"I gave her coordinates for the algae concentrations. I answered her questions about the deep-water ecosystems. Nothing she couldn't learn from a dozen other sources."
"Then why is she asking about dragons specifically?" The weight of pack authority bleeds through Declan's voice despitethe fact that I don't answer to wolf hierarchy. "What did she see that night?"
Protective fury rises in my chest, but I keep my expression neutral and my tone controlled.
"She's a scientist. She saw bioluminescence I couldn't fully explain. She saw cellular structures that don't match known species. She's looking for answers in folklore because her scientific models aren't working."
"Which makes her dangerous." Kian stops his prowling and plants himself between me and the path back down to the village. "She's too close to the truth. Too smart to accept the lies we've been feeding mainlanders. If she figures it out, if she publishes findings that expose the supernatural world, we all pay the price."
"She won't figure it out." The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. Lila is brilliant and observant. She won't stop digging. She won't let it go until everything clicks into place. "I'll handle it."
"How?" Declan moves closer with a wolf alpha's assessing gaze. "By hiding in your cave and hoping she goes away? By giving her more information that leads her deeper into danger? Or by doing what you should have done the moment you realized she was your mate?"
Mate.
They all know. My scent has changed, carrying her jasmine and citrus mixed with my salt and smoke. Fire burns in my eyes every time someone mentions her as a problem.
They can read it on me. Every choice I'm making. Every protective instinct I'm failing to hide. All the things they themselves have done in the not too distant past.
"She's not my mate."
"You're a shit liar, Finn." Rafe's expression changes to something I can't quite read. "Your scent changed the moment she set foot on the island. You gave her information you've nevershared with mainlanders. You're standing here arguing strategy instead of letting us handle the problem the way we always do. We can all see it. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Because right now she's investigating murders that lead straight to the syndicate. She's asking questions that will put her on Mikhail's radar if she's not there already. And you're acting like keeping her in the dark will keep her safe."
"Telling her the truth puts a target on her back." I push away from the standing stone as every instinct demands I end this conversation and go to Lila. "The syndicate kills people who know too much about their operations. If she learns the truth, if she figures out the drownings are ritual sacrifices, they'll eliminate the problem."
"She's already a problem." Impatience sharpens Declan's tone. "The moment she started collecting samples and analyzing patterns, she became one. The only question is whether she faces it alone or with the Brotherhood backing her."
"You want me to tell a human marine biologist that dragons and shifters exist. That the drownings are blood magic sacrifices. That an immortal phoenix is using the syndicate's operations to fuel workings we haven't seen in living memory." Fire burns behind my eyes when I meet Declan's gaze. "You want me to expose her to a world that will either kill her or force her to spend the rest of her life in hiding from authorities who hunt supernatural creatures."
"I want you to give her enough truth to keep her alive." Declan doesn't back down from the fire. Both of us are used to being the most dangerous thing in any room. "Because if Mikhail realizes she's yours and you haven't claimed her, history will repeat itself. And we both know how that story ends."
Saoirse.
The name rips through me like a blade between the ribs. My first love. The woman I loved until Mikhail killed her and called it mercy.
"Mikhail isn't on Skara."
The denial sounds weak even to my own ears.
"Phoenix ash was found near the eastern ritual site." Kian crosses his arms with a tiger's calculating focus as he watches me. "Fresh enough that it still held heat. Someone with fire in their veins shifted there recently. Do you want to tell us again that your ole buddy Mikhail isn't on the island?"
The denial dies on my tongue. They know. They've found the evidence I discovered hours ago, which means I can't keep pretending this isn't happening. Can't keep hoping Mikhail will move on before anyone else gets hurt.
If he's rebuilding the same plan he attempted before, he needs specific components. Specific sacrifices. Specific targets chosen for maximum pain.
My mate would be the perfect sacrifice.
Rage floods through my chest, demanding I shift and hunt and end this now. But Mikhail is too old, too powerful, too patient to be killed through simple violence. He's had lifetimes to plan whatever he's building toward, lifetimes to refine his magic and sharpen his vengeance.
He knows my weakness. He's always known.
The memory surfaces unbidden. Mikhail and I standing on the cliffs overlooking the sea with Saoirse's body cooling on the rocks between us. I stayed cold and silent while he explained in careful, measured tones why he'd killed her.
"She was a weakness waiting to be exploited," he'd said, phoenix fire burning in his eyes. "I simply removed that weakness before it could destroy you. I freed you."
I'd tried to kill him then. I destroyed his compound, reduced it to glass and ash in my rage. We fought, phoenix fire againstdragon flame, and I broke him. Broke his wings, his territory, everything he valued. But I couldn't finish it. Some part of me still remembered who he'd been. Who I thought he was. So I left him bleeding in the ruins and fled north, isolating myself from anything that could be used against me.
Until Lila.
