Chapter 11: Nine Nights

The summons came on Saturday, hand-delivered to the Spruce Cafe by a guard who wouldn't look at me.

It was a cream envelope with the pack's moon stamped in grey wax.

I read it standing at the counter.

The Council of Hollow Pine summons Catriona Sedley to the Moon Stone at the full moon, nine nights from this one.

She will answer the charge of poisoning a pack child.

Under it, in smaller type, was the penalty.

Banishment from the territory, and the child of the accused remains with the pack.

I read that line three times.

Tobin was in the corner booth, pushing a blueberry around his plate with a fork.

Conall sat across from him with a coloring book open between them.

Otis had one eye on my son and the other on the door.

He kept both hands wrapped around a coffee cup.

I walked to the booth and put the letter in front of Conall.

He read it once, and his face didn't change.

His knuckles did.

"They can't," he said. "I'm the Alpha. I'll quash it."

"You can't. The charge is a council charge. The elders can bring it without you."

"I'll stand with you."

"No."

"Catriona."

"You'll sit in the front row with the pack.

"You'll say what you found in that tin, and nothing else."

"If they take Tobin," he said, very low.

"They won't."

I took Tobin's hand, and he looked up at me with his mouth stained blue.

"Do you want pie?" Otis said brightly. "I want pie. Let's go and look at the pie."

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