Nicky spoke up. “Marco, be reasonable. You and Casey were planning a raid, and many of our pack would have been killed. Casey and I were able to go inside the compound, because we’re not so giant-sized. They didn’t suspect us. Nothing went wrong. We were able to get rid of the guards—well, Rory did that—and the rest was a piece of cake. ”
“Just whose idea was this harebrained scheme, or do I even have to ask?”
Rory hid a smile by looking down. Nicky sat up straighter. “It was my idea, and it worked!”
“And you decided to ignore the fact that when you told me you wanted to help, I told you it was out of the question? Youdelibera
tely disobeyed?”
Nicky opened his mouth to argue, but Rory clapped a hand over it. “Yes Marco, we admit it. We’re sorry we worried you and Casey. ”
“Worried me?” Casey yelled. “I damn near went out of my mind!”
Nicky threw off Rory’s hand. “Well, what are you going to do? Throw us in the slammer? Put us in chains?You’re ignoringthe fact we saved them!”
“Nicky, the end doesn’t justify the means. It’s wonderful you were lucky, but it could have had a very different ending. I can’t ignore this behavior. I’m sentencing you both to a month of chores. Chopping wood, washing dishes, cleaning up, whatever there is to do, you’ll do it. Ian will set you both up on one of the work crews. Once he’s back on his feet, he’ll oversee the punishment. ”
Nicky folded his arms. “And if I refuse?”
“Nicky,” Marco said warningly.
“No, I’m not doing it . Put me in jail instead. ”
“You’ll do as you’re damn well told!”
“I damn well won’t!” Nicky yelled back, jumping to his feet. “I have a right to serve my month in jail. I demand you send me there right now. ”
Marco growled, his eyes flashed, and he called for the gammas in the hall. “Take him down to the cells in the basement. Lock him in!”
The gammas looked back and forth at each other. “Nicky? You want us to take Nicky?”
“Yes, Nicky, dammit!” Marco roared. “Take him out of here!”
Nicky sauntered to the door between the two without so much as a backward glance. Marco turned to Rory. “What about you, Rory? Are you going to take your punishment or pitch a fit like Nicky just did?”
Rory glanced at Casey and back to Marco. “I’ll take the hard labor, sir. ”
Marco sat for a couple of minutes trying to calm himself. He was breathing so hard and his face was so red, Logan thought he might have a stroke. Nicky, he’d learned, was the only one who could make Marco angry enough to lose control. Marco took a deep breath and turned to Logan.
“Logan, your offense was the worst. You deliberately betrayed your mate and tipped off the Hunters we were coming. You almost got Ian and the rest of us killed. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“It’s a lie. ”
The heads of all four wolves at the table snapped toward him. “What did you say?” Marco asked quietly.
“I said, it’s a lie. I never tipped anyone off. I have no idea how they knew. My father didn’t exactly share any confidences with me, but I never tried to get Ian killed. I did everything I could to keep him alive. I told them I had to have his blood to survive. I made them treat his wounds. I tried to get him decent food. I tried to make them stop torturing him. Like I say, I did everything I could. ”
Ian leaned across the table at him. “You did all of it to protect yourself and keep me alive to feed you. You never once offered me a kind word or gave me any kind of sign, and I watched for one, Logan. You made it plain you hated my guts every time I saw you in there. ”
“I had to pretend I hated you. My father was furious. If I had given any sign I cared for you, he would have had you killed immediately. ”
Ian scoffed in disbelief, but Marco and Casey glanced at each other. “If you didn’t tip them off, who did?”
“I have no idea. I only know it wasn’t me. ”
“He’s lying,” Ian said, giving Logan a cold look.
“I’m not lying! Why won’t you believe me?”