Chapter Fifteen
Violet woke up with a start. She sat bolt upright in bed and automatically reached out to Treffon’s side, but all she felt was the still-warm blanket.
Her head was fuzzy from lack of sleep, and she tried to figure out what had jerked her awake. Then she heard the sound of angry voices and shouting coming from the hallway.
She scrambled out of bed and looked around, still bleary. A silky robe hung across a chair, and she quickly pulled it on and headed towards the shouting. She made her way across the huge room, her feet sinking into the thick carpet, then out into the hallway.
Treffon was standing there, face flushed with rage, shouting at Madok. Madok was glaring at Treffon.
“You are an incompetent fool! Now we’ll never be able to question him!” Treffon bellowed.
“What happened?” Violet asked, stifling a yawn.
“He killed the chef who poisoned your food.” It came out in a growl.
“The chef attacked me when I attempted to question him,” Madok muttered defensively. “He attacked me without honor – he had a knife coated inkeer-ne-ja.” He glanced at Violet. “One of the few poisons effective against Vulfans,” he added.
“And you are such a weakling that you could not disarm him?” Treffon snarled at him.
“Treffon, I don’t expect Madok to die on my account,” Violet said gently. “It’s all right.” But her heart sank. Another dead end. Would she find out who was trying to kill her before it was too late?
If she thought that running away again would keep everyone around her safe, she would do it. But it seemed as if the person who wanted to kill her was able to follow her literally anywhere. And if she left again, where would she even go? And if she were able to successfully vanish, how did she know that her would-be assassin wouldn’t take it out on Dorcas, or maybe Allison or the Eeplings?
“Is there any hint as to why the chef would have done such a thing?” she asked Madok.
He shook his head, grim-faced. “It is clear that he is working for someone else. There was recently an enormous deposit in his bank account from the Many Worlds bank, and we are still trying to trace the source. However, it cannot be a coincidence that the Many Worlds bank is also used by the Wor-Lans. Their pack is one of the bank’s largest customers.”
Treffon snorted. “The Wor-Lans have no reason to attack her. Their Reginar is as committed to making this truce work as we are. He saved our lives during the cyborg attack.”
“He only did that because his true mate was on your property at the time. He was saving her, not us. And not all Wor-Lans agree with the truce,” Madok pointed out. “With Voljaki and his men on our property, they would have had ample opportunity to attack Violet. It seems the most likely explanation.”
“It doesn’t explain the attempts on my life while I was on Earth,” Violet pointed out. “Or why they would focus specifically on me. They could try to kill Treffon, or Zura, or anybody in the pack.”
Treffon frowned. “Continue your inquiries,” he said to Madok. “Work with Tristao. All of Violet’s food will be scanned by Veri-Scan before she eats it; nobody can bribe a computer. She will remain by my side at all times. As for the Wor-Lans, I am assigning them to guard the far eastern side of the pack property, away from Violet, and Zura will accompany them. We will say that it is part of our exchange program, but she will be observing and investigating them.”
“I do not wish my daughter to be placed in any danger,” Madok protested.
“Since when?” Treffon scoffed. “You sent her right into the heart of the last cyborg invasion. No, you simply do not want your daughter near any Wor-Lans because of your intense dislike of them. Zura is excellent at her job, and she will shadow Voljaki.”
Madok let out a low growl. Treffon swung towards him, and the bones in his face shifted. His fangs shot down, and an answering growl rumbled up from his throat.
The two of them stood there, glowering at each other.
“Excuse me,” Violet said quickly, desperate to stave off a fight. The hostility in the air was so thick she was choking on it. “I would like to return to the resettlement center today to make sure that they’re all doing well. And maybe it’s safer for me there than here, for right now.” She’d been planning on asking Treffon to do that anyway; now was as good a time as any.
Madok shook his head. “Absolutely not! It is too dangerous,” he said, his tone haughty and dismissive. “You will not travel anywhere. You will stay here.”
Treffon let out a howl of fury, and Violet felt the waves of anger radiating from his body and pricking her skin. In mere seconds, he shifted. Muscles rippled in his massive shoulders and broad back, and he fell to all fours. His handsome face pushed out into a snout and a gunmetal-gray pelt rolled over his body. Thick, curved fangs descended, and he threw his head back and howled his anger as his body expanded, his spine tearing through the fabric of his tunic. Bones cracked and reformed, his hands becoming huge paws. He lunged at Madok.
Madok shifted too, more slowly, and ended up on his back with Treffon’s massive jaws snapping mere inches from his exposed neck. Madok whimpered and waved his paws in surrender, and after a moment that seemed to stretch out forever, Treffon stepped back. Madok scrambled to his feet, head hanging in surrender.
They both shifted back into human form.
“I speak for her,” Treffon bellowed in Madok’s face. “Only me! Do not ever address her in such a fashion again, or I will end you!”
Treffon maintained a furious silence as he and Violet quickly went back to their room, showered, and changed their clothes. Violet sent a message to Dorcas and Allison letting her know she’d be gone for the day and possibly overnight.
She waited until they were on the hovercraft heading for the resettlement center before she spoke up. She knew better than to chastise him in front of Madok, but she couldn’t let this go.
