Page 81 of Strays
The air is thick with pheromones from the three of us. We’re all on edge. After being treated fairly in the first IA interview, everything feels unpredictable.
But when Spilgen starts speaking, his report of the incident is clean. No spin, just facts. The questions don’t feel like traps. It all feels... fair. Like how it would be if we were human officers. When they finish questioning us, we wait for the catch.
The Captain clears his throat. “Internal Affairs will finalize their paperwork,” he says. “Pending no criminal charges, this board is recommending no further action. You’re cleared for full duty, effective immediately.”
It was easy, and fair, and strange, and it should feel like a win. I know that this moment matters. That something big has shifted. That here, our place among humans is different from what it was everywhere else. But I can’t feel any of it. I can’t access relief or even surprise. All I feel is the cold weight of our bond with Jo.
The next morning, when I text her, she’s not in Portland anymore.
Idaho City now. Everything is fine. You?
I say we’re fine too. But I have no idea what she’s doing there. I know she was born in Idaho, but in Boise. She had never mentioned Idaho City before.
I want to ask, but I know I shouldn’t, so I don’t.
But Jay does. He slips his phone into his pocket and looks at me and Shane. “She tracked down her grandparents. She wanted to meet them.”
I’m glad she found them, and I really hope it works out for her with her family. Since they’re gregalis, maybe they’ll accept her in a way her adoptive human family never could.
We keep going with our routine.
The next day, Sergeant Wilsbone finds us. It’s the start of the shift, but we’ve been here for more than two hours already. “I need all three of you in the Captain’s office.”
We follow him without a word.
Spilgen sits behind his desk, arms folded. A Legal Affairs rep is already seated beside him, tablet open.
“You’ve been formally named in a civilian complaint,” Spilgen says. “Luc Knolson filed through his attorney. The DA is pressing assault charges against your pack.”
My chest tightens.
“The department will provide legal support,” he adds. “You’ll need to meet with counsel this week.”
Jay doesn’t flinch, but Shane grips the edge of his chair. “So we’re looking at a trial?” he asks.
Spilgen nods. “Most likely.”
I don’t think any pack in history has faced criminal charges for laying hands on a human and not been condemned. But even though we’re doomed, gratitude creeps into my chest. I never thought a department would back an aegis unit. Balls would’ve let us rot, but Fontes backed us from the start. The sergeant said on record that Jay’s actions were justified. And now the captain says we’ll get legal support.
I meet his eyes. “Thank you.”
On Thursday, we meet our legal counsel. A clerk leads us down a quiet hallway in the admin wing and pushes open the last door on the left.
A man in a gray suit glances up from a stack of files and stands to greet us. “I’m Joe Kettering,” he says, offering a handshake. “Please sit.”
There are three chairs in front of his desk. We sit.
“The DA has accepted the complaint against you and moved forward with formal charges,” he says. “Because you’re a pack, the review includes all of you: joint responsibility.”
“You’re being processed,” he continues. “This is pre-arraignment. We’ll review the evidence packet, submit a formal defense statement, and decide whether to seek dismissal, deferment, or a plea.”
We nod. We’ve been cops for six years; we know how this works.
He opens a leather folder and slides over a stapled copy. “This is the complainant’s initial report, Luc Knolson. The narrative reads: ‘Struck by an off-duty officer without provocation. Feared for his safety. Lost consciousness. Hospitalized.’ No mention of threats. No mention of intoxication.”
Jay’s hands curl into fists.
“We know you have witnesses,” Kettering says. “Officer Fontes already gave a statement. So did the ER nurse, who documented BAC and the tox screen. That evidence is probably what kept the DA from pushing felony assault; they’re charging you with misdemeanor instead. That works in your favor.”
