AT DAWN

POV: Elaris

The outer house is settling back down after the council party has disappeared down the road.

I remain near the doorway for a few minutes more, listening carefully and silently to the sound of horse's hooves long after they were out of sight.

The world has changed overnight and without giving us any time for more discussions.

The dawn is rising with an almost alarming swiftness, and by sunrise, I'll be walking into this house where the council had deposed Averic.

There's no sense pretending I'm even capable, at this moment, of attempting sleep.

Neryss begins gathering the cups remaining on the table as Averic leans heavily against the window frame, watching the road.

No one mentions, or speaks of, what would happen should the council not acknowledge what had transpired the previous evening.

I decide to take that one first.

"Think they'll try to stall the vote?"

Averic turns to face me.

"They might."

"Because they're buying time to find another reason?"

"Because they don't want to admit they were ever wrong, this evening, for once in their lives."

He seems almost reasonable as he says it.

I take a moment to regard him.

"Then we don't give them a reason to be looking for further issues."

"We won't."

Neryss tucks the last of the cups away.

"Then I suppose we prepare instead of discussing this."

A tired smile touches my lips.

"I think that sounds rather like you."

"Usually it works better than any amount of worrying."

I have to admit she's right -- there simply isn't enough time, and so we prepare.

Averic heads to the bit of cleared ground at the rear of the house where the shift had taken place earlier.

I pause only far enough along the path to see him in his entirety.

The night air is cool against my bare skin, the earth oddly marked in places from last evening when he'd been human, but there is nothing formal to this.

No council delegation, no healer, no audience of any kind.

It is simply a matter of final verification -- for our own benefit.

Averic unfastens his shirt and rolls his shoulders back once instead.

He turns towards me.

"You might want to stay inside."

"I want to see."

Averic studies my expression.

Then he nods.

The shift is rapid and complete as he becomes the massive wolf who knows his name, even if he no longer remembers why the collar and harness of his position have been abandoned in favor of the simple harness I put upon him the evening before.

I've seen this shift before.

The huge beast drops soundlessly and without hesitation to all fours.

He looks up.

For several seconds, neither of us moves.

Then the wolf focuses on me and something in my chest tightens and un-tightens in an unfamiliar rhythm.

Something else besides mere instinct -- some deeper current -- binds us, warms in my neck, but certainly without the associated pain or even pressure.

Averic shifts back.

Shakily, and still breathing more heavily than strictly necessary, he looks down at his hands.

"Looks like I've still got it."

I incline my head.

"Good."

Rather unexpectedly, he takes my hands in his, staring down at them before meeting my eyes again.

"Good?"

"As I said, there are too many issues awaiting our arrival for me to start with personal concerns."

The faintest shadow of a smile crosses his face.

"Reasonable."

"Which is more than I can say for most of the things you actually say."

And so suddenly, there are no final arguments for us to toss at each other before leaving here, even as I know I simply will not have the reserves to deal with the council if I allow myself to sleep.

I return to the house and rest -- not in need of the sleep, but aware that I will have very little of it by the time the council can be addressed.

I sit near the fire, one hand curled beneath my stomach as the baby begins to move once more, pushing thoughts from my mind in waves of reassurance and confidence that I'm doing exactly as I should be at this moment, regardless of the circumstances as I knew them two days ago.

A dull, almost angry warmth has settled in my shoulders where the mark on my neck should be, but I don't bother to feel it again -- merely adjusting my hand beneath my gown.

We've been forced to make so many difficult choices in rooms where only our voices were allowed, where we couldn't even ask for reasons because there was simply no time.

Caedmon had chosen the loss of our unborn child and my own life in favor of a single chance to keep what little of our bloodline remained living.

The council had decided Averic was no longer fit to lead, because in their eyes what had happened before was irreversible.

Virelle had used accusations and manipulations based on events she chose to forget in order to achieve what she wanted.

And now the next step belonged to those people as they prepared to make a choice concerning a man who had sacrificed something that claimed him in order to save us all.

That choice had nothing to do with titles and everything to with what sacrifices made in such causes might ultimately be considered a betrayal.

Averic appears silently in the doorway.

"You should eat something."

"I will."

"That wasn't an answer."

I regard him, raising an eyebrow.

"You sound like Neryss."

Averic's mouth tightens into something like a grim smile.

"I'll take that as an insult."

"It wasn't."

He comes farther into the room and sets a small plate on the floor near where I'm sitting.

I take it.

The baby moves again, and Averic's expression relaxes without words.

Neither of us speaks.

There is simply too much the morning ahead holds for us to be squabbling for position.

Neryss assumes control of all preparations.

She checks the animals first, then the horses, then the clothes before finally examining the small satchel where Averic had secured the collection of documents he intended to present to the council.

There are no trinkets or baubles, no attempt to make us anything more than guests who had expected something less from the town's rulers, but Averic wore no insignia the night we arrived beneath the cover of darkness; tonight he traveled in a similarly formal but plainly dressed uniform.

I chose a simple shift, one that allowed me ease of movement.

Neryss regarded the garment with an appraising smile.

"Your cloak."

"I don't need it."

"You will when the wind picks up."

"I will."

She hands it over before regarding Averic.

"You've got the council records?"

"Yes."

"The healer's statement?"

"Yes."

"The document from last night?"

Averic pats the inner pocket of his coat.

"Right here."

Neryss gives a satisfied nod, and now looked between us both.

"No speeches, before we reach them."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Are we not planning speeches?"

"You were planning arguments."

"I think I know enough about the two of you to be worrying if she doesn't start right away."

Averic almost smiled.

"She knows us too well."

"I know what happens when people start arguing before breakfast."

That earned a rather rare, short laugh from me -- and it helped, somehow.

Neryss reaches out for the door, testing the angle of the road once more.

"It looks clear."

Averic nods.

"It means we leave before first light."

The hour of waiting passes uneventfully.

Presently, Averic and I stood in what could only be referred to as our receiving chamber -- at least before this day's events had altered our plans forever.

The place felt different, now, without needing to explain why exactly it is so.

There was a time when standing beside Averic would mean accepting one possibility for our life without hesitation, but now I know the difference between returning to the way things were and choosing what comes next.

I looked into the man's eyes.

"I'll stand with you."

Averic's gaze lingered on mine for a long moment before he answered.

"You don't need to."

"I know."

I adjust the fold of my sleeve.

"It isn't because I'm indebted to you."

Averic's brow furrowed slightly.

"I'm grateful you're willing to accept that this is more complicated than either of us could admit, but I believe our conversation this evening was far more than just a negotiation for terms."

"It wasn't," he replied evenly.

"I wasn't willing to take advantage of you."

"I knew that."

"I wasn't pretending we were anything more than what we've always been."

"You knew that."

I exhale slowly.

"Does that change anything?"

"No, it simply confirms it."

Averic didn't hesitate, but nor did he pretend to try and pull any further information from me -- he simply reached out for my cloak, took possession of it first before moving to fasten it around my body.

Averic's eyes met mine.

Neither of us expressed the unspoken sentiment.

For now, that would have to be enough.

I allowed him to drape the garment over my shoulders, and for some reason it changed nothing but the shape of my posture.

Averic fastened the clasp at my shoulder, and as he did so, he added something else.

"You should know something."

"What is it?"

"If they challenge me based on what happened before the wolf returned, I intend not to use you as an argument for my cause."

I looked over at him sharply.

"You mean my condition?"

"Not just your condition, but the sacrifice, or the mark, or any of the events leading up to it."

"Why won't you use that as a matter of defense?"

"Because none of it is justification for what you did... but more importantly because you aren't evidence."

That caught me off guard.

"You sacrificed your claim to the position because of me."

"I chose to do what I did."

"And if they say that what you chose was foolish?"

"Then they will answer for their own choice."

I regard him closely.

There is no self-pity in his expression, only certainty.

"You're sure you don't want to use me to argue your case?"

"If you choose to speak, I will listen.

"And if you don't?"

"Then you don't."

A weight inside me settles down around the edges, but only partially.

I nod.

“Then we’re clear.”We are."

The door was opened by Neryss, who stood waiting in the threshold with the expression familiar to me as she always did in times of great danger.

"It's time."

Averic looked back along the path they had taken to reach us.

Then he was looking at me.

"Ready?

Yes.

We left before the sky even began to lighten, Neryss riding beside the others at the head of our small procession and Averic walking at my side though not touching me.

We were scarcely visible to passing strangers despite the early hour, and only the fact that I kept my hands on the reins kept us from being surprised by a contingent of warriors sent out to meet us by the palace.

The path remained lonely as far as the eye could see in either direction, though the morning had yet to make its appearance beyond the tree line.

I kept my body still and upright in the saddle as we neared the outer road where we'd encountered the first of the patrols.

One man recognized Averic immediately and backed down, bowing politely in response to a short, brusque glance from the wolf-Alpha.

I followed closely behind, my attention focused on the city as it grew closer with every step.

"The whole place knows, don't they?"

"Probably

.

By sunrise?

Almost certainly.

And they'll all be choosing sides by the time we arrive.

Averic's mouth tightened slightly.

"Some will.

And the rest?

They'll wait and watch until they see who wins.

I watch the road ahead of us.

That could be the most dangerous group of all, actually.

Averic didn't disagree, nor did he appear particularly interested in the debate as much as its outcome.

We had passed the main gate and it opened for us as Averic approached.

The warriors standing their posts saluted him immediately.

For a brief second, I expected hesitation.

He was Alpha -- but not officially.

Averic continued on, and I followed only slightly behind him.

One of the watchmen seemed inclined to bow and the nearest of the senior council warriors took exception to that, but neither Averic nor I offered any correction.

The man who might one day inherit the Alpha position chose to take the chain with no hesitation and no questions -- so he could make his own mistakes.

The gates were opened for us without ceremony, and we passed inside, past the courtyard where the pack waited with increasing impatience for news of what might be occurring this morning in the great hall.

One of the palace servants took the time to regard me as I rode past, and I gave the man a similar once-over in return without pausing my horse.

Another man on the staff had already turned away when he noticed who rode at my side, so I did the only thing such an indignity required of me: I moved on without asking for an apology.

The hall was crowded with the most important figures of the pack when we came to a stop, but I took notice only of those standing a little apart from the rest of the crowd.

Caedmon was waiting inside the chamber itself, standing aside from the others who'd gathered to witness the final arguments of the dispute that had occupied the thoughts of nearly all of the village for the past two days, his small group of followers gathered around him in something less than formation.

He had brought no evidence forward himself, merely the strength of his personality, but I knew well enough what impression he intended to produce by the colors in his coat and the confident posture of his bearing.

Caedmon's gaze met mine first, then slowly moved to regard Averic.

He took no pleasure in that he observed.

Perhaps that was worse than if he had.

A group of the council's senior members surrounded one large table at the front of the hall where Averic was soon expected to stand and make his statements.

The remaining officials were stationed along the walls beside several of the more senior warriors.

This was larger than the gathering that had occurred when Averic was first deposed -- larger, in fact, than any assembly since his initial rise.

The news had spread quickly, and those who wished to see firsthand what the man had done to deserve such a change of circumstances were eager to watch the proceedings unfold.

A council member whispered something to Sennik before finally raising one hand to motion the entire group into silence.

Averic didn't turn away from Caedmon.

I did.

Sennik's gaze was already on me.

"This hall is assembled for a matter of review," he said at last.

A murmur of voices rippled throughout the entire chamber before the man who would one day inherit the pack leadership silenced them.

He turned to Averic.

The warrior in charge of palace security and border patrols looked up now and his expression suggested that he was surprised to see me alive and well.

He was not alone in that.

Sennik's eyes met mine.

The council had no official voice of authority, but it operated by delegation and for now, that voice belonged to Sennik.

"You are hereby authorized to make this review formal," he announced.

The discussion resumed among the few remaining talkers in the room.

Once the sound of that had faded away, Sennik spoke again.

"He recognizes that Alpha Averic Thorne was removed from his position due to his irreversible loss of a wolf and a physician's assessment of that loss as determining his fitness for occupancy of the Alpha position.

This assessment was revised last night and a consensus on the matter had been reached.

The council acknowledges that the event taking place last evening renders further consideration of this issue moot.

There is now one matter of deliberation for the council.

Averyk looked surprised by the abruptness with which Sennik reached forward to lay the document upon the table.

"The fact that the wolf has returned does not negate the judgment passed upon Averic Thorne when he was believed permanently lost.

The council does not yet know, today, if the sacrifice of an alpha has been a sufficient one.

If the disassociation was not done by choice, but by necessity -- or if the necessity could have been accomplished in other ways -- that too must be considered.

This council seeks to determine, now, whether the pack recognizes that the wolf has returned, that the man who sacrificed it chose to do so, and that the circumstances surrounding that choice are more relevant than any consequence suffered afterward."

Averic at last looked back toward me.

"I'm prepared to make the statement.

Caedmon stepped forward now, before Sennik could begin.

"This council," he said, "is not considering whether you are deserving of blame for your mistakes.

It is wondering if it can trust an alpha capable of making such mistakes."

Several people turned to regard him.

Averic, however, held Caedmon's stare.

"Speak your piece,"

he said.

Sennik held up a hand, silencing the room once again.

"I have reached a decision," he said after a long pause.

Now the young man turned his back on Averic and looked toward a group of the lower-level council workers.

"Begin"

The first page was turned over and as Caedmon's eyes met mine yet again across the chamber, I did not turn away this time.