Fight to the Death Ch. 07

Rogue looked up as Griffin walked into the log cabin that they shared and smiled. The smile disappeared when she saw the cuts and bruises on his face and the tatters that was once his shirt. "What happened?" she demanded to know.

"Some of the younger pack members took a dislike to me," Griffin said dryly.

"Do you know their names?" Rogue asked.

"Just leave it alone Rogue," Griffin said wearily.

"It's the equivalent of treason to attack the Alpha's family," Rogue argued.

"Rogue please," Griffin nearly growled the words. Rogue placed her knitting on the couch and stood up.

"Dinner with my parents is in an hour at their house," Rogue said before leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell happened to you?" Cole asked.

"Someone attacked him but Grif won't say who," Rogue answered, clearly annoyed.

"If Rogue is here, mom needs help!" Xavier called from the den. Rogue slipped past her brother and Cole turned back to Griffin.

"Who?"

"The twins, Josh and Dave," Griffin answered. Cole growled.

"Those two insolent pups need to be taught a lesson. They were trying to get Rogue's attention after you left, then once her pregnancy was discovered, they threatened for kill her for letting a traitor touch her. We'll discuss this with dad, Xavier and Charles," Cole decided. He could feel the anger rolling off of Griffin. "Rogue's in the kitchen, go to the library, I'll get the others and meet you there," Cole added, knowing this meeting needed to happen NOW!

"Are you sure it was Josh and Dave?" Dominic asked.

"I'm positive. I managed to get a few punches in," Griffin answered.

"They will be reprimanded. You are a member of the Alpha's family," Dominic told Griffin.

"That won't stop this. They will always see me as someone undeserving of the Alpha's daughter," Griffin argued. Cole nodded his agreement.

"You can always be turned," Charles pointed out. Xavier shook his head.

"I've offered. Rogue said she'd unman me if I turned him," Xavier said.

"Not if the Alpha orders it," Griffin reminded his brother by marriage.

"Sure, make my daughter even angrier with me." Cole grinned at the amount of sarcasm in his father's voice. Before anything else could be said, Marie appeared in the doorway.

"Dinner gentlemen," she murmured.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe the guys invited Griffin to their hunting and fishing trip," Rogue said as she, Beth and Raven sat on a picnic blanket, the kids playing near by.

"I think it's your dad's way of saying he's accepted Griffin into the family," Beth murmured, taking a bite of her apple. Rogue winced at the sight of her sister in law's arms, they were covered with burns from the potion Marcus had thrown on her nearly a month before, but they were healing.

"Griffin hates hunting," Rogue reminded Beth.

"Dominic didn't exactly give him much of a choice," Raven chimed in, fidgeting with her necklace.

"What's wrong Rave?" Beth asked her cousin.

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that something isn't right." Raven looked around with a frown.

"I'm not picking anything up," Beth murmured.

"It's probably just me," Raven said with a dry laugh.

The girls finished their picnic and headed back towards the main house. As they reached the driveway, Beth cried out in alarm as something large and fast came at her. With wide eyes, Beth watched as Raven and the kids were pinned against trees. Raven and Beth glanced at each other and Beth began to chant as wolves gathered around Rogue. Raven growled loudly when a rock was slammed against Beth's head, rendering her unconscious. Rogue fought the urge to shift, knowing she could hurt her baby, but she also knew that if she didn't shift, she and the baby could both be hurt or worse.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large brown wolf jumped in front of Rogue, while four wolves that Rogue recognized as her father and brothers surrounded Beth, Raven and the kids. Cole nuzzled Beth's cheek and while he wasn't happy, her moan placated him and he joined the brown wolf as he fought off the wolves that had attacked. When the last renegade wolf was incapacitated, the brown wolf turned to Rogue and shifted back to his human form. Rogue's eyes widened and she gasped; the brown wolf was Griffin.

Back at the safety of the house, Griffin and the others quickly redressed. "What happened?" Beth asked Raven.

"We were ambushed in the driveway. How do you feel?" Raven wanted to know.

"I have the monster of all migraines," Beth answered with a groan. Shouting from Dominic's office had the three women up off of the couch in a flash, only to find Cole blocking their way.

"How are you feeling?" Cole asked.

"Like I got hit in the head with a rock," Beth said bluntly.

"The witch was trying to curse us," a young man snarled from behind Cole.

"You attacked us!" Beth shot back.

"Let them in," Dominic said from the office. Cole moved to allow Beth, Rogue and Raven into the office, shut the door behind them and growled loudly when Raven explained what had happened.

"Why did you attack my family?" Dominic asked, his voice eerily calm.

"Rogue married a traitor," one of the young men bit out.

"Griffin is not a traitor!" Rogue exclaimed. Xavier put his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"But he took Raven's mate!" the young man protested.

"You are an idiot Dave Pushkin!" Xavier exclaimed.

"My son-in-law was under a spell and he has been cleared and forgiven for his crimes," Dominic stated.

"You are clouded by your desire for Rogue's happiness," Josh Pushkin grumbled.

"As a father, yes, I desire my daughter's happiness. As your Alpha, I turned to the council for a vote. The council decided that Griffin was not to blame for his crimes against the pack and was allowed to join as a full member of the pack with full benefits AND immunity from what he did while under his spell," Dominic answered.

"I don't accept that! Rogue deserves to die for taking up with that traitor!" Josh bellowed. The men in the room growled loudly, but Josh refused to back down.

"We should rip them both to shreds," Charles growled.

"Give them a trial," Griffin said after a moment.

"A trial?" Dominic asked.

"Pack law allows them to have a trial in front of the entire pack, does it not?" Griffin asked.

"It does," Dominic answered slowly.

"So put them up in front of the entire pack. Let the pack see for themselves what happens if they behave like cowards and sneak up on three unsuspecting women with their children," Griffin said. Cole smiled, his new brother was not a stupid man, he would prove to be a great asset to the pack.

"Did they hurt you Rogue? Raven?" Dominic asked, turning to his daughter in laws.

"No," the girls murmured. They glanced at Beth who had an evil gleam in her eyes.

"Put the bastards on trial. I would relish helping to devise their punishments," Beth said. Rogue grinned in spite of her anger.

"Your trial will begin when I can get the council assembled. In the mean time, Cole, Xavier, escort the prisoners to the holding cells." Dominic turned to Josh and Dave. "Beth will prepare your meals. Breakfasts by seven, lunch by noon and dinner by seven. I hope you haven't pissed her off more than it appears you have," Dominic told them.

He waited for them to be escorted from his office before turning back to Rogue. "I know you're going to yell at me for turning Griffin, and I don't care. Griffin was unable to take care of you and protect you the way you needed to be protected. Today's events are evidence of that. It was and order that you not be told about it until the change was finished. That was the reasoning behind the week long fishing trip we took and made Griffin come along for; we wanted him to finish the changing process before he returned to the compound," Dominic told Rogue. With that, Dominic left the office, Beth and Raven followed quickly behind him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rogue wanted to know.

"You didn't want me to become an animal." Griffin's answer stung.

"I didn't want you to feel obligated," Rogue corrected.

"I wanted to. I hated knowing that we had such a disadvantage from the rest of the pack," Griffin told her.

"Beth has stayed human," Rogue pointed out.

"Beth is a witch," Griffin reminded her. Griffin studied Rogue for a moment. "Are you angry?" he asked.

"How could I be angry with you for making such a huge sacrifice?" Rogue whispered.

"It wasn't a sacrifice," Griffin told her, leaned over and kissed her tenderly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Griffin shifted nervously from one foot to the other as he watched the members of the council climb up on the dais and take their seats. Cole had told him how close the vote to accept him had been and Griffin was worried that the council would side with Josh and Dave, but the reassuring smiles on the faces of Rogue's mother and brothers lessened the knot in the pit of his stomach. Rogue slipped her hand into his and led him to their seats, then she placed his hand on her growing abdomen where their child was doing somersaults. Griffin smiled, leaned over and kissed her gently. "I love you," Griffin said when he pulled back.

"I love you too." Rogue's voice was soft, her words were for him alone.

"Don't make me separate you two," Cole threatened teasingly.

"The damage has been done Cole," Rogue reminded her brother as Beth and Raven made their way over. "Where are the kids?" Rogue wanted to know.

"Jenny and the twins are with Jimmy's parents and Mage is watching the quads," Raven answered. Rogue frowned at the way Raven's voice faltered when she said Jimmy's name.

"They're ready to start," Xavier said, walking over to his family.

Rogue held Griffin's hand tightly as Dominic began his opening statement, loosening her grip only when she and Raven were asked to tell their side of the story. The two girls made their way to the pro-offered chairs. The council listened politely as Rogue and Raven told everyone what had happened. When they were done, the council invoked their right to ask questions.

"Raven, we understand why Rogue was unable to shift, but why didn't you?" the head of the council wanted to know.

"The children were frightened by the wolves and they would have been more scared if I shifted," Raven answered.

"Your children and Beth's children will be able to shift," another council member reminded Raven.

"My oldest daughter won't." The council began talking loudly amongst themselves, shocked that Dominic would allow a single mother to mate with his son.

Dominic stood up. "Raven was engaged to a human before she mated with Xavier. Her fiancee was killed helping us protect Beth while she was pregnant with her children," Dominic announced.

"She's a whore and does not deserve to be in the pack! She and Rogue should both be cast out!" Dave Pushkin foolishly shouted.

"You dare to be disrespectful of the Alpha and his family in the presence of the entire council?!" Dave's father flushed; it was his own father who had spoken, the outrage David Pushkin Senior felt was felt by many in the pack. The head of the council turned to Dave and to Josh.

"Did you attack Beth, Raven and Rogue Black?" he asked. The boys nodded. "Why?"

"Rogue allowed that rapist to not only touch her, but to mate with her! She is a traitor to her family! She was banished by the Alpha, her own father for mating with the bastard! He only lifted the banishment temporarily when Raven was kidnapped! If not for that, the banishment would have been permanent!" Josh exclaimed. The men on the council exchanged looks.

"Dominic, may we please use your library to discuss the events and testimony of today?" the head of the council asked. Dominic nodded, led the council into the house and then returned to his family.

"I'm sorry daddy for causing all of this trouble," Rogue whispered. Dominic gave his daughter a gentle hug.

"It isn't your fault Rogue. I lost my head when you married Griffin." Dominic's voice was low, the regret he felt was all over his face.

"Look at them!" Griffin exclaimed, looking over at Dave and Josh. The smug looks they wore made him angry. He just hoped the council didn't side with the two young men.

Griffin took Rogue's hand in his when the council returned to the field where Dominic's pack had gathered. "We have discussed the events that had brought us together." The head of the council looked at Griffin and Rogue then turned his attention to Josh and Dave. "We the council have decided that the unprovoked attack on the women of the Black pack, it was uncalled for. To make matters worse, the attack was on the Alpha's own family! Dave and Josh Pushkin, you are guilty of treason! Your punishment will be decided by Griffin and Cole," the head of the council announced.

Griffin and Cole talked quickly. "We choose to fight," Cole began.

"If Dave and Josh win, they stay in the pack, if they lose, they are banished," Griffin added.