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The fact that I was sitting at the Magistrate yet again, even though I had nothing to do with whatever they would accuse me of, was driving me crazy. One minute, I was at the Halloween party, the next, I was being hauled in here like we had no rights.

Then again, I always said this was a pretty, little prison.

Sure, I was responsible for a few chickens and other small mishaps in town… but so were a dozen others. Daily.

This town was cursed.

They hadn’t even told me why I was here. Dorian had threatened to come in with me, but I demanded that he stay outside. The last thing we needed was a cursed wolf losing his mind at the magistrate.

Rook tried to throw his weight around and Merrick even argued, but it was useless. One minute, we were dancing and having a snack, then next, I was being dragged into the magistrate with no explanation.

They’d be waiting outside when I got out of whatever bullshit meeting was waiting for me.

Honestly, I loved that I had someone on my side no matter what. I wasn’t used to having people around to make sure I was doing alright. My own family believed all the lies the magistrate formulated about me.

The moment they accused me, my family ended it then and there. Disowned their own daughter they’d raised for years.

I pushed the memories away. They always popped up any time I was facing off with the magistrate. It was just frustrating that life could feel so easy and good with my pack and then someone did something that put me right back in the hot seat.

I wanted to scream.

“Prudence Ever?” the receptionist called out, her eyes narrowed on me as I looked up.

Oh, yeah. She definitely remembered the chickens. And the fact I left her there on top of her desk as I ran out.

I couldn’t really blame her for that one.

Offering her a neutral smile, I stood and followed her to the back. This was a walk I knew well. I’d stood in front of the same magisters far too many times since I’d come to this town.

It was impressive how synchronized their disappointed looks could get.

“What have you been messing with this time?” the head magistrate demanded as he looked down at me.

I threw up my hands in frustration. “You know I’m the first to admit when I’ve been up to something. This time, I haven’t. I found a pack and I’ve been getting to know them. My magic has been halfway stable,” I protested. “Tonight, I was just enjoying the party.”

“She has been very good about owning her more… unfortunate experiments,” Magistrate Leon supplied with a hint of humor that High Magistrate Barlow did not appreciate. It wasn’t like she was defending me, simply giving the facts.

“I don’t even know why I'm here,” I admitted. “If you’re going to accuse me of something, at least let me know why.”

Most of the magisters glared at me as I crossed my arms. I’d take the flack if it was earned. This time it wasn’t.

“Don’t play with us, little girl,” one of the magisters who rarely spoke up bit out.

They were pissed. Well, so was I now.

“I don’t believe I’ve given you a single reason to disrespect me like this,” I said, eyes narrowing. I didn’t want to say something I’d regret but I also wasn’t going to sit here and take them being assholes.

“There has been what we can only assume is a curse going around,” Magister Leon explained. “A heat curse.”

Her words had the anger morphing into pure confusion.

“A heat curse?” I asked, not even sure what that could mean. “My magic is chaos, not heat-inducing.”

One of the older magisters cleared his throat but not one of them explained further, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

“Well, it wasn’t me,” I pointed out. Why they could never just spit out what they wanted to say was beyond me.

When they didn’t say another word I filled the silence, my voice hard and controlled.