“Then you should know that whatever happens to him, affects me too.”
“You can relax. You will not be kicked out of here for what happened.”
“And neither should Monte,” I blurted out.
“That remains to be seen.”
Josh Maxwell interceded more kindly. “We just have a few questions to help us understand what happened. We’ve heard Monte’s account of what happened and we’d just like to hear yours too.”
I nodded and started from the quad before telling them how I felt and admitted I had never seen Monte like that. I explained that it had upset me and I was still processing it when I decided to go for a run to clear my head.
“I was kind of lost in thought, so I really don’t know how long they were following me. And by the time I realized he was there, I was by the lake. His friend showed himself as they cornered me. I let out a cry for help. Fortunately, that call was answered. I don’t even know who they were. I’ve never seen those wolves before.”
“Really?” Dean Shannahan asked, sounding surprised.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because I find that interesting given they were the friends of the young man your mate attacked on the quad earlier that same day.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“So they were what? Just out for revenge on his behalf or something?”
“According to them, they were just out for a run when your mate attacked them.”
“That’s bullshit! Monte wasn’t even there until after I howled for help. And his brothers from Delta Omega Gamma were there as well as a few of my sisters. They all got there shortly after Monte.”
“Convenient, isn’t it? That no one was there to validate that.”
“I was there,” I reminded him. I thought hard through the events and anything that could help his case. “Remy! Remy was there too. He was right behind Monte. He had to have seen everything.”
“What do you think provoked Monte to attack these boys?” he asked.
“They were trying to rape me in my wolf form,” I told him.
“Why didn’t you just shift back to your skin? Perhaps this all could have been avoided,” Dean Shannahan said.
Bile rose in my mouth and I thought I was going to puke.
“Did you really just say that to me? I had two male wolves trying to attack me and force themselves on me and you think I should have shifted in the hopes they would actually abide by thelaws of the Grand Council and not attack me in my skin? Is that honestly what you’re telling me right now?”
I was furious.
He blanched as the reality of the situation sank in.
Monte burst through the door.
“Leave her alone. She was the victim here, not the problem. If you need to blame someone, then blame me. I’m the one that killed that bastard and given the events, I’d do it again every damn time.”
“Settle down, Monte,” his Alpha told him, and I could feel the warmth of Alpha power filling the room. “With all due respect sir, I think your line of questioning is in very poor taste. By all accounts we have a pretty good picture of what happened out there. And by his own account, we know those boys followed her out there with the intent to teach her a lesson. If they tried to rape her and Monte walked in on it after hearing her distressed howl, then he had every right to protect his mate.”
“We agreed we weren’t going to discuss this in front of the kids,” Shannahan said.
“Well, I’ve heard enough and I’m tired of these games. If you decide to kick him out of Archibald Reynolds over this, I will be taking it up with the Grand Council. And if you insinuate one more time that Zoey had any blame in what happened and was anything but the victim in this, I will be coming for your job. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” Shannahan said with gritted teeth. “My apologies, Ms. Rey. I was simply testing all theories. I did not mean to be so insensitive.”
