I cleared my throat. “When should we leave?”
Feral shook himself. “First thing in the morning. I’ll send word to Bastian that we’re coming for a visit.”
“That will give him time to prepare.”
“It will also give him time to make mistakes if he’s trying to hide something.” He reached for my duskburst diagrams, studying them again. “If he’s involved, he’ll want to appear cooperative. That means he’ll have to balance maintaining his cover with preventing us from finding evidence.”
I gathered my notes, stacking them in order of relevance. The pieces were there. We just needed more evidence. Bastion’s pack was a great place to start.
Feral was still staring at the maps, grinding his teeth.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“That if Bastian’s been sabotaging the seals, he’s been doing it for over a decade. Possibly while my father was still alive.” He glanced my way. “That means he’s been planning this for longer than I’ve been alpha and waiting for the effects to show. Waiting for my pack to weaken.”
“Waiting foryouto fail,” I said quietly.
“Yes.”
“He expected you to collapse under the weight of it,” I said. “The sickness spreading, your pack weakening, and you unable to solve it.”
“And instead I married a witch who started investigating the moment she arrived.” His mouth curved, not quite a smile but close.
I returned it. “This must be frustrating for him.”
“I hope so.”
“Tomorrow will be a long day.”
He nodded and started rolling up the territory map.
I tucked my notes into my field journal.
Feral finished with the map and turned to face me. “Thank you.”
He wasn’t just talking about the investigation. He meant me being here while he cleaned and not turning it into something that required explanation.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
We left the office together. Acorn followed, chattering about the quality of his duskburst collection.
I looked back once before closing the door. The office looked different in the afternoon light. Lived in. Cared for. Ready to be used instead of avoided.
Tomorrow we’d go to Bastian’s territory. I made a note to pack an extra field journal. I had a feeling I was going to need the pages.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
FERAL
The compound had gone quiet by the time we finished dinner. Most of the pack had already retreated to their trees, leaving the clearing to the night sounds and the orange glow of bioluminescent fungi climbing the bark in lazy spirals.
I took Victoria’s hand. “Walk with me before we go up.”
She glanced at our joined hands, then at my face. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. “Checking the perimeter?”
“Something like that.”
The truth was I wanted more time with her before we climbed the hundred and four steps and whatever happened next. The evening had been good, the kind of good I hadn’t known I was capable of until she’d arrived and made it look simple.
