Magnus

I landed in Albuquerque at almost six in the evening. I texted Lachlan that I had arrived before even getting off the plane. We were seated near the back, so it took almost half an hour before we were able to get off.

Roy had been sitting in front of a kick-happy child whose parents didn't even try to control him. Tasha, who had come as a guard, had been sitting in between a couple who bought an aisle seat and a window seat, hoping no one would take the middle one so they would have more space. Tasha wasn't a sadist, exactly, but she did seem to take pleasure in refusing to trade her seat out for one of theirs. It wasn't that she liked hurting or bothering people; Tasha just liked to teach others lessons when she thought they were doing something wrong. She was in a weirdly good mood as we trudged through the airport to baggage claim.

Since none of us were sure of exactly how long we would be here, we had packed for an extended stay. The suitcases took another twenty minutes before they made their appearance. Then was the cab ride to the hotel we would be staying in. Still, by the time we were settled in our suite and almost two hours had passed, I hadn't heard from Lachlan.

He probably had some work to catch up on since he had taken the morning off to be with me. Still, it wasn't like him to keep me waiting.

Maybe "Landed okay" wasn't enough for him to bother responding to?

I pulled out my phone and texted, "How was your day?"

Then I stared at the screen for longer than I'm proud of, waiting for a response that didn't come. I might have kept staring if Roy hadn't said, "Want to order dinner?"

Tasha groaned and complained about how hungry she was while I clutched my phone, wishing it would vibrate.

He could be in the shower, I reasoned. Or maybe he was still with his cousins. He had mentioned maybe going over there for dinner.

And I was pretty hungry.

We ordered subs from a local restaurant and paid extra to have them delivered – all of us had spent enough time traveling today. While we waited, Tasha took a shower and Roy spread out files across his bed. They were packets with cover pages I recognized – old Summit case files. Roy had explained that a lawyer would be assigned to me if I needed one, but he said he wanted to be prepared, too. The lawyer would be a Summit employee and we couldn't count on impartiality.

I was grateful Roy was willing and able to handle this side of things since I had no mind for strategy and couldn't get through half of one of those packets before the words started running together in my mind. They were horribly boring and written in technical legal jargon I had a hard time parsing.

I really was useless as an alpha.

Our subs arrived and we ate in relative silence. Roy shuffled through his papers, Tasha scrolled through her phone, and I... well, I split my attention between my dark phone screen and a case file I had gotten from Roy out of guilt. He shouldn't be pulling all the weight here. He probably knew as well as I did that me reading this thing wouldn't accomplish anything, but at least I was making an effort. Hopefully it counted for something.

I finally received a reply an hour later. Lachlan's message just said "It was fine. I miss you."

I smiled a little. "Miss you too," I replied. I was already settled into bed for the night and had just been waiting to hear back from Lachlan before going to sleep. With that, I rolled away from the light Roy still had on and managed to slip into dreams.

--

My alarm went off at an ungodly hour. The fact that we were one time zone earlier than usual really, really didn't help. The hearings started this morning, though, and I didn't want to miss any part of my case. At some point today – there was no telling when they would get to mine – the Summit would decide whether to open an investigation. Their session would start at seven in the morning and it was a half hour drive from our hotel to their chamber. Factor in time for an Uber to arrive, and you had this: the earliest time I had woken up in years.

The hotel's continental breakfast wasn't open yet by the time we trudged downstairs, but that was fine with me. I didn't think I could eat. Roy pulled a few protein bars out of his satchel and offered some to me and Tasha. She took hers and tore into it, shoving half into her mouth before thanking him, her words muffled by the food. I waved mine off. Roy frowned but didn't argue.

It was tempting – so tempting – to call Lachlan for a little last-minute support, but it wasn't even five thirty yet for him and I wasn't that selfish. Besides, even though hearing his voice would make me feel better, it wouldn't actually improve the situation. Nothing I did or said at this point would – the summit would choose to investigate me or they wouldn't.

On the car ride, Tasha grilled Roy about the Summit. There was a limit to how much detail he could give, since our driver was human, but they were making it work.

Each question only ratcheted up my anxiety, but it was good to learn more about what I was facing. I knew that. So I listened.

"So why do they only meet every three months?" Tasha asked.

"They meet year-round," Roy corrected. "They only take new cases every three months unless something's flagged as high-priority. This – what we're going in for – is fairly standard. The details aren't, but tons of complaints against 'CEOs' are lodged each year. They can't prioritize all of them."

Tasha popped the gum bubble she had been blowing while Roy explained and chewed for a little bit before she said, "Riiight," drawing out the I sound. "So during the other months, they're what, investigating?"

Roy nodded. "Exactly. They also do audits. They would have looked into Magnus eventually whether Opal filed an appeal or not. Usually they check on any new leader within the first five years, no matter what the circumstances of his or her inheritance were."

Interesting. I wasn't sure how to feel about that – was it better or worse to just get the scrutiny over with? Then again, without the appeal I bet they wouldn't have looked as closely at me, so this had to be worse.

I watched out the window and let Tasha and Roy's conversation wash over me as we grew closer to the Summit. My phone buzzed with a text: Felix saying "Good luck." I couldn't help smiling. It wasn't luck I needed here, but I wasn't sure what else he could have said. "Good legal proceedings?" It didn't have the same ring to it.

The building we pulled up to was completely ordinary-looking. It was made of red brick with a plain white column on either side of the front door. Blinds haphazardly covered windows – sometimes open, sometimes closed, and sometimes hanging down crookedly. This didn't look like the place where the future of my pack should be decided.

We climbed out of the cab and I paid the driver while Roy and Tasha approached the door. Tasha would have to wait in the hospitality room they had here, but Roy would be allowed into the chamber with me. Each person brought here because of an appeal could bring two people with them only: an advisor and a mate. I would just have Roy. Later, if things escalated, Roy's place would be taken by my legal counsel.

We were greeted at the door by a security guard and metal detectors. I emptied my pockets in the bin provided and stepped through the gate while the guard watched carefully. On the other side, a second guard took my bin after it emerged from the scanner. "ID?" he asked.

"In my wallet," I said.

He opened the wallet – which felt deeply invasive – and pulled out my driver's license and my pack ID card, both of which were tucked into the ID flap. He scanned them both before typing on the computer in front of him. When Roy and Tasha's bins came through, he did the same interaction with them, though he kept my cards and wallet in front of him too.

I waited awkwardly off to the side until he finally gave us each a sticker with our names, pack name, and photo on them. The photos were pulled from the pack ID database. My temporary ID and Roy's had green borders, while Tasha's was yellow.

"Green lets you get into the chamber. Yellow passes do not," the guard explained. "Tyler is coming to show you all where to go. He'll be here in a few minutes." The guard gestured toward a small waiting area. I knew when I'd been dismissed, so I headed over and perched on the edge of the nearest chair. The last thing I wanted to do was sit. I wanted to pace or run – I wanted to move.

My phone buzzed again and I quickly pulled it out of my pocket to find a text from Mel: "Knock 'em dead." There was a quick follow-up: "Figuratively. Literal murder is no joke."

I snickered. I knew exactly why she had sent the second text – she was worried about my phone being audited. An image of Mel setting an alarm so she would wake up early enough to text me before I went into the chamber, then texting me while half asleep was clear in my mind. She had probably already rolled over and gone back to sleep.

I loved my siblings.

I tucked my phone away and genuinely felt a little better. That is, until I saw the man approaching us with a stern demeanor. He came to a stop in front of our chairs and scanned us each before speaking. "Follow me."

It was somehow comforting not to have to go through the formalities of introductions and how-do-you-dos. Better that we all just got down to business.

Still, I wished he looked a little more welcoming.

The man – who must be Tyler – dropped Tasha off at the hospitality room first. She surprised me. Usually Tasha was irreverent and kind of thoughtless about how her words and actions might be taken by others. I expected a flippant parting from her, or maybe no good-bye at all. Instead, she stood before me with a serious expression. She crossed her right arm over her chest and bowed at the waist – an old gesture of deep respect.

"Alpha," she said, then straightened. Our eyes met and I tried not to get choked up at the pride in hers. She had rendered me speechless, so I nodded firmly in response and hoped she could see how much this meant to me.

Roy offered Tasha a smile and a small wave, then Tyler led us away. We didn't go far. Only a few doors down, he stopped outside of a huge wooden door carved with scenes of wolves in a forest. It was exquisite, the kind of art I could have happily spent a long time studying. I didn't get that chance, though.

"Phones must be turned off in the chamber. No speaking unless spoken to. We adjourn every two hours for fifteen minutes. If you must leave before then, you will not be allowed back in until the next recess period. Any questions?" I mutely shook my head no. Roy murmured his agreement. Then Tyler opened the door and led us in.

The chamber was massive, much bigger than I thought any room could be in a building like this one. It had arched ceilings in a creamy off-white color. The walls were the same color and there were flat panels of pale wood running along the top of each wall with relief carvings of wolves. As I took them in, I realized they told a story. It started with a wolf running. The next panel focused on his gaping maw and sharp teeth. Then was a hunting scene, and so on. It was breathtaking.

Tyler led us up a staircase along the back of the room and we were brought to a private viewing box with three seats. We could see down into the chamber hall and had a good view of the table, which was a nonagon. Nine chairs ringed the table, and I knew these were for the Summit's nine judges – an odd number so there would never be a tie. Abstaining from votes was not allowed.

Maybe I had picked up more from Roy in the past few weeks than I had realized.

Tyler left us and I craned my neck from my seat, trying to determine whether there were others in the room in similar boxes to ours. It was impossible to tell by sight – no other boxes were in view. I could smell other werewolves in the room, though, and they weren't on the floor below. We weren't the only ones tucked away.

I pulled out my phone and turned it off while Roy did the same. He had impressed on me the importance of following every directive we were given without argument or delay. This wasn't school, where you might have your phone taken away until the end of the day or a phone call home as punishment. Disobedience could have real consequences.

I wished I could have heard from Lachlan before I shut off my phone, though.

Roy pulled two notepads out of his satchel and passed one to me along with a pen. He wrote something on his pad and held it out for me to read: "Ready?"

I couldn't help smiling – we were basically passing notes. It was silent, though, and didn't break any of the rules. Trust Roy to come prepared. "Ready." I wrote back.

Good thing, too. The doors behind the meeting area below us opened and nine robed figures streamed in. They took their seats and pulled out laptops, notepads, and in some cases, massive stacks of what I recognized as case files. They settled into their seats one by one until they were all still. An expectant feeling filled the room until one of them pulled out a gavel and banged it down on the table before her with a resounding crack.

"The Summit is in session," she said in a clear voice that rang out clearly in the silence.