Chapter 35: A Summons

Garin stared down at the people in the picture. He could see Willow in both of them. She had her mother’s sharp features and jaw, but the shape of her eyes was all her father’s. Her mother’s eyes glowed even in the picture, aged by twenty years. He looked at her father. He was ordinary, his eyes a regular, human brown. There was something similar about him. It was as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he brushed it off, probably just seeing the similarities in Willow.
“Why were they killed?” he asked handing the picture back to Loriann. She sighed, staring down at the picture. She caressed the photo with the tip of her finger before sliding it back into the box.
“Because they loved each other. They ran away and got married. They had Willow. The council was going to punish them when they first found out that they were a couple. However, they left, and the council considered the matter settled. When they came back with a child, the council exonerated them. They did not want to orphan Willow. They would just require Adrian to go through an extensive transition process,” she replied, looking at him.
“I can see how much Willow means to you, just by listening to me. And I see how much you mean to her. She has never been so happy. Which is why it kills me that you are, well, who you are. It doesn’t make me happy to be here, telling you this, which is why I brought these,” she pushed the plate of cookies towards him. He looked at them skeptically.
“Poisoned?” he asked, his eyebrow raised. She snorted.
“Poison is for witches. If I really wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now.” She replied with a sly smile. He gulped slightly, believing that she could as she stared at him from her yellow eyes.
He took a cookie and nibbled on the edge of one before shoving the entire thing into his mouth.
“So, as I was saying, you have two choices. Neither of which makes me happy, but I would rather not lose my granddaughter the way I lost my daughter. I tried to force her to leave him. I threatened her, threatened him. I didn’t see her for five years. And then she came back. We got a few months together before the Red Hoods executed her. I didn’t even get to give her a funeral,” she wiped away a stray tear surprised that she still had any tears left.
“Why not?” he asked and wanted to reach for her hand but stopped himself, instead tucking it into his pocket.
“They cut off her head and burned her body. They sent us pictures,” she said with a sob. “They left Adrian’s body wrapped up in a shroud at the foot of my front steps,”. Garin reached out and grabbed her hand. She fought her first reaction to snatch her hand away and instead gave it a small squeeze. She saw that his eyes were slightly misted over, and she hated that he was a Red Hood because otherwise, she would really like him.
“So, your two choices, either stop seeing Willow or…leave. Together. You would have to go far away and go somewhere where there aren’t any shifters. If there aren’t any shifters there won’t be any Red Hoods,”
“There’s no other way? We can’t appeal it or whatever? Willow loves the café and the town. I couldn’t take her away from that,” he replied, looking distraught.
“She’ll go with you,” Loriann replied sadly. “You make her happy. I would rather her be happy and alive than with me and miserable,”.
“You’ll have to discuss it with her of course. The council gave me a week. I’m not sure how much longer your family will give you if they know.” She stood up and tucked the box under her arm.
“Under different circumstances, I would be delighted that you are dating my granddaughter. Thank you for listening. I’ll see myself out,” she gave me a small, tight smile and left. Garin stood staring at the closed door trying to absorb everything that he had just heard.
####
“Hey, can you run to the bank for me? We need change.” Willow called to Caitlin. The café was in the after-lunch lull, only a few regulars were lingering, not wanting to venture back out into the icy wind that was picking up. Willow could smell snow in the air. It would fall tonight, she guessed.
“No prob!” Caitlin called and tucked herself into her long puffer jacket. She wound her handmade scarf around her neck until only her eyes showed.
“Can you even see?” Willow asked, laughing.
“I don’t need to. The bank is three blocks down and one to the right!” she pipped and waddled out. Still smiling, Willow took her post by the counter and pulled out a book. She had checked it out two weeks ago and hadn’t had time to read it. Now was a perfect time.
She was so lost in the story that she didn’t register that the bell over the door had sounded. Their smell should have alerted her but most pressing was the pressure ringing in her ears.
“Hey Willow,” a silky voice slid over her. She jumped slightly and looked up. She looked into the tawny eyes of Keena, the alpha’s daughter. She saw her father standing by the door. He gave her a curt nod.
“Hi, Keena. I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you?” Willow’s voice was shaky. The Silverhide clan rarely came into town, they were a few hours away. They only ever came if there was either a celebration or to pass judgment.
“I’m fine but this, unfortunately, isn’t a social visit. The council is summoning you.” She handed over a small envelope that was sealed with their Shadowcrown insignia, a wolf howling at a full moon wrapped in a crown, Willow’s pack.
She looked back up at Keena. Her face was impassive. She possessed her mother’s gravity and her father’s stoic demeanor. Her black hair was twisted back into a complicated series of braids and she was dressed smartly in a peacoat and black pants. She would make a good alpha when it was her time.
Willow bobbed her head once and they left. With a sigh, she leaned back against the counter, no longer able to support her own weight. She cracked the seal and slit open the envelope. There was a single piece of paper inside.
“Willow Bittermane, you are hereby summoned to appear in front of The Council of Elders on the next full moon, at the time when the moon reaches its highest point. You will be tried regarding your relationship with one Garin Brochade, a Red Hood, a violation of the greatest defiance, Conducting a Relationship with a Hunter. If found guilty, the punishment, depending upon the extent of the relationship, will result in either exile or execution if the relationship is still viable.”
She shoved the letter into her pocket. She had to get home and pack now, there were only a few days until the full moon.
She had to get Garin. They had to run.