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been raised with the distorted view that anyone taken away by Hunters must deserve it. The black-clad enforcers of the law didn’t listen to any plea, no matter how earnest. The accused was remanded into their custody in mere moments. Every detail of their lives swept aside as the law was enforced.
    She shook her head. She should have known better. Her father had taught her that there were always two sides to an issue. Yet she had never questioned it even once, until now. It was a lesson well suited to today’s dilemma. She considered the green bands on her wrists. She could not remove them. Because she lived in the same dwelling with her sire, she was under suspicion of having tolerated his crimes. It was a 30
    Janus’ Conquest
    punishable offense to stand by and remain silent as the law was broken. If there was any evidence that she had shared in the profits of unlawful activities, she would answer for those crimes.
    A chuckle rose from her throat as she went back into her sleeping room. It was a distorted mess. All of her possessions pulled from their neat storage areas and placed out in plain view. Every inch of the home had been searched as the Hunters looked for the credits her father stood accused of siphoning off with the aid of his Hunter’s authority. When they came to take him last evening, the Hunters had looked at everything she owned to decide if she had more than her earnings and her father’s honest pay might grant her.
    Reaching for an image album, she stroked the silky fabric cover. Her mother had constantly been creating little things of beauty such as the album. Fay recalled how often she had to move a box of fabrics and beads in order to sit at the dining table for supper. Her mother had used the table for her crafting creations during the day.
    Turning the page, she looked at the face of her mother. It had been eight years since her passing. A tragic thing that still haunted the daughter and mate she had left behind.
    Her mother had been near her birth time with a second child. It was almost unheard of, complications that resulted in death during childbirth, but at sunrise her mother had been smiling and rubbing her swollen tummy…by noon she’d died from blood loss.
    The growing baby had somehow torn her mother’s body so badly that the medical personnel couldn’t keep her life’s blood inside her flesh. Her unfortunate baby brother had died before his mother due to lack of oxygen flowing through his umbilical cord to supply him with precious breath.
    A shiver shook her body as Fay considered the last image she had of her mother.
    The woman staring back at her from the album page wouldn’t have stood for her mate being accused either. Fay felt that truth burn through her as she set the album on its shelf with a careful hand. She began to place her other belongings into a box. She often looked at the album at night, after her prayers were said. So it would remain out for the 31
    Dawn Ryder
    remaining six days she would be sleeping in the Hunter sphere. But everything else would be sorted and packed as she made ready for her new life. She sorted out her finer robes because such costly items would have no place in a penal sphere. Fay scolded herself for stroking one of the robes. It was a dark magenta one that she adored, but she needed to be stronger than the lure of a fine garment. Instead of glossy dressing robes, she placed sturdy work ones into the box at her feet. The little satin slippers that matched the magenta robe were left where the Hunters had piled them during their search.
    A satisfied smile curved her lips when she finished. Two boxes held her practical clothing. She hung the shimmering social robes back in the closet. They belonged there, in the Hunter sphere. Those robes were a solid reminder of the life she was willingly casting off. A sense of accomplishment filled her as she finished hanging the last one.
    Her father had bought them for her to wear while attending social