I nodded and placed plates in front of us.
She ate a roll. I drank tea. Acorn made small satisfied sounds from the floor. The morning light came through the window at an angle that meant it was later than I usually started my day, but I didn’t care.
“What are those?” Victoria asked after a few minutes, gesturing with her teacup toward the stack of papers beside my plate.
I’d collected these older reports from my offices, planning to go through them, hoping to find a clue I might have missed.
Since looking at them was better than staring at Victoria and thinking about all the things I wanted to do with her that weren’t appropriate breakfast conversation, I lifted them. Shook them, making them rattle.
“Reports from the latest patrols,” I said. “Over the past few days, three more pack members have lost their ability to shift.”
She sucked in a breath. “That’s horrible.”
“They didn’t report it, but a week ago, they noticed the same feeling Robin described a year ago.”
“Robin from the gardens?”
I leaned back in my chair, staring at my empty tea cup. “Robin was one of the first. He described it as reaching for his wolf and finding the connection muffled. Still there, just…hollow.”
“Hollow,” she repeated, her voice coming out carefully neutral.
“He used to be part of my guard. But being unable to shift made moving quickly across long distances impossible. He’ll work in the gardens until I find a way to fix this.” I spread out the reports, pointing to certain sections. “The three pack members have shared the same feeling in the area where Robin used to patrol.”
She was already reaching for her notebook, the small leather-bound one she kept in her pocket. “Where?”
I nudged my chin toward the notes. “The northern creek, of course.”
Victoria made a small notation in her notebook.
“How long did the sensation last?” she asked after a moment.
“Minutes. Not more than an hour. It faded and everything felt normal again, so they dismissed it.”
“They didn’t want to name it. I bet they were worried, though.”
“I’m sure they were.”
She made another notation. And if I knew my wife, she was making connections I didn’t have the framework to see yet.
“And now they can’t shift at all,” she said.
I shook my head. “The connection feels there but dampened.”
Her face took on that look she got when she was deciding how much to share. I was starting to recognize it, the smallpause she made before she gave me information she hadn’t fully processed yet.
She studied them for a long moment and made another notation. “Interesting.”
That was all. No explanation of what she’d seen or what it might mean. She returned to her breakfast as if she hadn’t confirmed something that made her spine stiffen.
I watched her not-react and filed it away.
“More tea?” I asked, holding up the pot
She glanced up, amusement in her expression, though I had no idea why she’d find that funny. “Please.”
I poured. She ate another roll. Acorn chirped, and her mouth twitched.
“What did he say?” I asked.
