“Will you not bow before us?” Stefan asked, all holier-than-thou.
“Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to.” Not really knowing how to bow since I’m a God fearing American, I sort of awkwardly dipped my head and shoulders. My efforts got me a narrowed eyed glare from Sarvarna and a look of exasperation from Stefan.
“Would the accuser please come forward?” My eyes naturally darted over to Mr. Matthews, but he wasn’t the one who answered Stefan’s summons.
“My Alphas,” Mrs. Matthews said, dropping to one knee beside me.
For a single second the world went completely still and silent for me. One second of stunned peace. And then a rage fueled by exquisite pain engulfed me. It was a good thing my hands were bound and the two much bigger Shifters had a hold on me, because my body wasn’t my own for several long minutes. The wolf woke, and she wanted blood.
“Seer Matthews of the Hagan Pack,” Stefan intoned. “You have a claim to make against this girl.”
“I do, Polemarch.” Her back stayed ramrod straight, her voice didn’t betray even the hint of a quiver, and her eyes stayed resolutely trained on the man in front of her. There was no indication, not even the smallest of hints, that she felt any regret for handing over a child she once hugged and cuddled over to the proverbial wolves. “I have witnessed this girl, who does not come from Shifter blood, Change. Such an unnatural act could only be accomplished by a Thaumaturgic.”
Stefan leaned forward ever so slightly. “This is a very serious accusation. Are you certain you want to proceed?”
“Absolutely,” she said with zero hesitation.
“And you understand the punishment that will be met if she is found guilty?” Stefan’s reluctance seemed genuine, which was more than a little unexpected.
“I do, and I do not wish to retract my claim.”
“She was once a babe under your care, was she not?”
Mrs. Matthews’s voice finally shook, but not with the emotion I originally expected. “And I pray every single day that God will forgive me for being led astray by this devil.”
I heard a small gasp and didn’t have to turn around to know its origin. Talley was as horrified by the words coming out of her mother’s mouth as I was. Knowing Talley, she was possibly even more horrified than me. At least I expected people to be selfish and weak minded. She honestly believed everyone was good and strove to do what was right. To hear her mother speak with such vile and hatred probably turned her entire world view upside down.
“You are a woman of great faith,” Sarvarna said. “May God hear your prayers with a gracious ear.”
Mrs. Matthews once again dropped to the ground. “Thank you for your kindness, your Highness.”
Since I couldn’t bear to look at her groveling, I took the opportunity to scan the rest of the Alpha Pack. On the Shifter side, Mandla and Hashim both looked like trained soldiers ready to leap up and protect their Alphas at the first sign of trouble while Travis was somewhere in between ready to attack and ready to take a nap. The Seers, on the other hand, were all over the place. Lizzie was fidgety. She would cross and uncross her legs, and then do it all over again. I was pretty sure all her fingernails were already gnawed to bits, but her fingers stayed in her mouth all the same. She seemed even more spastic because she was sitting next to the cool and collected Mischa, who managed to look even more regal than Sarvarna with her perfect posture and detached interest. True sat next to her, the princess to Mischa’s Czarina. The way she relaxed into her chair and regarded the audience as if they were sent to amuse her, but were failing miserably, spoke of a lifetime of pampering and entitlement.
Somehow, seeing their detachment made it easier to push back the wolf and even gain a bit of distance myself. After all, getting overly emotional and flipping out wasn’t going to help anything. I might as well try to enjoy the show.
Of course, that proved difficult once Mrs. Matthews straightened back up and started answering the Alphas’ questions. My mother died during childbirth, and my only knowledge of her came from stories other people told me. Since no one is going to say something bad about your dead mama, she was the very definition of perfection in my head. I liked it that way, which meant I was not at all fond of Mrs. Matthews referring to her as a “manipulative witch who sacrificed herself for the advancement of her people’s ungodly doctrine.”
Once Mrs. Matthews finished her account of my life — from unholy birth to murdering a Shifter so I could steal his essence to spiriting away the most promising of the Hagan Pack by playing on their emotions — the Alphas turned their attention to the members of my Pack.
“I would like to know what Hoplite Hagan, the young Seer Matthews, and Potential Donovan witnessed during their time with Miss Donovan post-Change,” Stefan said.
Mrs. Matthews sat down, and the three people I was closest to in the whole world came forward. Talley managed to trip on the leg of a chair as she came up, catching herself on my shoulder. The contact was brief, but just long enough for her to send three images through the bond - A truck. A gate. A barn.
“Seer Matthews, let’s begin with you.” Stefan flashed Talley a mangled smile. “Has Miss Donovan attempted to pull information about the whereabouts of other Shifters or how to contact the Alpha Pack?”
“No, sir.”
“When she Changes, can you hear her as you can a real Shifter?”
A real Shifter? Could I object?
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you able to See her as you are others?”
“Yes, sir.”
Stefan did that slight lean forward thing again. “And, tell me, Seer Matthews, what is it you See when you touch her?”
Talley’s fingers went to her hair, making my stomach clench. “Well, my ability isn’t very strong. I only get a bit of what the other person is feeling, but she was genuinely confused and scared after her first Change. And I’ve never felt any ill will from her at all.”
Speaking of confusion, I had a major dose of it. Why would Talley lie about her abilities? She was like the freaking Seer Golden Child. I couldn’t understand her subterfuge until I heard the sigh of relief from Lizzie and saw the smirk on True’s face. Talley wanted to stay off the other’s radar, not be seen as a threat. I imagined how “you can call me Your Highness” would react to finding out there was a Seer more powerful than she was.