court. The fact is, your omega is going to be under scrutiny for the remainder of this trial. If you can't handle that, you need to leave. Do I make myself clear?"

Austin looks properly chastised, and shoots me an apologetic look. It's strange to see my sweet alpha so riled up, even if it is on my behalf. I reach out in the bond and assure him I'm okay.

"Yes sir. I apologize," Austin says quietly, and Brody jumps in.

"It was a compound question though, Your Honor,andit alluded to her heats."

"Sustained. Rephrase please, Mr. Herman. Do not include any reference to Ms. Beckham's heats or her courting packs. There is no relevance."

Niles sighs. "Ms. Beckham, did you and your step-grandmother ever talk about her estate?"

"Never," I answer quickly.

"Please remember that you're under oath, Ms. Beckham."

"I couldn't forget," I snap, my fist clenching.

"So you had no idea how much money was going to be passed off when she died?"

"No." I grit my teeth.

"Do you think it's a coincidence that she changed her will less than five years after you came to live with her?"

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