Eventually, Thalia gave a sharp nod.“Let’s get this done.I want to stop spending every moment of the day focused on that murderer.”
“We have our plan,” Morgan said, meeting each of their eyes in turn before finally landing on Thalia.“If we can, we’ll try her for Jax’s death.My word, Thalia.I’ll push for a confession to the viper attack during the interrogation.But we have to start with what evidence we have.”
“When you get that far in the interrogation, I want to be present,” Thalia said.
“I’ll do my best to arrange it,” Morgan promised.
Thalia nodded her acceptance.
“So, what’s next?”Ryan asked.
“Cass will call the council.I’ll stand as the military lead on the investigation to minimize blowback to the four of you,” Morgan said.“In the meantime, we need to work on intensifying security at the keep.If she has a partner we’re not aware of yet, it could be a problem.”
“What about Commander Varice?”Connor asked.“He knew I wasn’t dead and reported that I was anyway.”
“We’ll bring him in for questioning, but my gut says he’s not deeply involved,” Morgan said.“I’ve been investigating him since Celina left to find you, and so far, haven’t found anything to indicate real involvement.He was probably bullied into saying something he suspected was untrue.His guilty conscience weighted the lie to Cat’s senses.She agrees with that theory.”
“You think Alison convinced him to lie.”
“I do.”
It made sense.She was one of the few who knew about Cat’s truth-seeking ability.She wouldn’t have wanted to be the one caught in the lie to his family.Speaking of… it was time to let his family know what was really going on.
“I’m going to tell Celina and Cat tomorrow.It’s time to bring them in.”
“Agreed,” Morgan said.“You should all be prepared to close ranks.When this comes out, there will be a lot of unhappy people.”
Alison was well-liked by the community and highly respected by the military.Once the news made its way through the realm, things would get volatile.They were unveiling a huge threat.
“This will make enemies for you,” Connor realized, noticing the look that passed between Cass and Morgan.
Moreso Morgan.Cass was already ostracized due to her Wolflumen status, but Morgan was just as beloved and well-respected as Alison was.More, because he supervised the refugee program and interacted with the community more than she did.
“Unavoidable, but I’ll handle it,” Morgan said.
Connor didn’t like putting him in that position, but with their chosen course of action, there was little he could do.He needed to focus on protecting his family.
“Cass, you’re with me,” Morgan said.“Let’s go wake up some dangerous people and get things moving.We’ll regroup in two days with a plan for her arrest.”
“Days?”Thalia asked.“I was hoping for sunrise.”
“The council needs to approve the arrest, otherwise the military will naturally step in and take over.That’s not in our best interest.Not for the outcome we want,” Morgan said.
“Kovvar and Evie are on protection duty tonight if there are any problems,” Cass said.“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Connor.”
“Thank you, both,” Connor said.
Cass and Morgan immediately took their leave and walked in sync together up the stairs as they left, talking too softly for him to hear.
Thalia nodded to him and Ryan and followed them out without a word.
“You know, I’m kind of surprised Thalia is still here,” Ryan murmured quietly after the door closed.
Connor frowned.“Here as in Calderre?”
“No.Here as in alive.She and Jax had a pretty strong mate bond.The first few weeks when we returned, she was completely unresponsive, even to me.I thought it was just a matter of time.That she’d follow her into death.”
A memory flickered through Connor’s mind from shortly before his parents passed out of the world.
