“So it seems.” She exhaled slowly. “How much does Robyn know?”

I shrugged. “We had to tell her something.” The previous night clearly hadn’t been the time to explain to Robyn that she was now a member of my Pride and thus subject to a long list of rules and responsibilities. But she’d woken up before Abby and had wandered downstairs on her own, where she’d found a kitchen full of shifters—a scent she’d recognized. “She knows this is my house, and that we’re all shifters. She knows that the guys work for me, but not in what capacity. We wanted you to be there to explain the bulk of it to her.”

“Okay.” Abby nodded. “I’ve been having this discussion with her in my head for weeks.” Yet she made no move to get out of bed. “Jace, how much trouble am I in, exactly?”

“Well, the easy answer is ‘A lot.’ But really, that depends.” She’d covered up an infection, disobeyed a direct order, sabotaged an investigation, and murdered a witness in custody—a list of offenses that made her infamously shrewish cousin look meek and agreeable by comparison. But the most serious of all the potential charges was… “Abby, did you infect Robyn?”

Her eyes widened. “No! How could you even…?” She frowned. “Is that what people think?”

“What else are they supposed to think? She’s your roommate, and you hid her from us.”

“I hid Robyn to protect her, not to protect myself. She was infected at the hunters’ cabin in October. They had a stray in a cage, in the basement. He was dead by the time I got there, but he swiped at her through his cage before he died. It was just a scratch, but by that night, she had a fever.” Abby shrugged. “If you’d been there any longer, you’d have known about this all along.”

I blinked, stunned. How could I have missed it? Robyn had been bleeding from several minor wounds, but I’d assumed they were all from being dragged through the woods or being roughed up by her abductors.

“Okay.” My mind raced, reassembling the puzzle with the new pieces. If I’d paid a little more attention, I could have prevented the whole thing. Robyn wouldn’t have killed in a maladjusted dissociative state. Abby wouldn’t have committed crimes to protect her. “Assuming Robyn will testify to that, that’s one charge they’ll have to dismiss. And if we can verify her feline dissociative state, they’ll probably dismiss all the charges against Robyn, in light of her temporary…insanity.” And because she was the first verified female stray, and Abby was right; they would want to study her. “Which is why I think you should encourage her to let Dr. Carver do his thing. So he can testify on her behalf, if necessary.”

“Okay.” Abby nodded. “What about the rest of it?”

“Your hearing will be in two weeks, at the ranch. They’ve already excluded me from the proceedings.”

“Because of us?”

I nodded. Ed Taylor had been particularly unhappy to hear about my involvement with his son’s ex-fiancée. That—coupled with the fact that on my watch, one tabby been infected, one had gotten pregnant, and two had been kidnapped—had painted my leadership in a less-than-flattering light. “And because I failed to report you missing when you didn’t get on your plane. But your dad and Faythe will be there, and they’ll do everything they can for you. So, you need to cooperate and make it easy for them.”

“Okay.”

“Your parents will be here in a couple of hours. You’re all three scheduled for a late flight tonight, back to South Carolina, and Robyn can go with you or—”

“No!” Abby stood so fast, I hardly saw her move. “I’m staying here. With you.” She pulled her nightshirt off and dropped it on her way to the suitcase lying open in front of my dresser, and suddenly, her parents were the furthest things from my mind.

“They’ll just have to cancel my ticket, because I belong here. With you.” She bent in front of her suitcase, then stood with a pair of jeans, and I realized I hated her suitcase and the fact that I only ever saw her when she had a reason to use it. I wanted to see her clothes not just on my floor but in my dresser. In my laundry hamper. Hanging from my shower rod. But that had only ever been a remote possibility, and it was even more remote now.

“Abby, you don’t work for me anymore. I’ve already transferred your Pride membership back to your father.” I’d done that over the phone the day before, when I’d called to tell him I was sending her back. “He’s your Alpha now.”

“What?” She dropped the pants, and I realized she was wearing nothing but a pair of purple lace panties. I had to swallow a groan. “No! I never agreed to that.”

“You were expelled. That doesn’t require your approval.”

“So, tell him you changed your mind and you want me back.”

Oh, I wanted her, all right. But… “You know he won’t give you back to me.” Under my leadership and authority, she’d committed at least three crimes, any one of which could get her executed if she were a tomcat. The penalty for a tabby wouldn’t be so severe—we couldn’t afford to lose any women—but it would be permanent and likely painful.

The very thought kindled rage deep in my gut and made claws want to burst from my fingertips.

The Alphas who hadn’t wanted Faythe among their ranks—mostly my late stepfather’s allies—would want to set an example with Abby to make sure future tabbies didn’t think they could just run amok in the new world order. The fact that I couldn’t serve on the board that decided her fate thoroughly pissed me off.

“So, there’s no way out of this?” Her focus volleyed between my eyes, searching for some overlooked possibility. Some miracle that would keep us together.

“No, and there probably shouldn’t be. Your dad’s in the strongest position to help with your defense, and the best thing I can do for you right now is let him.”

“So, then, this is it?” She came closer, and I struggled to maintain eye contact with her so close to naked, and close to my bed, and close to leaving.

“For a while, anyway.” I had no idea what would happen after her trial. Whether or not her father would let her leave the territory. Whether he’d let me visit. And frankly, I wouldn’t blame him if he refused.