"In this cold? Ice isn't stable everywhere."
"Someone who knows the lake would know where it's safe." Emmett stood, brushing snow from his hands. "Which means this wasn't random. Someone scouted the route beforehand."
"Hector's people." The words tasted like ash. "He's bringing in outside forces."
"Looks like." Emmett pulled out his phone, taking photos of the tracks. "Question is why. If he's got the Council petition, he doesn't need muscle."
"Unless he's planning to escalate." Dante studied the lake, seeing strategy instead of beauty. "Put pressure on Maeve from multiple angles. Legal threats from the Council, physical threats from rogue lions lurking around her property. Make her feel surrounded."
"Make her desperate enough to accept his terms."
"Or make her look unstable when she fights back." Dante's hands formed fists. "He baited her in the square today. Got her to lose her temper in front of witnesses. Now he's got lions prowling around her tavern at night. He's building a case that she can't protect Cross holdings."
"Son of a bitch." Emmett's wolf flashed in his eyes. "He's playing both sides. Legal and illegal. If the Council petition fails, he's got backup plans."
"We need to find these lions."
"We need to be smart about it." Emmett pocketed his phone. "If we go after them directly, Hector claims we're harassing his pride members. Makes us look aggressive. Makes Maeve look like she's got the Council doing her dirty work."
"So we what? Let them prowl around?"
"We document." Emmett's voice hardened. "Every scent. Every track. Every sign of outside interference. Build evidence that Hector's not just filing complaints. He's actively working to undermine Hollow Oak's peace."
"That'll take time."
"We've got thirty days." Emmett started back toward the trees. "And Hector's getting confident. Confident lions make mistakes. We just need to catch him making one big enough to tank his Council petition."
Dante followed, his lion restless and agitated. Thirty days felt like forever when rogue lions were lurking around Maeve's tavern. When Hector was tightening the noose and Maeve was too proud to admit she needed help.
"She can't know about this," Emmett said, reading his thoughts. "About the rogues prowling around."
"She deserves to know."
"She does." Emmett stopped, meeting his eyes. "But if we tell her now, what's she going to do?"
"Hunt them down."
"Exactly." Emmett's expression turned grim. "Which is what Hector wants. He's baiting her into aggressive action. Making her look dangerous and unstable so the Council has cause to remove her from the Silver Fang."
"So we lie to her."
"We protect her." Emmett's voice softened. "There's a difference. We're not keeping secrets to control her. We're givingourselves time to build a defense strong enough that when she does find out, we've got answers."
Dante wanted to argue. Wanted to tell Maeve everything and let her decide how to handle it. But Emmett was right. Maeve would go after these lions the moment she knew they existed. Would defend her territory with claws and fury and exactly the kind of violence Hector was hoping for.
"How long?" Dante asked.
"Until we catch them doing something actionable. Something we can take to Varric that proves Hector's not just filing complaints but actively sabotaging Hollow Oak's peace."
They walked in silence back toward town. Snow fell soft and steady, covering their tracks. Covering the rogue lion's tracks. Covering everything in white like the world was trying to hide its secrets.
"You think he'll escalate?" Dante asked.
"I think he's testing boundaries." Emmett glanced at the Silver Fang as they passed. "Seeing how much he can push before we push back. Tonight was reconnaissance. Next time might be action."
"Then we need to be ready."
"We will be." Emmett clapped his shoulder. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we start building our case. Varric wants evidence, we'll give him evidence. But we need to be systematic. Thorough. Can't give Hector any openings to claim harassment."
