Page 13

E zra

We’re all seated at a table in the castle, in the council’s room, tension singing between us.

On our side of the table sit the four of us alphas, along with Eli and Faye.

None of us are flinching under the ultimas’ stares.

These men had failed our mate, leading to her being hurt, and they sure as fuck better be ready to right their wrongs.

If they know what’s good for them.

The instinct to bow to the ultimas is much weaker than usual—with Eli at our side, the power dynamic has shifted.

Something about being connected with him has changed something fundamentally about the sense of hierarchy that we usually feel with ultimas, and it’s not something I was expecting.

As much as it’s weird having someone with more power than me sharing Faye, I have to admit it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I can handle anything, if it makes Faye safer. Because the truth is, no matter how I see my future now, it has Faye in it. Faye is my world. She’s my mate. I just need to tell her that.

If that means Eli is a part of my future too, then I can accept that.

Plus, the ultimas are tense. They’re not the cocky assholes I’m used to.

Probably because Eli isn’t happy for a variety of reasons.

For one, Eli had made it clear that he wasn’t happy about having to take Faye out of the house while she was still healing, something we were all in agreement with, but we’d done it anyway because we knew it was important for her voice to be heard.

We had all fussed over Faye on the carriage ride over, concerned about both her mental health and her physical health, even though she reassured us she could handle it.

Truly, she was amazing. I couldn’t believe anyone could have this much inner-strength, but especially such a small woman. But I’ve come to realize that Faye is like one of those small trees. When the storms come, they whip back and forth, never breaking, while the tall trees fall around them.

I just hope she can handle this too.

Eli has also warned us that had the council simply taken care of the issue of Kurt, they wouldn’t be calling us over to talk, so we should be prepared for bullshit.

And we were. After all we’d seen from the council, any faith I ever had in them was gone.

These men did whatever would cause the least amount of waves, not what was best for our people.

But they sure as hell better prove me wrong in the way they handle Kurt.

“Eli,” Lance finally says, his fingers steepled in front of him. “Thank you for agreeing to grace us with your presence.”

“You are very welcome.” Eli barely gives a nod in acknowledgement, again giving us the impression that although they’re all ultimas, Eli is somehow above them. If that’s even possible.

“As you know,” Brock says, his dark gaze sweeping over all of us, “there is a situation we must discuss.”

“I agree,” Eli says, and I watch him take Faye’s hand under the table.

Faye and Eli are sitting directly across from the ultimas, while Cayson and I are to their left, and Xander and Maverick are to their right. It’s nice that there’s more of us than them. Nice to see them rattled too.

The ultimas exchange a look. Lance seems uncertain, Brock seems focused, and Hector seems pissed off.

Their moods perfectly capture the three men.

Lance, from the beginning, has seemed to be more on our side, Brock appears to be more on the side of the letter of the law, and Hector is weirdly devoted to Kurt and his father.

“We have been communicating with Kurt, now that he has regained the ability to talk,” Lance says, and I glance at Eli, eyes wide. I’d heard rumors of how badly his attack hurt Kurt, but had assumed that, like all things at The Selection, they were broadly exaggerated.

It’s good to know it wasn’t. That bastard deserves to have his heart ripped out and served on a platter for our Faye, and if I could reach him right now, that’s exactly what I’d do.

“I can’t say I’m thrilled to hear of his recovery,” Eli says coolly. “I’m not quite sure he deserves to live.”

Brock clears his throat, and Hector glares.

“We have also spoken with Kurt’s father, Dexter,” Hector says, “and he believes there’s no proof of anything untoward other than his son being somewhat too rough with the omega.

Which is not that uncommon—we all know how alphas can lose their senses, especially when their mates are in heat.

Dexter agrees that Kurt should be disciplined for being too rough with the omega, but believes Eli’s attack, and the resulting injuries, some of which could take months to heal, is punishment enough. ”

“That’s bullshit!” Cayson says, starting to stand, his voice loud and echoing throughout the room.

I reach up and put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to sit back down.

He may feel emboldened to shout because Eli is here, sitting with us, but so far, from what I can tell, Eli doesn’t seem like the shouting kind.

I have a feeling this will be handled by the ultima, without the need for us to shout.

“What’s the point of even having a council if you don’t protect the shifters under your care?” Maverick asks, his usual calm mask fallen away. “Ferals have no council, but we would never be talking about letting a man like Kurt roam free, to hurt whomever he pleases.”

“Fucking morons,” Xander mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Guys,” I say, just before Eli sends a wave of chilly rage down our side of the table, effectively shutting all of us up.

I clear my throat and lace my fingers together, equal parts worried and excited to hear what the ultima will say. I know that if he doesn’t handle this the way we want, I’ll step in. He might be an ultima, but I’m Faye’s mate.

“Men,” Brock says, waving his hands downward. “We need to stay calm in discussing this.”

“This is us calm,” I say quietly, and my words fall between us.

I look at Faye. Her bright hazel eyes. The way she holds herself stiffly, every inch of her exposed skin covered in bruises and cuts. This is us calm, I repeat to myself.

“If it helps,” Lance says, “we’ve already rescinded Kurt’s claim on Faye as his omega. We’ve agreed that the match… simply isn’t the right one.”

Cayson slow claps, and the ultimas look uncomfortable.

“ Kurt ,” Eli says, his voice dripping with contempt, “was attempting to kill this omega, and would have succeeded, had I not intervened. I witnessed this with my own two eyes. Would you dare to doubt my word?”

“Nobody is doubting your word,” Hector says. “Dexter’s position is just that there is no proof ?—”

“After talking to my mate, and to these alphas here, it’s clear that this Kurt has done more than enough to warrant banishment from his pack and even to warrant execution, given the fact that he has taken the lives of at least two shifters, though there are probably many more we aren’t aware of. And yet, this council refuses to act.”

“If you wanted to have a say in the actions of the council,” Hector says, his voice just as cold, “perhaps you should have accepted our invitations to join us. Certainly, that would have given you the voice you wanted in the matter.”

I blink, then glance over at Eli. To be given the chance to join the council, and to decide not to? Truly the privilege of an ultima.

He’s staring back at the ultimas before us, something ticking in his jaw.

Of course he was offered a place on the council.

There are fewer than a dozen ultimas, and Eli is clearly young and powerful and located so near to the castle.

It makes perfect sense. I wonder why he denied them.

Although I’m kind of happy with it, because it makes things less complicated in an already complicated situation.

When the four of us had first burst into Eli’s home, looking for Faye, following her scent, I’d been worried about what it would be like to share her with an ultima.

The three on the council are domineering idiots, so my immediate concern was that he would hoard her, limit our access to her, even use his influence to control and exploit her.

But that’s clearly not the case. Over the past few days as Eli and Faye have been exploring their mating bonds, the rest of us have begun to feel closer to her, like we’re all different elements in a biosphere.

We strengthen one another, and Eli is part of that, pouring out his influence and power into us all.

“I should not have to be part of the council for you to do your jobs,” Eli growls.

“Since the start of The Selection, accusations toward Kurt have not been taken seriously because they were made by an omega. Faye’s terror over him ‘claiming’ her as his mate was ignored, as if her terror of a mate didn’t matter.

Well, this omega is my mate . Which means you will all be taking anything she says quite seriously from now on, is that understood? ”

Back when we first found Serra in the woods, I’d wished more than anything that I’d had the power to make the council listen to me, but now, as a family, we do .

The prospect of sharing Faye with an ultima may be daunting, but it’s also worth it to have the kind of power and influence Eli’s participation in this group provides.

“Nobody is dismissing her claims—” Brock begins.

“I understand that you’re afraid of Dexter,” Eli says, “but I’m not. Trust that if this matter isn’t taken care of through the council, I will be handling it myself.”

“There will be an official hearing. A hearing where Dexter and Kurt will be present,” Brock says quickly, as though he doesn’t want to give the other ultimas time to respond to that statement. “But if you want to be taken seriously, the omega must be prepared to testify.”

Instantly, Faye’s entire body tenses, and I want to leap across the table and fight Brock for making her uncomfortable.

After everything that’s happened to her, she probably wants nothing more than to never see Kurt again, and here’s the council, forcing her back into a room with him, forcing her to talk about what happened to her.

But the ultima may be right. This might be necessary to get him the proper punishment.

Kurt deserves more than a slap on the wrist or a beating from Eli for what he did. More than anything, Faye will likely never feel safe until she knows he’s dead or locked up, and the other omegas and betas in his pack and elsewhere could all be at risk of him doing whatever he wants.

I think of Faye’s brother and Serra, and how Kurt took their lives as though it was nothing. Likely because he knew he would never face punishment for it. Kurt needs to be stopped, and Faye might be the only person who can stop him.

“Faye?” Eli asks, his voice soft. “What do you think?”

Her voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. “I’ll do it. Anything to finally get justice.”

Under the table, I reach out and take Faye’s other hand, the one Eli isn’t holding. Testifying against Kurt will be scary, but every single one of us will be there to back her up.