Page 86 of Vibing Unity

“If I was with her?” Sasha hedged.

Mrs. Von Thann’s eyes filled with tears when it was clear none of us would have any issues then.Butshe accepted that and her part in all of this unlike her mate.

Then we told them the rest including my threatening Ronald. We all looked at Lucca then making it clear it was time to tell us what happened with his dad.

And he got squirrelly.

“I can’t hear it or I’ll kill him,” I mumbled before putting the rune on me to deafen everything. I focused on the food but then jumped a few minutes later when Hudson was out of his seat and launching at the barrier I had over Ronald.

And Xavier had done the same, leapingoverthe table and landing on the barrier looking like he was shifting.

“That bad, huh?” I chuckled darkly. I might have said more, but Lucca’s mom looked destroyed. She had her hand over her face and was quietly sobbing.

Shit.

But that affected Ronald. He looked like he’d been kicked in the nuts and was sorry.

I took off the rune and stood, flinching when I saw the death in the eyes of all fairies there—actually not just them. Even Izzy looked like she was thinking of how to sneak weapons around Ronald so she could take him out.

Yeah, I’d kill him on accident maybe if I heard. Seriously.

“My grandchildren will not be pawns for you, bear,” Xavier seethed, banging on the barrier even if he knew he had no chance of bringing it down. “Why can you not seepeopleinstead ofthingsfor you to control unless they’re fucking bears?”

Was that really the issue or disconnect? More than his sexism? He was racist for species?

“You can never support him to be on his council again, Your Highness,” Stefanie said firmly. “He hasn’t repented and—it’s vile. He only cares for bears, and that’s not the future we want.”

“He needs to step down as Alpha,” Sasha declared, her voice shaky. She nodded when I glanced at her with shock. “That is the crux of the problem. He is Alpha. He is boss. He is the authority. He should have had that stripped from him after all he did, but he started to right his course. He is backsliding and letting power go to his head all over again!”

“I agree,” Mrs. Von Thann whispered as people started debating. Her voice, so soft and beaten down, cut through the chatter more than yelling could have. “I will be the proxy or Alpha regent—whatever the term—until Lucca is ready in a few years. And Ronald should spend that time in prison.” She quickly wiped tears and looked at me, unable to say more.

But I knew what she wanted. I nodded. “Not the prison in Faerie where shifters aren’t allowed to let their animals out.”

“I know I shouldn’t ask it, but I do,” she whispered, hanging her head in shame. “I still have hope the man I mated will come back to me instead of this warped version of him he is now. I want the miracle Mary Craftsman had of finding herself again, but I know in my soul he will be the man he should be then. Please, he could go feral not shifting there.”

“We never allow it to get to that point,” Taeral said gently. “Shifters aren’t worse after our prisons than before. They simply don’t have the freedom to shift at will and as often as they want.”

“We find it a more effective punishment than longer sentences because, as you know with your own bear, you’d do almost anything to give her what she needs and her freedom,” Stefanie added. “The human side of them did the wrong, but their animal suffers because of it. It actually makes deep reflection a priority. We’ve only had one go feral, and that was because a mate died.”

Taeral nodded. “It was unfortunate, but the pack was so upset with us for locking up one of theirs that they didn’t tell us and he knew the next time he shifted. He didn’t get to say goodbye—which we would have allowed—it was a mess. The wolf and man were lost after that.”

Meaning it worked. “Let’s try it for two months the way fairies know, and Lucca can be his advocate and monitor the situation.” I glanced at Taeral. “We’ve had other Alphas?”

Taeral and Stefanie nodded, Stefanie answering. “It’s normally who we have to come arrest because we are the only ones who can. They benefit the most from immediately being cut off, and—they are never a person but Alpha and all their responsibilities. We have the best success rate even if they normally don’t go back to the same pack, but live more solo lives.”

Better than being dead.

Though looking over at Ronald, I wasn’t sure he’d say the same.

22

We took Ronald into custody—to his complete and utter shock—and I went with Lucca and his mother to have a talk with the sloth’s leadership. Mostly, Ronald’s Betas and right hands.

It actually went much better than expected. They were clearly relieved that Lucca was going to take over and probably sooner than any of them had realistically thought... If ever. A few voiced their concerns that Ronald had made a few comments that Lucca wouldn’t even be needed unless he died.

And made those comments recently.

Their only concern was security. Lucca’s mom wasn’t strong enough to hold the sloth if they were challenged.

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