Page 108 of Darkness Bound (Night Prowler 5)
What a bitch Fate turned out to be.
He opened his eyes to find the Queen staring wide-eyed at him. “Your challenge was prompted by your fondness for a woman who argued we should all be exterminated?”
Put that way, it did sound less than reasonable. “Given enough evidence that their prejudice is unfounded, people can change.”
She studied him. “True enough. And you think you changed her?”
He said gruffly, “We changed each other. She wasn’t the only one with stupid ideas.”
There was a long, weighted pause while the Queen examined his face. “When I asked you to stand down, you said that you’d never stand down to the man who hurt your woman. I’d like you to explain that. How did Alejandro hurt her? How did you grow to become so . . . protective of her?”
So Hawk told the story. He began at the very beginning and told it through to the end, leaving nothing out, including Jacqueline’s memory loss.
When he finished speaking, the Queen closed her eyes and exhaled a long, heavy breath. “So you’re in love.”
Scoffs and chuckles and gasps of horror rose from around the room. Hawk went rigid with anger. He said between clenched teeth, “I don’t care that it’s forbidden! You can give me as many lashes as you want and it won’t change my—”
“Forbidden! Oh for God’s sake, that stupid rule has caused more misery!” she interrupted, cross. She pointed at her chest. “Did you know that my mother was human? And my father was Alpha—and he was put to death for loving her?”
Everyone knew that. Her father was the most powerful Alpha ever, the Skinwalker himself. His treason was the stuff of legend. Hawk nodded.
“And did you know that I grew up on the run, hiding, hunted, until the day my father was taken away—and after that my mother drank herself to death? And after that I was alone and scared and even more miserable than before?”
Hawk opened his mouth, then shut it again. The room had become very quiet.
“And my unborn nephew is a half-Blood, like me—should I sentence him to a lifetime of running and hiding? Of eventually watching one or both of his parents die, as I did?”
“Nephew?” Hawk held very still, sure that whatever would next be spoken would have a monumental impact on them all.
With an unhappy look as if this was a secret he’d rather not share, Leander explained, “My brother, Christian. He lives in Barcelona with his wife. His human wife. They’re expecting their first child.”
Several soft gasps arose from behind Hawk. Clearly he wasn’t the only one floored by this information.
Drawing herself tall, the Queen said, “Love is never forbidden, not as long as I’m in charge. I don’t care if you’re in love with a human woman or an Ikati male or a damn goat—love is love. The Law of single species mating is hereby abolished.”
The silence that followed this statement was so profound Hawk’s heartbeat sounded like thunder in his ears.
“And another thing. This whole Alpha business of fighting to the death—that’s so dumb it gives me a migraine! Why does everything have to be life or death? Where’s the common sense? Where’s the middle ground? Here’s an idea we’ve been far too slow to adopt: democracy. From now on, these contests will be decided by a vote from all the colony members. No one will be ruled without his or her consent.”
A jolt of such shock went through Hawk that he felt as if he’d been electrocuted. Tension began to mount in the room. Men exchanged glances, there was a restless shuffling of feet. But the Queen wasn’t done yet.
“And I’m abolishing corporal punishment. What you described about the punishment tree is . . . well, it’s disgusting, honestly. We’re done with all of that.”
Amid the obvious shock this declaration caused, Leander drawled, “How do you propose we punish traitors and deserters, then, love? Shall we roast them alive instead?”
A flush of color rose in her pale cheeks. “We won’t have to,” she said quietly. “Because there won’t be any more traitors and deserters. From now on everyone is free to go.”
Into the stunned hush, LeBlanc, the Alpha from Quebec, said politely, “Excuse me, Your Highness?”
Jenna rose. She looked around the room, her gaze settling on each person in turn. In a strong, clear voice, she said, “Anyone who wants to leave this colony, can. They won’t be apprehended, or punished. There will be no retaliation for leaving, or living among humans, or breeding with them. All the old Laws designed to keep us safe and hidden have failed. We don’t need them anymore. If we’re going to survive, we need to adapt.” She paused, took a deep breath, and said, “We’re not going to hide anymore. We’re going to fight.”
“Fight?” Leander jolted to his feet, radiating tension.
Jenna turned to him. Her eyes were vivid with anger, the set of her jaw was hard. “They know we’re here, the Expurgari and Section Thirty, most likely the rest of the world. Caesar clued them in because Weymouth clued him in. I don’t know how soon they’ll strike, but I know one thing . . . I’m not running away from them. In fact, I’m in the mood to kick some serious ass.”
Hearing this, Hawk endured a moment of scalding fury, chased by a sense of loss so deep it felt bottomless. All the years, all the long centuries of hiding, all the sacrifices made in the name of safety, undone by a single weak link in the chain. By one traitor, whispering words into the ear of the enemy.
The room erupted into cries of disbelief and anger, shock prickling the air, but Hawk could only stare at the floor, dumb with hate. He was sorry now the Queen had roasted Weymouth; the need for revenge was a pulse of heat in his palms, a drumbeat in his blood.
