Stephanie's Trial

Things just got ugly

Dad was hot on my heels, and he frowned when he saw the very angry wolves outside. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

The lead wolf gave him a feral grin before shifting into the tallest man I'd ever seen. He easily stood head and shoulders over Dad - and Dad clocked in at 6'4". Dad, for his part, refused to be intimidated. "Well?"

"Can't a man come congratulate his niece on her first shifting?" the man asked mildly, but with fire in his eyes.

Dorothy had joined us, and her glare was cold enough to freeze all the world's active volcanoes solid forever. "Get lost, Simon."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Hello to you too, little sister," he said sardonically. "It's very nice to see you again after all this time."

"Cut the crap," Dorothy said, folding her arms. "You're not welcome here, not after Dad decided to sic the rest of you on me after I got out, so get lost or so help me God, you'll all be leaving here in a body bag."

She meant it too; Dorothy was a fierce fighter, and she knew all the dirty tricks in the book. Simon rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones," he said smoothly. "Dad was an idiot; I can see that now. We just wanted to come congratulate your daughter on her first shifting, that's all."

"And how the hell did you know about that?" Dad demanded.

"She's my niece," Simon said. "You don't think I'd be immune to the energy she exuded? So. Here we are. And as I said, I'm willing to bury the hatchet, congratulate my niece, and then we can be out of your hair and you can go on hating us for something we didn't do and never did."

The tension was very thick in the air by the time he finished, and I wasn't entirely surprised to find myself growling in my throat again. I also had an uncomfortable feeling that Simon wasn't here solely for the purpose of congratulating Doreah; and he didn't need all his males to do it either. Usually a Beta was sufficient bodyguard whenever an Alpha travelled into a rival Alpha's territory, but Simon clearly didn't think just his Beta was enough.

I also worried for Doreah; all children born or adopted into a pack were considered rogues. Until the Alpha of their pack imprinted on them, usually by the time they shifted, another Alpha could come in, imprint on the child, and then claim them when they were older. Simon had this in mind; I could tell, and I decided to step in before things really got out of hand.

"Look, I appreciate you've come a long way," I said as diplomatically as I could. Dad and Dorothy looked at me like I'd grown another head, but they kept their mouths shut. Level heads needed to prevail, and I seemed to have the most level out of anyone today. "You can come in, say hi, and then leave. That way, no blood needs to be shed, and we can all part ways on a ... civil note."

Simon glared at me. "And who the hell are you?"

"Stephanie," I said. "I'm the Beta."

"You?" Simon guffawed. "How'd a girl get to be a Beta?"

I drew myself up to my full height. "Watch your tone," I warned. "You're on our turf, and in very real danger of getting your head torn off. I'm giving you a chance to save face and spare your life and the lives of your males, so take it, or take a hike. I'm not going to have my sister's shifting ruined by a bunch of testorerone-laden morons who can't let go of their aggression long enough to at least act decent for half an hour."

One of the other wolves shifted, glaring at me. "You watch your mouth, girl," he snarled, but Simon held up his hand.

"Fair enough," he said. "But be warned; none of you are off the hook for the way you've treated me. So consider this your warning: we do not welcome insults lightly."

I met him glare for glare. "Neither do we."