“Nothing,” Theodore said at the same time Layla said, “We argued.” Her voice came thinner than she liked. She lifted her chin, trying to shake off emotion. “It’s fine.”
Dominic’s gaze flicked to Theodore, sharp enough to make her brother straighten, and back to her. The protective setin his shoulders eased a fraction, but his eyes still roved her face. “You should be in bed,” he said, softer this time.
“I’m not made of glass,” she said. The bite in it was small, tired, but she didn’t take it back.
Julian reached them, cautiously hovering at the edge of whatever it was that stretched between them. “We need to use what hours are left of dawn,” he said to Dominic, “before the humans wake.”
Chase stepped forward, expression drawn but steady. “We moved the body to our hall,” he said, voice low, “Arthur’s with him. We’ll send runners to go after the other two scouts. Whatever did this—” He searched for a word and failed. “It wasn’t clean. We found no clear tracks. It won’t be easy.”
“As I said before,” Dominic said, his voice rough with lack of sleep, “my scouts are yours to command. You and Arthur. This impacts both our packs.”
“Which direction do the tracks suggest?” Julian asked.
“Northeast into the trees. Then nothing.” Chase’s jaw tensed. “If it crossed back towards the mountains, towards Voskresen, we wouldn’t know.”
Dominic’s attention seemed split. His brow was furrowed as he contemplated the discussion, but his eyes were on her. It sent a shiver down her spine. “Double the watch at the western ridge,” he said, not turning. “No one runs a line alone until we know what we’re looking at.”
“Already done,” Julian said.
“Good.” Dominic’s eyes were on Layla again. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine,” she said, “just tired.”
His mouth almost moved, words seeming heavy, but Chase cleared his throat, and the room pivoted back to business. “We’ve pulled our scouts in,” the Nordan wolf said, “Arthur wants to coordinate trails with yours as soon as possible. If this is some sort of message, we need to respond quickly and without mercy.”
“It isn’t a message,” Theodore said, voice too quick. “After all, it was only a body found.”
Chase’s stare cooled by a degree. “Don’t tell me you actually believe that, Theo.”
Theodore set his jaw. “What proof is there of an ulterior motive?”
“When isn’t there an ulterior motive?” Chase said, rounding on her brother, teeth bared. The two had always been friends, but Layla knew the pack came first. It always came first.
Theo’s shoulders tensed. “I’m just saying, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to—”
“Enough,” Dominic interrupted. “Now is not the time to try and score cheap points against each other.” He turned to Layla, reaching out as if about to take her arm, before thinking better of it. “Come on,” he said instead, “there are rooms upstairs. You should sleep.”
“Wait, I can help,” she said, backing away from him. “What I saw…if I write it down, if I map it, maybe there’s something there that we could…”
Every head turned to her. Not hostile, exactly. Not kind. Measuring.
Julian’s expression didn’t change as he stepped forward. “What did you see,” he asked, “exactly?”
“It was just a nightmare,” Theodore said, too fast. “She just had a stupid nightmare. We shouldn’t waste time dwelling on it.”
Layla ignored him. “A figure,” she said to Julian, eyes on Dominic. “Pale. Not a man or a woman. It said I was…part of something. And then a white wolf appeared on the edge of the forest, and it was torn apart by something I couldn’t see.”
The males stared at her, their expressions hard. She fought not to let herself crumple under the weight of their scrutiny.
Dominic’s gaze didn’t leave her. “And you woke,” he said, “when?”
“A little before you got to the shop,” she hated how small she sounded, how weak. “It felt different from a normal nightmare. “I don’t know how to make that useful to you, but—”
“It is useful,” Julian said simply.
Theodore looked at him sharply. “How?”
“I don’t know yet,” Julian said, eyeing her.
