“Was she the one who discovered the demons?”
“We’ve seen the problem before.”
“So you, an SOA special agent, were at the gala? The PCB didn’t mention that.”
“I left before they arrived and took over the scene.”
Mallory and Anil shared an unreadable look between them before sitting on the long couch opposite the love seat Spencer had claimed earlier. Makai stayed by the door, standing with his muscled arms crossed over his chest. Spencer sat down, attention on the god pack alphas.
“The New York City god pack issued a warning about hunters and demons a couple of years ago. Is this a holdover from that?” Mallory asked.
“I honestly don’t know. My gut tells me it’s a different group this time around.” He couldn’t and wouldn’t go into the details of his case with the Ouroboros Mirror, but he wasn’t about to leave packs in the dark about the threat targeting them. “Last time, the demons worked with hunters in a loose partnership with the Dominion Sect. The SOA has no information about hunters actively engaging in threats at this time, but the demons are concerning.”
“The packs the deceased werecreatures were part of saw nothing out of the ordinary with them. It’s only your word at this time that demons were involved.”
Spencer spread his hands. “Look, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me or the government, but I know the alphas of the New York City god pack, and if you need someone to vouch for me, they can.”
The trio appeared startled at that revelation. Mallory leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “You smell like truth.”
“I meant what I said. I wanted you to be aware of the demon issue. Possessed werecreatures are a problem none of us want.”
“If they were truly possessed, that would explain their actions. The PCB made it clear the Cascade Coven wants to press charges against the packs responsible, which means those charges will be the god pack’s responsibility to handle as proxy. We’ll need to inform the PCB of the demon angle if that occurs.”
Spencer sighed, knowing the second they did that, the SOA would be drawn into that case, and it would tip the agency’s hand that they were investigating Caitlin. He’d hoped they’d have more time, but apparently not. “Can you or your attorney give me a call when you finally reach that point in your defense? The case with the PCB looks like it will run parallel to the one I’m working on.”
“We’ll let our attorney know.”
“Thank you.”
“You warned us about the demons. Consider us even.”
Spencer waved that off. “Do any of your packs have a grudge against the Cascade Coven?”
Mallory smiled thinly. “Not overtly, but the preternatural community has history with them that stretches back to the founding of Seattle.”
Spencer’s eyebrows crept toward his hairline. “I mean, that sounds like a grudge.”
“More like the covens tried to make Seattle a haven for magic users alone, and the Cascade Coven spearheaded that thought process back then. They ultimately failed and have been trying to hide their undesirable past over the last few decades with community outreach.”
“There were other werecreatures at the gala. None of them were possessed. I won’t ask for their identities, but I need to know if they were there for anything other than the canapés.”
Anil shrugged. “There are people under our protection who may have public positions that perhaps provide them with invitations to such events.”
That wasn’t really an answer, but Spencer knew if he pressed, he’d get nowhere. “So there’s no territory fight between your community and the Cascade Coven. What about with the Night Court?”
All three of the werecreatures’ lips curled at the mention of vampires. “There is no love lost between the packs and the Night Court, but we aren’t currently in a territory fight with them other than the usual arguments about pass-through rights.”
“We were told Takoma was the one who murdered our people,” Mallory said.
“The demons had already murdered a couple of gala guests before a vampire killed them.”
“I find it difficult to believe he murdered them to save anyone else. Why didn’t you try to stop them?” She flicked her fingers at Fatima. “You have a psychopomp. That suggests you deal with the dead.”
Spencer grimaced, sharing a glance with Fatima. She leaned over and bonked her head against his leg in silent support. “I was undercover at the time.”
“For the case you can’t talk about that is apparently worth more than the lives of werecreatures.”
“I never said that.”
