29.

Jason slowly brought himself into the hallway that Farryn stood in, he had heard the priests parting words for his alpha and knew by her lack of response that she was more than likely frightened for her life.

“Alpha, what are we going to do about Tristan?” He watched as Farryn’s shoulders rose while she sucked in a deep breath before slowly falling with her exhale. She seemed to be calming the torrent in her mind before she turned just enough to look over her shoulder.

“I am going to talk with him. I don’t want to throw suspicion on anyone else in the pack yet, but I cannot trust anyone just yet. I want to believe that Tristan is innocent Jason.” Her eyes drifted away from the male and to the ground as he stifled a sigh.

“Why do you seem to care for him so much?” Jason took another step towards his alpha as her shoulders rose, this time in defense.

“Because he is a member of this pack just like you, just like Ian. It is my job to care for him.” She spoke in a low warning tone, she would not allow him to push the subject but they both knew that was not the answer he was looking for. Jason’s lips twisted into a grimace as Farryn turned and opened the front door.

“Find Asher, send him and Skylar to me as soon as they are free to do so.” Farryn shut the door behind her harder than was necessary. Both wolves paced slowly in her mind, a light layer of sweat was beginning to form on her forehead from the pressure in her mind but the clarity given to her by Father Idas had helped to relieve a bit of the ache. Lola seemed to be the one pushing her to go to the jail and question Tristan herself, she didn’t believe he was innocent, she wanted blood to be shed for her failed packmate. Farryn had to swallow back the sudden rush of bloodlust as the jail came into sight.

“Please Lola, calm yourself. How would you feel if you killed him and he wasn’t responsible after all?” Lola seemed to settle down though it was grudgingly. Namia seemed to do her best at an attempt of comfort towards the white wolf though Lola was quick to brush her off. Farryn could feel the eyes of the pack on her as she approached the older building that smelled of nothing but dust due to the lack of use. Once she reached the doors she could faintly hear the voices of Tristan and Travis inside.

“I am nothing more than a visitor, if anything you should be thanking me considering I saved your life.” Travis snapped as the door opened. The jail was a rather small building, with only two cells on either side once you entered. Tristan was furiously pacing the length of his small cell, his eyes were darting around rapidly trying to find a weak point in the cell for him to get out. Travis lifted his head in her direction.

“Travis, thank you for bringing Tristan here and for bringing Amelia back. We have kept you here longer than I had been expecting and for that, I apologize. If you would like to stay for the night so you aren’t traveling at night we have a spare room in the main house that you can use. I’ll be back shortly to make dinner for the pack, I would be honored if you would join us.” The large male blinked slowly, his back straightening to return to his proper posture.

“The honor would be mine Alpha Farryn.” Travis lowered himself into a bow of respect, shooting Tristan one last glare, before taking his leave of the small jail. Tristan wrapped his fingers around the silver bars of the cell, his nose just slightly twitched at the burning sensation in his hands.

“Come to mock me *Alpha*?” The venom in the male’s voice not only caused Lola’s hackles to rise but even the passive Namia curled her lips back in fury.

“You aren’t in the position to sneer at me, Tristan. Take your hands off the bars before you scar your hands.” Farryn spoke softly as if speaking to a child. Tristan’s growl seemed to shake the very foundation of the building as he tightened his grip.

“Don’t pretend to be worried about me now. How could you think I would do something so horrible as to kill Amelia? Amelia, of all people.” The hurt was visible in his eyes once more but Farryn didn’t look away this time. Her eyes fell to his hands after a moment of silence, she could see his palms starting to turn red and began to reach forward towards them.

“Tristan… you must understand that-“ Tristan reached forward and grabbed Farryn’s outreached hand before yanking her forward, holding her against the bars as hard as he could. Farryn craned her neck back to keep her face from touching the silver. Her teeth captured her tongue to keep from crying out as the metal began to sear her arm.

“No Alpha, you must understand, understand that I did not do this. I could not have done something like this and you have to believe me or I’ll lose it.” Farryn tugged her arm back just slightly but his grip had not loosened.

“Explain to me what happened in the underground market. Explain to me how your scent was around Amelia. Please, Tristan, explain to me these things and I might be able to believe you.” Farryn whispered softly, gripping the bar with her free hand to push her body away as best as she could. His grip on her wrist loosened but not enough to allow her to stop touching the silver.

“I already told you, I had been following her. She might have backtracked at some point into an area that I had stopped in for rest. That could very easily explain my scent. I also already told you Farryn that I was not in an underground market. *I* was not there.” Farryn shook her head softly, she had seen him, and yet he refused to admit it. His explanation for his scent could have made sense, she wanted it to make sense.

Lola seemed irritated by the uncertainty Farryn was showing but was further bothered by the thrill of the slightest contact. Namia urged Farryn to listen to the words that Tristan was speaking but her voice was muted by Lola’s anger.

“Tristan, tell me about your wolf.” The command not only threw the male off guard but her own wolves as well. Tristan’s head tilted to the right in a slight twitch as if he were listening to someone speak, his wolf no doubt. His amber eyes shifted slowly to a bright sea blue that was slightly relieving for Farryn to see. Perhaps she truly had imagined the previous changes in his eye color. The blue gave way to his natural color as he sighed before releasing her arm completely.

“His name is Rorus. He can get a bit out of hands in situations like the Royale you put on, but he means well.” His voice faltered when his eyes fell to her neck, to the scar that his wolf had created.

“I’m sorry for letting him get out of hand, for what he did to you. It gets hard when I shift to keep my grip on my humanity sometimes. Growing up I never had a proper pack to help me and so I struggle a lot with him but I like to think it has gotten a lot better since joining this pack. Sometimes I feel as though I don’t know who I am anymore and Rorus seems to feel the same. There are times where my memory is blank after shifting.”

Farryn sighed as her fingers traced the edges of her scar. The pain in his eyes was fresh, it was something he was struggling to deal with and was ashamed of. She slowly crossed her arms over her chest while lowering her head just slightly, trying to sort her way through her thoughts.

“Is Rorus your only wolf?”

“Of course. Not all of us can be blessed by the Moon Goddess like you are.” Tristan’s response came quickly, he hadn’t paused to consider her question, why she might have been asking it.

“Can I speak to Rorus?” This time Tristan did hesitate. The confusion was clear on his features as his eyebrows drew together.

“Well, I suppose that would be alright, though this is quite unusual.” It was rather unorthodox to allow a person's partner wolf to speak directly through them, for Tristan this could be his quickest way to prove his innocence.

Tristan inhaled deeply as he gave himself over to Rorus, any hint of amber in his eyes were gone as the male raked his gaze along the alpha female before him and grinned.

“Should I demand to speak to Alpha Lola? After all, it would be fair right?” The echoing sound of Lola’s snarl in her mind vibrated down her spine despite the gentle smile that Farryn forced on her lips.

“You can demand it all night long, I have no reason to comply. I don’t want to waste any time Rorus so I need you to tell me what happened with Amelia.” Those sea blue eyes drifted to Farryn’s neck as his tongue briefly brushed along his bottom lip.

“You have no idea just how ravishing Lola tasted that day, it makes me wonder if you would be just as delicious as her?” Farryn didn’t try to resist the snarl that worked its way out of her chest. Her fist striking one of the bars quickly, and with enough force to cause the metal to bend just slightly. Seeing the rage only seemed to make Rorus happier though his teasing came to a stop as cloudy blue bled into green.

“The last we saw Amelia she was alive in Aeston. Everything that Tristan has told you so far, has been the truth for him.” Farryn began to calm herself as Rorus did his best at remaining serious when speaking to her, though his eyes rarely moved away from her scar.

“So then Tristan is innocent and I should let him out?” Rorus’s grin turned wicked as his eyes changed to a dark brown that, in the dim lighting, looked black. The color seemed to be devouring any light it could.

“That was never said Alpha, Tristan is right where he belongs.”