“Fuck it, you’re right. Of course, you are.” Will ran a hand through his hair and tugged on the ends. “But not Jason.”
Mark closed his eyes and sighed. “No. Wes as good as admitted it.”
“Why would they kill him? Why not just get him to lie too?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he refused, or—” His voice broke. Jason had been their beta since they turned eighteen. He was more like an older a brother, and to think they were never going to see him again hurt deep inside him. “I miss him already.”
“Fuck, me too.”
Reaching into the cupboard behind him, Will grabbed two shot glasses and filled them with vodka. Mark had a good idea what he was up to and watched in silence. He handed a glass to Mark.
“To Jason.”
“To Jason,” Mark echoed.
They clinked glasses and downed their shot.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alec wanted nothing more than to gather his unit and go get Mark. He wouldn’t have lied to Seb and then Cam about that fucking jacket. Alec refused to believe it because that would mean he’d lied about everything else too, and Alec’s gut instinct was still to trust him.
Cam caught him on the stairs before he had a chance to do anything. “Alec. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”
“You know he didn’t lie first time round. Newell must have forced him.”
Cam put a hand on his neck and squeezed, but this time it did little to help. “I know this is hard for you, but you need to calm down. The alpha council deal in facts, and unfortunately, the facts are that Mark and another member of his unit have both told the council that they bought the jackets themselves. There is no one else who can testify that Newell gave it to him.”
Alec sighed and leaned against the wall. “But what about everything we’ve told them? The attack on Seb, his sister? What about all that?”
“All our information comes from Felix. And like Curtis said, he isn’t exactly a trustworthy source.”
“For fuck’s sake!” Alec smashed his fist against the wall, ignoring the flash of pain. He glanced at the bits of plaster tumbling to the floor. “I thought it was more or less a formality. The council would come in, see what a wanker Newell is, and send him somewhere preferably behind bars.”
“I know. So did I.” He squeezed Alec’s neck again and pulled him in close. Alec let his head drop to Cam’s shoulder. “I let my personal feelings cloud my judgement. Of course they would hesitate to believe Felix over an alpha who’s been in charge for the past ten years. No official complaints have ever been made about Newell, so as far as they’re concerned, he has a good record as alpha.”
Alec scoffed and straightened. “His pack doesn’t respect him. They’re frightened of him.”
Cam sighed. “Not all of them. I’m sure there are a good number of his pack, certainly some of the older ones, who think like he does. And if none of the others will speak out against him, we have no proof that he did anything wrong. Just Felix’s word. And up until two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed a word he said either.”
Fuck it all! Alec wanted to smash something, anything to take away the anger bubbling up inside of him. “What do I do about Mark? Please don’t ask me to sit by and do nothing because I can’t.”
“He’ll be at the council meeting tomorrow. He needs to appear as Alpha Wallace has requested his presence.”
“You have the list?”
Cam nodded. “I do. Both he and Will Farley are on it. As is anyone who’s been integral to the investigation. So they have to be there. Newell can’t do anything to him until then.”
“And after that?”
“Let’s get that out of the way first. You never know, they still might rule in our favour.” His expression turned sad. “If they don’t, then the only way to help Mark will be to get him to admit that he lied to the council. And even if he has a damn good reason, they’re still within their rights to punish him.”
Alec tugged at his hair, beyond frustrated. “So it’s a no-win situation.” Fuck, this was exactly why he never wanted to get close to anyone. It always hurt in the end.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But?” There was always abut.
“But we have to be realistic. He might not want our help. In which case there’s nothing we can do. And although I take no joy from saying this, Alec….” He hesitated, regret in his eyes. “If he sticks to what he told the council, then that means, as far as everyone else is concerned, he blatantly lied to me in my own building. In all good conscience, I can’t speak up for him, and I can’t endorse a bond between my beta and a shifter who has shown me such disrespect. It would reflect badly on me as alpha and on the pack. I can’t help him if he won’t help himself.”
