I exhale slowly, forcing my tiger down just enough to think clearly. They’re not just watching the town. They’re watching her. The realization settles heavier this time because it’s no longer speculative. It’s evidence-based. Pattern-based. Confirmed by structure.
Which means they’ve already made a decision. She is relevant. I straighten abruptly, decision forming hard and fast. I need backup on this. Not just Conrad. Not just Magnus. All of them.
I shift direction immediately, heading back toward town with purpose rather than patrol rhythm. The forest resists slightly as I leave—like it doesn’t want me to go—but I ignore it.
Because now this is inside the town perimeter problem.
Not outside it.
When I reach the edge of Redwood Crossing again, the shift in my senses is immediate. Human noise replaces forest silence. Artificial light replaces canopy shadows. And the weight of proximity returns. Too close. Too exposed. Too many variables. I head straight for Conrad again.
Conrad is already waiting when I arrive, like he’s anticipating escalation instead of resolution.
“You’re back fast,” he says.
“It got worse.”
That gets his full attention immediately.
“Define worse.”
“Multiple rogues,” I say. “Not random. Structured movement. Intersecting scent paths along the border. They’re mapping sightlines into town.”
Conrad’s expression tightens. “That confirms coordinated activity.”
“Yes.”
“And the bookstore?”
I hesitate.
“Still a focal point.”
He exhales sharply. “Damn it.”
“They’re not just circling anymore,” I continue. “They’re triangulating.”
Conrad pushes a hand through his hair. “We bring Magnus in now.”
“I already expected that.”
“Good,” he says. “Because this stops being a single-enforcer problem the moment they start working together.”
I nod once. That part is obvious. But what isn’t obvious?—
What keeps looping in my head?—
Is why her. Why Tessa. She’s human. Unmarked. Unaware. She shouldn’t register in their system at all. Unless?—
I cut that thought off before it forms fully.
Conrad watches me carefully. “You’re thinking it through too much.”
“I’m not thinking enough,” I correct.
That earns a short silence.
Then he says, quieter, “You’re also too close to it.”
