Fighting tears, I duck my head and kiss her shoulder. This is not the end; it’s the beginning of trust. Tomorrow I’ll win Zack’s appeal and get her pack alpha home. And after that, well, the rest is up to Zack.
Despite my best efforts, a single tear leaks from under my lashes.
“Cut.”
Chapter forty-three
Red
I hop from one foot to the other in the courtroom aisle, waiting for the officers to bring Zack inside. Nerves trickle through me at the thought of what lies ahead. If we don’t get Zack out, the attacks will keep coming, and my alpha might not survive all of them.
A life hangs in the balance today.
Callisto sits at the front desk, skimming his notes and conferring with his paralegal, the kind man who got my name on the witness list last time. Now and then the lawyer glances over his shoulder to find me, and his lips quirk when our gazes meet. His hair’s still dyed light brown, but at least now he’s fully clothed.
Yesterday was wild. We ran away with the filming like horses with bits clamped in their teeth. It was hot and beautiful, and we weren’t the only people coming apart during the shoot. No one admitted it, but the scent in that studio bloomed like a street festival.
And it was our silent promise to each other of more to come. I know Zack made the decision to throw Callisto out because he sensed my doubts, but those are gone now, washed away by Calli’s tireless efforts on our behalf. Time and again he’s shown up, proving he won’t abandon me.
Callisto gets a call on his phone, and he swivels around to stare at me as he talks.
“Something’s up,” Rickon whispers, reaching for my shoulders.
The lawyer rises abruptly and shoves through the barrier’s wooden gate, brow drawn with concern.
“What’s wrong?” Rickon asks.
Callisto glances around and then leans in, setting his face near ours. “Zack’s on his way, but I just got the fight’s injuries list from a contact of mine.”
My stomach tangles in knots. “Is Zack hurt?”
“No, he seems to be fine apart from a few bruises. Miraculous, considering twenty prisoners got involved.”
Rickon hisses, and I shake my head in wonder.
Callisto reaches out to touch my arm. “Can you sit down for a minute?”
I slide into the closest seat, and the two men sit either side of me, leaning in to continue our huddle.
Calli takes my hand, swiping once at his lips before continuing. “Um, so apparently Ray Fibbistachi is on life support. He has thirteen broken bones, including his spine, and a crushed throat. Chances are he’ll be a paraplegic, and doctors say he’ll most likely feed out of a tube for the rest of his life.”
The feeling that sweeps through me is oddly chilling, like the epic conclusion to a movie that keeps you pinned in your seat for long moments after the end. My breath catches. After my treacherous climb, I’ve finally reached level ground. My alphareduced the man who tormented me to a splintered log, reliant on machinery even to breathe.
I drag in a deep breath, and it feels fresher and sweeter than any air I’ve ever had. I’m free.
“One more thing,” Callisto says, tugging at his tie knot. “Apparently, his penis was stabbed too many times to reconstruct.”
The laugh that bursts out of me echoes loudly in the muted courtroom. I clap my hands over my quivering mouth. “Damn, Calli. I think I need you to say that one more time.”
His lips flatten as he tries to hide his smile but fails. “Ray Fibbistachi no longer has a dick. It got stabbed beyond recognition by an unknownsomebody.”
I flop back in my seat to gaze at the ceiling, body suddenly limp. “He really did it,” I mutter.
“Yeah. That and taking half of his ear,” Callisto says, thumb massaging over the back of my hand. “I heard from Keith Alhedy that he explained to Zack in simple terms what Ray did to you. Zack’s restraint in plotting his revenge instead of taking Ray’s head immediately amazed him.”
The intricate moldings on the courtroom ceiling blur together. It’s a kind of poetic justice when I think about it . . . a violent alpha from the pits of despair who learned humanity faces off against an alpha who had every chance at humanity but chose violence.
And me, the omega who connected them.
