Samuel decided to take off the gloves.
“How about we cut to the chase?” he said flatly. “The Lincoln sisters’ clinics are abandoned. All their staff have vanished. And somebody cast Forgetting spells on the neighborhoods where their health centers are located. That’s not a vacation. That’s a problem. An ugly one.”
Tension thickened the air.
Melody bristled. “That’s impossible. You must be mistaken.”
I frowned. “About what? The fact that they’ve vanished and no one seems to care? Or the fact that someone is making sure no one asks any questions?”
The fae-witch’s expression turned blank again. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Abby.”
Her voice had lost its honeyed warmth.
“I think you do.” My tone hardened. “Somebody used some pretty nasty magic on their place on Maple Street. Ancient magic, to be precise.”
Melody’s gaze darted nervously to the door, as if checking to see if anyone might be listening outside. That was when I caught it.
A faint, oily wrongness clinging to her like a second skin.
Her floral perfume and the sharp trace of her fear swiftly overshadowed it.
“You’re afraid.”
Melody flinched at my quiet words, her fear-scent spiking so sharply even a human would have noticed it.
Bo’s ears pricked. Samuel’s expression sharpened.
I leaned forward, tension coiling through my belly. “You know what happened to the Lincoln sisters, don’t you?”
Melody swallowed, her composure cracking a little.
“We’re not supposed to talk about them.”
A fraught silence fell in the wake of her mumbled words.
Samuel lowered his brows. “What do you mean by that?” my alpha asked carefully.
Her eyes met ours. For a moment, her glamour slipped entirely and I saw the woman underneath it.
Melody appeared exhausted and frightened beyond her wits.
“Look, I never wanted their seat.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I mean, on the Alliance. I was asked to take over. I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”
Samuel and I traded an uneasy look.
“Asked by whom?” Samuel said.
The fear-scent intensified. Melody shook her head.
“I can’t. You don’t understand.”
“Then help us understand,” I pressed.
Melody laughed then, the sound brittle and edged with something close to hysteria. “You’re werewolves. You solve your problems by biting them. Unfortunately, this isn’t something any of us can bite our way out of.” She stood abruptly, startling us. “This meeting is over. I’ve told you everything I can. Now, please leave. And forget about the Lincoln sisters.” Her voice grew flat. “Believe me, it’s in your best interest.”
Samuel rose, his expression unreadable. I followed suit.
“Unfortunately, the Alliance won’t see it that way,” Samuel pointed out coolly.
