“Quietly,” Conrad adds.
“Yeah.”
Quietly. At a distance. Without giving anyone a reason to connect the dots. I turn away, already moving back toward the garage. Because the only way to protect her?—
Is to make sure no one realizes how much she matters. Even if it means staying just far enough away to make it believable.
The moment I leave Conrad, the instinct doesn’t settle. It sharpens. My tiger is still bristling beneath my skin, restless from the encounter at the border, from the confirmation of what I already suspected but didn’t want to fully name.
Rogue. Cougar. Watching. The bookstore. That detail refuses to fade. It sticks, loops, repeats—overlapping with every step I take back through town until it becomes impossible to separate thought from instinct.
She’s the variable. That’s what this comes down to. Tessa.
I slow as I reach the edge of the street near the garage. The town feels normal on the surface—too normal, in a way that never sits right once you know what to listen for. But underneath it?—
There. A faint disturbance in scent patterns near the eastern tree line. Not fresh enough to be immediate, but not old either. Another pass. Another observation point. They’re mapping. My jaw tightens.
This isn’t random scouting anymore. It’s structured. Intentional. Like they’re building something in their headsbefore they make their move. I exhale slowly through my nose, forcing my tiger down just enough to think clearly. Focus. Not rage. Not instinct. Strategy.
I turn slightly, scanning the direction of the bookstore without letting myself fully look at it. She’s inside. I can feel that too. Not scent exactly—something deeper now. A pull that has no business being as strong as it is this early. It shouldn’t be like this. Mate bonds don’t usually lock in this fast. They build. Develop. This one feels like it’s already halfway formed, whether I’ve accepted it or not.
“That’s a problem,” I mutter.
A passing car slows slightly as it goes by, the driver glancing at me. I ignore it. I move again, heading toward the back streets instead of the garage, circling around toward the quieter side of town. If they’ve been this close, there may be more signs I missed. And I don’t miss things. Not usually.
The alley behind the bookstore comes into view first. I stop. The scent hits harder here.
Cougar. Same as before. But layered now. Reinforced. He came back. Or more likely?—
There was more than one. My tiger lurches again, low and dangerous. I crouch near the fence line, scanning the ground more carefully this time. The marks are subtle, but deliberate. Not chaotic like a lone rogue would leave. This is coordinated. I run my fingers just above the wood, not touching the deepest marks, just tracking the pattern.
They didn’t just pass through. They paused here. Long enough to observe the building.
Long enough to study movement patterns. Long enough to?—
My breath slows. To see her. I stand abruptly.
“No,” I mutter.
This is no longer a border issue. It’s no longer just patrols and warnings. This is targeting behavior. Which means they’veidentified something valuable in this area. Something they’re circling.
I step back from the alley, decision forming before I fully articulate it. Conrad needs to know the details are escalating. Not just rogues. Not just proximity. Intent. I head back toward him immediately.
Conrad is still near his truck when I arrive, like he hasn’t moved much since earlier.
“You look like you’ve got more,” he says before I even speak.
“I do.”
He straightens slightly. “Talk.”
“They’re not just scouting the border anymore,” I say. “They’re marking repeat positions. Controlled movement. They’ve been near the bookstore more than once.”
His expression hardens immediately. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”
“It’s what’s happening.”
He exhales slowly, looking away for a moment like he’s running through consequences in his head.
