“Like you’re lying now,” Wes spat.
“Silence.” The snap of Karin’s voice had Wes freezing on the spot. She gestured to Mark. “Continue.”
Mark swallowed. “They held my cousin and Will’s sister as hostages, threatened their lives if we didn’t do what they wanted. So we lied. Wes also told me that Jason was dead, but now I understand that’s not true.”
“What?” Wes gasped, sounding panicked for the first time Mark had known him.
Good.
Alpha Harley stepped forward. “We found Jason Black of The Primrose Hill pack in Regent’s Park—so close to death it took our pack doctor hours to stabilise him. But he’s very much alive and had some interesting things to say.”
Karin focused her attention on Harley. “Such as?”
“He said he’d followed Wes to an apartment just outside P-pack territory. Mark’s cousin and Will’s sister were being held hostage there. Before he could tell anyone, Wes and two members of his unit attacked Jason and left him for dead.”
“No!” Wes roared, a murderous expression on his face, and he lunged at Cam.
Mark watched in stunned disbelieve. Wes was a nasty wanker, but he’d never thought him stupid. Attacking an alpha in front of the fucking council had to be the stupidest thing he’d ever witnessed.
Wes made it three paces before Alec and Gareth roughly intercepted him. They tackled him to the ground, grabbed a shoulder each, and forced him to his knees.
Karin regarded him coolly. “I will deal with you later. Alpha Newell, you have heard the allegations against you. What do you have to say?”
Much to Mark’s disappointment, Newell didn’t seem the least bit ruffled. He spared a withering glance at Wes. “I can only apologise for the behaviour exhibited by my beta just now. I had no idea he’d taken members of my pack hostage or threatened others.”
Wes gaped at him. “But—”
“Quiet,” Newell hissed, his tone deadly calm. It sent a shudder through Mark even though it wasn’t directed at him. “You’ve done enough damage to this pack.”
Snapping his mouth shut, Wes lowered his gaze, and his shoulders slumped.
Karin glanced between the two of them. “Your beta included you in his accusations, Alpha Newell. What do you have to say to that?”
Newell met Mark’s gaze, his smug expression making a return. “Mr Appleton has changed his story so often now, I doubt even he knows what’s truth and what’s fiction. I don’t know what his purpose is in implicating me, but I’ve got nothing to do with this mess.”
Karin sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, Alpha Newell has a point.” She looked at Mark, and he shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “You openly admit you lied to the council. We cannot trust anything you say at this point in the proceedings. Alpha Harley, please tell me you have tangible proof this time?”
“The shifters guarding the hostages are dead.” Cam grimaced, “And the hostages themselves only saw Wes. Jason is an experienced and trusted beta; will his word be enough?”
“To convict Wes? Certainly. His actions themselves will help to condemn him. Do you have anything that supports Mr Appleton’s statement?”
Cam shot Mark an apologetic look. “I’m afraid not.”
“He told me to do all of it,” Wes shouted, purposefully not looking at his alpha. “I was just following his orders.” Desperation clung to him, but Mark didn’t have an ounce of sympathy.
Karin eyed him with disgust. “And do you have any proof? Other than your word, which at this stage means very little.”
“I—” Wes glanced around the clearing. The silence was deafening. His head dropped in defeat. “No.”
Bollocks. Mark couldn’t believe Newell was going to get away with this. Yes, he was going to lose his alpha status, but he deserved so much worse.
“Alpha Wallace.” Will’s quiet, yet firm voice sounded at the back of the clearing, and all eyes turned to him. He slowly drew something out of his pocket. “I believe we have all the proof you need.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Alec held tight to Wes’s shoulder and watched as Will handed his phone to Mark and said, “I recorded them in the car.” Mark’s eyes lit up, and a knowing look passed between them. Whatever they had on Newell, Alec would bet it was damning.
“Thank you.” Mark took it quickly and scrolled through to whatever he was searching for. He tapped the screen, and suddenly Wes’s voice sounded loud and clear.
