Page 11 of Severed By Magic

“You brought a tiger shifter into the territory?” Tom challenged his father, who didn’t look pleased at all.

“I had no choice. It was either let the Council take them or bring them all here.” That wasn’t exactly the most reassuring defense, but it wasn’t as if we had anyone else fighting for us.

Robert Stone, my maternal grandfather, arrived at Drexel in time to try to help, but he was no match against the Council. He was at least willing to come with us. When the Alpha arrived and asserted his claim over me and my pack, Robert went with us to the airport but wasn’t allowed to board the plane. I didn’t have much of a relationship with him. I barely tolerated him, but he was finally trying.

It would have been nice to have someone here to advocate on our behalf since we were way out of our depth. What rights did we have? What should we expect? Robert was a witch, but he had experience with the supernatural community. I had to hope he made it home safely, since the Alpha wouldn’t let me contact him.

“We’ll have to cuff him. Not just for our safety but his,” Tom announced, without looking at us.

“Excuse me?” I blurted. “Cuff him?”

He jerked his gaze in my direction, clearly annoyed that I questioned him. “Yes, with iron cuffs so he can’t shift.”

That sounded horrifying. My throat nearly closed up at the thought, but instant rage forced out my objections. “You can’t do that. He’s not going to hurt anyone!”

“Saige.” Sai reached over and put his hand over mine on the table. “It’s okay. Any shifter group would do that if another predator entered their territory.”

It might be customary, but that didn’t make it right.

“He has to be able to shift,” I insisted.

I was new to this world and had barely started to call up my wolf, but I was already anxious to get outside and run. How could they expect Sai not to?

“We will allow him to shift under supervision once a month,” Tom stated.

I balked. “Once a month? That’s terrible. He should be able to at least once a week.”

My uncle narrowed his eyes. “You do not argue with your elders.”

I fought back the urge to roll my eyes—I didn’t think that would help this situation, but he had to be kidding me. Respect your elders? When they were blatantly disrespecting me? My bond? How about treating others the way you want to be treated? That was a much better idea.

“Twice a month,” the chocolate-eyed brother offered. “I will supervise.”

Tom scoffed, but waved his hand in concession. “Fine, Rainer, but you’re responsible for him.”

Rainer looked at me and nodded once before moving on to Sai and smiling a bit.

So, at least one brother wasn’t terrible.

“How long are they staying?” The only nameless brother left asked. He didn’t sound bothered by us being here, just curious.

“Steven,” Gloria scolded, “Saige is family, and they are bonded. This is their home. They are welcome to stay for as long as they want. You all belong here as much as any of us do.”

She smiled at me.

Tom turned up his nose in disapproval but said nothing. Why did he have such a problem with us, or was it just me?

“What happened?” I blurted. I couldn’t wait. The explanation so far left too many questions, and my uncles were the only ones getting answers.

“When?” Rainer asked.

“You’ll have to be a tad more specific, pup,” Rodney smiled.

My tension eased, and I offered him a small one in return. “My aunt told me my birth father’s parents and younger brother died around the same time he did.”

The Alpha sighed. “That was a time of much conflict and confusion. We were at war with another pack and defending ourselves against the growing power of the Council. There was an accident, and somehow rumor spread that Rodney, my first wife, and I had perished. By the time we heard from our allies, it worked in our favor. Our enemies weren’t expecting me, or my pack, and we ended the war and established peace.”

“So you let everyone else believe you two were dead?” Theo asked. “Didn’t anyone else see you?”

---