Alpha Terrell's POV
I saw them coming and I nearly smiled.
There it is.
I had known. The moment I had walked out of the dungeon last night and heard Merrick calling after me, had seen Sheena waiting in my room, I had known it wouldn't hold. Sheena's loyalty was to the goddess's law first and to me second, in that order and without apology, which was why I had kept her close for many years and why she was magnificent at her job and why tonight she had done exactly what I expected her to do.
I had prepared accordingly.
I kept my face neutral as they approached through the parted crowd - my brother, disheveled and burning-eyed, and Sheena beside him in her full ceremonial robes, her expression carrying the looks of a woman who has made a decision and is entirely at peace with the consequences.
The gathering had gone very still.
"Sheena," I said pleasantly. "You're late."
