Who is Magpie?
Chapter 70- Challenged

Ezekiel returned to the bed knowing it would be short lived but needing to absorb what had been said. She was alive, and despite everything else she had laughed today with her entire soul. He kissed her head gently, careful not to wake her, his Luna was so strong, stronger than she ever should have needed to be.

He got dressed in a pair of trousers and a button down with a blazer, hoping wearing nice clothes would help him to control his temper. He would have the other rogues that had been arrested just days before transferred for interrogation but knew they likely wouldn’t survive it. Killing your enemies in wolven society was easier than having them stand trial, only those who anyone wanted to live made it to trials, and the rogues would have no one to defend them. He shuddered to think that Jessamine might, after her declaration the night before, argue with him about killing them when the time came.

When Bronx returned he had dressed nicely as well, expecting at some point to be called to a meeting with Jessamine. He held in his arms a basket from her room with all her hung items laid on top and moved directly to the closet to hang them back up and deposit the basket. Ezekiel had watched him from the bed, returning to it after he’d gotten ready to stroke the back of her hand with his fingers.

She slept so soundly that she hardly moved, nothing but the odd twitch of her hand as Ezekiel touched it or the rise and fall of her chest to prove she was real. Bronx moved to sit on the sofa when he was through in the closet, deciding that returning to play with her hair as Ezekiel did her hand would not help him get any work done. As Bronx settled in Ezekiel stood to leave, begrudgingly ending the physical contact however small.

“I’m going to try and return for meals with her, but I will be going out to check the forest and their camp and question the other rogues when they arrive.” Ezekiel watched her shiver with the absence of the touch and curled her hands together.

Bronx gave him a half salute. “Alright, we’ll likely be here. You know her though, she may talk me into letting her go to the garden.”

Ezekiel wouldn’t put it past her to get anything she wanted and wished Bronx good luck before heading out. He had a busy day ahead and needed to trust in his brother to keep her out of trouble, which would have been easier if she had continued sleeping. A few hours after Ezekiel left, not long before breakfast, Jessamine woke up stretching and groaning at the persistent aches.

“Morning princess,” Bronx muttered, in the middle of reading something regarding the prisoner transfer.

She looked over somewhat surprised before replying, “Morning.”

“Why do you look so confused? We said you wouldn’t be left alone,” he reminded, putting down his computer to look at her.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing, I thought I felt Ezekiel worrying.”

“That wouldn’t be surprising with what he had going on today.” Bronx gave a half assed chuckle. “Do you still feel it now?”

She smirked and shook her head again. “No, must have been a dream. So what are you doing?”

He scoffed. “Nothing incredibly helpful. Compiling the information we have and keeping up to date with happenings in our territory.”

“That’s incredibly important!” Jessamine butt in. “Everything within the boarder doesn’t stop running because of an attack at the pack house, no matter how much we might wish it did. On top of that, I know Ezekiel appreciates you taking over that stuff so he can focus more energy on what happened. I know you see the guilt that I can feel in him, and he needs this. You are the best.”

She had moved to sit up, holding the blanket at her neck but the volume of one breast against the material nudged it out of the way revealing the top curve of her areola. It took Bronx too much time to remember that she had returned to bed before he had brought her clothes down, and had just been under a sheet the whole time. His face flushed embarrassingly and he turned from her back to his screen to conceal it.

“That’s me.”

Before either could say anything more the doorbell sounded and Bronx went to retrieve what was likely their breakfast. Jessamine checked her sheet, realized she’d nearly being flashing him, and hid herself better incase someone else was there. She could smell the wonderful scent of garlic the second the first door opened.

Bronx was less focused on the food. He could hear the commotion outside before Jessamine and went to the next door in a hurry. Once there he opened it carefully, peering out to hear a large group talking in the main entrance. He looked back to see her tossing the blanket off and halted his steps.

“Please, stay here,” he begged, moving into the hall to see what was going on.

Leaning over the railing he could see a small gathering including Ezekiel, Tidas, Delano, Willow, Dr. Pon, Counsellor Avion Jonz, Counsellor Chavalier Krii, and Athena.

“I understand this is poor timing, but it really was coincidence. We planned to arrive much soon,” Chevalier drawled slowly on somehow being heard above the rest. “But you haven’t answer /my question yet.”

“It doesn’t really matter either way, my challenge still stands.” Athena flicked her hair, a sinister little smile creeping out.

“Athena really, have you no tact.” Tidas sounded as though he was both rolling his eyes and nervous.

“Oih,” Bronx called over to Ezekiel. “What’s this?”

Ezekiel turned up to Bronx, his face displaying the absurdity of it. “Athena’s back with the Counsellors here to issue a Luna challenge.”

Tidas was taking this more seriously. “Really Avion, you would support this?”

“It’s not a matter of whether I support it, it is the code. It is my duty to honor it, however archaic,” Avion muttered in response.

Tidas turned. “And you Chev? Really, hasn’t she dealt with enough.”

Chevalier shrugged. “She caught me on my way out of town, if it wasn’t me she would just get someone else. And I wasn’t about to have to hear about this from Hariette or Eugene.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Ezekiel scoffed. “How do you expect this to go down? You’re going to challenge Jessamine and get our mating reinstated? We already discussed this, you will be compensated.”

Tidas was shaking his head, “It doesn’t matter, with her injuries there’s no way….”

He watched a slight twitch in his son. It was so small if he wasn’t his father he wouldn’t have seen it. Ezekiel turned to look at Bronx, and so did Tidas who noticed a slight pinking in his face. He rubbed his eyes between his finger as he felt a headache forming deep within in.

“If I can’t challenge her as the Luna, I will challenge her for the position as she was unable to complete the bond.”

“These are the oldest, relic of laws,” willow was saying. “They really should have been outlawed long ago, but to bring them up now…. You really are a coward, Athena.”

Athena had seemed to already accept the reproach she would get from her challenge and continued to grin.

She shrugged nonchalantly, and directed her attention back to Ezekiel.

“You can’t take her place, not this time,” Athena reminded him. “To deny this is as good as declaring war between us.”

Ezekiel had moved from humouring her to rage. “We grew up together Athena, we have been friends for years! You would really come here and throw all of that away, for what?”

Athena looked frustrated like the question didn’t matter. “For what I’m owed. I put up with our boring visits and dull conversations for years, and I’m not about to lose everything I planned for to a cousin who….” She cut herself off and flicked her hair away from her face. “What’s it going to be?”

Ezekiel had already decided how he would solve this. He had ground his teeth together audibly while she spoke, and wanted a war more with every word.

Bronx had barely noticed Jessamine moving passed him until her scent caught in his throat like a sultry warning. It came to him like the wet winds in a jungle before the storm that brandished it’s fists. Jessamine wore a nightgown she had tossed on without any undergarments, and then quickly grabbed a button up sweater to cover her cold chest and most of the hickies.

“Athena, this is colder than I thought you were capable of,” Jessamine announced, walking to the stairs with Bronx quickly moving to be there in case. “It’s almost like you knew something would happen last night. You could have easily challenged me before like I wanted to to you.” She smiled when she reached the last few stairs, choosing to stay on them so she could look over her. “Or were you afraid to take me at my best?”

Athena scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself, it’s a wolven challenge and you hadn’t shifted yet. No one thought you would even be able to.”

Jessamine waved both Ezekiel and Bronx’s defensive retorts off. Feeling her wrist carefully like there was information there. She then moved to her ankle, but not the injured one, before standing again.

“If you’re not worried, then can’t you come back in a week when I’m healed?” She asked, looking the woman over.

“Two weeks,” the good doctor, Pon, interjected hopefully.

“That’s not how it works,” Athena scoffed again. “24 hours after the night of the full moon is the window, I’m challenging you now.”

Jessamine rolled her eyes outlandishly. “Fine, tonight then. At /least give me the day in bed after almost getting murdered.”

“Jessamine,” Tidas began gently, moving toward her now. “This… this law should have been abolished long ago, not only because it is cruel and goes against your Goddess chosen mate, but also because .. well, frankly…”

“Now that you have been marked and claimed as the Luna the only way you can be replaced is through banishment or death,” Willow interrupted, seeing her poor son struggling to say it, and flicking Athena and the councillors a cold look.

Jessamine sighed like she had expected it. “Well don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“Jessa,” It was Ezekiel now, looking at her desperately. “You are in no shape for this…”

“We can talk more privately my love,” she encouraged, and at the word he found his tongue unable to argue. “Until tonight then Athena, I’d offer you to stay for breakfast, but you’re kind of a bitch. So, see yourselves out.”

Athena hesitated but Ezekiel promptly called the guards to assist her exit. She ensued her screaming about how she would return when the sun was setting for her challenge or she would be returning with her pack.

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