Chapter Forty One - Letter of the Law

Around noon, bit of a commotion in the yard pulled Jake from his comfortable sleep by the fire. He lifted up to listen for a moment, but since no link message accompanied it he assumed it was nothing important and settled back down when Lia’s wolf snuggled in closer to his side. They hadn’t moved from beside the fire since they’d come in from the chaos of the previous night. Lia’s wolf was still weak and she got chilled every time the fire died. Jake fully expected to hear from the lycan again soon, but he wasn’t in any rush.

A few more angry wolf noises roused him again, this time enough that he linked with Mark to find out what was going on.

“No need for you to come, Alpha. We have dealt with the problem.”

“What problem?”

“First there was some commotion around the Lycan guest cottage. We didn’t know what it was, but the Lycan had not stirred and none of our pack members were there so we left it be. A while later Zinnia’s father and Grandfather grabbed her from the shore, but Dylan was right there. Killian and a few others joined the chase and the pup is back in the pack house now, down in the safe room. Her kin will not leave, but they are only two and we are keeping them from causing problems. I’ve increased the watch to be sure they are acting alone.”

“Do they know the Lycan are here?”

“I am not sure.”

“Make them aware of it. Tell them they can sit in the hunting shelter and wait. The next time the lycan emerge from the house they can ask for clarification on the law.”

“But Jake, what if they rule in Ocean Moon’s favour?”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I suppose I don’t, but it seems the most likely answer. They follow their own laws, without exception. The law says that the fated mate keeps the girl, so they should rule in accordance with their own laws.”

“What if they insist on going to the cottage for immediate clarification?”

“If they head towards the Lycan's cottage let me know so we can get dressed before we all get summoned to the lawn.”

“And Zinnia?”

“You know the law, Mark. If the Lycan call, she has to come.”

“Dylan won’t be happy.”

“The Lycan are going to summon us at some point today anyways. As soon as they get a sense of what has happened we’ll all have to make an appearance. We might not think it’s fair, but somebody will have to answer for the death of that lycan and we all know it. I’d rather it was later, so Liana can get more strength back, but if it’s now we will be there.”

“How will she handle them...disintegrating her mother?”

“I’ll be sure she knows what to expect and the reaction that she is supposed to have, but it is all new to her so that might not do any good. She wouldn’t be the first wolf to be upset over the death of a parent though. The Lycan Council tend to just make distraught werewolves immobile until their emotions settle. The only werewolves even killed for putting up a fuss at these hearings are those who became violent. I won’t let that happen.”

“What are you going to do, tranquilize her?”

“If they don’t, yes.”

Lia stretched out and reached for Jake, smoothing her hand up his naked chest and around his shoulder to hold him closer. She had no idea what time it was, but the smell of liver and onions was making her mouth water and her stomach growl. Part of her wanted to get some food, the other part wanted to snuggle up and sleep some more. She pulled on his shoulder and slid up a bit so her head was resting under his chin. “Mate?” Lia’s wolf asked, making Lia smile slightly. She wouldn’t mind that either.

“Ready to rise Luna Liana?” His voice rumbled under her ear and slipped into her mind, encouraging both she and her wolf to wake up. “It’s mid-afternoon, and you’ve not eaten in more than a day. They brought your favourites, even though you had them just a couple of days ago.”

Was her birthday really just two days ago? It felt like a lifetime.

“We need to eat and get ready. I’m sure the lycan must have noticed by now that we aren’t out looking for you anymore. They’re sure to call everyone together soon. We need to talk about what is going to happen.”

“At least the Bane is dead. We won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

“That may not be a good thing, Lia.”

“What you mean? Of course it is. Jake, you have no idea what he was doing!”

“Werewolves aren’t allowed to even attempt to injure a Lycan Lia, certainly not to kill one.”

“But it was self-defense! He shot at us first!”

“It doesn’t matter. A werewolf can not oppose a Lycan, not for any reason. It would be like killing the president of the US, or the Queen of England. It just isn’t allowed.” Lia jumped up and headed for the door. “Lia! Where are you going? What about your dinner!”

“Library,” she called over her shoulder, “I need to see those Supreme Law books again.”

“But you’re naked!” Lia paused and glanced down at herself, surprised to find that she was indeed naked. Rather than taking the time to go and get dressed she shifted to her wolf and continued to the door.

Jake followed Liana a few minutes later with her leggings and a sweater in one hand, and a tray with her dinner in the other. The two spent the entire night in the library combing over every book of Lycan Laws that the pack possessed. The sun was peeking up over the horizon when the call to assemble came. They hadn’t found anything in there that could help Selene. Jake slipped his hand into his pocket and fingered the long, thin dart. It was his last resort, but he wasn’t going to take a chance of losing his mate.

They were halfway through the main hall when Lia yelled “ZIN!” and broke into a run. “Someone put something over her head!” The group who had been reluctantly heading outside suddenly perked up and charged the door. Lia didn’t know who might be abducting Zinnia, but the rest of the pack were all up to date on the activities from the previous day. Jake glanced towards the Lycan cottage as he left the pack house, wondering briefly how the Lycan would react to them all running the wrong way. He saw the confused looks as they glanced at one another and then the tallest one stepped forward and banged his staff on the ground. Whatever Jake had expected, that was not it.

The werewolves all froze and dropped to their knees as the scent of Lycans suddenly surrounded them and pressed them to the ground. “ALL WEREWOLVES MUST ASSEMBLE.” The chorus of Lycan voices rang clearly in the mind of every werewolf present.

“But the pup!” Lia called. Jake cursed. After all her reading, she still didn’t understand about Lycans or the Lycan Council. “They’re taking Zinnia! They’re stealing a pup!”