They showed up at the Council meeting hall at a quarter till noon. Elain spotted the three jaguar brothers seated in the shadows in the far corner of the meeting hall.
Ain leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Remember, stay calm. If this goes against us, just follow Daniel’s lead.”
She nervously nodded.
Ain looked around. “I don’t see any sign of fuckwad.”
Mai nodded from inside the comfort of Micah’s arm around her shoulder. “I don’t see Paul anywhere, either.”
Daniel was already on the dais with Jock and the Council members. He walked down to meet them and shook Ain’s and Micah’s hands. “You guys ready?”
“Yeah,” Ain said. He tipped his head toward the jaguars. “Are they?”
Daniel grinned and lowered his voice. “Oh, they’re chomping at the bit and no sign of Abernathy yet.” He glanced at his watch. “They have exactly eleven minutes to get here before I declare both challenges invalid and we’re all off the hook.”
“Can we get that lucky?” Ain asked.
“Fuck,” Micah grumbled, tapping him on the shoulder. “I don’t think so.” He pointed at the window where a large, black limo had just pulled into the parking lot.
“Shit,” Ain said.
“Yeah. We need to get this dog and pony show on the road,” Daniel said.
Rodolfo and his entourage entered the Council hall to a low chorus of grumbling growls. It was obvious to Elain that the men had no friends in that room unless he brought them with him.
Daniel took his place on the dais at noon and banged his gavel. “Quiet, please. As you all know, I’ve been appointed the new head of our Clan Council by unanimous vote of the other Council members. As such, we’re here today to hear the challenge of Rodolfo Abernathy.”
Rodolfo didn’t even get out of his wheelchair. “Thank you for allowing me to speak. This business won’t take long. I’m simply looking for a return of what rightfully belongs to me.”
Voices around the chamber booed and hissed and growled, drowning him out. Abernathy tried to speak over the voices, but they soon shouted him down until the meeting chamber was in an uproar.
Daniel grabbed the gavel and banged it on the dais until the voices lowered to a disconcerted rumble. “Enough!” he yelled. “Quiet!”
When he finally had everyone’s attention, he pointed at Rodolfo Abernathy. “You wanted to speak, so speak.”
As Abernathy looked out over the gathered assembly, his wizened visage didn’t fool Elain in the slightest. He might be an old wolf, but she suspected he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
Mai leaned in close. “I don’t like him,” she nervously whispered.
“Neither do I,” Elain muttered back, draping an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”
I hope.
“I’ve come here today,” Abernathy said, “to stake two claims and declare two challenges. The first is that we have a blood oath which must be honored. Elain Pardie, as the first female born to an Alpha male from Ysimel’s line, was supposed to be turned over to our Clan when she came of age. This is according to the terms of the blood oath.”
Then the old wolf looked their way. Elain felt Mai shiver next to her. Micah and Jim put their hands on Mai’s shoulders to reassure her, while Elain grabbed her hand and squeezed.
“The second challenge,” Abernathy said, “is to Mai Gallatin. She is the mate of my great-grandson and pregnant with his pup. By your very own Code of the Ancients, she must be returned.”
“Bullshit!” Micah shouted. “She wasn’t mated or marked!” The room erupted in supportive growls.
“She carries his pup!” Rodolfo shot back.
“Silence!” Daniel roared. The room settled.
“As for your second claim,” Daniel said, “I declare it invalid because Mai already has not one, but two mates. She was unmarked when they mated and marked her. You have no proof she’s carrying your grandson’s pup. Under the Code of the Ancients, it only states a wolf cannot take the mate of another. Your grandson was trying to kill her. She’d left him and severed their relationship. She wasn’t marked as his mate. Therefore, she was fairly and justly claimed by Micah Donovan, making the pup, by default, her mates’ pup. I declare her, and her unborn child, a full-fledged member of their pack and this Clan.”
Rodolfo Abernathy hauled himself out of his wheelchair. “That pup is mine!”
Micah and Jim both jumped to their feet. “This child is ours!” Micah growled back. “And I’ll rip out the throat of anyone, man or wolf, who dares try to come near our mate or our pup without our permission!”
“Settle down!” Daniel yelled once again. “The matter is closed, Abernathy. Your second challenge is categorically denied.”
“I want that pup!” Abernathy screamed.
Mai stood, her hands protectively over her belly. “You’ll rot in hell before I let you get a single hand on my baby!” An answering chorus of supportive growls backed her up.
“My grandson deserves the right to have his pup!” Abernathy screamed. He pointed at a young man sitting off to one side and surrounded by several of Abernathy’s flunkies. From the look on his face, he didn’t want anything to do with any of the proceedings and was there only to satisfy his grandfather.
“Your grandson told me,” Mai shouted, “that you didn’t want your line ‘muddied’ by a coyote!”
Abernathy’s eyes gleamed. “So, you do admit it’s his pup, you damn slut?”
Daniel pointed his gavel at Abernathy. “Shut your fucking pie hole right now, old man,” he ordered. “I already told you, the matter is closed. Mai is the mate of Micah Donovan and Jim Dixon. The baby is theirs by default. Mai is an orphan, and she and her baby are declared members of and under the protection of this Clan through her mating bond. End of subject.”
Elain caught a glimpse of Jocko out of the corner of the eye. He was attempting to mask what suspiciously sounded like laughter through the sound of coughing.
“So what about my first claim, eh?” Abernathy asked, facing Daniel. “You know of the blood oath. Your Clan swore to uphold blood oaths between our Clans.”
Liam stepped forward. “I am Elain’s father. My mate, Elain’s mother, never agreed to the blood oath.”
Elain didn’t like the look of reluctant acceptance on Daniel’s face. “But you,” Daniel said, “did know of it and failed to inform her?”
“She was not informed of it when we mated, no. She claimed me as her mate. She was an Alpha. It wasn’t until after the fact that I told her. She died not long after Elain was born.”
Elain wanted to nip this shit in the bud. She spoke up. “Daniel, if you were to rule against us, what would happen?”
“If?” Abernathy cackled.
“Shut up, you,” Daniel growled at Abernathy. He looked at Elain apologetically. She sensed he wished she’d stick to the plan, but she wasn’t about to roll over and tap out. “They do have a right to ask for a challenge if you won’t go willingly.”
“Challenge?”
“To fight for you.”
“Who would fight for me?” Elain asked.
Daniel shrugged. “They have a right to pick their champion to fight one of your mates.”
“Why does it have to be my mates?” Elain asked.
Ain grumbled in a low, warning tone behind her. “Elain.”
She ignored him. “I’m serious,” she said to Daniel.
Abernathy smiled a predatory gleam. His ego was obviously his weak spot. “My grandson, Paul, is our champion. He will fight for the right to take you as his mate.”
Elain glanced at the guy. Then she grinned. “I accept your challenge.”
Daniel, her men, Liam, Carla, Micah, Mai, and Jim all yelled, “What?”