“Just the same old me. Promise.”
She opened her mouth, seeming about to continue that line of questioning, when a throat clearing halted her mid-inquisition. The rest of the pack had gathered, and they were ready to begin.
“Have we made any progress on finding anything about the plot against our pack?” Kane asked, not wasting any time once we were all focused in his direction.
Reed lifted a finger, and all eyes turned his way. “Actually, yes. Valens and Lucien found a lead in the Hungarian archivesyesterday.” He held up a ragged-looking piece of paper. “This is a receipt. I contacted Rudi, who used to be the pack accountant under the elder Varga, and he was able to give me some insight. Long story short? It’s a magical protection device purchase. Petró was afraid of something or someone. Any ideas?”
Reed directed the question to Valens, which made sense as he was the late Alpha’s second. If there was something to know that affected the whole pack, Valens would have known it.
Valens rubbed his cheek thoughtfully. “I honestly have no idea. He was always behaving erratically. It’s hard to say if something was out of character for him.”
“That’s fair. Megalomaniacs aren’t necessarily easy to read,” Gael said drily.
“But I’d be happy to chase the trail. Did Rudi say who the purchase was from? Maybe I can pick up on something to put the pieces together.” Valens sounded determined, and I found myself struggling to stay in my usual rest stance. My body was drawn to the sound of his voice like a magnet.
“He only gave me one name: Sandrine.”
Valens’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I know where to go.”
“Good,” Kane interjected. “Pick a partner to go with you, though. We take no chances until this is over.”
When his eyes lifted to mine, my heart sank. “Elodie, would you care to join me today?”
There was no good reason to tell him no, and every member of this group knew good and well that I always said yes to an adventure. Saying anything but yes would only draw more attention and suspicion.
“Of course. Any chance to kick some ass.”
Galyna shot me a confused sideways glance, and I knew I’d missed the mark.
“If it’s okay with the Alphas, since I won’t be here with your mates today.” I deferentially looked between Lucien and Kane, but they both waved their wordless agreement.
I was spending the entire day alone with Valens.
Shit.
This was fine. I was a professional, and this was a mission, nothing more.
I just had to not touch him so there was no chance of our wolves building a bond between us. That couldn’t be too hard, right?
Chapter 6
Valens
Iheld my emotions in check for the rest of the meeting, but internally, I was thrumming with joy. She’d said yes. She could have said no, but she’d chosen to spend the day with me.
It was the first, tiny step in the right direction. Friendship was important to me, and I wanted nothing more than to marry my best friend, the love of my life.
In my early adulthood, I’d thought that was exactly what I’d do. But my childhood best friend, Hanna, had gotten mate marks with another male, and they’d been blissfully happy together. I could never begrudge her happiness, even as I waited for my own.
Hanna and I stayed friends, but she was never meant to be mine. Elodie, though? Well, we just had to build the foundation, and the rest would come.
When the meeting finally broke up, I crossed the circle of gathered wolves to stand before my mate, studying her expression carefully as I spoke. “We have a bit of a journey ahead of us. Do you need time to prepare?”
Her chin lifted. “Maidens are always prepared.”
I resisted the urge to smile at that. She still saw me as a challenge, but that was okay. “Excellent, then. We’re off.”
I turned and waved for her to follow. She surprised me when she strode up to my side, keeping pace with my longer gait easily. Having decided to take things slowly, I didn’t push her to talk to me. Companionable silence didn’t bother me, but by the time we’d gotten to my truck and climbed inside, I could tell it was driving her nuts.
