Page 119 of Tides of Fate

“Your Honors. My client maintains he was coerced into doing it through magic.”

The room explodes into disbelief. Judge Patel bangs her gavel so hard that Leo half-expects it to go straight through the bench.

“Order in this courtroom, or I will have you expelled! Order.”

Leo’s mates remain exactly where they are, each of them stone-faced. Nix is paler than snow, his jaw clenched so tightly Leo thinks he hears it crack.

They all know, at least in part, the role magic has played in this story. Hayes’s bruised face is contorted into a grin that can only be called evil.He’s looking right at Jay, who’s fighting against giving him the attention he wants.

Of course, Hayes is talking about the pendant Erin brought the day Nix ended up in a tree. Where it is now, Leo has an idea—but he won’t be offering it up as evidence.

“Your Honors,” Antonio says(and yes, this is professional Antonio Costas, not Leo’s father). “In partnership with the prosecution, we would like to forgo this line of inquiry and decline to charge the defendant with the supplemental charges previously stated by my colleague.”

This is news to Ms. Davis, who rounds on Antonio in shock. Understandably so—her entire case has been built on Hayes’s violation of the Human-Were Alliance.

Leo sees him mouth words of apology.

Erin stands, and in her hands is the evidence that Nix is an omega. She looks at Nix as if to ask one last time if he’s sure.

Nix stands abruptly, and the courtroom catches its collective breath. Not just because he is beautiful, but because he looksfierce, his mouth set in a firm line.

He turns, scanning the room for the faces of the other omegas. Nix is about to drag them into the spotlight. Even though he has insisted on doing this for himself, letting the chips fall where they may, doing so to the detriment of others isn’t the way Nix moves through life.

“Mr. Rena, please be seated,” Judge Sanderson says kindly.

“Your Honor. I just…I just need a second,” Nix says, as laid bare as it’s possible to be while still fully clothed. “Please.”

The three judges nod in tandem, and Nix gifts them with a small smile.

The entire courtroom turns to see what has Nix’s attention as Arlo stands; his wink makes the corner of Nix’s mouth tick up. Then, one by one, the other omegas rise as well.

Nix whispers, “Okay then,” and nods his permission to Erin. “Thank you, Your Honors. Sorry.”

The stoic Judge Sanderson smiles, and Leo thinks his face might have broken—it’s weirdly lopsided.

“Not at all. Happy to allow it.”

Judge Patel snorts, gaping in surprise at her colleague before shaking her head. “Alright, let’s have it, Ms. Christie.”

“Your Honors, we would like to request that we move to sentencing based on the defendant’s confession and a verdict of guilty for the charge of aggravated assault.” Erin’s voice rings through the courtroom.

“Are you certain, Ms. Christie? Ms. Davis doesn’t look like she concurs,” Judge Jones says.

Leo would guess he’d prefer to hand down a sentence of life imprisonment for the unlawful transition attempts.

Leo’s father leans in, his voice an indistinct murmur as he whispers something into Davis’s ear. She freezes mid-breath, her entire body going rigid. It’s clear she’s fighting the urge to swing around and look at Nix, but somehow, she manages to keep her composure—barely.

In the end, she rises to her feet, her voice clipped and controlled. “The prosecution concurs.” She drops back into her seat, without another word, her expression unreadable.

Judge Jones huffs in disappointment. “As you wish. I announce a verdict of guilty on the aggravated assault only. Fellow Judges?”

Judge Sanderson agrees, but Judge Patel hesitates. “I am loath to allow this lesser charge—and therefore a short sentence, Ms. Christie. Regardless of your request, I move to hand down a verdict of guilty on all charges, including the forced turning.”

Guilty is guiltyin Leo’s mind, but that means it’s time for the hard part.

Erin hands the judicial assistant the folders. She waits until they have them in hand before announcing, in a loud, clear voice, “Your Honors, we have enclosed Mr. Rena’s medical information. You will note that Mr. Rena transitioned from human to Were with a secondary gender designation of omega.”

Leo feels hands on his shoulders amid the commotion, and he’d know their comfort anywhere. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his mates’ parents doing the same—even though they must be just as shocked.

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