“Fear. Loyalty. Blackmail.” I gestured to the greenhouse. “Bears aren’t pack animals. He’s here alone, in Bastian’s territory, tending plants in a greenhouse that costs a lot to maintain. Someone’s protecting him, and that someone probably owns him.”
Victoria’s expression hardened. “If that’s the case, we need to find out who.”
We left the greenhouse and continued toward the main compound on foot, Bastian’s patrol shadowing us. Interesting that they’d let us enter the greenhouse.
The way Bastian’s territory sprawled out around us told me he’d been building his strength for years. His pack had more trees than mine, many carved with residences and storage and training facilities. The walkways and bridges spanned the canopy, connecting one tree to another, creating a three-dimensional compound instead of the ground-level one I maintained.
I noted all this the way I would a rival’s position on a battlefield, seeking weak points. Areas of strength. Resources and numbers.
He had more warriors than me and better infrastructure. Older magic woven into the trees themselves.
But he didn’t have Victoria.
She spoke softly beside me, her voice pitched for my ears only. “His storage is exposed on the eastern side. I only see a single entry point and no exit. That would make it vulnerable to siege.” She paused. “And his healer’s area is housed too close to the training ground. Sound bleed during recovery would be significant. Patients need quiet to heal properly.”
I glanced at her sideways.
For her, this was a research expedition instead of a potential threat assessment. She was identifying his weaknesses without even realizing she was doing it.
I’d never wanted to kiss someone in the middle of a potential enemy compound before. I added it to the growing list of things Victoria had done for me that I hadn’t expected.
Our escort shifted into human form at the base of Bastian’s main tree.
One of them gestured toward the entrance. “The alpha is expecting you.”
The word choice was deliberate. Bastian had been ahead of this since we’d sent word. He’d had time to prepare and arrange whatever he wanted us to see and hide whatever he didn’t.
I walked toward the entrance with Victoria at my side, our footsteps echoing off the carved steps that wound up into the tree.
I didn’t ask her to wait outside. She was my queen. It wasn’t negotiable.
The hall was deliberately impressive and included a vaulted ceiling carved from living wood, higher than mine, withflowering vines woven through the beams. The vines glowed, spelled to provide light without fire. Magical lights hung at intervals. The floor had been worn smooth by generations of paws and feet, and polished to a shine that reflected the lights. Weapons lined one wall, with histories I didn’t know carved into the handles and blades.
The message was clear: We were here before you. We’ll be here after you’re gone.
Bastian sat on an elevated wooden chair near the center of the hall, relaxed in a way that cost him nothing. Two of his pack flanked him, both watching us with the kind of attention that came from years of protecting their alpha.
He wore traditional leathers in an older style than what my wolves preferred, with ceremonial markings stitched into the shoulders. The kind of thing you wore when you wanted to remind everyone you were connected to history.
We walked over to join him, and he greeted me with a nod, the exact minimum courtesy required of a subordinate alpha to his king. Enough to acknowledge rank without conceding authority.
His gaze moved to Victoria and flicked back to me, showing dismissal.
“Your witch,” he said, as if she was property or a decoration I’d brought to show off.
My wolf snarled, demanding I correct him, that I make him understand what he’d just done.
Victoria’s hand found my forearm, reminding me that losing my temper here would be exactly what Bastian wanted.
Acorn went rigid on her shoulder, however. I sensed he was preparing to launch himself at Bastian’s face.
I kind of wanted to let him.
“There was no reason for this visit, Feral,” Bastian said dryly. “I planned to reach out myself soon about the treaty.” He smiled,though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re young. There are things in motion here, things that have been in motion long before your time. I’ve been managing them fine. You didn’t need to make the trip.”
His condescension hung in the air.
He was trying to make me feel as if I was nineteen again, a new alpha unsure how to handle anything, one who’d inherited his position through tragedy instead of earning it through years of carefully built alliances.
