What I wouldn’t give to be able to shift into a wolf and run around the forest to my heart’s content.
“So,” I said instead, and sat next to Dathal. “Did you find anything?”
“No,” Rys said, then glanced at Max and Gabriel. “But there might be a reason for that.”
“We found scent altering magic in the box Lady Sarhin brought us. If itisZh’alek out there, and he has access to that kind of magic, then we might not be able to detect him.”
Awesome. So he might look different and had no scent.
Rys’s growl echoed around the room. “Syl is one of the best trackers in our pack. If he couldn’t find anything…” He snarled, and I understood his frustrations all too well. This was his territory, his land, and his people to protect. The possibility that there was something,someone,out there that had the ability to get past all his defences would bring out the alpha in him in full force.
Gabriel reached for his hand, twining their fingers, and Rys relaxed enough that I wasn’t worried about him shifting in the middle of my living room.
I eyed their joined hands.
Gabriel was half-human, half-fae, and yet he’d managed to complete a shifter soulbond with Rys.
Was that because Rys was an alpha or that Gabriel was only part-fae? Or a mixture of both?
Could I have that with Talis?
Would I even want it if I could?
And really, all this conjecture was pointless because we weren’t even together.
He might not want me after all the times I’d pushed him away.
I was so desperate to talk to him that I’d considered walking out into the forest to find him myself. If I didn’t think Sasha would tie me to the chair if I tried it, then I probably would have by now.
“Any news on the personnel files?” Max asked.
Lady Sarhin grimaced, and my heart sank, not sure I could take any more bad news today.
“What did you find?” I snapped, immediately regretting it as she turned to face me, eyebrows raised. “Forgive me. I’m anxious to hear something that might put an end to all this.”
Her expression softened at the same time as Dathal’s shoulder bumped mine.
“The files of the fae guards all appear to be intact, despite what we first suspected.”
I sat up straighter. “So no one in the guard is under suspicion?”
“No.”
Dathal relaxed beside me.
“And what about Melhak’s file?” Max prompted.
Her lip curled in distaste. “It would seem that both his and Zh’alek files have been magically altered, and as yet we’ve been unable to retrieve the erased information.”
No one in the room seemed all that surprised. Disappointed? Goddess yes, but not surprised.
“I guess it was a long shot.” Max scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked tired, which for a shifter took effort on his part. I hated the thought that I was the cause of it. “So now what?”
Quiet settled in the room.
No one wanted to admit that we were no closer to finding Zh’alek. But things couldn’t go on like this.Icouldn’t go on like this for one more fucking day.
Clearing my throat, I said what I should’ve done from day one. “I have an idea.”
