“Mr. Moore, you may return to your seat,” said Parker. “Sheriff Johnson, I would like to hear from you.” Once the human was seated, Parker said, “You questioned Mr. Moore and his friends, but you didn’t feel it necessary to charge them. Why?”
Colt lifted his chin. “There was no evidence that Brandt was the cougar’s attacker.”
“There was a pole, which I’m assuming had fingerprints on it.”
“Brandt admitted to picking up the pole when he found it on the ground, but he maintained that he didn’t strike her with it.”
Emilio’s brow lifted. “And you believed that?”
Colt’s jaw hardened. “Two witnesses upheld that Brandt was not the attacker. The cougar said she’d been drugged, so I couldn’t be sure if her testimony was reliable. It was also very dark out there, so I couldn’t be sure that Gwen truly did see Brandt attacking anyone. The bottom line is, there was no evidence.”
“Did you make any effort to find out who the attacker might be?” asked Parker.
Colt’s mouth opened and closed like a landed fish.
Ezra slowly rose. “May I please speak?”
Parker sighed. “Fine.”
“I know exactly why Miss Miller claims my son was the cougar’s attacker. She is trying to pin the attack on Brandt to get back at him for ending their relationship.”
“What?” Gwen burst out. She looked at Zander. “He can’t be for real.”
Even as a growl of rage built in his throat and his wolf swiped his claws in anger, Zander clasped her nape as he whispered, “Shh. You don’t want the council throwing you out of the room, and you definitely don’t want to give the Moores the satisfaction of seeing you pissed off.”
No, Gwen definitely didn’t want either of those things. Feeling her nails stabbing her palms, she relaxed her clenched hands and took a deep breath.
Ezra continued, “I asked him to end it because, since she is much older than he is, I felt their relationship was quite inappropriate. She is angry with me for that.” Ezra spared her a brief glance. “She claims our family is anti-shifter, but it is in fact she who is prejudiced.”
Landyn slowly lifted a disbelieving brow. “You believe Miss Miller is anti-shifter?”
Ezra jutted out his chin. “I can prove that she has connections to the extremists. Kenny Cogman—a man who we all know is rumored to sponsor extremists—is her biological father.”
Well, shit. Gwen somehow kept her expression blank and held her tongue. Zander went rigid beside her, and a low growl rumbled out of him.
Landyn’s brow pinched. “It’s my understanding that she lives with her foster family and has since she was eight years old.”
“But she is in contact with her father. In fact, they met up very recently. I can prove it.” Ezra signaled to a man who Gwen recognized as his brother, Gerard. The male riffled through a briefcase and retrieved a brown envelope. He pulled out of a bunch of photographs.
“May I hand one to you?” Gerard asked the council. At Parker’s nod, he opened the gate separating the galley from the council’s space and crossed to the bench . . . but not before handing Gwen a photograph.
Gritting her teeth, she took it. The enlarged photograph was cool and smooth to touch, and it showed both her and Kenny sipping drinks. He was smiling at her. She had to admit, the scene looked pretty cozy.
“Miss Miller, what do you say to this?” clipped Emilio once Gerard returned to his seat.
Gwen rose to her feet. “Kenny Cogman called me a couple of weeks ago. He said that he was contacted by someone who is friends with the Moores, and he believed that me and my family were in danger.”
Harrison frowned thoughtfully. “Cogman was the person who warned you that it would be best to alter your statement?”
“It was more that he was asking me to do it as a favor to him, but he did point out that it was the best way to keep my family safe. The latter was my only interest.” With that, she sat.
“A pretty story,” said Ezra. “But it’s just that—a story.”
Landyn leaned back in his chair, expression skeptical. “Why would an anti-shifter human stand up at this hearing and speak against her own kind?”
“As I said, to punish my son for dumping her.” Ezra sighed. “She attacked him not so long ago. He went to her house to try to reason with her, to apologize for hurting her when he ended the relationship, but she attacked him with a bat—a bat she scrolled his name on, thinking she could pass it off as his. I have photos of his injuries.” The asshole signaled Gerard again, who then handed out said photographs. The whole time, Ezra continued to speak, “Brandt returned to her house a few days ago to try once again to make amends. He was threatened by the wolves over there.”
Parker spared the wolves a brief look, but then turned his attention to Rowan and Mack. “Both of you stand. Do you support your friend’s account of what happened?”
Mack cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s exactly how it happened,” said Rowan.
Brandt nodded. “I’m sorry that the cougar shifter was hurt, but I’m not responsible for it. I shouldn’t be at this hearing.” He looked at Gwen with heartbreak in his eyes. “Gwen . . . I don’t know how you could do this. You know I never meant to hurt you. He’s my dad—I have to honor what he says.”
Oh, for the love of God. Someone had better see through this shit or she was going to lose it. If it wasn’t for Zander touching her, keeping her calm, she’d have already snapped by now.
Parker gestured for everyone to sit and sent Colt back to the bench. “It seems extreme to me that someone would pin the blame of an assault on an ex out of spite.”
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” said Ezra.
Parker’s gaze slid to the wolves. “I know much about your pack. And I believe that you, Ally Marshall, are a Seer. Correct?”
“I am,” said the she-wolf, voice clear.
“Please come forward.” If the council member heard Derren’s low growl of objection, he didn’t show it.
Gwen and Zander stood so that Ally could shuffle past them. Shooting Gwen a reassuring smile, she then crossed to the chair beside the panel.
Parker clasped his hands. “As a Seer, you are able to sense the emotions of others. If Miss Miller was prejudiced toward our kind, you would sense it. Correct?”
Sitting, Ally nodded. “I would. I can firmly state that Gwen is not prejudiced toward shifters.”
“What about Brandt Moore?” asked Emilio.
Ally looked at the boy as she answered, “Around our kind, he feels hate. Repugnance. And fear.” Ally’s gaze met Parker’s once more. “My pack mates and I were there the day that Gwen met with Mr. Cogman. We heard the entire conversation. I can verify that Gwen was telling the truth when she spoke of her conversation with him.”
Harrison nodded at Ally. “Thank you, Miss Marshall.”
Ezra, ballsy as ever, stood. “I’d like to ask Miss Marshall a question, if I may.” He smiled at her. “You claim you can sense the emotions of others.”
Ally narrowed her eyes at his skepticism. “I can tell you what you’re feeling right now as a demonstration, if you’d like.”
Ezra’s smile faltered. “If you believe it is true, I shall take your word for it. But is it not worth considering that not all extremists are prejudiced? It’s not always that they dislike shifters as a race. Some humans simply don’t like how much land the shifters take up. Others may not like that shifters are so secretive that we don’t know enough about them to understand them. That’s not something you would pick up, is it?”