Tell No Lies

Suddenly Last Summer

Paul stood next to Roisin in the living room as the packs milled around, talking to each other. Carlisle and Edward stood with Jacob, who finally appeared a tad bit less antagonistic. Though there were two missing faces. Sean had been locked up in his room since they got back and Mae was off... somewhere. Probably for the best since she didn't always have a lot to add and was more a distraction than anything. Cara had come into the room not long ago, sharing a tense look with Roisin before sitting on the couch and nodding.

"So... it's fairly certain someone in Shadow Court has Tara," Roisin said, her voice carrying over the noise. Everyone quieted down instantly.

For a moment, he got caught up in watching her. A sense of pride coursed through him. She was still tempering herself, he could tell. But power, it seemed to come to her naturally. Even if he didn't know about the prophecy, he would have noticed it. It was in the way that people always listened to what she said. The way she commanded the room wherever she was. Even if she was trying to blend in. How easily she took charge.

"Did you get anything out of the meeting?" Jacob asked, still a bit reluctant to defer to her.

"Our excursion yesterday pretty much confirmed that she's there. Their king - Cathal - said he didn't know about it, but is going to check with his court. And then he'll give her back... in exchange for something," she said, grimacing. Paul felt a surge of anger at that comment.

He was not going to let Cathal do a damn thing to her, if he could help it.

"What?" Carlisle asked, seeming more intrigued with the inner workings of the fae than finding Tara.

"It's not going to be little," she admitted. She then looked at Sam and then Jacob. "Whatever it is, I'll take care of it. It's my responsibility."

"We can't let you go into something dangerous," Sam said, frowning. "Paul's explained the imprint. It's the packs' responsibility to keep you safe."

"Cathal's not going to accept anything that doesn't involve me," she said, seeming to have accepted her fate. Paul took her hand and she looked up at him, smiling slightly and then looking back at the crowd.

"Why you?" Jacob asked.

Paul frowned at him, even if it was a fair question. He knew that Roisin didn't want to tell them everything, though he had by now told her they were going to find out regardless because of the pack telepathy. Or at least his pack would know, but he had a feeling that Sam would tell Jacob.

Even now, she seemed to be fighting with herself. He knew it took a lot for her to share everything with him. But he had promised that he would do his best to keep her secrets when he shifted, though it was going to be hard. But she had the right to tell what she wanted and when.

"Let's just say a lot of people in the Fae world are interested in me," she finally said. Jacob frowned at that.

"So all of this really is your fault," he stated, a look of vindication coming over his face. Paul glared at him though Roisin looked broken. This was not the place nor the time.

"Yea, it is," she said softly. She then met his gaze. "Tara wouldn't have been taken if we never came here. This... it's because of me... because of us."

She then took a deep breath and launched into an explanation of the prophecy. The marriage arrangement with the Winter Court. Why she ran away - well, not all of that, she left out some details, namely what Rian had done to her and that her brother had found her, but Paul still felt his blood boil at the thought of it.

"Cathal said that he didn't know if she was there, but we don't need the ability to lie to get around the truth," Roisin said, coming to the conclusion of her story. "Cathal is particularly good at it. And he has a lot of people to do his dirty work for him. Even if he didn't plan it, you can bet he'll use it to his advantage."