this kind of thing? She barely kept her hand from shaking as she passed the deed to Dmetri who read it with a scowl then passed it to a big man sitting to the right of him.
His name was Brayden, and h e was the lead judge in all matters, and the lead counsel to the Justicars; his was say was final in all judicial matters whether vampire or lykaen. The future of the Kategan pack was no in his hands--literally.
“We’ll have to verify this, of course,” Brayden sai d. He had t he voice of a man who was used to leading armies into battle. “Our Justicars will be able to trace the legitimacy of the document. Let’s not make any rulings on this yet, not until we have sufficient proof back. F rom the re we will discuss how much land the Kategan’s have right to.”
Vera heard herself reply but numbness fogged over her mind and body. She watched everything happen around her as if from outside her own body. The meeting adjourned and Jacks slipped up beside her like some white knight and rescued her back to the bedroom where the fog finally drifted away and she returned to her body.
“She’s going to take our land.”
Jacks crossed his arms in a way that meant he was all business. His eyes grew so serious that lines bracketed his eyes and mouth. He ha d to be only in his early thirties yet he held such character in his hard face. What had put that there? War, the military, or something else?
“How many acres do you own?”
“One thousand two hundred acres. If she steals our land will leave us with only one hundred and sixteen. It’ll ruin us.”
She buried her face in her hands and fought the wave of hot tears that wanted to escape. A million thoughts whirled in her mind. How was she going to tell her family? How was the pack going to deal with this ? It was impossible, there simply wasn’t enough space.
“Is her deed real?” asked Jacks.
“I wouldn’t think so. I mean, the Kategan’s have been there since the 1800s. How can they just now come out and say this?”
Jacks contemplated that. “What happens if the deed proves true and you refuse to give up your land?”
“We go to war with the vampires.”
“Then you need to call Vane.”
She stood and started pacing. “No t yet . His mate is pregnant. They don’t need thi s now. Besides, he’ll freak out and with his attitude, he might just start the war. No, no. This situation needs to be finessed. God, why does this room have to be so small? ”
She paced from one side to the other muttering curses under her breath. Burning liquid still hadn’t dissipated from her eyes and if she didn’t get out of here soon then she was going to explode. Why had she wanted to come here? She must be insane. Her ne xt home was definitely going to have the word asylum in it.
Frustration driving her hard, she rounded on Jacks. “Okay, listen to me, human. I need to walk this off b efore I take someone’s head off and considering the proximity , it will probably be yours. No phone calls to the Kategan’s , no telling anyone about this until I have a plan, okay? If shit gets too dire then I’ll call, but until then no.”
His hand reached out to cup her cheek in a touch so achingly gentle; she fumbled over her next words. Much softer she said, “I need to walk, okay. By myse lf. Just give me thirty minutes and I’ll be right back, but I really can’t be around you right now.” Her voice broke and one tear escaped, then another. She looked down at her feet as she wiped away the stupid things. Could she b e any lamer ?
It was his stupid gentle to uch. Why did he have to do that? She heard movement, and then she was wrapped in his arms. This was no t the aggressive, hard touch she’d felt earlier in the woods, or the urgent hands she felt last night in bed. No, this time he simply held her. Even with her arms down at her sides in tight fists, it felt good. His warm chest heated her cold skin and in a spark of irony made her feel like things were going to be
His name was Brayden, and h e was the lead judge in all matters, and the lead counsel to the Justicars; his was say was final in all judicial matters whether vampire or lykaen. The future of the Kategan pack was no in his hands--literally.
“We’ll have to verify this, of course,” Brayden sai d. He had t he voice of a man who was used to leading armies into battle. “Our Justicars will be able to trace the legitimacy of the document. Let’s not make any rulings on this yet, not until we have sufficient proof back. F rom the re we will discuss how much land the Kategan’s have right to.”
Vera heard herself reply but numbness fogged over her mind and body. She watched everything happen around her as if from outside her own body. The meeting adjourned and Jacks slipped up beside her like some white knight and rescued her back to the bedroom where the fog finally drifted away and she returned to her body.
“She’s going to take our land.”
Jacks crossed his arms in a way that meant he was all business. His eyes grew so serious that lines bracketed his eyes and mouth. He ha d to be only in his early thirties yet he held such character in his hard face. What had put that there? War, the military, or something else?
“How many acres do you own?”
“One thousand two hundred acres. If she steals our land will leave us with only one hundred and sixteen. It’ll ruin us.”
She buried her face in her hands and fought the wave of hot tears that wanted to escape. A million thoughts whirled in her mind. How was she going to tell her family? How was the pack going to deal with this ? It was impossible, there simply wasn’t enough space.
“Is her deed real?” asked Jacks.
“I wouldn’t think so. I mean, the Kategan’s have been there since the 1800s. How can they just now come out and say this?”
Jacks contemplated that. “What happens if the deed proves true and you refuse to give up your land?”
“We go to war with the vampires.”
“Then you need to call Vane.”
She stood and started pacing. “No t yet . His mate is pregnant. They don’t need thi s now. Besides, he’ll freak out and with his attitude, he might just start the war. No, no. This situation needs to be finessed. God, why does this room have to be so small? ”
She paced from one side to the other muttering curses under her breath. Burning liquid still hadn’t dissipated from her eyes and if she didn’t get out of here soon then she was going to explode. Why had she wanted to come here? She must be insane. Her ne xt home was definitely going to have the word asylum in it.
Frustration driving her hard, she rounded on Jacks. “Okay, listen to me, human. I need to walk this off b efore I take someone’s head off and considering the proximity , it will probably be yours. No phone calls to the Kategan’s , no telling anyone about this until I have a plan, okay? If shit gets too dire then I’ll call, but until then no.”
His hand reached out to cup her cheek in a touch so achingly gentle; she fumbled over her next words. Much softer she said, “I need to walk, okay. By myse lf. Just give me thirty minutes and I’ll be right back, but I really can’t be around you right now.” Her voice broke and one tear escaped, then another. She looked down at her feet as she wiped away the stupid things. Could she b e any lamer ?
It was his stupid gentle to uch. Why did he have to do that? She heard movement, and then she was wrapped in his arms. This was no t the aggressive, hard touch she’d felt earlier in the woods, or the urgent hands she felt last night in bed. No, this time he simply held her. Even with her arms down at her sides in tight fists, it felt good. His warm chest heated her cold skin and in a spark of irony made her feel like things were going to be
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