Page 37 of Understanding Fate

“Due to her affiliation to our Second, Brielle was used in a blackmail scheme, the result of which ended with both a member of our pack and a member of the Reno pack being killed in the exchange. Ms. DelaCourt was severely injured and needed immediate medical attention. Her Fated Mate did what any of us would have and brought her to our pack facility to be taken care of, where she eventually healed. At no time did the Vegas Pack violate any territory restrictions as Ms. DelaCourt lives in our territory as does her Fated Mate,” Noah says, allowing the committee time to consider our testimony before he continues.

“We have provided Ms. DelaCourt’s University transcript, High school diploma, birth certificate, and medical records from the staff who fixed her after the exchange. We’re requesting that the Reno Pack’s claim be denied and the case be dropped in its entirety. It is clear she has resided within our territory her entire life. One trip up to Reno does nothing to change her residence, nor does it give their pack claim to her. They can say whatever they want about her reasons for being there. It changes nothing and has no way to be verified. Brielle DelaCourt is an Unawakened under the protection of the Vegas Wolf Pack until such a time as she can be officially Awakened and Mated.”

“Why is she still Unawakened? Surely you realize this hearing wouldn’t be necessary had this been completed?” Barton questions, unconvinced.

“Due to her upbringing, time was allotted for her to come to terms with the knowledge of her new reality. While allowing her to adjust, the event in question took place, which resulted in her being hospitalized for several days. During that time, the claim was filed by the Reno Pack, stating she belonged to them.In an effort to prevent retaliation, and in a show of good faith, we held off her Awakening until this case is concluded,” Noah replies, confidence filling his tone.

Silence falls over the panel momentarily as they consider the arguments. Meanwhile, I’m fighting to keep a casual appearance as I scan each of their movements, hoping to glean some insight into how this will go.

Noah returns to his seat next to me, a slight nod his only communication as we wait them out.

“After hearing from both parties and reviewing the evidence, I will now turn this over to a vote for ownership,” Martin begins before Goodman speaks again.

“Apologies for interrupting, but once you discovered Ms. DelaCourt, how come your pack never ascertained her lineage? Generally, It's pretty standard when an Unawakened is found that testing is used to reunite them with their home pack. Why wasn’t this completed?”

Before I can even turn, Noah sends a quick mind-link.

Noah: How do you want me to play this?

Dante: Fated Mate bond trumps home pack and limited time.

He rises from his seat again, answering calmly.

“Brielle being discovered at nearly twenty-two years old was quite an anomaly. Most Unawakened are toddlers or young children, so reuniting them with their Awakened parents is necessary. In this case, however, the delayed discovery allowed our Second to not only identify her as an Unawakened but also as his Mate. Because the Fated Mate bond supersedes all others, finding her home pack took a backseat to revealing her new reality.”

Goodman nods, returning his attention to the page in front of him as he speaks again.

“Well then, I believe we have another party to this claim. Her home pack deserves to know she exists and have a say in how this case should be determined,” he finishes, turning to Alpha Martin expectantly.

“We can certainly perform a lineage test while she is here and see how that comes out,” he responds, but his clenched jaw tells me he hoped to get this over with and voted on today.

The council appears satisfied with that response—well, all but Mo, who finally looks confused.

“Twenty-two? Why aren’t you just asking the female which pack she wants to belong to or what happened?” he says, and for a moment, I want to smile at the obvious nature of his question.

Because they don’t give a shit what any female has to say, especially not an Unawakened human female.

“Mr. Bjorn, Unawakened are not allowed in these proceedings, and as she is unranked without a wolf, her Alpha would normally speak for her. Unfortunately, we have at least two who feel they have that right at the moment,” Martin states.

“Not allowed?” he shakes his head before whispering under his breath. “Fucking wolves….” Clearing his throat, he continues. “Okay, well couldn’t she be used to sort out what happened at the meeting? An adjudication to see what it was about?”

Irritation flits across Martin’s face before he responds.

“Adjudicators are generally reserved for more important matters around here,” he snaps before a deep growl rolls out of Mo, causing Martin to lean away physically. He shifts uncomfortably, shuffling his papers before continuing. “But I suppose we could see if one is available while we wait for the lineage bloodwork. We will check into an adjudicator and have her bloodwork pulled immediately. Let’s reconvene tomorrow once the results are in. Does noon work for everyone?”

After waiting for a consensus, he closes his folder and quickly escapes the room while the rest of the panel begins to gather their own paperwork.

A full smile lifts on my face that I can no longer cover, and my eyes don’t leave Massimo’s oversized form until he catches my gaze. I nod thanks for his support, and he surprises me by double tapping the three fingers on his left hand under his eye. I freeze, recognizing the signal immediately.

Fucking Ghost.

At least I know he’s an ally. I return the sign before rising from my seat to leave, Noah at my back.

Deacon’s face looks far less amused than when we arrived, and I stop before crossing the aisle.

“You did a pretty good job at coming up with complete bullshit there. Impressive really. Sad it won’t matter once the adjudicator sees that she never wanted to be a part of your pack in the first place.”

I smile, arrogance rolling off me as I bask in this moment. In knowing I beat him at his own stupid game.

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