“Every waking moment. Except those moments when we’re doing other things.”

He gave me a slow, smoldering smile and slid his arms around me. “That sounds amazing.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Maybe.” He shook his head. “Yes. But Abby, this is crazy.”

“So what? I know what I want. And anyway, according to Warner, if it’s not crazy—”

“It isn’t love. I know.” Jace ran one hand through his pale brown waves, and I could practically see the thoughts running through his head. Scrolling past his eyes. “Abby, your dad…”

“He might be pissed at first, but he’ll come around. My mom will help. She likes you.” I pulled him down for another kiss, then spoke with my lips still brushing his. Then in a couple of years, when my dad’s ready to retire...” I let him draw his own conclusion.

“Abby, that’s a beautiful idea, but it won’t work. They won’t let me back on the council after I’ve been voted off. Even if we get married, eventually, it’ll be your Pride. Your council seat. And I think that’s the way it should be. I can kick just as much ass behind the scenes, with you wearing the crown. Especially if you promise not to wear anything else…”

The heat in his eyes was stunning. It almost stole my breath.

“But you’re an Alpha and that won’t change, even if you’re not running a Pride.” Alphas do not take orders. “Do you really think you could go back to being an enforcer? Even my top enforcer?”

“Well, our history would suggest I’m no good at being your boss.” His grin lit me up on the inside. “We both know you were really running the show while you worked for me.”

“And you can see how well that turned out,” I said with a gesture in the general direction of the main house, where his fate was still being decided. “I’m willing to learn, but you belong at the top of the heap with me, Jace. If Marc can co-Alpha, so can you. It’s not like the council will have any choice if we’re married, right?”

Jace’s brows rose. “I don’t know. That may be uncharted territory. But if anyone can talk them into it, it’s you. You’re more than enough to keep a man on his toes.”

“I’d rather have you on your back,” I said, and Jace growled softly as he kissed his way down my neck. “We can handle whatever they throw at us today, right? We’ll make the best of it. Promise me.”

“We’ll make the best of it. I promise,” he murmured with his lips against my skin. “We’ll make history. We’ll make love. And if you want, we’ll make babies.” He stood to look at me, and his blue eyes sparkled. “But only that middle part’s set in stone.”

“Agreed. Let’s tell them we’re getting a place together after they read your sentence.” Anticipation made me giddy. “I’m dying to steal their thunder if they’re going to steal your Pride from you.”

His brows rose. “Does nothing scare you?”

“There’s nothing left for me to be scared of.”

Jace hesitated for just a second. Then he nodded, and my heart felt like it was going to explode. “Let’s tell them. They can take my rank, and my home, and my job, but they can’t take you away from me.” His mouth met mine again, but our kiss was interrupted by a single loud knock on the front door of the guesthouse.

The council was ready to speak Jace’s fate.

The Alphas were already waiting for us when we got to the dining room. Jace took his place, standing at the end of the table opposite Ed Taylor, where I’d sat all afternoon. I was relegated to a spot against the wall with Michael.

No one else was allowed in the room except for Victor Di Carlo and Brian Taylor, who closed the door, then stood to either side of it, in a much more formal stance than enforcers typically assumed. That made me nervous, even though they were both Faythe’s men.

Why would the council need an obvious display of muscle? Did they think Jace would fight his sentence after voluntarily accepting my charges?

Ed Taylor cleared his throat, and my heart hammered in my chest, even though I already knew what he was going to say. Let them deliver their unjust, politically motivated sentence. Minutes later, I would be driving down the highway with Jace, browsing South Carolina rental listings on my phone.

Screw the council.

“Jace Hammond, the Territorial Council hereby finds you guilty of all the charges leveled against your former Pride member, Abby Wade. Do you have anything to say for yourself before we read the verdict?”

Jace nodded. Then he turned around and held his hand out to me. I glanced nervously at my dad, then took a bold step forward to intertwine my fingers with his. Jace squeezed my hand and looked right at Ed Taylor. “Do what you have to do.”

My dad’s frown deepened, but I didn’t realize something was really wrong until I noticed tears standing in Faythe’s eyes. By then, Taylor was already speaking.

“We hereby revoke your status as Alpha of the Appalachian Pride.”

But we’d been expecting that. That wasn’t bad enough to account for the silent tears trailing down Faythe’s cheeks or the strained line of my father’s jaw.

“Furthermore,” Taylor continued. “In light of the severity of the charges, we sentence you to permanent exile in the Mississippi free zone, effective immediately. If you ever again enter one of the US territories, it will be at the forfeiture of your own life.”

Jace’s hand tightened around mine, and some inarticulate sound of horror got caught in his throat.

“What?” My pulse raced so fast the room had taken on an odd hue. “Exile? But that’s not even… You can’t…”

“There are precedents,” Faythe said miserably. “Murder and insubordination have been grounds for exile in the past, even when the offender wasn’t an Alpha.”

“We must hold Alphas to a higher standard,” Blackwell added, knowing full well that Jace hadn’t committed any of the crimes he’d pled guilty to.

“We were outvoted,” Faythe elaborated, with a glance at my father. “There was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry.”

“Effective immediately?” Jace asked as I clung to his hand, stunned. Devastated.