"Hector's getting creative." Dante set the crate aside, moving to the barrels stacked against the back wall. "What about these? Varric said there were poison traces."
"Two barrels." Emmett gestured to the ones marked with red X's. "Got tested after Breck complained his beer tasted off. Trace amounts of wolfsbane oil. Not enough to kill, but enough to make anyone who drank it sick for a week."
Dante's lion rose to his eyes, gold bleeding through. "Wolfsbane."
"Yeah." Emmett's expression darkened. "Someone's playing a dangerous game. Wolfsbane's not something you just stumble across. It's deliberate. Targeted."
"And it points to incompetence." Dante ran his hand over the barrel, feeling for tampering. "Makes it look like Maeve's not checking her stock. Not maintaining proper inventory control."
"Which is bullshit." Emmett's voice carried an edge. "Maeve runs this place tighter than most military operations. She checks every shipment personally. Tests random samples. There's no way wolfsbane should've made it past her."
"Unless someone added it after she checked."
This wasn't just sabotage. This was someone with inside knowledge, someone who knew Maeve's routines well enough to slip past her defenses.
"You think it's one of her people?" Emmett asked.
"No." Dante shook his head. "I think it's someone paying her people. Or threatening them. Hector's got resources. He could've bought cooperation from a supplier, a delivery driver, anyone in the chain."
"That's a lot of maybes."
"It's all I've got right now." Dante grabbed his phone, taking photos of the crate marks and barrel seals. Evidence for Varric. Proof that this was more than accidents. "When's the next shipment due?"
Emmett checked his watch. "Tomorrow afternoon. Liquor delivery from a distillery in Tennessee. Maeve's expecting it by three."
"Then that's where I start." Dante pocketed his phone. "I'll be here when it arrives. Watch the unloading. See if anyone tries something."
"Maeve's going to notice you lurking around."
"Probably."
"She's going to throw you out again."
"Definitely." Dante moved toward the door, then stopped. "You vouch for everyone who works here? The regulars who help with deliveries?"
Emmett considered. "Most of them. Breck's solid. Sylvie too. The seasonal help rotates, but Maeve vets them personally. Why?"
"Because someone's getting close enough to tamper with her stock." Dante's hands became fists. "And until I know who, everyone's a suspect."
"Including me?"
"You're on the Council. You can't investigate your own people officially." Dante met his eyes. "That's why Varric called me. Because I'm outside the system. Outside the loyalties."
"And outside Maeve's trust."
"Yeah." The word tasted bitter. "That too."
Emmett studied him for a moment. "Callum says you're honorable. Says you'll do right by her even if it costs you. He's usually right about people. So I'm going to give you some advice. Maeve's been on her own a long time. Built this place from nothing, earned respect the hard way. She doesn't need saving."
"I know that."
"Oh?" Emmett stepped closer, his wolf rising just enough to make his presence felt. "Because it's going to be real temptingto charge in like some alpha hero. To make decisions for her. To protect her whether she wants it or not."
Dante's lion rumbled, recognizing the challenge. "What's your point?"
"My point is she'll gut you if you try." Emmett's voice softened. "Work with her, not around her. Even if she fights you every step. Especially then."
"She won't work with me. She wants me gone."
