Who is Magpie?

She handed the phone back to Tidas with a raise of her brows. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for?” He returned, watching her walk to the drawer.

She dug through, looking for anything that had been brought up from the prison and left behind. Quickly she chose a pair of thick, silver forearm cuffs with a chain long enough that she could get out of it on her own. She brought them, opened, to Tidas.

“You’re going to put them on me, and steep the remaining mensdillia leaves in a cups worth of tea and walk me into that meeting.” Magpie spoke strongly towards Tidas; an experienced wolven with a foot on her.

He clasped the cuffs closed in her hands. “Why would I do that?”

She sighed, using a steal pin from her hair to pick them open again. “I don’t really even need your help.” She spoke as she tossed them lightly in the air, moving her wrists around and down. Lining her wrists up with the inner gauntlet she brought both hands down, slamming them against her thighs so the momentum swung the other side around to lock them closed.

He looked at her slightly stunned by her confidence in believing she would be able to do that one the first try, but Willow erupted into laughter. “I told you I liked her, come on Tidas you old fuddyduddy, hear her out.” She was walking down the hall towards them, clicking her cane with her steps.

Magpie didn’t wait to be addressed before she elaborated. “If I’m wolven, however the fuck that’s possible, I’m going to burn through all the drugs in my system more quickly. I need every drop in my system possible for the effects to work.”

“Why do you need to be drugged to tell the truth?” Tidas was sceptical of her plan regardless, but now, eyeing his possible daughter in law considerately, he couldn’t help feel like her ability to lie would be an asset.

She shook her head. “I don’t. I don’t give a fuck about dying, and I’ve wished for it more times than I care to admit, but I care about the two I’d leave behind.”

The sadness in those words struck the two old Alphas in a way Magpie hadn’t intended. “Then why?” Willow asked, filling in for Tidas who had apparently lost his tongue.

“They won’t believe a single word that I say if they figure out who I really was.” Magpie continued to reminisce begrudgingly.

Nothing she had done had she truly wanted to, but at the time it had felt as indifferent a decision as choosing which end to start watering her plants from. No matter where she began, the results would be the same. Each mission was an assignment that needed to be done, and if it wasn’t by her it would be by less capable hands.

She felt no shame for her actions, not in the traditional sense, more feeling like she was someone else. Like a character played in a game, she had the skills, but the story wasn’t her own. She played the game because she had no choice, even when they pretended there was any way to answer their questions then the way they wanted.

“You realize your inability to lie could backfire if they ask the wrong questions.” Willow muttered, already moving toward the tea jug; Doctor Pon no where to be seen.

Again Magpie nodded. “A lot has happened in my years there. I don’t even remember it all.” Willow dropped the squished leaves into the tea, reaching towards Tidas with the cup. “Let’s hope Counsellor Wallace doesn’t ask about his cruise ship.”

Ezekiel returned to the meeting, noticing everyone eating desserts, and eyed Bronx thankfully. Bronx was just slipping his phone back into his pocket, which he thought was weird for how long ago their call ended.

“Thank you for your patience….”

“How is your mate?” Corleone interrupted, knowingly and Ezekiel eyes her sharply for interrupting, so she put her hands up in mock defence. “No one would ever run out on a meeting about their mate for anything less than their mate.”

Ezekiel stood at his end of the table, eyeing each counsel member considerately. “That answer is one that will, unfortunately, be lengthening your stay, because it seems the Fae are up to something much bigger than we thought possible.”

“And what could that be?” Wallace demanded, resting his fork from his pie delicately on the edge of the plate and pushing it to the centre of the table.

“She is a wolven.” Ezekiel didn’t pause for the gasps or raised questioning hands. “They were somehow able to prevent her from shifting or even knowing what she is for the seven years that they had her.”

“Seven years?” Avion, who had lost a cousin to the Fae’s disregard for wolven life, gasped. “How old is she?”

The meeting room doors opened and Magpie stood in the opening. “27, probably.”

Ezekiel met her gaze, eyes blazing with anger as he raked his eyes over the large manacles that covered her wrists. As she entered the room, Tidas followed behind her tentatively holding a cup of tea. Ezekiel met both of their attention with his raging frustration but only his father met him with any remorse. They both walked to the end, stopping in front of Ezekiel and Bronx, and Tidas reached the cup out towards him.

“I will not give that to her.” He growled lowly.

“You won’t, he will.” Magpie jut her nose towards Bronx. “This won’t work tomorrow, wolven have a higher metabolism and I’ll burn through what’s left in my system over night.” He continued to glare at her.

“You went behind my back, after I explicitly said no…”

“You don’t even know me. I know the bond is strong, but I also know you can reject it. You might want to after asking your questions.” She reasoned, but he didn’t budge seemingly oblivious to the others in the room, so she leaned in close to his ear like she meant to kiss his cheek and whispered. “I can’t tell if you’re so focused on the cuffs because you hate them, or you hate that I’m wearing them with so many others around.”

A slight blush warmed over his cheeks and he turned away. Magpie nodded knowingly, a smile moving over her face even as Bronx took the cup from Tidas, who was grateful to be relieved of it.

“Alpha Ezekiel, what is the meaning of this?” Raymond Horne finally voiced what everyone else was thinking.

With her back to the rest, Magpie gave him a look that reminded him he was Alpha, and regardless of what she had done she was here now, and he would have to address the counsel.

‘Honesty,’ Ezekiel heard his grandmother’s voice remind him in his mind.

“Magpie has volunteered to take the mind manipulative drugs, that were used on her by the Fae, so that we may ask our questions and guarantee that she’s being honest. This was planned for tomorrow, after our first meeting, at the trial, but with her wolven awakening by then the drug would barely be potent enough.”

“You would volunteer? Why?” Hariette Grigg looked scandalized, like someone was volunteering to sniff powder off the table beside her.

“Is this likely a question you’d rather ask in about ten minutes when I’m steeped, or do we need to debate ethics of drug use in the court room first?” Magpie asked rather plainly, like it was a genuine question.

Ezekiel excused his father and regarded the council. “I’ll leave the final decision to you. You can get your questions out now with this method, or tomorrow when you must trust in her alone to be truthful.”

“But what about the debriefing? Must we have that in front of her?” Wallace grimaced

“I prefer when people talk about me in front of me, only co….” Magpie cut herself off, realizing they would not take it as the compliment Bluejay had. “When you’re debating my sentence it hardly seems necessary.” She said instead.

Ezekiel shot her a look, warning her to stay silent. She raised her hands to appease him, showing him her palms, but the metal bonds clanked unmusically with the chains and that only increased his anger. Before he could turn his anger on the counsel, Corleone trilled her fingers against the table.

“The questions will be the same today or tomorrow. Let’s just get this underway.” Magpie avoided smiling, knowing she’d have been better off lying.

The counsel debated amongst themselves for several minutes, while Magpie watched her tea sadly cool. When they had finally decided to allow it, Magpie didn’t move from her improper seat, barely listening to the discussion anymore and waiting for Ezekiel to speak.

He stretched out his jaw and ran his teeth over his incisors before finally speaking. “Fine. Magpie tell Bronx what needs to be done.” Ezekiel spoke languidly.

Hariette seemed to sit up like she mean to ask a question, but sat back when she remembered that waiting was the point, writing it in her book instead. Everyone seem to be sitting restlessly despite the still in the room. Bronx walked over to hand Magpie the cup and she grimaced at it before looking at him.

“I’m going to down this to get it over with, but that usually makes me anxious. We need to maintain eye contact while I do, and you’re going to say ‘You answer to me’ intermittently until I’m done. It will take probably ten minutes to fully set in, and then you can command my honesty. Make sure the question is what you mean, and I won’t repeat answers.” She sighed deeply. “I might pass out. I don’t know how you deal with having wolven spirits. She’s angry that I’m choosing this now after all it cost us, so I don’t know what will happen.”

No one spoke. No one knew what to say. Ezekiel felt himself drifting toward her without meaning to, and soon he was brushing the long strands of hair over her shoulders.

“I’ll catch you if you fall.” Was all he said, and she managed a weak smile in return, feeling her cheeks pale as she smelt the tea.