have all day, and you’ve already held up this proceeding by requesting to be a witness at this trial, so state right now—can you also confirm that you never witnessed Collin or his rogue wolf killing anyone in the time that you were with him?” She taps her finger impatiently.
I clasp my hands together and look down before saying quietly, “No, I can’t confirm that.”
The light shines green, and a collective gasp sweeps through the courtroom.
The queen justice’s lips thin. Her icy skin, as smooth as marble, betrays her slight frown. “So you have witnessed your fated mate murder since you joined him?”
I somehow manage to swallow the lump in my throat as tears prick my eyes. Nausea makes me want to heave. I’ve thoroughly fucked this up. I wanted so desperately to keep Collin alive that I unwittingly just revealed that his wolf has killed since we met.
“Yes, but it’s not what you think.” I glance up at her with tears in my eyes. “His beast killed two men in the time since we met, but both of them were trying to hurt me. One was going to rape me, and the other was going to murder me. He did it to defend me. He only wanted to keep me safe.”
The opposing magistrate sits smugly, while Collin’s magistrate shakes his head. There was probably more to his reasoning for not putting me on the stand than I’d realized.
Idiot! Fuck, I’m such a fool!
I lock my gaze onto Collin. He’s sitting quietly in his cage, his head still down, his shoulders drooped.
He’s totally and completely given up.
My heart shatters, and I plead to the judges. “Please, just listen to me. There was a man who was following me one night in northern Arizona. He attacked me and was on top of me when Collin’s wolf came upon us. Collin’s wolf killed him because he was going to rape me. And the second man he killed was another rogue. That rogue directly challenged Collin and stated he was going to kill me right before he attacked Collin. Again, my mate was defending me. In both circumstances, he was defending me. Those are the only people he’s killed in the time I’ve known him.”
Green light shines around me, but the judges’ expressions don’t change. My heart sinks.
“Very well,” the queen justice says pragmatically. “Any further questions?” she asks the opposing magistrate.
The opposing magistrate shakes his head smugly.
“And you?” she asks Collin’s magistrate.
Collin’s magistrate twirls his goatee, then stands. He comes around his table. For a moment, he paces slowly back and forth in front of me, continuing to rub his chin hair.
“Ms. Drummond, you’re stating that your fated mate is no longer a rogue werewolf because you helped bring him back from insanity. Is that correct?”
“Yes.” The light shines green.
“And you’re further stating that the only two men that Collin Ward’s rogue wolf killed in the two months you were with him were both men that attacked you and meant you harm.”
“Yes.” Again green.
“And you are also testifying that you were with Collin Ward, in his direct presence, during the entire time up until his arrest?”
“Except for four hours when we were apart, the day after he abducted me—yes.” Again, green.
The magistrate stops his pacing and faces me. “Ah, so not only did your fated mate defend you against grave harm and possible death, but he also let you go during a period of time, while he was a rogue werewolf.”
“Yes.” Green.
He resumes his pacing. “Now, as the court knows, never in the history of known rogue abductions, has a rogue ever let a victim go. And as the court also knows, the supernatural community does not punish mated werewolf males for defending their mate, even if that defense leads to the aggravator’s death. If that were the case, we would have hundreds of mated werewolves clogging up our prison system.” He stops and faces the judges. “From the true testimony that Ms. Brianna Drummond has provided us with, it seems evident to me that in the two incidents she’s highlighted, Collin Ward was practicing his given right to defend his mate as sanctioned by the high courts in clause 19.2 of the 1837 mating law. And as you have seen from her true testimony, Collin Ward at no other times in the previous two months committed murders against innocent humans or supernaturals, which as we all know, has never before been seen in a rogue werewolf. So tell me, will you