Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny, #1)(69)

“Thank you. Lord. Linus.”

Lord Linus chuckled. “Ahhh, young love.”

I was not nearly as invested in Chase’s possible romance—or rather I had way bigger things to worry about, even though it was an intriguing thought.

“You said no one at the Curia Cloisters has been able to get Dolph to talk at all? Why haven’t they called in a fae to use a truth potion or something?” I asked.

Lord Linus shook his head. “I ‘happened’ to get word just before we left. Alpha Dolph and Kash, the two members of the Low Marsh Pack who were using wolfsbane—both went feral sometime in the middle of the night, before any specialists were called. Now they’re too far gone for either of them to make sense.”

“How is that possible?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they’ve had to get more wolfsbane to push them over?”

“I don’t know enough about it to make an educated guess.” Lord Linus’s expression darkened. “But it seems possible that it was their supplier, covering their tracks.”

“Which means the supplier has some highly specialized magic, or has enough political clout to give them access without it being suspicious,” I said.

“Exactly.” Lord Linus nodded in approval. “I like your wits, Hunter Sabre. Regarding the issue, the first option seems the most likely given some of the unrest that has plagued us supernaturals recently.”

I grimaced. “Great. But that still leaves some pretty big questions out in the open.”

“Like?” Lord Linus asked.

“Why give wolfsbane to the Low Marsh Pack? They aren’t politically important, so was it an experiment or something? It has to have been—there’s no logical reason to target this specific area.”

Lord Linus drummed his fingers on my desk. “Perhaps it’s not so much the location as who is up here?”

“You mean Greyson? Or even the Northern Lakes Pack in general?” I asked. “That might make a little more sense. Greyson is going places.”

“And the Northern Lakes Pack is the strongest in the region. I’d bet it’s even stronger than Pre-Dominant Harka’s Pack,” Lord Linus said.

I made a noise in the back of my throat. “Maybe. But Dolph hated Greyson. He’s not super popular with some of the smaller Packs in the region. But I don’t think they’d have the clout or power necessary to get wolfsbane.”

“True,” Lord Linus agreed. “And unfortunately, it seems that theories are all we will have for some time. But I’m going to recommend to your Alpha that you prepare for some investigators from the Dominant to arrive in the next few months.”

“Great,” I said. “That’ll be fun.”

Lord Linus chuckled. “Think of all the excitement! It could bring new industry to your city. Though I will admit, I find Timber Ridge to be adorably quaint.” He turned in a circle, glancing at the displays, then paused when he saw the sign and backdrop advertising the picture-with-a-wolf. He pointed at it. “Is that real?”

“Yeah, we don’t do it too often mostly because the Pack is busy,” I said. “But it’s a big draw when we do open it up.”

“Fascinating,” Lord Linus said.

Lady Chrysanthe emerged from the gift shop, carrying two little handcarts. “Shania said I can pay for these here?”

“Yep!” Shania emerged, carrying another filled handcart. “Just put your stuff on the counter.”

I scooted down my desk, making room for Shania to unearth the tablet we used as our cash register.

“What kind of payment system do you use?” Lady Chrysanthe asked as she began unloading her finds—it looked like she’d gotten almost one of everything. In her first cart alone she had six different kinds of keychains, all twelve of the types of magnets we carried, two wolf bobbleheads, a handbag with wolves embroidered on it, and several t-shirts with Timber Ridge and wolf slogans printed on them.

Shania started scanning the merchandise, bagging it like a pro. “We take cash or credit.”

Lady Chrysanthe paused, her lips pressed together in concern. “Do you take fae gold? My Sovereign has told me multiple times humans do not consider it legal tender…”

There was a scuffle in the door that led to the back room where Moira’s office and the breakroom were, and the door was opened so abruptly it sagged on the hinges.

“We take fae gold!” Moira declared.

Old—especially for a werewolf—but feisty, Moira sported a slight belly paunch, a skip in her step, and hair almost as white as mine that was perpetually flat on one side, as if she was always waking up from a nap.

She smiled as she shuffled toward the desk where Shania was still scanning Lady Chrysanthe’s purchases. “Welcome to the Timber Ridge Welcome Center. Did you find everything you wanted?”

Lady Chrysanthe beamed, making her breathtakingly pretty. “Yes! You have a lovely shop.”

“Thank you.” Moira humbly bowed her head.

Lord Linus leaned closer. “Say, are you a werewolf?” he asked, likely able to sense the flavor of magic werewolves came in.

Moira straightened up and nodded, puffing up her chest just a little. “I am indeed! My name is Moira—my appearance is that of a tundra-wolf when I shift.”

Given the heat outside and that Moira always ran hot as a tundra wolf, she was wearing a bright green workout shirt and shorts, a visor, and Velcro sandals. The ensemble did little to convey the fierceness younger wolves like Chase, Greyson, and Wyatt or Aeric did, but I was almost certain this was by design.