C13 Thirteen

Selena's POV

The great court was already loud by the time I walked in.

I'd honestly forgotten just how huge this place was. It was bigger than any human stadium I'd ever seen. The whole thing spread out in a massive circle with platforms stacked up the walls like steps that never ended. It could fit ten, maybe twelve thousand wolves without trying, and tonight it seemed every single one of them had shown up.

Heading up the stairs, I found a spot in the second row, which was right across from the Elders' section. There were twelve seats lined up there. Ten had people in them, two were still empty. It didn't take long to figure out who was missing; Elder Jacob and his wife, Martha.

My eyes shifted down to the Alpha row right below them, and of course, that was empty as well. Figures. The Alpha who called this whole meeting wasn't even capable of arriving on time.

I tore my eyes away before the irritation in my chest boiled over, and let them wander across the upper levels.

At least my parents were nowhere in sight. Small mercy, I guess. Looks like goddess Selene wasn't cruel enough to stick them right in my line of sight –I'd already had more than my fill of them tonight.

Movement in the Elders' section pulled my attention back. Elder Jacob and Elder Martha had finally shown up and were settling into their chairs, and right behind them, climbing the stairs, was their daughter, slutty Leila, and her two minions.

The mate mark burned the second I saw her, like it was yanking my memory straight back to the party where she'd been upstairs with Adrian.

Against my better judgment, I followed her all the way to the fifth row, glaring so hard I was pretty sure I could set her perfect fucking ginger curls on fire.

I tried to look away. Really, I did. But my brain went straight to hell, and a storm of questions hit me all at once.

Did he kiss her the way he kissed me?

Did he enjoy it more than with me?

Wait... if he kissed me afterward, does that mean I kissed her too? His saliva... hers... ugh, gross.

Oh goddess, stop. I shoved the thought aside, but one question refused to leave.

Did they... have sex?

The question sent the mate-mark further up in flames. Letting out a hiss, I clutched at it, suddenly aware that the concealer I'd carefully used to hide it was probably smeared in my palms.

I was so lost in my own chaos that I didn't notice Elder Jafar step onto the central stand until his voice slammed into the room.

"Quiet down, everyone!"

The hall went instantly silent, as if someone had sucked the air out.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly," he said, folding his hands behind his back. "The Alpha is not present yet, so until he arrives, I will address what we know."

"I understand the concern. Messages mentioning rogue activity have not been heard here for years." he added with eyes hardening slightly. "Decades."

The murmuring rose an octave. Hell, no one, it seemed, liked being reminded of that.

"However, the Alpha shared little with me," The older man went on. "He only instructed that every member of Silverfang be present-"

The side door behind the central stand–one I hadn't even noticed before–swung open, cutting off the rest of his words. Silence cloaked the hall as every eye turned to the newcomer.

Adrian fricking Holt stepped in, dressed from head-to-toe in black, looking like pure sin. My once burning mate-mark tingled furiously, and, of course, my eyes did the exact thing they shouldn't–they traced him as he walked to the stand.

From his boots... to his jeans... and yeah, stopped right at his zipper.

The memory of his wet, long, shaft from the shower hit me in full force, and my legs clenched tight without warning.

Quickly pulling myself together, I yanked my gaze up–and damn it, he was already staring straight at me.

Under his intense stare, my nipples perked through my bra, heat shooting up my neck, and I quickly looked away, mortified.

But I could still feel him burning holes straight into the side of my throat.

Stupid, stupid me. Always getting caught red-handed.

Thankfully, Elder Jafar saved me from dying on the spot. "I yield the floor to you, Alpha," he said to Adrian.

I stole a glance from the corner of my eye as Elder Jafar walked back to his seat, while Adrian turned to face the crowd, dripping full alpha energy.

When he spoke, the sound thundered through the great court, "For the past week, two deaths occurred in the human world."

His gaze found mine for just a moment, and a stab of pain hit my chest–I knew he meant Jane. Then his eyes moved back to the crowd, scanning each face with that piercing intensity.

"Both bodies showed deep claw and bite wounds. So it's safe to say these weren't caused by any human or animal."

The hall immediately erupted in whispers and murmurs, but Adrian lifted a hand and silence fell once again. "However," his voice deepened, "there have been no rogues in this territory since my father eliminated every last one."

A chill ran through the room and up my spine. Everyone was well aware of that, but the real fear came from remembering how horrifically my dead husband had erased them.

"So," Adrian tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants, "there's only one explanation."

The whole court held their breath, waiting for his next words. And then he dropped the bomb.

"Someone here broke our laws and attacked two humans,"

At first, everyone, including myself, was just... stupefied. Not a word was said for a while before gasps went flying around the hall.

That didn't stop Adrian from continuing, though. "We all know the punishment for that," he said. "Immediate death."

Dread embraced us all. And he added slowly, "But... I'm willing to reduce it to a lesser punishment, just this once, if the culprit comes forward."

The noise returned tenfold, but he sliced into it once again, "However, if I find the culprit myself, the original sentence stands. And it will be far worse than what my father did to the last rogues."

The whole court practically jumped back at that.

"You have five minutes to come forward," he announced before exiting the court through the side door, leaving the room exploding in frantic speculation.

"Is he serious?"

"Someone here attacked humans?"

"Who would risk it?"

I had no idea what Adrian was up to, but the tension in the room was so strong I could almost taste it.

Five long minutes later, he returned, stepping onto the stand with cold grey eyes sweeping the hall, taking in every single person.

"Is the culprit ready to confess?" he asked, only this time his harsh and accusing state zeroed in on someone.

Following it to the tier across from mine, my eyes landed on Raymond, sitting lazily in the last section like it was just another boring day. Disbelief saw me jump my eyes back and forth between them.

Adrian fucking thought Raymond was behind the rogue attacks? Really?

Goddess, can't they just keep their damn rivalry in the bag for once??

Adrian finally exhaled, realizing Raymond wasn't going to budge. "Very well," he said. "Priestess... you may enter."

The same side door he'd exited from creaked open.