Selena POV:
Duncan took me to the clearing where everything was set up. As we approached, I noticed that there were lights hanging from the trees to illuminate the park. They weren’t switched on yet, but by the time the meeting started, they would be. There were chairs and a table with a velvet cloth that held various items, which I assumed would be for the meeting later.
“The meeting will happen here?” I asked him as he continued down the path towards it.
“Yes. It will start soon,” he answered simply. “We are coming early to set it up for the others.”
I heard voices in the forest as we entered the clearing. Automatically, we looked towards the sound to find the Sentinels rushing around, directing each other with the trays of finger foods.
They looked like miniature works of art and too pretty to eat.
“Do you guys need any help?” Duncan called loudly.
They twisted slightly to l
Selena POV:He led me to the head of the clearing where a few chairs were kept. I sat down and Duncan finally ushered over a person. He was an incredibly big man. I was a little afraid of him. As he neared, the man looked directly at me. His eyes narrowed in study. I felt a shiver go down my spine from his look. After a few tense moments, he gave me a smile that said he was pleased with what he found. I released the breath that I was holding, gulping in a lungful of sweet air. “Selena, let me introduce you to Lamont. He is a Water Witch and a half-breed like you.”“Hello, Selena,” he said with a strong voice. “Hello,” I replied, holding my free hand out for him to shake. He took it between his two large calloused ones and gave a gentle shake. “I have been hearing about your progress from Duncan and Meredith. I understand that you are training to channel Earth and Fire at the moment?” he asked.
Selena POV:I couldn’t say I was surprised that Duncan followed me. He walked beside me and waited for me to stand still. His focus had just fallen on me, but mine had never wavered for him. I was too afraid of witnessing anything but devotion for me in his eyes. He turned me to him slowly and his face slowly started to lose some of its hardened expression as he searched my eyes. I could feel a trickle of concern flow towards me through our bond. “Are you okay?” he questioned. “I’m fine,” I said. Both of his hands moved up to cup my face, but I couldn’t give a thought to the tender gesture as my mind whirled with all the possibilities that Ruth had presented. I knew she was trying to get back at me for speaking against her, but why would she sink so low? What was wrong with her?“Selena, if I ask you to go back to the cleaning and wait for a bit without questioning anything, would you do it?” he aske
Selena POV:A few moments of silence and tacit understanding later, I quickly fixed my appearance so we could return to the meeting happening at his house. I was concerned that we had been absent too long and didn’t want to supply fuel for gossip in any form. As we made our way back, hand in hand, I saw Neo standing on the porch, waiting. The dull thud of my shoes on the stairs did he look straight at us. “You’re needed in the library,” Neo said calmly.“Ruth?” Duncan asked beside me, his emotions giving off sparks of anger. “Yes.”“Thank you,” Duncan said. Nervousness slowly crawled into my stomach as I thought about what would be expected of me in regards to Ruth. Would this be another meeting like I had with the fire incident?“Selena, relax,” Duncan whispered to me as he led me to down the empty hallway. I took a deep breath and released it, trying
Selena POV:Weighing the alternatives in my head, about ordering a banishment and letting her stay here, I needed to know more of the reality of the situation. If Ruth was thrown out, where would she go, exactly? How would she support herself? Could she support herself?“Does she have any family living outside pack land?” I asked. “Yes. She has an older brother. He lives with his mate in her pack. Once a wolf is asked to leave, it is usually a permanent situation. You are not allowed to contact that person. She would be considered a threat to another pack and would not be welcome. A wolf is on their own in that case,” he explained. “I see,” I said, going into my thoughts. I remembered what it was like to be alone in the wilderness, knowing that I had no one to protect me. To be cut off from everything that I knew. The security that a family brings or the pack had in a twisted way was taken away. I had gotten lucky fin
Selena POV:“For purposely using your knowledge against a member of your pack and for refusing to give your oath to the Alpha female. The suggested punishment is banishment,” Neo stated formally. Ruth flinched at the word, as did her mother, who stood next to her husband not far behind their daughter. “Alpha Selena, your decision, please,” Neo prompted me. “Ruth,” I began, feeling my voice weaken lightly. I steeled myself to not show my anxiety to the room. “It has been decided that you will not be banished,” I said, making sure that my voice was clear to all the people in the room. Her head jerked up in surprise as her eyes widened in shock. Her mother burst into happy tears and came forward to hug her daughter. She looked up at me and thanked me. Her father looked relieved, losing the pinched look he had been wearing throughout the meeting. “Good job, Duncan. I knew you could talk he
Selena POV:Duncan and I must have been extremely tired, as we woke in the same position as we fell asleep the night before. I tried to untangle myself from Duncan’s sleeping body but inadvertently woken him the moment our fingers unclasped. Half-asleep, Duncan jerked his head up from the pillow as I felt a wave of distress come from him. He grabbed my hand back in some inherent gesture of reassurance as his eyes took a moment to focus on me. “Selena?” his morning voice croaked. His emotions calmed to an even level as he saw I was still next to him. Glancing over at the clock, I could see it was ten. “We slept late, there is a lot to do today. I need to go talk to Meredith,” I told him slowly, pulling away and off the bed to stand beside it. He watched me for a few seconds. “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked softly.I knew he wasn’t offering out of politeness, he wanted to support me.
Selena POV:“But you don’t know that for certain. Why not just tell me?”He spread his hands out in front of him in a gesture of defeat. I was shaking and tried to stop it by clenching my teeth and twisting the material of my shirt in my fist. This was not what I hoped to hear. I didn’t know if I could trust them after this. The lack of answers between us was not helping me feel like I could turn to them for anything going forward.Ever since the mating, so much had changed that I wasn’t sure how to fix this situation.“How am I supposed to trust you?” I asked, my throat clenching with tears. “Don’t say that.” He stood up and placed his hands on my shoulder. “Please don’t think either of us did this to harm you. We just made the wrong decisions.”He was pleading with me to understand his side in this, but I couldn’t. I was just too confused.
Selena POV:Arriving at the house, I took a moment to wash my face and comb my hair. I heard the phone ring but didn’t make a move to answer it. Duncan came into the bathroom a minute later, stopping just inside the door frame to lean against it, and watched me comb my hair. The connection between us was calm and relaxed after the conversation we had on the way back from Meredith’s house. “That was the Sentinels. They want to know if we would like to join them for lunch,” he said. “Who’s going to be there?” I asked cautiously. “Neo, Caleb, Sylvie, Quill… and my distant relatives… the ones from last night,” he hesitated a little at the end. His emotions swirled to include uneasiness at the mention of these family members of his. I too felt it within me, but I knew that staying here might look bad like we were hiding. If members of his family and all of his sentinels were there, th