His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) (20 page)

He left me, quickly returning with a blue towel. "Sorry. That's the only blue cloth I have."

"No problem." While I spread the towel, he fetched the fish bowl. I gathered up the candles I'd bought the day before because they smelled so nice. For some reason, I checked the label. The scent was amber.
Just Danu's personal aroma.
No wonder I believed in fate.

Without telling Erik how wrong he was about destiny, I smiled to myself and drew one of the fireplace matches from the wooden box that held them. I struck it, lighting the four wicks. They sputtered as new wicks will and then took. The flame stretched upward. He set down the fish bowl and stuck his hand in it to get a few of the rocks. Gilda flipped her tail in annoyance. I arranged everything as I remembered it should be and then knelt before the
improv
altar.

"Okay, here goes." I closed my eyes.
"Hi, Goddess Danu.
It's Bronte, here.
Um, Bronte
Hannigan
.
One of your great-times-a-zillion granddaughters.
Well, not in the strictest sense…or maybe I am."

Geez.
Could I sound more stupid? And why had a picture of my dead mother suddenly popped into my head?

"Sorry for bothering you, but I'm in a bit of a bind, and I need your help.
Assuming you
d
o help. I honestly have no idea. Maybe you don't do things like that. But if you do, could you please give me some insight on how to handle what's going on here? The
Corteggio
--you've heard of them, right? They want to put me in prison for something I didn't do. Actually, that's not right. I did do it. But I didn't know it was against their rules. I mean, who would?"

Feeling a little foolish, I glanced back at Erik. He nodded encouragement, a smile tugging at his lips. I closed my eyes again so I wouldn't see it.  Laughing would so not be a good thing.

"Anyway, I turned my boyfriend into a wolf, but only to save us. I'd never have done it otherwise. At least I don't think I would've. Maybe he'd have talked me into it eventually.
Who really knows? The bottom line is this: if there's anything you can do to help us, I'd really, really appreciate it.
Thanks, and um, over and out."
With a wave to no one, I opened my eyes and blew out the candles.

I looked over my shoulder at Erik. He gave me a thumbs-up. We both burst out laughing. Of all the days that had passed since I was kidnapped over a year ago, this one was probably the most bizarre.

Chapter Fourteen

Saturday morning went by way too fast. Erik and I acted like an old married couple going through the normal routine of lives that were nowhere near that. I did some laundry. He took out the trash. I baked some cookies. He trimmed his own hair with electric clippers. I picked out what we should wear to court. He ironed my selections. I cleaned up our boots. He located the Countryside Inn on the internet.

Yeah, a couple of wild and wooly wolves.
The
Corteggio
sure had a lot to fear from us.

We stayed indoors all afternoon, making out on the couch like there was no tomorrow. And maybe there wasn't. I honestly didn't know. In a world where werewolves went to video court, anything could happen.

We dressed around 5:00. I wore the nicest thing I owned at the moment--dark blue skinny jeans with some bling on the back pockets, a red peasant top, and matching wedges, all of which I'd been wearing when I was kidnapped. Thinking back to the days when I'd dressed up to go to the Laundromat, I had to smile. Had my life changed, or what?

Erik wore khakis and a chocolate sweater that really made his eyes pop. Though I'd cleaned up his boots, he wore shoes, instead. We inspected each other before we walked out to the car. I giggled when he staggered back as if my look had knocked him
dead,
a nervous sound I couldn't believe came from my mouth. Some badass wolf I made. We kissed and hugged.

"Don't worry," he whispered into my hair, which I'd pulled back on one side to show off my gold loop earrings. "I have a good feeling about this."

"Really and truly?"

"Yeah."

He sounded as if he meant it, and I couldn't help but feel better as we walked out the back door. Though I started to step into the snow, Erik nixed that and carried me to the car. That saved my toes, which would've gotten cold and wet since the shoes were actually meant for summer.

The road out of the woods was as tricky as usual. Erik slowed when we finally got to the pavement, pulling over so I could check his mailbox for him, something he said he
hadn't done in days. It was the kind found on every rural road, and I remembered seeing it the other times we'd come out. I just hadn't known it was his.

There were a lot of catalogs in there plus some other junk mail and
a
electric bill. I also pulled a bubble wrap envelope from the box. It was addressed to me. Surprised, I opened it and found an iPhone in a box and a note from Dad telling me to stay in touch. When I realized the background photo was one of me and my mom, I actually hugged the thing. I'd been without one since my kidnapping, which was too dang long. Erik just laughed at me.

Of course I played with my new toy all the way to Branson, which kept me distracted. But the moment we pulled into the parking lot at 6:15, all the anxiety I'd been ignoring slammed into me. My stomach instantly knotted. I actually felt a little dizzy.

Deep breath, Bronte.

I smiled at the mental encouragement.

"How are you holding up?" Erik asked.

"I'm fine." I lied because I had to be strong for me and for him. I couldn't let the
Corteggio
intimidate us. After all, I was not my mother's daughter for nothing. She'd fought her cancer like an Irish warrior woman, and I could do no less with the
Corteggio
, which might not be a disease with no cure, but was just as deadly.

A helpful hostess at the welcome desk told us the number of the conference room. We walked down a carpeted hallway as if we were headed to a business meeting or a job interview instead of a hearing to mete out punishment for preternatural mistakes. When we got to the room, we paused at the door for another quick kiss before knocking and entering.

As the door clicked shut behind us, my gaze landed on a conference table where three men were seated. I recognized
DeLuca
and Crane. I guessed the other person was our lawyer.

At the end of the room a big screen television had been set up as well as a camera that was focused on the conference table. The whole idea of a videoconference with a bunch of
Corteggio
judges on the other side of the planet or maybe someplace above it was so wild I almost lost it. But this was no joke, and I knew it.

The man I didn't recognize stood and introduced himself the moment we got to the table. "Lucas Norris." He offered us each a handshake.

"Bronte
Hannigan
. This is Erik Thorne."

He nodded. "Have a seat, please."

We sat next to each other across from the three of them.

"Levi has briefed me on both cases. I'll be glad to handle Erik's, too, if you like."

We nodded. At that point, what else could we do?

"I think we're in a fairly good position," he next said, addressing his comments to me. "But with these guys you just never know. They've been around a very long time, which is good and bad. On the good side, they know the law. On the bad side, they're resistant to change and have a lot of outdated prejudices. I will say that they have an appeal process, so if things don't go our way tonight, we do have other avenues and can drag this thing out for years, if necessary. Hopefully they won't want to keep you incarcerated during that time."

Were those words supposed to make me feel better?
Not working, dude.
I swear I felt the color draining from my cheeks.

As if rethinking his honest comments, Norris gave me a smile to lighten things up. "My daughter Cassidy is dating a former
Were
. Brody Anderson. Do you know him?"

I shook my head.

"He took the cure. I understand that's not an option for you."

I nodded.

"I have a few questions I need to ask before the videoconference starts." He waited for my nod. "When did you bite Erik?"

"On Wednesday."
I gave him the approximate time and explained the situation. Norris took notes.

When we finished, his attention shifted to Erik. "Though Levi didn't know for sure, I'm assuming you want to remain lupine because of Bronte?"

"That's ninety-nine percent of the reason, yes."

"And the other one percent?"

"I like it."

Norris nodded as if Erik's declaration made perfect sense. At least he was taking us seriously. I'd have been bummed if he'd treated me like a child after all I'd been through.

DeLuca
checked his watched.
"Any minute now.
They're always on time."

The words had just left his mouth when the television suddenly flickered into life. I saw a long table made of dark wood intricately carved with symbols that had no meaning for me. Behind it were seated five men, all of them dressed in black
robes.
I noticed that the chairs in which they sat looked a little like thrones with high backs that had thick, pointy spindles. They didn't have on white wigs or anything, but were wearing odd-shaped hats with gold trim on them. Behind them were white marble columns that gave the place an antique look.

When Crane, who was handling things from a laptop, zoomed in a little on the judges, my heart dropped straight into my stomach. These guys weren't just old. They were ancient. I actually wondered if they might be immortals or something. Pale with wrinkles as deep as crevices and skin that hung loosely from their faces, they looked downright creepy.

And the weirdest thing of all was seeing them on a television screen that meant someone on their end had to have a setup similar to ours. Clearly it wasn't one of the judges. At least I didn't see a laptop in front of anyone. I did see a wooden gavel and some fancy gold name plates that I read from left to right: Counselor
Vladislav
, Counselor
Theudebald
, Counselor Ainsworth, Counselor
Martínez-Botella
, and Counselor
Zhong
Kang.

A global sample of
preter
authority from the look of things.

DeLuca
stood to speak.
"Honored Counselors, thank you for hearing our case.
I have werewolf Bronte
Hannigan
with me today, along with her legal representative, Lucas Norris." He introduced Crane as Norris's assistant and Erik as "Miss
Hannigan's
progeny." "We're ready to hear the accusation." He sat.

Counselor Ainsworth solemnly nodded. "Miss
Hannigan
, you are hereby accused of knowingly breaking Rule 871 of the 1792 Codex to Eliminate the Propagation of Dangerous Species."

I couldn't believe that so young a voice was coming from a guy with wispy long hair the color of cotton and a beard long enough to disappear behind the table top.

"How do you plead?" he asked.

Panicked, I looked to Norris for guidance. Was I supposed to say something here? If so, he should've warned me. Before I could ask him, he stood. "Miss
Hannigan
pleads not guilty."