Sillin didn’t have an odor, which was why Heath hadn’t detected it in hisdrink.
“Those who’ve taken these pills can tell you that the effect wears off fast and causes no lastingharm.”
“That’s the drug Ness gave Heath, isn’t it?” Little Jasked.
“It is,” Liam said calmly, narrowing his gaze on theboy.
Little J flinched and concentrated on the tablet again before passing it along. Cheeks the color of rare beef, he leaned forward, grasped a water carafe that almost slipped out of his shaky hold, and poured himself aglass.
“This morning, the elders and I discovered the pack’s entire stock of Sillin was stolen fromHQ.”
“Did Ness steal them?” someoneasked.
“What?” I whipped toward theinterlocutor.
The man was in his early thirties with a gold hoop speared through his right earlobe, and chest hair spilling out of a purple button-down shirt. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember hisname.
“I didn’t steal anything!” Iexclaimed.
“Rodrigo”—Liam’s clipped tone had the man thumbing his earring—“Evereststole thepills.”
The man next to Rodrigo placed a soothing hand on the dark shifter’sforearm.
“We have footage of him cutting the lock off the fridge and taking everythinginside.”
The lock on the fridge . . .“It didn’t look broken on Monday night,” Isaid.
Frank sighed. “That’s because he replaced it with an identical one. We realized what had happened when we tried to open it and it didn’t work. When we asked Cole for thefeed—”
“Bastard didn’t even try to avoid the camera.” Shaking his head, Cole slid the cigarette he’d wedged behind his ear and tapped it on thetable.
Rodrigo lowered his fingers from his earring. “What’s he planning on doing with all the Sillin hetook?”
“We think he’ll either try to sell it to other packs,” Liam said, “or use it onus.”
Rodrigo snorted. “How the hell could he swingthat?”
“He could spike our drinks or mix it into our food,” Liam said. “Sillin is tasteless, so it’s not like any of us wouldnotice.”
When the hairy-chested wolf ogled the carafes I’d set in the middle of the table, Little J spit out the gulp of water he’d just taken, then stuck his arm in front of his face and watched his limb until the strawberry-blond hairs thickened and turned into tawnyfur.
“I didn’t contaminate the water,” I grittedout.
“But did you stay next to it all day?” Rodrigoasked.
“Everest isn’t in Boulder,” Isaid.
“Really?” The man linked his fingers together. “And how do you know that? Did he textyou?”
“Enough!” August’s voice detonated like a gunshot in the room. “Ness isn’t Everest’s ally. He used her, made her feel guilty for something she didn’t do, so cut her some fuckingslack!”
Ping. A penny for his mom’sjar.
Liam’s lips tightened, but he didn’t reprimand August for his outburst. At least not out loud. My stomach clenched from my heightened nerves, or from our bond, I wasn’t sure. I laid my palm over my abdomen, hoping heat and pressure could undo thetension.
A second later, Liam stole my hand away from my stomach, laced our fingers, and tugged. My chair rolled and bumped intohis.
I frowned at him, but his eyes were fixed on August. August who’d seized one of the glass carafes and poured himself water. Half of the contents sloshed over the rim. He mopped it up with the sleeve of his long-sleeved Henley, then lifted the glass to his mouth and drank long and hard. Realizing Liam was trying to make a statement, I stole my hand out ofhis.
