“Come on,” a guard said outside her cell.
She stood and walked to the door. After taking a deep breath, she nodded and he opened the door. They walked in silence down a long hallway in the bowels of the stronghold. “Are the others coming too?” she asked him.
The guard nodded. “We just didn't want you being in the hallway together. In case they tried to attack you.”
“Good plan,” she muttered, glad they had the foresight to do so.
After a few turns, they came to a pair of light tan wooden doors. He pushed one open and whispered, “Good luck.”
Unfortunately, she had a feeling that she would need luck.
All of the councilors were in attendance. Tara looked at each of them, but her entire body froze when she met Alex's eyes. Alex was a councilor!
“Tara,” one of the councilors said, “please stand over here.”
She turned away from Alex and went to the spot the councilor indicated. The doors opened and Sam and Paul were led in, their wrists and ankles chained together so they had to shuffle in. Sam locked eyes with her and snarled, his growl vibrating through the room.
“You will refrain from any sort of violence, or we will hog tie you,” a councilor a couple seats from Alex said.
She wanted to look at Alex, but was scared to. What was going on?
“Normally we don't hold a dual trial, but since you are connected, we decided to do so,” the councilor who had instructed Tara where to stand said.
“I'm not with them anymore,” Tara informed him.
“Quiet, Tara,” he ordered her softly. She was surprised that his statement was said with tenderness instead of irritation.
She clamped her mouth shut.
“Tara, you are accused of exposing our secret to humans. How do you plead?” the councilor on her right asked.
“Exposing the secret to what humans?” she asked him.
He gestured at Sam and Paul.
Her face paled.
Oh.
“Guilty,” she whispered and dropped her head forward.
Several councilors began murmuring.
“Please explain yourself,” Alex said.
She glanced up at him. What was he doing? Why did he want her to tell them?
“I don't know how they found out what I am,” Tara said, looking away from Alex. “They tried to blackmail me into doing things for them with my abilities as a shifter. When I tried to leave the gang, they fought me. Yes, I shifted in front of them, but it was only to save myself.”
“You shifted in front of us before that,” Sam said smugly.
She turned and glared at him. “No, I didn't.”
“We followed you home one night and watched you shift once you got inside your house,” Paul explained.
The councilors murmured again.
“I had one-way glass on all of my windows. There's no way you could have seen me,” she countered angrily.
“We replaced one of your windows,” Sam said with a chuckle.
Her rage was instant and she leapt towards them, but a guard grabbed her and held her back. “Stop,” he ordered her.
She stilled. “Sorry,” she whispered. She looked up at the councilors. “Sorry.”
“So, the only time you willingly shifted in front of them was after they told you that they already knew and your life was in danger?” Alex asked.
She nodded.
“She still exposed humans to our kind,” another councilor countered.
“Didn't you have an ambush you could have called?” one on her right asked.
She shook her head. “I don't have an ambush.”
The councilor who seemed to be running the evening turned to Sam and Paul. “You two are charged with murdering a human in a way that led humans to almost discover us. As well as, murdering your creator. How do you plead?”
“Guilty,” Sam and Paul said smugly.
“That wimpy little wolf didn't deserve to live anyway,” Sam scoffed.
“Councilors, how do you find Sam and Paul?” the councilor asked.
They all voted guilty.
“Your sentence is death,” the councilor said. “Guard, take them away.”
“What? That's it? We mess up once and you're just going to kill us!” Sam demanded.
“That's how we've managed to stay hidden from the humans for hundreds of years. We collect those who don't cherish our secret and discard of them,” Alex said.
Once they were gone, all eyes turned towards Tara again.
“Councilors, how do you find the defendant?” the first councilor asked.
One by one, they said either guilty or innocent. In the end, the vote was five to six, finding her guilty.
“You exposed our kind to humans. There is one punishment for that, death,” the councilor said softly.
Tara felt tears sliding down her eyes and gulped.
“That sentence cannot be carried out,” Alex said and stood.
All eyes zeroed in on him.
“Why not?” one of the councilors asked with narrowed eyes.
Alex tossed her something and she barely caught it. It was a small vial with red liquid in it. His blood by the smell and sight.
“It's your choice,” he whispered.
Become his mate or die. Honestly it wasn't much of a choice. She didn't want to die. And, she liked the idea of being his mate. She quickly swallowed the liquid and he smiled. The bond that had already begun to develop snapped into place and connected the both of them until they died.
“She's my mate,” Alex said to the councilors. “If you kill her, then you risk killing me as well.”
“You can't do that!” one of the councilors screamed.
“Just because she was stolen from him before they finished their mating, doesn't mean they weren't mates,” the councilor two over from Alex argued.
Alex looked at him and she could see his relief in the way his shoulders sagged.
“They only just created the bond. If we kill her now, it won't matter,” a councilor to the left said.
Alex snarled and said, “Try it, Lucius, and I'll tear your throat out.”
The councilors erupted into arguments while Tara stood completely still in the center.
“Enough!” a female voice boomed from the doorway.
Tara turned, gasped, and dropped into a bow. The queen! Queen Lana of the Shapeshifters. Though Tara had only gotten a glimpse of her porcelain skin and silver hair, even the hem of her sumptuous skirt gave testament to her royalty.
“Your Majesty!” several gasped.
Queen Lana walked to Tara and said, “You've caused quite a stir within my councilors.”
“It was not my intention, Your Majesty,” she whispered fearfully.
The queen was a dragon shifter with magic power rivaling even witches. She'd taken out an entire fleet of boats a couple hundred years ago all on her own. Queen Lana had saved a coven of witches who were being attacked by humans during the witch hunts. She’d wiped out an entire village of humans with a single attack.
“Alex, a word please?” Queen Lana requested.
She heard Alex hop over the table and walk towards them. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Why have you chosen this tigress as your mate?” the queen asked.
“I love her,” he said simply.
Tara's entire body tensed. He...loved her?
“From what I've heard, you haven't been dating very long,” Queen Lana countered.
“No, we haven't, but that doesn't change how I feel,” Alex said adamantly.
“Soulmates?” the queen asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alex whispered.
Soulmates? The instant Tara thought it, she felt it deep within her heart. Yes, they were soulmates. They were meant to be together. That's why it felt so right to be with him. That's why she felt so comfortable with him despite hardly knowing him.
Holy tiger cubs.
“Councilors, we cannot kill one soulmate. If we do, it means death to Councilor Alex. And, I know none of you wish that,” Queen Lana said.
“What of her sentence?” Lucius asked, slamming his palm on the lightwood table.
Queen Lana said, “She shifted to defend herself. We could argue whether she should have just killed those men or not, but I do not wish to do so. With Alex as her mate, I think it is safe to assume she will be kept under a watchful eye and nothing like this will happen again. Am I right, Alex?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alex replied immediately.
“She exposed us,” Lucius argued. “She needs some type of-”
“Are you questioning me, Lucius?” the queen asked in a deadly soft tone.
“N-no, Your Majesty. I would never—” Lucius stammered.
“Then be quiet and sit down. Alex can come up with a punishment that he deems fitting on his own,” Queen Lana said and then snickered. “I'm sure you can find some way to punish your new mate.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Alex said.
Tara really wished she could see what was going on, but the queen hadn't allowed her to stand, so she stayed bowing.
“This session is over. Councilors, you are dismissed. Alex, I'd like a word in private,” the queen ordered everyone.
“Mathias, will you stay with my mate?” Alex asked.
“Stand up, little tigress,” the queen ordered her.
Tara stood and kept her eyes on the queen's stomach. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Stay out of trouble until I return your mate to you,” she said, humor coloring her tone.
Tara nodded.
The councilors were talking to each other, but she ignored them.
“You had no idea that you and Alex were soulmates, did you?” Mathias asked her.
She didn't respond, unsure if she should. Alex seemed to be friends with him, since he asked him to guard her, but she still didn't know if she should say anything.
He chuckled. “I knew he was up to something, but this was not what I thought he was going to do.”
“I'm sorry for any trouble I caused,” she whispered.
He laughed. “Trouble? No, little tigress, this was pure entertainment.”
At least somebody had enjoyed themselves, because she sure hadn't found anything fun about the day.