Chapter 023

Roman POV:

The elders murmured among themselves after I dropped the information about the rogue attack. Julian and Jacob stood behind me, both of them looking like they wanted to flee the room.

I wanted to as well. But for the sake of the pack, we remained.

“That's the third one in less than three weeks,” someone commented. “This is getting worse.”

“It's like they just spring out of nowhere!” Kennedy yelled, slamming his fist onto the table. I frowned at that but kept my peace. “What in Luna's name is going on?!”

“My Beta has some reports he'd like to give,” I announced.

Julian nodded when I called him up and stepped forward. The expression on some of the elders’ faces switched to disgust, while some exuded fear.

The child of the former Alpha's maid, now Beta, is rumored to be a killing machine.

They weren't wrong on both counts.

I pursed my lips, recalling the way my best friend sped to Audrey and captured her neck in a vice grip. I'd spoken to him earlier and warned him never to do that again, but Julian, despite his loyalty, had a mind of his own. He could destroy an entire pack if it meant his was safe.

Initially, that's why I didn't hesitate to choose him as my Beta. But after seeing my mate struggling in the air, something in me wondered if I'd made the right decision.

No. He was just seeking for the good of his pack. He could change.

“One Audrey Hill was captured at the scene of the fight, and she has been brought in for questioning. She sticks to her story that she is innocent, but as the odds are still against her, we have decided to keep her detained for the time being.”

He didn't add that I'd been the one to make that decision. I’d tried to make her confess to no end, and my temptation to mark her as my mate grew with every moment I saw her. Also, my wolf had been tormenting me with her scent day and night, but with my wedding to Tanya merely days away, I didn't think it was advisable to have her around me till then.

I just didn't know if that was the best decision to make.

“Wait. Audrey Hill? As in, Bernard Gatrix’s daughter?” Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Kilton asked, her usual stony look replaced by surprise. “She's back?”

Julian looked at her, his face impassive as it always was when he was before the council. “Yes, she is.”

“Bernard had another daughter?” another of the elders asked, his face twisted in confusion. “I'd always assumed Tanya was his one and only.”

“No, no,” Lottie said, waving a hand through the air. “Audrey is his first. Tanya was as a result of one out of many secret multiple nightstands that went bad.”

As vulgar as her wording was, I couldn't deny that was the case. Still, I had to protect my fiancée’s honor. “You'd do well to recognize Tanya as my fiancée when you're speaking about her before me, Charlotte.”

She glanced at me briefly before baring her neck. “I beg for forgiveness, Alpha.”

“It's alright. And yes, as she has said, Audrey Hill is Bernard Gatrix-Hill’s firstborn.”

“Lovely girl, that one,” Lottie said with a huge grin on her face. Her eyes told of many memories, presumably with Audrey. “And very clever, too. It's a pity her foolish father never saw her potential.”

To hear Lottie speak highly about someone was rare, but to hear her speak so highly about my mate, who was currently a prisoner, was an even rarer occurrence. I raised a brow. “You knew her well, I presume?”

“Of course I did! I was friends with her mother before she died. Gabrielle was such an amazing woman. If only she didn't marry Gatrix scum.”

“Lottie,” someone warned. “Be careful what you say here.”

She glared at him and huffed. “I knew her well enough, Alpha, until her father kept her hidden from society.”

That explained why I didn't know her. If Bernard and Diane kept her hidden and shone the spotlight on Tanya, most people would have almost forgotten her existence or not bothered to talk about her at all.

I indicated that I noted what she'd said, then gestured to Julian to continue. He nodded.

“Since she's refused to confess, two days after the Alpha's wedding to Miss Tanya Hill, she will be banished from the pack.”

Behind me, there was a sharp intake of breath. I forced myself to ignore it.

A collective murmur went around the council members again.

“Quiet,” I ordered.

“Isn't that a bit too cruel, Alpha?” Lottie asked after the murmur had died down. “A whipping, I would have understood, but banishment?”

“She was caught liaising with the rogues, Lottie. The least we can do for her is help her officially join them.”

In response, she pressed her lips together and looked away.

“That would be all.” I stood. “Also, I wish to once again invite you for my wedding that would be happening the day after tomorrow. There will be food and drinks in excess, so do not worry about your stomach.”

Only a few were not excited. Others like Aaron Kennedy cheered and walked to give me handshakes and ‘special moments in the bedroom’ advice.

I was laughing at some of their jokes when I noticed Jacob stomping out, a scowl on his face. When I exchanged looks with Julian, the expression on his face said he didn't care.

“Excuse me,” I said, and pushed past the elders outside, just to see him talking and gesticulating wildly at Lottie, who had a deep frown on her face. He stopped when he saw me, but the scowl didn't leave his face.

“Jacob,” I said as calmly as I could. “A word?”

At first, it seemed like he was going to decline, but then nodded to Lottie and walked up to me before baring his neck in obeisance. “Alpha.”

“Have you spoken to Audrey today? How is she?”

It'd come to my notice that he'd been visiting her every day, trying to cheer her up. initially, I'd doubted the reports, but one day, when I gave into my wolf's temptations and went to see her in the prison, I heard her laughing at something he'd said.