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My father is the one who jumps up, sputtering:

“If you beat a merchant half to death, he would have been tooscaredto tell the Aurelian Empire what had happened! You’re employed by the Empire! How washeto ascertain that you weren’t under orders to injure those who don’t do as you request?”

There’s a murmur through the crowd. My father makes sense.

“If you’re willing to kidnap a man’s daughter to make a deal,” he accuses Brennan, “what else are you capable of?”

His voice wavers, taking on an artificial formality. He’s at his breaking point.

Lieutenant Taggar lets my father finish, and he doesn’t admonish him for his outburst. My father sits down, breathing heavily. I can see his chest puffing from exertion.

“Brennan – do you deny that this is your triad?”

Taggar points to the center of a room, and a holo-vid appears.

I watch a recording of their Reaver descending on my manor. I watch as the Aurelians pull me from my bed – kicking and screaming.

“I do not deny it.”

“So, you took Natali Carani from her home?”

Brennan stares at the holo-vid for a long moment. Then, his eyes scan upwards. He’s looking at the mirror – and for a moment, his eyes flicker past his reflection and it’s almost as if they meet mine.

“I did.”

16

Otho

As I watch the holo-vid, frozen at the moment that we pulled Natali from her bed, I also hear the leader of my triad admit what we did.

My logical brain tells me that we’re fucked.

I’ve never been one for logic, though. Let Lazar have that. My faith in Natali is full and certain.

Our situation looks dire – but I have faith she’ll not betray us. If she does, then it isn’t the hundreds or thousands of years behind bars that scares me. It’s the thought of living without my Fated Mate.

Lieutenant Taggar waves his hand dismissively, and the video disappears.

“Do you deny that you came to Mr. Carani’s house to secure a business deal, and that while you were there, you saw Natali Carani?”

“I do not deny it.”

“And did you smell her scent while you were there? And suspect she was your Fated Mate?”

Brennan puffs out his chest. “Iknewshe was our Fated Mate!”

Lieutenant Taggar addresses the crowd. “And, there you have it. These are not evil men. These are men devoted to the Empire – and to all Aurelians. They were willing to bend - and occasionallybreak– the laws for our benefit. Any one of us would have been tempted by the scent of our Bonded Mate…”

Then, he turns back to the triad.

“…and yet,we are not Rogue.”

His face hardens, anger in his eyes.

“We are not base animals. Humanity sees us this way because of actions like those of men like you. The minimum sentence I’m willing to pass for a kidnapping like this is three hundred years in a Bond-Disrupted Prison cell.”

There’s a gasp from the crowd.