Page 89 of Follow Your Instincts

“No. But he’s gonna be in the room. Phillips,” Soren said. “You gonna be okay?”

“She’s got this,” Ben said confidently, threading his arm around my waist.

Lachlan was barely containing his growl. “How big of a room?”

“Conference room,” Soren answered. “Tight quarters.”

“Right,” Lachlan said. He turned and pulled me over to the side of the room near the benches where they made walk-ins wait to talk to an officer. “Can we scent mark you? I want to show this animal that you’re protected now.”

I flushed. My mind immediately flashed to Ben and Lachlan scent marking me the day before in a way that woulddefinitelyget us all arrested. “Right here?”

Ben laughed loudly then stifled it by biting his knuckle, understanding brightening his eyes. “No, you pervert. Like this,” he said, brushing his cheek against mine. Watermelon and basil lingered against my skin. “You have such a dirty mind.”

Lachlan followed suit on my other cheek, his whiskey and tobacco mingling with Ben’s scent. Lucas spun me to face him and brushed his cheek against the base of my throat so molasses and spice floated up and calmed me down.

“My scent won’t hold, but fuck it,” Soren said and pressed a kiss to the nape of my neck.

Some of the dread in my stomach slipped away, like water washing down a drain. Their scents were grounding me. My Alphas were showing the world I wastheirs.

And they were my Alphas, I realized. This was my pack. I felt tears welling, not from fear but gratitude that I’d found this amazing group of men. I just hoped they’d want to keep me, too. I took a deep breath, and their scents swirled around me.

“Ready?” Soren asked.

“No. Let’s go,” I said and led the way to the conference room.

We used descenters in the precinct, but I could still detect Todd’s noxious sweet orange scent. I tried to breathe through my mouth.

The hearing was in one of the smaller conference rooms. It had just one battered oval table, and a line of chairs against the blinds blocking the beautiful view of an impound lot. Todd was sitting by himself at the far end of the table from the door. He smirked at me as I entered, but it faltered slightly at the sight of my pack behind me.

“Officer Carter,” said Captain Harcourt, looking as genuinely happy to see me as I suspected she ever was. She nodded at Soren, but frowned at the three other men. “Detective Murray.”

Sergeant Broad was standing next to her, the smarmy fuck, along with an older man who looked like someone’s grandpa.

“I didn’t realize Officer Carter would be bringing backup,” Sergeant Broad said ironically.

“How is this not intimidation?” Todd said.

“They’ll wait outside,” I said. Lachlan made an indignant noise behind me, but didn’t argue.

“Detective Murray will need to stay, though, since he was a witness in the investigation,” the old man said.

Ben and Lucas both squeezed my hands as they left. Ben winked and I almost smiled. Almost.

Soren and I sat as far from Todd as the table would allow, facing the three committee members. Captain Harcourt set up an ancient video camera on a tripod and pressed record.

“This is a disciplinary hearing about case 04746, a complaint lodged by Officer Margaret Carter against Officer Todd Phillips alleging sexual and physical assault. The purpose of this hearing is to determine an appropriate course of action in regards to Officer Phillips’ employment with the Fairview Police Department. This is not a hearing to determine criminal or civil wrongdoing, which falls outside the purview of this committee,” the old man said in his reedy voice. “This committee is composed of me, Gregory Marshall, Director ofHuman Resources for Fairview Police Department, Sergeant Frederick Broad of Internal Affairs, and Captain Alice Harcourt of the precinct where the alleged attack occurred."

I zoned out a little, trying to calm my breath. I kept my eyes down on my lap where my hands were twisting together. Soren gently tapped his foot against mine since he couldn’t do anything else.

“I’m not going to require testimony from the parties here today,” Marshall said, and I looked up in surprise. I wasn’t even going to get a chance to tell my side of the story?

“I have listened to the taped interviews provided by Officer Carter, Detective Murray, Officer Phillips, and Captain Harcourt. I have also watched the video pulled from the cameras outside the women’s locker room in this precinct, and spoke to several character witnesses for both parties,” he continued. “It is clear to me that Officer Phillips did, in fact, attack Officer Carter that night. Whether or not he was feral, or why that might have happened, I don’t know. But the injuries Officer Carter sustained are consistent with an attack like the one she described.”

“That is bullshit!” Phillips yelled, his face growing red. “You know those two are fucking, right? They set me up!” He flung a finger in Soren's and my direction.

“Detective Murray was not in a romantic relationship with Officer Carter at the time of the assault,” Captain Harcourt said. “Their current relationship is not relevant.”

Sergeant Broad gave Todd a quelling look when he opened his mouth again, and weirdly, he complied.

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