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I can feel the tension in the room mounting.

“Memnon,” Vincent says, and I can already tell he’s choosing his words carefully, “your mate is a friend of our pack, and naturally, that friendship should extend to you?—”

There’s abutcoming. I can feel it.

Memnon watches the alpha, looking amused, like he knows he’s the villain and is remorseless about it.

“—but you framed your mate for murder, and you are responsible for moving the bodies of murdered supernaturals.” The alpha’s words grow hoarse and gravelly as his composure slips.

Memnon nods. “Yes,” he agrees. “I did, and I am.”

I see Irene’s hand fist, and next to me, Kane radiates tension. Only Apani, the pack elder, remains placid.

“We want you to explain yourself,” Vincent says.

Memnon leans back in his seat. “Perhaps I will after you explain why you left my mate to fight off half a dozen attackers on her own right after she met with you.”

I’m caught between annoyance and a strange sort of pride that Memnon is so adamant about holding these shifters accountable for not coming to my aid. Vincent rolls his shoulders as Irene and Kane begin to growl. “We are forbidden from entering coven lands?—”

“And would you have entered them, if it were a shifter being attacked?” Memnon presses.

Vincent’s expression grows grim.

Yes. We all know his answer isyes. I wasn’t worth breaking whatever delicate truce witches and lycans have made for themselves, but a shifter would be worth it.

Vincent turns his attention to me. “Truly, Selene, on behalf of the entire pack, we are sorry. We were not trying to abandon you; we want to hunt down these monsters as much as you do. I made the decision to not cross boundary lines in the hopes that you would bring your familiar back to our land, where we could properly protect you both, just like you did with Cara.”

The room falls quiet, and I think I’m supposed to do something, so I nod.

After a long moment, Vincent returns his attention to Memnon. “Now, I don’t want to keep either of you here tonight. I’m sure you both have plans.

“Memnon,” he says, “would you be willing to answer a few questions we have about our—” he hesitates, “murdered pack mate?”

Memnon’s gaze narrows, even as his mouth curves up at the corners. “The only person I explain myself to is my mate.” His eyes flick to me, and they gentle. “But ifyouwant me to tell them the truth,” he says, directing his words to me, “then I will.”

I stare at him while the rest of the room waits. The sorcerer was right when he pointed out that the pack hasn’t been very friendly to me since the last time I visited them. However, they were the ones who extended their help to me when no one else would. For that alone, I’m willing to help.

“I do want that,” I finally say.

The sorcerer’s eyes roam over my features, then he straightens in his seat. “All right,” he says, his eyes sweeping over the room, “I will tell you what no one else besides Selene knows. But because this information is confidential, I need something from you all.”

Irene and Kane both begin to growl, and Vincent’s face hardens.

“A truth spell will do.”

The growls don’t stop, and maybe it’s seeing Memnon hurt earlier or how he advocated for me only minutes ago, but a protectiveness toward him rises up in me.

“You have your pack. I have my mate,” I say. “I am innately loyal to him—even when I don’t wish to be. And friend of the pack or not, I won’t ask Memnon to tell you a single piece of information if you cannot do this one thing—an act that your pack asked of me only days ago.”

Memnon stiffens next to me, and I feel his eyes on my face. Through our bond, his emotions are hard to make out, but I gather that he didn’t expect the show of loyalty from me.

I didn’t entirely expect it either.

The growls die down until the room is painfully quiet. Vincent is grimacing, and Kane is looking at me like maybe he doesn’t know me.

“Do it.” This comes from Apani. Her eyes move to mine, looking more wolfish than human. “This girl saved our own and nearly died doing so. She has earned our trust and friendship. We can allow her to ask for ours as well.”

The alpha glances first at Apani, then at Kane and his beta.