Sniffer Update: @newshound – Sitting ringside as the great debate begins! MacDowell versus Stillman! Room is packed! #suspensemounting

Duncan’s vain hope that Aidan would arrive in the nick of time and make some grand announcement about the hijacked blog didn’t materialize. None of the Wallaces were in the room for the debate, so maybe they were all working on the problem, including Emma. He appreciated that, but he wished they’d hurry up.

Elizabeth Stillman sat in the back of the room looking regal as always. When her gaze fell on him, he expected to feel a chill wind blowing his way, but her expression was neutral. Maybe Howard had told her that Duncan appeared to be innocent. That would be helpful.

A second lectern had been brought in so that he and Kate could each have one from which to speak. Or to hide behind, in his case, if angry Howlers started throwing things. He’d never experienced standing in front of an audience where some of the listeners were openly hostile.

He spent most of his time looking at the Woofers, who gave him smiles of encouragement. The Howlers continued to stare at him as if he were the spawn of Satan and would sprout horns at any minute.

At least Neil, the moderator for the debate, liked him. Or, more accurately, Neil fawned on him. Duncan was willing to accept fawning as opposed to outright hate.

Neil had managed to find a small lapel mike with a battery pack attached, so he wasn’t tied to any certain spot. As the crowd settled, he paced in front of the audience making cute little jokes with those in the front row, which included Angela Sapworthy tapping away on her netbook.

No doubt Angela was sending those jokes out on Sniffer. Because Neil’s mike was on, his comments and knowing chuckles also were broadcast throughout the room, whether the audience cared to hear them or not.

He preened and strutted like a cock of the walk. After Duncan had that negative thought, he chastised himself for it. Neil was an ally, but bloody hell, the Were had a narcissistic streak a mile wide.

At last Neil paused dramatically and intoned in a deep voice, “It is time.”

Duncan couldn’t stop himself from looking over at Kate, and he discovered she was looking back. He could read her expression perfectly, and he was sure she could read his. For one sparkling moment they were in complete agreement once again—Neil was a first-class jackass. Then Kate glanced away, ending the brief flash of mutual disgust with Neil.

“Throughout the weekend we’ve gathered questions from the delegates,” Neil said. “We’ll get to as many as we have time for. I’ll alternate between the debaters, allowing Kate to answer first and then have Duncan rebut, and switch around the next time. I’ll be timing your answers.” He held up a stopwatch.

“Before we begin asking the questions,” Neil continued, “our president has suggested that we give Kate and Duncan each two minutes for an opening statement, to set the stage, as it were. I’ll toss a coin to see who goes first. Heads it’s Duncan, tails it’s Kate.” He tossed a quarter in the air and caught it behind his back. “Heads! Give it up for the King of the Woofers!”

Duncan winced. He’d hoped that title had died on Saturday morning, but no such luck. His supporters gave him a rousing welcome interspersed with woof, woof, woof. He gazed at his cheering followers and wondered if one of them, or more than one, had conspired to hijack his blog today.

Neil held up his stopwatch. “Two minutes, Duncan. And…go!”

Duncan hadn’t prepared an opening speech, but he knew what he wanted to say. “Earlier today many of you saw a blog post with an inappropriate picture in it. I want to take this opportunity to tell you I had nothing to do with that post or the blatantly fake picture. Whoever hijacked my blog, whether you did it because you support me or because you don’t, I am sadly disappointed that you chose to do so. You’ve distressed me, and you’ve greatly distressed my worthy opponent.”

When he fell silent, Neil turned to him. “That’s it? You have time left.”

“That’s it.”

Neil shrugged. “Then next up is Kate. You have two minutes, Kate. And…go!”

She cleared her throat. “Duncan would have you believe that he’s innocent in this business of the blog post, but I have good reason to believe that he’s not.”

Duncan knew he shouldn’t look at her while she tore him to shreds, but it was like watching a train wreck. He couldn’t turn away. She gripped the lectern so hard her knuckles and the tips of her fingers were white. He remembered kissing those sweet fingers, and regret burned in him like lava.

Her voice rang out, clear despite the way she was trembling. “On Friday night, when Duncan and I were snowbound, we had a conversation about television shows, and I told him of my fondness for The Force and my silly crush on the lead actor. It’s no coincidence that actor was chosen for the Photoshopped picture of me.”

Angry murmurings rose from the purple-shirted bloc.

“That alone might be enough to incriminate him, but in addition, on Saturday night while we worked on the mission statement, I confided my concerns about my sister Penny. He may have known something about her situation before, because it’s no big secret, but he got all the details last night. He used the information I trustingly gave him to create that abomination of a blog post. That’s all I have to say. Bring on the debate.”

The discontent from the Howlers grew louder. Duncan began to appreciate how someone might feel facing a lynch mob. If this Howler group thought they could get away with it, they’d find a rope and a tall tree. He thought about his brother Colin and how much he would hate having the family name covered in mud.

Then he forced himself to settle down. He was innocent, and eventually he’d clear himself of suspicion, somehow, and all would be well. He had to believe that. His entire reputation and that of the MacDowells would not be ruined because of one crazy hacker.

“All righty, then.” Neil consulted a stack of index cards in his hand. “First question, which goes to Kate because Duncan won the right to the first opening statement. Here we go: If Brad Pitt were the last male on the planet, either Were or human, would you mate with him? Why or why not? And don’t worry, Duncan. The question is altered for you. We’re not going to ask you whether you’d have sex with Brad Pitt.”

It was a question designed to break the ice, and a ripple of laughter eased the tension before all delegates focused on Kate.

“Of course I would mate with him,” Kate said. “You’re talking about the future of both Weres and humans. In that case, there is no choice. But ask me if I’d choose Brad Pitt, who is gorgeous, over an old, somewhat mangy Were who is not, and I’d choose the Were every time. Our kind needs to band together, and that includes mating.”

The Howlers cheered and howled their approval.

Neil turned to Duncan. “Substitute Angelina Jolie in that question and give me your answer.”

“I doubt there’s a male alive, Were or human, who hasn’t at some point fantasized about having sex with Angelina Jolie. And if she’s the only female, then, as Kate said, the future of our species, as well as humans is at stake. We have to help each other repopulate the world. Which is an interesting thought, because we’d be doing so in partnership with humans. What a different world that would be.”

“But not better!” called out a Howler.

“How do you know?” responded a Woofer.

That challenge was answered by shouted insults from the Howlers and corresponding jeers from the Woofers. Neil tried to quiet them, but he didn’t have the kind of personality that could handle a rowdy group.

Duncan finally decided he’d had enough of the chaos. It was really Neil’s job to control it, so Duncan decided he’d have to take over Neil’s job for a moment. Stepping out from behind the lectern, he closed the distance separating them.

Neil’s eyes widened as Duncan reached over and unclipped the mike from Neil’s lapel. It was still attached to the battery pack so he and Neil were linked together, but that couldn’t be helped.

“Silence!” Duncan’s command, delivered with his strong Scottish brogue, sounded like the battle cry of a warrior. Even Neil jerked in surprise.

And silence descended on the group.

“Now.” Duncan pitched his voice low on purpose. “Kate Stillman has labored for months, along with her grandmother Elizabeth Stillman, to plan this historic meeting of Weres from around the world. You would think that we would all be grateful to be here and would want to take full advantage of the opportunity. You would think that we would refrain from wasting our valuable time in Colorado by squabbling like children. However…” He surveyed the audience.

Neil cleared his throat and leaned over to speak into the mike Duncan still held in his hand. “Let’s try it again, shall we?”

That suggestion was greeted with a smattering of applause.

With one last survey of the group, Duncan gave Neil his small mike and returned to the lectern. Not long ago he’d been nervous about the possibility of mob rule, but something had shifted in him, and now he’d be damned if he’d let that crowd run the show. Kate had put her heart and soul into this event, and she deserved to have it turn out better than the circus it had become.

“Next question,” Neil said. “And this one goes first to Duncan. Although Were-human mating is not common, it has taken place. Half-bloods are among us. If they mate with Weres, they still have a fifty-percent or better chance of producing Were children. If they mate with a human, that percentage goes down. Logically, isn’t it possible that, with interbreeding, the Were strain could eventually die out?”

“Yes, I suppose it’s possible.” Duncan knew that wouldn’t be a popular answer with his Woofers. “That’s where our mission statement comes in. And to be honest, that’s where dating sites like Furevermore can help. We do need Weres to mate with other Weres, provided it’s a love match. We can encourage that, but please, let’s not forbid Weres to marry the humans they’ve fallen in love with.”

Neil nodded and turned to Kate. “Your rebuttal?”

“I think Duncan has made my point for me. There are far more humans in the world than Weres. The more we accept Weres mating with humans, the more it will happen and the more half-bloods will be born, then quarter-bloods, and so on. It may take hundreds of years, but eventually, the Were strain will die out and we will have lost…everything.”

“But what about Weres like your sister Penny?” Neil asked. “Would you deny her the love of her life?”

Kate flushed and lifted her chin. “Was that question on your cards, Neil?”

“As the moderator I have the privilege of inserting questions of my own, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to do so.”

Duncan’s fist clenched. He longed to plant it right in the middle of Neil’s smug smile. The bastard had planned the order of the questions precisely so he could put Kate on the spot.

Kate straightened her shoulders and looked Neil in the eye. “If my sister had never met Tom Rivers, she might have mated with a Were instead. The more we encourage Weres to become intimately involved with humans, the more likely these conflicts will arise. Why not encourage Were-Were mating, instead? The Were population still provides plenty of mates to choose from, but if we continue to mate with humans, that will change.”

Neil paced in front of the audience, grandstanding, as usual. “With all due respect, Kate, you haven’t answered the question. Would you deny your sister the love of her life?”

Kate took a deep breath. “I don’t believe in that concept.”

Duncan blinked in astonishment. Truly, she did not? He went back over their brief conversation about it. She’d said that she liked him for believing that lovers were destined for each other, but she hadn’t mentioned her opposite view on the subject. It made sense if she was determined to stamp out Were-human mating. She couldn’t let a silly thing like destiny interfere with that campaign.

“I thought you might say that,” Neil said. “In the interests of hearing the whole story, I’ve asked Penny to speak on the subject.”

“No!” Kate went white. Then she whirled toward Duncan, her blue eyes blazing. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

“No, lass, I did not.” His heart ached for her.

“I don’t believe you. I think you and Neil cooked this up as a stunt to win the debate for the Woofers.”

“No, he didn’t, Kate.” A tall, striking blonde with shoulder-length hair walked down the center aisle toward them. She wore a black jersey dress, four-inch black heels, and simple gold jewelry. “I only spoke with Neil.”

Duncan could easily see why Penelope Stillman had been the first choice to take over from Elizabeth. She carried herself like a leader, and intelligence gleamed in her hazel eyes. Kate would make a fine pack alpha, but another ten years of seasoning would give her the kind of confidence Penny had now.

“Oh, Penny.” Kate’s voice shook as she came out from behind the lectern and went to her sister. “It’s so good to see you.”

Penny opened her arms and the two sisters exchanged a fierce hug. Anyone watching would know they hadn’t been together in a long time, and, despite their differences, they were devoted to each other.

Duncan was so engrossed in the reunion that he didn’t immediately notice that Angela Sapworthy had motioned her camera crew over so they could film the whole thing. He could interfere, but that might create more problems than it would solve.

As Kate and Penny drew apart, each of them wiping their eyes, Neil moved in. “I believe you wanted to add something to this discussion, Penny.”

“I do want to add something.” She glanced over at Duncan. “But first I want to denounce that Were.” She pointed an accusing finger in his direction. “His unscrupulous behavior dishonors all of us. My sister would never go against her principles. I don’t agree with them, but I’ve never once questioned her loyalty to her beliefs.”

“Nor have I,” Duncan said quietly. He doubted it mattered what he said, but he refused to stand there mutely, as if he’d done something wrong. Where the bloody hell were the Wallaces?

Penny turned to Kate. “Mind if I borrow your spot for a few minutes?”

Kate shook her head, her eyes still teary.

Duncan longed to walk over and gather Kate into his arms. She looked utterly destroyed by this surprise visit. After hearing of her fear for her sister, Duncan could only imagine what was going through Kate’s mind. He doubted she was worried about losing the debate. She was probably far more worried about the danger Penny had placed herself in by coming here.

She would have had to make up some story to tell her mate Tom and their children, some really good excuse for why she’d gone to the lodge. He wondered how many of those lies had piled up over the years, and what it had done to their relationship. Maybe he was about to find out.

Penny took her place behind the lectern and adjusted the mike because she was taller than Kate. “I’m glad to see that this conference is so well attended and I congratulate my grandmother and my sister on a successful event.”

Everyone could applaud that uncontroversial statement.

“You are dealing with some tough questions, and although I have to be very careful how often I check the news in the Were world, as you can imagine, I’ve followed this growing debate as much as I dared. I have a huge investment in the outcome.”

Woofers gazed on her as if she were an angel from heaven, while the Howlers remained openly suspicious.

“As some of you may know, when I married Tom—excuse me for using human terminology, but I’ve grown used to it—I made the decision not to reveal my nature, which would force him to keep the secret from his family and friends.” She gazed around the room. “In my mind, it was that or give him up.”

Then she looked over at Kate. “Begging your pardon, little sister, but you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about when you say there’s no such thing as one true love. Tom is mine, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find yours. I hope for your sake he’s Were.”

Kate said nothing but her jaw tightened. Duncan also hoped her one true love would be Were, because he couldn’t imagine the conflict in her heart and soul if he happened to be a human. It could tear her apart, and he couldn’t bear the thought of that.

“I will say, though,” Penny continued, “that having this lie between Tom and me gives me great pain. Many times I’ve been on the brink of confessing everything, but then I realize that would be selfish. I’d only transfer the burden from me to him. But I would love to think that someday I’ll be able to tell him the truth because Weres and humans will have come to accept each other. I pray for that day. Thank you.”

The Woofers, cheered, woofed, and stomped their feet as she made her way back to Kate. They exchanged another tight hug, and then Penny walked back down the center aisle. She paused to embrace her grandmother before leaving the ballroom.

The Howlers sat there as if they’d all been shot with a stun gun. For that matter, Kate didn’t look much better. As she took a deep breath, her body quaked in reaction. Duncan decided enough was enough. She could barely stand, and he couldn’t in good conscience continue this debate.

He no longer cared whether he was following protocol or Neil’s schedule as he spoke into his microphone. “I don’t care if you’re a Howler, a Woofer, or someone who’s in between—you have to be touched by Penny’s story. To me, it illustrates the complexity of this issue and the problems Weres face, especially female Weres, when they choose to mate with a human. Forget the slogans and the sound bytes. We need to go back to the drawing board and brainstorm real-life solutions, not just concepts that sound good on a blog or in a book.”

Kate walked back to her lectern and spoke into her mike. “Does that mean you’re conceding this debate?”

She was one plucky lass, all right.

“You can’t concede,” Neil said. “From my perspective, Penny’s touching story put you way ahead of Kate.”

Duncan shook his head. “No, it did not. That’s what I just tried to say. This issue is not as simple as I’ve made it sound, or as simple as Kate’s made it sound, for that matter. Let’s lay down our weapons and just talk to each other.”

“But…but we still have time left.” Neil waved his stack of index cards. “We still have questions. I’m sure everyone would like Kate to respond to her sister’s heartfelt plea for openness and sharing. I’m sure—”

“I concede.” Duncan turned to her. “I concede because I have nothing more to say until I’ve considered the matter more thoroughly. The debate victory is yours, milady.” He hadn’t meant to add that last endearment, but she tugged at his heart as she struggled to cover her vulnerability with righteous indignation.

Her blue gaze challenged his. “You’re not deliberately taking a fall, are you?”

He lied with a clear conscience. “No.”

“Because if you think that surrendering in this debate will make up for that blog, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“I know it won’t.” He was afraid nothing would. She might listen to the Wallaces if they came up with proof that he wasn’t guilty. But once Kate got an idea into her head, she didn’t let go easily. It was one of her best traits, but also one of her worst.

“Then I accept your concession,” Kate said. “Any Howlers who care to come are invited up to my suite for a victory celebration.” She gathered up her notes and started down the aisle trailed by Heidi and a group of Weres in purple shirts.

Elizabeth stood. At first Duncan thought she might go with Kate, but instead she walked up the side of the room toward the front row and took a seat. A few other delegates left, but most of the Woofers stayed in the room. Duncan didn’t have a suite to invite them to, so he was about to suggest buying a round of drinks in the bar.

Before he did that, the Wallace contingent arrived through a door at the front of the room, the same one where Duncan had intercepted Kate earlier when he’d hoped to have her listen to his story. Howard led his two sons, Aidan and Roarke, and their mates, Emma and Abby, inside.

The cavalry had arrived, but they were too late, at least for this round. Kate and her followers were on their way upstairs, and he wasn’t going to chase them down, especially when he didn’t know what Howard had to say. He and Aidan might have found nothing at all.

Elizabeth came to join the group at the front of the room, too. “What’s going on, Howard?” she said. “Looks like you have the whole family here.” She smiled at Roarke and Abby. “Good to see you two. I’ve been so busy we’ve barely talked.”

Abby smiled back. “No worries. We’ve been well taken care of.”

Howard gestured to Aidan. “My son did most of the work on this, but we all did some digging, background checks, internet searches, anything we thought would help. As you can imagine, this issue is dear to our hearts, and we didn’t like the ugliness that developed today.”

Aidan stepped forward. “First of all, Duncan, your blog site is ridiculously easy to hack. I could have put up anything I wanted in a matter of seconds. You need to fix that, and I’ll give you some suggestions about it later.”

“Thanks.” Duncan wished to hell Kate could be here for this, but surely she’d get the information eventually.

“Anyway, the short answer is yes, someone hijacked your site and posted that unauthorized blog. With a little more time, I should be able to identify the hacker or hackers, depending on how well they covered their tracks.”

“I’d be very interested to know that information,” Duncan said.

“I’d say it’s likely to be one or more of the Howlers,” Neil said.

Duncan himself had suspected Jake, but something in Neil’s attitude made him study the blond Were more closely. “Why would you think that?”

“Makes sense. Howard was elected president and the mission statement leaves plenty of room for the Woofer agenda. The pendulum’s swinging that way. I even wondered if my cousin might have done it.”

Duncan’s instincts sharpened. “You think Kate would post up a picture of herself in bed with a human?” That was so far removed from the Kate he knew as to be laughable. Yet Neil was offering the possibility with a straight face.

“Why not? She looks like an innocent victim and you look like a jerk. Great for her, lousy for you.”

Except that Duncan knew that Kate didn’t play the game that way. She wasn’t a double-dealer. Neil was, though. He wouldn’t trust Neil further than he could throw him, which wouldn’t be far because the guy was packed with muscle.

Then everything clicked into place, and he felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. Neil, who wanted to steal the pack alpha position from Kate, would do whatever it took to rattle her this weekend and make her look bad. Neil surely knew about her favorite TV actor. And he had all the information on Penny, too.

“It was you, wasn’t it? Or you and some tech-savvy delegates because I doubt you have the brains to pull off something like that without help.” Rage began to bubble deep in his gut.

Neil gave him a wary look. “That’s ridiculous. Of course it wasn’t me.”

“That’s a strong accusation, Duncan,” Howard said. “You might want to retract it until Aidan does some more sleuthing.”

“I don’t care to retract it.” Duncan held Neil’s gaze and could see guilt lurking there. “I know who it was sure as I’m a Scotsman.” The rage filled his chest now, demanding release. He swore he could hear the pipes playing.

Neil sneered. “You don’t know a damned thing, MacDowell. You’re bluffing.”

“Nay, I’m not bluffing. And to prove it, I challenge you to settle this the traditional way, as Weres.”

Elizabeth sucked in a breath. “Let’s not be hasty.”

“She’s right, MacDowell. Don’t be hasty. You’d have no chance against me. I outweigh you, and I can outfight you.”

He was probably right. Duncan was a lover, not a fighter, and he could well get beaten to a pulp. But the blood of brave highlanders ran hot in his veins. By all that was holy, he would be Kate’s champion and defend her honor. Whether she wanted him to or not.

He faced Neil and imagined all those ancestors standing behind him, urging him on. “Meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”