Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw R-pack going through the same process. He caught the name of their guide—Anna—but kept his gaze straight ahead. With his senses already attuned to Alec, he couldn’t afford to make eye contact now. Not with his own pack so close.
Asha led them towards the front of the building and inside.
The outside might look like a stately home, but as they stepped into the large, open entrance space, Mark realised they’d made a fair few alterations. Inside the place was far more modern. The oak floors stretched the length of the hallway and into a couple of rooms that had their doors open, white walls making the space seem bright and airy.
Mark had hardly any time to look around, though, because Asha didn’t stop once. She marched along the hallway, past closed off rooms on either side until they came to another set of double doors. They hadn’t turned at all, so presumably, the room they were about to enter must’ve run along the back of the house. But that would make it huge.
She pushed open both doors. Not even a creak of wood sounded as they swung wide, revealing a massive space that did indeed run across the whole back of the house. They must have knocked at least two rooms together to make a space that size because no normal house would be built that way. But then again, Mark had had no idea how old it was. Maybe that was the original design?
The room layout reminded him of a courtroom. Not that he’d ever been in one, thank fuck, but he’d watched enough on TV. At the far end of the room, on a raised platform, sat a long rectangular table. Mark counted twelve chairs: all empty. On the floor in front of them were several rows of benches, separated by a large gap in the middle. Asha gestured to the benches on the right-hand side. “Alpha Newell, would you and your pack take your seats.”
Mark and Jason sat in the third row on their own, with Mark nearest to the aisle, which in hindsight was a bad move.
R-pack came in shortly after, and Mark braced himself. It still took him by surprise when he caught Alec’s scent again; just one night together and already he wanted to roll around in it. Being a shifter was a fucking curse sometimes. The feeling would wear off in a day or so, but in the meantime, it was torture. A shiver ran up his spine as he sensed Alec next to him, and against his better judgement, Mark glanced up.
His gaze landed on Alec’s broad chest, straining the material of his black shirt. He followed the line of buttons up to Alec’s throat, a faint trace of stubble already showing on his neck and chin that would feel oh-so good against Mark’s skin, and found Alec looking back at him.
The room around them seemed to disappear for a long, drawn-out second. A flash of heat in those dark brown eyes set Mark’s pulse racing, and the accompanying smirk had him smiling in return. If things were different, Mark would like nothing more than to grab Alec’s hand, drag him outside, and—
The moment was broken as Alec carried on walking to the front and sat next to his alpha. Flushing, Mark quickly glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. All his pack were watching the rest of R-pack file in behind their alpha. There were so many more of them, emphasising the difference in pack sizes, and Mark caught the sneer on Newell’s face as he glared at them.
The only one not focused on R-pack was Wes. He was looking directly at Mark, eyebrows drawn together, as though he was trying to work something out.
Mark looked away quickly and concentrated on his surroundings.
As soon as both packs were seated, two doors on either side of the room swung open. It must’ve been soundproofed because Mark hadn’t heard anyone approaching, and yet people began to filter in.
The alpha council.
Mark swallowed, throat suddenly dry. They were all so imposing. Whichduh, they were all alphas, but seeing so many together affected him in a way he hadn’t anticipated. The power in the room was almost palpable. It crackled in the air, as though one wrong move by either pack and all hell could break loose.
The room was silent as the ten council members took their seats.
Asha and Anna stood at either side of the room, like sentries.
One of the council members stood, and all eyes focused on her. She stood about six-foot-tall, with high cheekbones, and hair plaited in a long braid down her back. Her gaze took in everyone in front of her, and Mark had to look away as it landed on him.
She was both beautiful and terrifying.
When she leaned forward and placed both hands on the table, radiating power, Mark shrank back a little in his seat.
“Alpha Newell, Alpha Harley.” Her voice easily filled the room, clear and commanding. The authority in her tone sent a shiver down Mark’s spine and he had a sudden urge to bare his throat in submission. “I am Alpha Karin Wallace, leader of this council. While you are in our house, we expect you and your packs to behave with the courtesy and respect as befits both your rank and ours.” She waited for them to nod in agreement. “No investigations will begin today. You have been called here to listen to the accusations levelled against you and your respective packs and hear our ruling on how we will proceed. Our word is final. By bringing this matter to us, you have acknowledged this and will accept whatever decision we come to. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Very well.” She turned to the alpha on her right, an older-looking guy with white hair that fell to his shoulders, and sharp blue eyes. A silvery scar on his cheek stood out against his pale skin. Mark wondered if he got that in the pack wars. Must have been bad to not heal properly. “Curtis, you may begin.”
Curtis stood, again a sense of strength and authority rolled off him, and Mark curled his fingers around the edge of the seat to ground himself. “Alpha Steven Newell of the Primrose Hill pack, you stand accused of the following transgressions: One, attempting to cause bodily harm and/or death to members of the Regent’s Park pack with the intent of discrediting their alpha and taking the pack for yourself. Two, putting a member of your own pack in danger to help facilitate this. Three, repeatedly lying to another alpha when questioned about the existence of rogue shifters in your pack.”
Mark glanced from Newell to Harley, then back again. He’d expected some show of emotion in response to that, but neither one of them so much as twitched, whereas Mark clung to the bench with a grip so hard the wood creaked. Newell had insisted it was all lies, but with Alpha Harley standing there in front of the council and not looking the least bit worried, how could they be? No alpha in their right mind would bring matters to the council unless they had substantial evidence.
Fuck. This was his pack, his alpha. Mark didn’t want to believe Newell would betray them like that, but his gut told him there was at least some semblance of truth to it. A wave of nausea threatened to bring his breakfast back up, and Mark swallowed convulsively. Throwing up in the council rooms wasn’t something he was eager to do.
Curtis now addressed R-pack. “Alpha Cameron Harley of the Regent’s Park pack, you stand accused of the following transgressions: One, not reporting an illegal bite to the proper authorities. Two, allowing a member of your pack to go unpunished after carrying out an illegal bite. Three, forging the required paperwork to prevent said member from being arrested after the fact.”
Wow, Mark had been there for the joint pack meetings, so he knew all about Jared and Nathan. But they were happily mated now. What did it matter how it had happened? He also remembered his own alpha agreeing to keep quiet about it in exchange for R-pack’s help with the rogues and Nathan being the bait.
