Saved!
It cannot be otherwise, it must be me that the elders opposite us are targeting!
But how did they find out about my misses in such a short time? I am sure of Ivor and Esis, those men are highly trustworthy. Or have they been sloppy and left a witness? Nope, not a chance. Ivor is known for his precision work.
I glance again at the men in front of us and get the feeling they are playing us off.
They take a gamble, think they can get us off balance and we then spill all our sins. That is not going to happen. 'They are playing us out. Be premeditated!' I mind link my partners in crime. They too are weighing the situation. We are three men here with a troubled conscience, but we are really too old to be playing into the Sages' hands. We must see where their objection lies. Behaving like the Angels of Light is the best strategy here. As the person with the heaviest conscience, I will answer last.
"Elder, with all due respect. If you have anything against any of us, come clear, please. We have responsibilities in the Kingdom that demand our direct attention. We do not have the luxury of solving riddles at any time," Ivor remarks sourly. Elder Nicolas squints his eyes and then turns to Randall. "Former King, look at the fruits of your upbringing. You set the boys up against tradition and see now. They even refuse to be accountable for their actions," he growled disapprovingly. Aaahhh, the perfect time to take Randall to task for always being on our side when it comes to ancient traditions. The Elder, of course, could not let this great moment of revenge pass.
All eyes are now on the King-Father.
This time he is not smiling; a deadly storm rages across his face. Never before have I seen him so angry, and it scares me for a moment. I wonder what we could have done so wrong that was so serious that it put him so out of his mind. Randall has always been our man, tirelessly supporting us in whatever we decide. He is the person we quickly go to confession with and is always ready to get us through the worst confrontation with the Sages. But not today. The man is as furious as the Sages and perhaps more so.
"Don't act smart, Ivor," Randall points out to the Chief Warrior in displeasure. "Although your offense is less severe, you need not try to cover that of the two beside you. We know everything". A hot brew rises to my head; my face turns fire-red like Ralph's. With that, we have betrayed our game. 'Ralph, it's either you or me. We crossed ourselves by being startled by Randall's remark. We have to stay calm, don't let them rattle us with the short clues they give. I think they know little and want to draw the story out of us,' I beckon my cousin into the mind link. 'Yeah. Why don't they get to the point? They mess up my mind with this, whatever they're doing,' he snarls back angrily.
"Sages, Father, please. Tell us why you had us called in. Remember that before you are now sitting, the King, Chief Warrior and the Secretary of some thousands-headed kingdom. Right now, the Kingdom's security is severely compromised. The longer you keep on here, the more precarious the situation becomes," Ralph bluffs them. I decide to add a big scoop to his intentions. Loudly I sigh. "Look, we're big men, not pups anymore. Do you expect us to tell you everything we do or say? We only discuss business matters with you". At best, Elder Nicolas gets offended by my remark and blurts out everything they know, or they just decide to ignore me tightly.
But luck is clearly not on my side.
All the faces on the other side bounce my way. "Look who's talking!" jeers Elder Welch, the second in line of the Sages. And with that comment, it is confirmed that I am their real target. Actually, I had thought so already. This whole show is set up to discuss my sins but the elders want to know the other two's part in all this. Everything is clear like a mirror. I feel trouble coming on, but I feel super confident with the two men beside me. Ralph's defensive energy is already becoming more noticeable; he too has assessed the situation right.
"We consulted the Oracle about an hour ago. And what it revealed to us was shocking," Elder Nicolas tells us, his eyes again traveling from one to the other. Whoever gets nervous now is then the culprit. These Sages know little; they just throw out an ace and lurk to see who bites. "Elder, please!" Ralph shows his impatience now. "If the Oracle has ruled against my marriage to Saray, I will move it to one of the werewolf packs," he threatens. "Saray will be the Queen and no one else. Speak up soon so I know how to act". Distraction, but it backfires, works like a red rag to the elderly. Randall's eyes begin to turn black, his wolf is on the surface. Which is actually unprecedented, never before have I seen him stand up to his son. The man loves Ralph who in his eyes can do nothing wrong.
"We're not here to joke around, son. The Oracle has announced a serious matter," he growls. "I raised you with the right values. You know the mate bond is Sacred; it is not to be trifled with. Do any of you here have rejected your mate?"
Saved!
Randall may fool the Sages but not me. He offers me an easy escape here with the wording of his question. I did not reject my mate, those words never left my mouth. Rejection has a set procedure, parties pronounce each other's names fully and indicate to break the union. None of that took place between Natalie and me. So, I can stick to the truth.
"Me not!" I confidently declare and stare the Sages straight in the eye.
For a moment, they are confused before regaining their poise.
Thank you, Randall....
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