“She’s the only one who can.” Didi’s jaw tightened. “Daria isn’t here. And I’m bound by coven hierarchy. If I start poking around and the wrong people notice, I’ll be lucky to keep my position. As for you, you’re bound by your duties. But Abby?” She gestured at me. “She’s outside witch politics entirely. The covens can’t touch her without risking a war with the Hawthorne pack. Not that she’d need the pack in her corner, what with her freaky powers.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
My wolf made a smug sound. I told her to can it.
Samuel’s gaze shifted to me. “And you’ve already agreed to this.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I’m not exactly thrilled about it either,” I said in a resigned voice. “But I heard from Mrs. Chen that the supernatural community has been suffering since the Lincoln sisters disappeared.” I met his eyes squarely. “If something bad has happened to them, the situation could turn uglier. Besides, I promised the Alliance I would help keep Amberford safe.”
Samuel lowered his brows in a way that said exactly what he thought about my promise to the Alliance. Yet, neither of us could deny one thing.
It was the only way the Alliance had agreed to tolerate the powers Ellie and I had recently demonstrated and not treat us like time bombs that could blow up in their faces at any moment.
My alpha finally sighed and ran a hand through hishair, a gesture I’d come to recognize as his tell forI don’t like this but I’m probably going to let you do it anyway.
“Witch politics are notoriously vicious,” he said. “The Hawthornes, the other wolf packs, and pretty much every supernatural clan in Amberford have maintained careful neutrality with the covens for generations, not least because of the witches’ wards protecting our territories. If we start investigating one of their own?—”
“We’re not investigating a witch,” Didi cut in. “We’re investigating a disappearance. There’s a difference.”
“A difference the covens may not appreciate,” Samuel pointed out sharply.
I shifted uneasily. Maybe I was biting off more than I could chew. The way Samuel and Didi were talking about the covens was beginning to make the witches in Amberford sound like the mob, AKA the kind of people who made problems disappear and never spoke about it afterward.
It didn’t help that smoke was curling alarmingly from Gavin’s nostrils, his eyes were getting bigger by the minute, and he looked about ready to set everything on fire in sheer panic.
Bo moved carefully away from the dragon newt.
“The covens can take it up with me,” Didi was saying. Her expression could have frozen Hell. “I’m the one who found the discrepancy. If anyone’s going to face consequences, it will be me.”
Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose. For a moment, I thought he was going torefuse. Then his shoulders drooped slightly and I felt his reluctant acceptance pulse through the mate bond.
“Fine,” he said. “But I want to be kept informed.” He fixed Didi and me with an uncompromising stare. “Every step, every discovery, every lead you find, I want to know about it.”
“Done,” Didi said immediately.
I nodded.
“And if this starts looking bigger than a simple disappearance, you ask for backup. No heroics.” His eyes found mine. “I mean it, Abby.”
The worry in his gaze made my chest tighten.
“No heroics,” I agreed. “Scout’s honor.”
“You’re not a scout,” Bo pointed out bluntly, tail swinging.
Samuel’s lips twitched despite himself. His expression told me to hang back as the others began filing out. He waited until everyone had left before standing and coming around the desk. The mate bond sang when he stopped in front of me, warm and electric.
“Be careful.” He brushed a curl away from my cheek. “Witch covens have long memories. No one can bear a grudge quite like them. If Didi is right about this and there is someone out there powerful enough to make the Lincoln sisters disappear?—”
“I know.” I reached up and squeezed his hand briefly. “I’ll be careful.”
My alpha didn’t look convinced.
“Promise you’ll come back to me in one piece.”
My heart did something complicated in my chest at his words. I nodded.
