Chapter Thirty-five

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Jon woke to find Mac already awake and propped up on one elbow watching him intently. "Is something wrong, moglie mia?"

"Nope, I was just enjoying watching you sleep. I was so relieved to wake up and find you still here. To know it wasn’t all a dream."

He sat up just enough to brush her lips with his in a gentle good morning kiss. "Nope, no dream. I hate to break the mood, but my trial starts soon."

"Make love to me again," she pleaded.

Jon did just that. Desperation dripped from every move he made. He was afraid this might very well be the last time he would be able to hold her like this, to love her like this.

When Jon’s vampire escorts knocked on the door, Jon and Mac had showered, dressed, and eaten the breakfast that Kristoff had sent up to them. Jon kissed Mac, told her he loved her, and silently went with the guards. Mac waited on Richie to show up, but when he did, he’d left the humor she’d been hoping for to lighten her spirts in his room.

Silently, the two of them entered the courtroom and took their seats behind Jon and his guards. Mac couldn’t resist the urge to reach out one hand and run her fingers through his blond mane. Briefly, Jon’s head leaned back into her caress, but he jerked it back upright when the Council filed into the room.

Once they were all seated, Constantine asked in a booming voice, so unlike him, "Giovanni, please stand."

Solemnly, Jon did as requested. Before the other vampire could order Jon to drop the mental walls and allow him into his head, Jon announced, "I’m ready."

The room fell silent as Constantine linked up to Jon’s mind. Jon could feel the other vampire riffling through his memories, almost like a speed reader turning the pages of a book. Mac whispered to Richie, asking him what was going on, and the guitarist filled her in, explaining what had been agreed upon the day before. Mac could see every muscle in Jon’s body was tense in expectation. She knew now why he’d refused to discuss his case.

Finally, Constantine announced to the room, "He didn’t try to influence her testimony." With that simple statement the trial began.

Kristoff looked at Richie. "Richie Sambora, please rise."

Richie stood up slowly. It was a good thing Jon couldn’t see the look on the guitarist face, otherwise he would’ve known there was about to be trouble.

"Mr. Sambora, please tell us your version of the events from the night Giovanni turned his life mate," Sebastian said loudly.

Richie smirked. "I plea the fifth," was all he said before he promptly sat back down.

His ass hadn’t even met the chair before Jon was jumping to his feet. "Please, don’t punish him. He doesn’t know the rules."

Richie frowned at his friend’s defense of him. Smiling at Richie’s audacity, Constantine explained, "Mr. Sambora, first of all, you’re not in America; there is no fifth amendment here. Secondly, we’re not asking you to testify against yourself, so even if there were such an amendment, it wouldn’t apply."

"Rich, just tell them what happened," Jon told him.

Richie recognized that tone of voice from Jon and realized what Jon was leaving unsaid. The guitarist quickly related the events of Mac’s turning. Just the turning. He couldn’t see the smile on Jon’s face, but he knew it was there.

"Did Giovanni have Ms. Donaldson’s permission to turn her?" Sebastian asked with a tight smile.

"I can honestly say that I was never present for any conversation the two of them may have had concerning Mac becoming a vampire," Richie said, still smirking. "Therefore, I can’t answer that question with any certainty."

Richie almost laughed out loud at the frown on Sebastian’s face. Obviously, the vampire had hoped to make Richie incriminate his friend. Well, he was just shit out of luck.

Constantine gave Richie a quick nod. "You may now be seated."

With evil glee, Sebastian’s voice boomed across the room. "Ms. Mac Donaldson, please stand."

Mac took a deep breath, and Richie gave her shoulder a quick consolatory pat. Mac stood up, holding her head at a proud, defiant tilt, and quickly spouted off a rhyme. She hoped that the magic shield had not been put back in place. "He is my love, he is my life, someday I hope to be his wife. So, I ask, nay I demand, he not be killed by your hand."

The echo of her last word hadn’t died away, before Jon jumped to his feet. "Please, don’t kill her!" he yelled.

"Shut up, Jon," Mac ordered. "I did the rhyme, I’ll do the time."

Richie was laughing uncontrollably. Jon was still trying to convince the Council not to punish Mac. She was yelling at him to stay out of it. The guards even joined in the fray, snickering softly at the argument between Jon and Mac.

Into the cacophony, Sebastian’s booming voice rang out. "Order, order," he demanded.

Constantine was chuckling softly, and Kristoff was just staring at Mac in stunned disbelief. The room fell silent.

"Ms. Donaldson, please just tell us the events of the night in question," Constantine said, between chuckles.

Quickly, Mac told her version of the events, without embellishments, but leaving out how she’d actually felt about being turned.

"And did Giovanni have your permission for the turn?" Sebastian asked, his smirk back in place.

"I refuse to answer that," Mac said defiantly. Before any of the Council members could say anything, she raised one hand to stop them. "Where I come from, a wife can not be compelled to testify against her husband. Surely, life mates would fall into the same category."

"But we are not ‘where you come from’," Sebastian replied quickly. "You will answer the question or we will immediately hand down a guilty verdict."

"I was unconscious and unable to give permission," she answered.

Sebastian frowned at her answer. Apparently, this was not going as he had expected.

Constantine stepped in then. "Ms. Donaldson, I believe that the question should have been, would you have given permission if you’d been able to do so."

"I don’t know," Mac answered, smiling. "Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know how I would’ve reacted then, but I can say that now, I don’t have a problem with being a vampire."

Kristoff told Mac that she could sit, then asked Jon to stand. Once Jon was on his feet, Sebastian took great joy in asking, "Giovanni, did you and your life mate ever discuss her becoming one of us before the night in question?"

"Yes," Jon answered.

"And, had she expressed a desire to become a vampire?" Sebastian asked, as if he already knew the answer.

"No. She had not," Jon answered, honestly. Although, he would’ve preferred to lie.

"I’ve heard enough," Sebastian announced.

"I haven’t," Constantine said loudly. "I have one more question for Ms. Donaldson."

"Yes?" Mac asked, expectantly.

"Would you be willing to follow the laws handed down by this Council and any future Council members as befitting a member of our race?"

"I would," Mac answered, nodding. "Once they’re all explained to me."

Constantine smiled. "Don’t worry, we have a book."

"A handbook? Oh, joy," she whispered as she sat back down, her voice filled with sarcasm.

Constantine burst into laughter. "Now, I’ve heard enough."

Kristoff stood. "This Council will now convene to discuss our decision in this case."

The members of the Council filed out of the room, leaving a silence behind them. Knowing that with the trial all but over that there wouldn’t be any objections from his guards, Jon pulled Mac into his arms.

"You were wonderful," he whispered against her hair. "But, damn it, you scared the shit outta me when you started rhyming."

"Sorry ‘bout that," she told him, "but I had to at least try."

His humor restored, Richie slapped Jon on the back. "I have a good feeling about this."

"I hope you’re right," Jon told his friend.

Their discussion was interrupted when the Council filed back into the room. Sebastian looking furious, but the other members were smiling. This had to be a good sign.

Smiling at Jon, Kristoff announced, "Giovanni Bongiovi, by a vote of two to one, this Council finds you not guilty."

Richie let out a whoop of delight, and Jon picked Mac up and spun her around.

"You are all free to go," Kristoff told them. "However, Giovanni, I hope that you, your friend, and your life mate will stay for a few days and enjoy my hospitality."

"My life mate has business that needs to be seen to immediately," Jon informed him. "And, Richie and I have stuff to do as well. But, Mac and I will come back for a visit soon, my friend."


The mood on the flight back to the States was decidedly better than the flight to Russia. Richie had fallen asleep soon after take off, having not slept very well since this had all began. Jon sat on the plush couch in the main cabin of the jet with Mac on his lap.

"Did you mean what you said to the Council?" he asked.

"I said a lot to the Council. Could you be more specific?"

"Your rhyme. ‘He is my love, he is my life’," he clarified.

"How could you have any doubts, Jon," she answered, smiling. "I love you."

"I’ve never been happier to hear three words in my life," he told her. "I love you too, moglie mia."