Jason Coltrane’s POV
The guards ran after Brynn as Emma and I caught Arlen before he hit the ground. “Jason you have to find her!!!” Arlen screamed at me. I’ve never seen this man so devastated and helpless.
“We will, sir. She couldn't have gotten far. Emma, can you stay with him?” My mate nodded quietly though she was clearly upset.

“This man is my dearest friend in the world. I’m depending on you to make sure he’s safe.” I told her.
“Can I speak with you a minute?” Emma asked me. It’s won't do much good considering Arlen has Fae hearing but I humor her. My mate pulled me aside and stared at me, her chocolate brown eyes narrowed.
“She wanted to explore and we found you guys right before Arlen did that to that woman!! Look you have only heard the tidbits of what Brynn went through. Given what I just saw, I’m a little concerned about your good friend’s propensity to violence!!” Emma hissed at me.
“Actually young lady, I know what my mate went through.” Arlen stood up and stared at Emma with tears in his eyes. “I know what that son of a b***h did to her. I know how she begged for her life and how he used a f*****g reptile to try and kill her!! I KNOW IT ALL!!! But do YOU know what really happened here today!?”
“I just saw you burn a woman’s face to the point I saw bones with your hands!! What in God’s name warranted that!?” Emma snapped at him. I gasped in disbelief my mate would be this bold.
“That woman was caught in the act of trying to destroy a mate bond and put the lives of two of our kind in jeopardy. Surely Jason has told you what infidelity can do to our kind?” Emma’s face paled.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” She looked down and I pulled my mate to me.
“This is a common thing with Brynn. She reacts and jumps to conclusions before she gets the whole story. Given what she’s been through I can’t blame her. But if you are reacting like this yourself, you are feeding into her feelings even if you don’t intend to. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” Arlen asked her.
“Your majesty, I don’t know the rules of this life. Forgive me for my shock, I just think the punishment of that woman was a bit much. You had already banished her. Why do that to her?” Emma quietly asked.
“Because this woman has been trying to lure men from their mates for months. Last night she not only did it again, she took steps to try to get around my threat of banishment and what she did could have caused a horrible event. If I had released her to the outside untouched, who knows what else she would’ve done! By rights the woman whose mate Kelli DeMaio tried to steal had every right to kill her! I gave the woman the choice to kill, and she chose this for Kelli instead.” Arlen explained.

“Emma, Arlen isn’t a monster. But he is a King. He has to make hard decisions and keep the best interest of all of us at heart. Trust me when I say that Kelli DeMaio would have been a very big problem if we had only banished her. She still has potential to be dangerous, just not as much now.” I clarified to Emma.
“I need to go find my best friend before she gets lost in the woods!” Emma said shakily. Right then I got a link from the lead guard that he had found Brynn.
“Your majesty, the guards have found Brynn. Can I take Emma with me so we can try to talk some sense into her?” I asked Arlen, thinking having his own space to think things through may help him. Thankfully he agreed.
Brynn didn’t get very far. We walked and found her sitting at the edge of a small waterfall, sobbing uncontrollably. Emma immediately went to her.
“I thought he was a good man Em!!” Brynn wailed, almost inconsolable.
“Honey, there was more to this. I’ve got the whole story now and you really need to listen to it, OK?” Suddenly Brynn jumped up and almost fell into the creek.
“How can you say that Emma!! WE WATCHED HIM BURN THAT WOMAN’S FACE OFF!!!!” I used some of my magic to try to calm Brynn down, mainly because I didn’t want her hurting herself. Brynn glared at me.
“Are you using your magic on me!?” Brynn demanded.
“Arlen may have patience for you, but I do not Brynn. Sit down!” Technically I didn’t have the rank to command her but I’ve about had it with today. Surprisingly, Brynn complied.
“Was it the woman who had a burner cell phone and used it to text her main cell phone pretending to be some man she liked?” Brynn asked me carefully.
“It was.” I confirmed.
“Arlen told me he was just going to banish her. Why the f**k did he do THAT to her!!” Brynn shouted at me.
“Because the woman who had the right to kill her wanted it that way!! Kelli DeMaio had the potential to do something even more dangerous and if she had left here with her face intact, who knows who she would have manipulated to take her revenge!" I snapped. Brynn stared at me and suddenly, I just knew.
"Her mind is already made up, Emma. Isn't it Brynn?" I asked her in defeat.
"You think this is easy for me, Jason?? I was beginning to trust Arlen, and then I watched him do something completely reprehensible!! I WILL NOT PUT MYSELF IN A SITUATION LIKE I LEFT AGAIN!!!" Brynn screamed at me.
"You said put yourself. Why are you blaming yourself for what happened to you??" Emma looked as lost as I felt.
"BECAUSE IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!!! If I hadn't gone to that stupid party my parents would still be alive! I would have never met Patrick Jenkins!" Brynn sobbed out. And there it was.
"And you think hiding from the world, pushing away a man who isn't perfect but will move Heaven and Hell for you, will keep you safe." I clarified as Brynn nodded through her sobs and collapsed. Emma and I sat down beside her.
"Patrick CHOSE to hurt you. HE chose to almost kill you. It wasn't your fault your parents died in a car accident. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just their time. No one will ever know why these kinds of things happen. But this belief you have that everything is your fault is destroying you! Sure you can leave, you can try and start over again and try to stay ahead of Patrick Jenkins, but what good is running going to do if you don't stop blaming yourself!?"
Brynn c****d her head up at me. "How old are you again Jason?"
"I'm 29." I answered.
"You're wise for 29." Brynn told me and got up suddenly, staring at the waterfall with her back to us.
"Has Arlen ever done anything like this before?" She asked.
"He burned the Witch Ruler months ago for lying to us and putting lives in danger." Brynn whipped her head around at me.
"Witch Ruler??"
"Long story short, we have a nemesis that the Witch Ruler withheld information about. The rest needs to come from him." Brynn looked quickly away.
"Why does Arlen burn their faces?" She asked softly.
"These women use their beauty and bodies to manipulate the people around them into getting what they want. It's done for punishment and to make sure they can't use their beauty to hurt anyone else." I told her.
Brynn finally faced me and Emma. "He has to do punishments another way. I can't watch that ever again!" She whispered with conviction.
"It's something we can look at, but in our world checks, balances, and consequences are absolute. We cannot have people questioning our laws or us. We have to show the world that we do not tolerate behaviors like Kelli and the Witch Ruler showed. King Arlen has been ruling for over twenty years now. He isn't a human, but he is a good and decent man. You won't find a better King than him in the supernatural realm. But he has to be careful as to just how much humanity and mercy he offers, because his enemies WILL take advantage of him." I explained to her softly.
"If I choose to be his mate, I will be a merciful one. Just keep that in mind." Brynn told me, swallowing hard. Relief swarmed over me as I realized what Brynn had just said. All wasn't lost after all.
"You won't have to completely put your humanity aside. However, you will have to show to the Faes and to our allies and enemies that you stand beside Arlen even if you don't agree with his decisions. Save those disagreements for only the two of you. Arlen has enough to worry about right now. If you choose this life and him, you need to be his peace." I encouraged her.
Brynn stood by the waterfall a few more minutes deep in thought. Finally, she turned to stare at me.
"Jason, I want you to be completely honest with me. If I find out that you haven't been I will make you regret it. Has Arlen ever been violent with girlfriends or women that he has been involved with?" Brynn asked me.
I laughed. "I've always joked the Kingdom is Arlen's girlfriend. He has never let a woman get that close, though many have tried. Has he had lovers? He can better answer that question. But I've never seen King Arlen be violent with any woman who didn't have it coming Brynn. And I have ALWAYS witnessed him give them every opportunity to redeem themselves before he has resorted to punishments! In fact, I can count on one hand how many times he has had to go that route and each time the woman has done something horrible. Now as for women in his life in general, like his mother, he treated and still treats them with the utmost respect." I answered her.
"Emma? What kind of vibe do you get from all this?" Brynn asked her.
"I won't lie Brynn seeing that earlier scared the f**k out of me. I told Arlen straight to his face how much it disturbed me. But I get it now. Being a mate myself and seeing how precious my bond with Jason is, I'd kill anyone who tried to come between us!" Emma said. I smiled at her and kissed my pretty mate's forehead.
"How did Arlen react when you said something?" Brynn wanted to know.
"He explained why, and I heard him out. He didn't fly off the handle or anything like that." Emma assured her. Brynn nodded and turned her bluish-green eyes on me.
"I'll walk back with you guys, but I want to talk to Arlen. Alone." Brynn told me with absolutely no fear in her voice at all. I allowed her to walk ahead of us keeping an eye our for her.
"What do you think, Emma?" I whispered to my mate.
"It's a small win, Jason. She's agreed to talk to him so that's a plus. Let's just hope Arlen knows how to play his cards!!" Emma whispered back. I shook my head in amusement.
Arlen's got his hands full with that little human. She's going to make one hell of a Queen.