At six in the morning,while most of the estate is still asleep, I’m in my office, leaning over an unfurled map on my desk. The three team leads for my investigative task force are all present.
All eyes are on the map. A red border around our territory. Outside it, a wider, gray ring of buffer towns. Twenty-three small dots inside that ring, every one of them a place I have never visited and a place a witch could choose to settle. As an alpha, I never go into human towns unless I have to.
“Witches like isolation,” I explain. “They usually prefer living on the outskirts of a town or village, desiring their privacy. Look for houses at the edge of the woods, maybe a cottage at the end of a lane. Somewhere with one neighbor, two at most, and a long walk into town. Witches keep to themselves and only go in for what they need—the post office, the market, a tavern—once a week, then they leave again.”
One of the team leads, Bauer, nods in agreement.
“They will not stand out by their behavior,” I continue. “A witch who has lived in a community for ten years has friends. People who like her, who will defend her. Don’t ask the wrong questions in the wrong pub. Avoid letting on that we are looking for anything other than a quiet visit through the area on business. Humans don’t know our kind or witches, but they do know herbalists, florists. Witches mostly dabble in nature.”
Bauer nods again. “Understood, Alpha.”
“Their magic clings to them. Anyone with a wolf’s nose will smell it the moment she passes within ten feet. Out in a quiet, country lane, it is unmissable. In a crowded marketplace, it can be lost. So, work the outskirts. Watch the small post offices. Walk the edges of the towns at dusk and dawn, when foot traffic is light.”
The team leads now have the information they need. I wrap up our meeting.
“You have nine days till the Moonvale delegation arrives. We need to find the witches by then.”
Bauer suddenly looks uneasy. “Is there a reason why we’re looking for witches right now?”
“The luna of the Moonvale Pack wishes to learn magic, and since we’re allies, we will help her find a teacher.” The lie flows out easily. “Keep me updated.”
They nod and head out, but Bauer pauses on the threshold.
“Alpha.” He gives me an awkward look. “Congratulations on your mate bond.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Then, it seems he can’t get out of here fast enough. Once the door closes behind him, I sigh.
I stand at the desk with my palms pressed to the edge of the wood, listening to his boots fade down the corridor. My lips press into a thin line. I expected the uncomfortable look on Bauer’s face. I’ll be seeing more like it at breakfast. Not everyone will approve of my choice.
I just have to make sure they know not to cross any line.
A knock at the door snaps me back to the present.
“Come.”
Liam steps in first. Reese behind him. Both are commanders of my army. Both in their training kit, both with mud on their boots. They have been out at the perimeter since first light. Reese has a fresh scratch down the side of his jaw that he has not bothered to clean.
“Alpha,” he greets me.
“Sit. Tell me what you have.”
Reese drops into the chair across from me. Liam stays standing, his hand braced on the back of the second chair, his weight forward. He has news he does not want to deliver from a sitting position.
“The rogues who attacked Miss Carter,” Liam begins. “They were the only ones there. We combed every inch of forest within twenty miles of where you found her. There was no other group. They were alone.”
“You’re sure?”
Reese answers. “We’ve had every wolf we could spare on the ground for the past four days. Every scent trail led back to the same six rogues and out again.”
“Then they were not a raiding party,” I muse.
“Not large enough,” Liam agrees. “Six rogues do not attack a Silvercrest-patrolled border. They die at it. Which is what these wolves did, more or less.”
“So, why were they there?”
The two men look at each other. Reese speaks.
