Page 106 of It's You
“Demanding a re-binding is equal to calling Tombeur Lesauvage and Tallis Beauloup liars. We acknowledged this binding many years ago. I pledge to you that it is still intact.” She shot Lela a look that would wither live blooms, but Lela smirked and looked away. “My daughter is grieving the loss of her father. She doesn’t know what she’s?—”
“I demand a re-binding!” Lela howled, throwing her head back, to the delight of the crowd, who started chanting, “Re-binding! Re-binding!”
Jack’s eyes burned as he stared at Lela, feeling betrayed, his claws protracting as he considered doing her real harm. He let them drop a little, staring at her with menace.
Saint Germain joined Jack and Lela in the council ring and put up his hands to quiet the crowd.
“Sheath ’em,” he growled softly at Jack.
Jack concentrated on retracting the claws, nostrils flaring in frustration and anger as he stared back at Saint Germain.
The older man tittered once Jack’s claws were hidden. He raised his voice to the crowd, every bit the showman. “Very unusual. This is very, very unusual. We haven’t had a demand for a re-binding for as long as I can remember. But you’re right, of course. Bindings should not, cannot, be hidden. They are our most sacred honor on which our way of life depends. If they are ever in question, we must all have a chance to feel the power of their singular energy.” He looked up and down at Lela with a look somewhere between amused and admiring. “A re-binding. You’re a clever girl when you want your way.”
Tallis slammed her hands on the table in front of her. “This little bitch is disrespecting the council. She is a Reynard! An outrage!”
Saint Germain turned to Tallis with a hostile glare. “You will be seated and remain in order, Tallis Beauloup, or the CE will escort you outside.”
Tombeur stood opposite Tallis, his fiery eyes focused on Saint Germain.
“Sit down, Tombeur, or you’ll go with her.”
He turned his back on Tallis and faced Jack and Lela.
“A forced re-binding. Hmm. You say you can’t produce your mate in one month’s time, but how about two?” Saint Germain looked back and forth between Lela and Jack, rubbing his chin. “The council will vote immediately. All those in favor of the re-binding of Jacques Beauloup to his mysterious mate, stand.”
Jack watched in horror as various members of the council stood, raising their hands. One, two, three…twelve, thirteen, fourteen…Damn it, no! Twenty. Twenty of the forty council members stood around the table.
“Goodness gracious. We’re tied, which means the Council Elder gets a vote.” He looked at Jack and raised his eyebrows before turning to Lela and slowly, dramatically raising his hand.
The crowd erupted with stomping, clapping, and calling. Since the most exciting thing to happen at a Gathering in most of their lifetimes was to witness a live binding, this was unprecedented. Saint Germain quieted the crowd by waving his hands, then turned to Jack.
“You have until the summer solstice to produce your mate, Jacques Beauloup. That’s eight weeks. If you cannot, not only will the binding be considered broken, but we shall have to investigate the circumstances of your…phantommate.” He smiled at Jack and winked at Lela, rubbing his hands together.Then he turned slowly, addressing all the packs at once in a booming voice that ended the Gathering. “That is all.C’est fine!”
The crowd erupted yet again, stomping their feet on the bleachers and howling in approval. Jack looked at Tombeur, who shook his head and swallowed, looking down. He shifted his gaze to his mother, who winced and turned away.
Then he looked at Lela. Only Lela held his eyes. Lela, who smiled like Lynette the fox, had twisted his fate and put him in an impossible position.
Jack,Julien, Tallis, and Tombeur sat around the kitchen table while Delphine napped in the room she shared with herTanteLela. Lela knew better than to come home after the scene she made at the Gathering.
“I’d like to kill her,” snarled, his fangs and claws kept in check, barely.
Julien shrugged. “No one’s ever met your mate, Jacques. She had the right to ask for?—”
“No!” screamed Tallis at her younger son. “You will not defend her for this. Not this time, Julien!”
“I’m just saying that any pack member can ask for a re-binding. The council voted.”
“Son…” Tombeur started, looking at Julien with thoughtful eyes. “No one’s saying she didn’t have a right. But she’s brought down a mess of trouble on this family. On your mama. On me. Most especially, on your brother.”
Julien turned to Jack. “Well, as long as we’re on the subject…why haven’t we ever met your mate? What pack is she from?Where do you live with her? Why are you gone for a year or two at a time, and you always come home without her?”
“Back down, Julien,” warned Tallis.
Jack’s eyes felt hot, and he knew they were burning with outrage.
“I’m not trying to start trouble. I’m trying to understand.”
Jack turned to Julien, blurting the answer out with a growl. “She’s human.”
