“What about Hannibal?” After seeing him in midmeal, I still couldn’t think of the blood-covered cannibal by so benign a name as Jeff.
“He was dead before the hunt began. Ethan and Reid put him out of his misery as soon as they were done with him.”
A shadow crossed the door frame and I glanced up to find my father smiling at me, an old-fashioned oil lamp hanging from one fist. He wore a faded button-down shirt and the only pair of jeans he owned. “How do you feel, kitten?”
“I’m fine, Daddy.” I wasn’t in much pain at the moment, thanks to a strong local anesthetic at the site of my stitches. And there was another pile of little white pills on the table, for when the shots wore off. “So, what’s up?” In consideration of my latest injuries, the tribunal had postponed the announcement of my verdict until Doc finished sewing me up. But my father had spent the past hour at the lodge, and I was pretty sure I knew why.
“The tribunal has reached a verdict.”
Marc’s hand closed around mine, and I nodded, holding my breath in anticipation. I was still pissed about missing the announcement, but Dr. Carver would not let me leave the bed yet. Not even to use the restroom. And I was not fond of the bedpan, though I have to admit it was better than a coffee can.
My father smiled. “Guilty of infection.” Which we’d already known. “But innocent of murder, by reason of self-defense.”
I exhaled, but wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or angry. The real news was yet to come. “What’s the sentence?”
My father’s smile widened, his eyes sparkling in the firelight. “Public service.”
“Meaning what?” Marc asked, before I could.
“Basically, they want Faythe reinstated as an enforcer, but working for nothing for the next year.”
Okay, that wasn’t too bad. I didn’t know what to spend my meager salary on anyway…
“And…they want you to teach the rest of us to do the partial Shift. Which means you’ll have to spend five days with each of the other Prides over the next few months.”
“Really?” Surprise tingled through me, and my father nodded. Now that’s interesting. Though there were certainly a few territories I did not look forward to visiting…
“The partial Shift saved your job,” he continued, transferring the oil lamp to his other hand.
Yes, and Marc had saved my life, as well as Ethan’s. But they wouldn’t cut him the same break they’d cut me. He was officially exiled. In fact, other than my uncle, no one on the tribunal knew he was still around.
“Thanks, Daddy. That’s great.” But my victory was bittersweet. Now that my life was no longer in jeopardy, Marc had no reason to stay.
Fortunately, my father seemed to understand my lack of enthusiasm, and his own smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m going back to the cabin to sit with Ethan. If you need me, call his cell.”
I nodded. He had dropped—thus shattering—his own phone on the floor of the lodge the previous morning, which was why he hadn’t answered it. He and Michael both seemed to feel pretty guilty for being incommunicado at the worst possible moment. In fact, Michael had gone out twice already to get me my favorite treats, to aid my recovery. I’d let him off the hook soon. Once he got back with fresh game…My father’s gaze shifted to Marc, and his expression sobered even more. “Ten minutes.” Marc nodded, and his former Alpha retreated into the main room, then out the front door.
I watched him go, then frowned at Marc in dread. “You’re leaving now?”
His eyes closed for a moment, then opened to meet mine in obvious pain. “I have to.”
“No, you don’t.” I shook my head vehemently as panic set in beneath my anesthesia-fueled fog. “The verdict’s official. Daddy can take you back, and there’s nothing they can do about it.”
Marc sighed, and scooted to sit on the bed with me. “Faythe, Calvin Malone formally challenged your father’s leadership last night on a conference call with the entire council. He’s called for a vote of nonconfidence, and requested to be named the new head of the council. The bastard timed it perfectly—twelve hours before he pronounced you innocent of murder, which makes him appear just and unbiased.”
Nooooo. My heart sank into my stomach, and the room seemed to spin.
It was too soon. My dad had two seriously injured children, one incarcerated son and a new, traumatized young tabby to deal with. Not to mention Manx and her upcoming childbirth. And trial. And the loss of his top enforcer. How could he possibly deal with Malone’s coup on top of all that?
My gaze strayed to the empty doorway where my father had stood. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
Marc sighed. “He doesn’t want this to set your recovery back. But I know you’re stronger than that, right?”
I nodded, numb. I’d have to be. “When’s the vote?”
“February. They each have three months to present their cases to the other eight Alphas. Your dad needs five votes, other than his own, to keep his spot.” He stopped, and stroked the back of my hand with his forefinger. “That’s why I have to go. If your dad goes back on his word by revoking my exile, he’ll be loading Malone’s smoking gun for him.” He set my mug on the table and took my hand in both of his. “I can’t do that to him. You can’t ask me to.”
No. Of course I couldn’t.
How the hell had Malone forced us each to choose between the other two? And why did Marc always wind up the loser in our little game, no matter how we shuffled the cards?
I sighed and let my head fall back. The ceiling came into focus—plank after plank of wood hewn from trees Keller had probably felled himself.
“So wait for me,” I insisted. “I’ll go with you as soon as I can Shift.” But I knew it wouldn’t work. Jace had been right about that. “Or we could stay here! This is free territory, and after what Keller did to those strays, no one with half a brain will come within five miles of his territory again. Including the Territorial Council.”
He shook his head, squeezing my hand. “I came up with all those same ideas, Faythe, but they’re no good. We can’t drag Keller into this. He’ll be hibernating soon, and he’ll need peace and quiet, not tomcats yowling all over the woods in search of you.” Marc sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat so gloomy my heart broke to see it. “Besides, you belong with your Pride.”
“Our Pride,” I insisted as my vision blurred with unshed tears. “And so do you.”
“I have to do this, Faythe. It’s for the good of the Pride,” Marc said. And that’s when I knew I’d lost the argument. He would do whatever it took to keep the rest of us safe. Even if that meant not being there to protect us personally.
Marc was the Alpha Calvin Malone would never be, and the irony was that Malone would never see that. But my father had seen it from the beginning.
Marc stood, and his hand slipped from mine. He leaned down to kiss me gently, and when he tried to pull away, I held his head in place, so I could kiss him longer. If he was going to go, he was damn well going to say goodbye the right way.
He sank into that kiss, and fed from me like a starving man holding off famine. I drank from his soul in preparation for the drought to come. And when he finally pulled away, my throat was thick with unspoken words, my heart heavy with every apology I’d ever denied him.
But it was too late for promises. The time had come for goodbye.
“First I was sleeping, and now I’m stuck in bed.” I wiped away my tears as soon as they fell. “Why do you always leave when I can’t stop you?”
He smiled sadly. “We both know that’s the only way this will work.” He backed slowly toward the main room, and by the time he reached the front door, tears blurred my sight so that I could barely focus on his face.
I blinked them away in time to see him wink at me. “This isn’t forever, Faythe. I swear on my life.”
Damn right, I thought as he pushed the door open. If Calvin Malone took over the council, the days of female enforcers and stray Pride members would be over for good, and no one stood to lose more than the south-central Pride. Than me and Marc.
My father would stand against Malone; there was no question about that. But he would need all his enforcers standing strong at his back. Including Marc.
We would be together again soon, and I would do whatever I had to do to make that happen.
He smiled one last time. Then he stepped into the night and the door closed behind him.
And just like that, Marc was gone.