Page 60 of Rejected Nanny Mate
I wanted to sigh. I hadn't seen Mia in any action, but even I could see that Gwen was much weaker magically. She was learning, but Mia was far ahead of her. “You swear by the accusation? Any lie will have you exiled from my land.”
There was intense chatter from the rest of the wolves present, and the crowd moved in closer.
“I swear,” Mia said.
“Fine.” I turned to my allies. Samson stayed silent, but Kiera stepped forward. “Kiera, Luna of the Saltfangs, can you bring forth the magical signature of the last spell cast against Mia?”
Kiera nodded, her light hair shifting across her shoulders, and she stepped up next to Mia, putting her hand on her shoulder. Mia sat still as a statue, but she looked nervous for the first time since I'd walked in.
I felt an answering pang of nerves from Gwen, who was biting her lip so hard it looked painful. Kiera's hand glowed, and so did her eyes when she opened them. With the hand that wasn't touching Mia, Kiera drew a shape in the air, and after a beat, the shape glowed a pale white pink.
The color of Gwen's magic.
Mia grinned, triumphant, while Gwen looked like she had been slapped. The glow faded, and Kiera's eyes returned to their normal state. When she spoke, she sounded confused and hesitant. “It's her.”
“No,” Gwen protested, looking between me and Kiera. “That's not possible. I didn't do it!”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, even as my heart broke. I knew that she hadn't done it, but I couldn't afford to be weak right now. If I let this go, everyone would think I was favoring Gwen over Mia, and that would only cause more problems.
I turned to Mia, who was crying once more, repeating that she'd told the truth over and over. I didn't touch her, but she still looked up at me. “I will get to the bottom of this, but I need you to go back to Malcolm's for the night and stay put. Do you understand?”
She nodded, and I looked up at the rest of my pack. “Mia and Gwen are both under my protection until this is settled. Does anyone else have a problem with that?”
A few people murmured, but most stayed quiet. After a minute, I nodded. “I expect a full report on the surge sighting from you all by tomorrow. Continue patrols as usual.”
After that, everyone left. Malcolm escorted Mia to his house, while Samson, Kiera, and Gwen waited with me. Gwen had gone bone-white, even her lips pale as she sat at the table in shock. Kiera held both her hands, but she still looked confused. Then, she proved her friendship, shaking her head as an expression of surety came over her.
“I don't care what the spell showed. I know Gwen is innocent.”
Gwen remained silent. I knelt in front of her and turned her face up to me. She resisted meeting my eyes for a moment, but then finally looked at me. “Scott, Nayeli, and Rose are all at Samson's right now. Go home with them. I will settle things here and come to you. Okay?”
“You’re sending me back to my old pack.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement, and her voice was monotone.
“Just until we unravel this.”
She swallowed hard, then nodded. She stood up, and Kiera hugged her, whispering in her ear. I could see tears glinting in Gwen's eyes, and I had to turn away to keep from pulling her into my arms. It wasn't fair, but it was the way things had to be for now.
Once I was sure that she'd made it out safely, I turned to Samson and Kiera. “I need your help,” I told them.
Samson looked grim. “We'll do whatever we can.”
“You know what this means, Joe,” Kiera said quietly, “She'll be banished if she did this.”
“She didn't do it,” I said firmly, “And I need you to find out who did.”
“What about the spell?” Kiera asked. “It was definitely hers.”
“Can it be tampered with?”
“I... don’t know,” she looked doubtful, but shrugged. “Possibly. Or maybe I made a mistake. I'm not sure.”
“Just...see if you can figure it out. Don't let her leave your place. I'll be over in a few hours to get Rose.”
They both nodded, and then I was alone. I sank into the dining room chair and let my head fall into my hands, exhaling slowly. It had been a long night already, and I still had a ways to go before this was all figured out.
***
It was past 1:00 a.m. when I finally arrived at Samson's house. I'd gotten the pack settled down, and while I hadn't spoken to Mia, I'd conferred with Malcolm to make sure he kept an eye on her when he was home. While he didn't know or trust Gwen, my Beta also had his doubts about Mia after she'd lived in his house for some time. He was due to go back out on the road in a few days, but he swore to watch her closely until then.
