Chapter 86
Claire’s POV
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When I returned to my room, I was surprised to see Leo sneaking out of it and into the hallway.
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“Leo?” I asked calling for him. He should have been in bed, asleep. “Are you still having trouble sleeping? Were you looking for me?”
“Uh, no… I was just… That is…”
I waited while he fumbled, unsure what had caused him to be this nervous.
“I wanted to tell you something, but I forgot,” he said. “I’m going to go back to bed now.”
“Oh… Alright…” I said confused.
He looked at me, up at my face. Seeing me without my mask must have been something of a shock for him. Maybe that was why he was on edge.
“Should I put my mask back on?” I asked him. I wanted him to be comfortable.
“No… it’s okay… uh, excuse me.” He walked around me then and scurried to his room like he couldn’t wait to get away from me.
I stared after him, and then at his door after he had shut it, trying to piece together what could have possibly happened. He had come out of my room. Had he seen something there that had upset him?
I walked into my room and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in here, and I couldn’t imagine what was displayed that would have caused him to be so nervous.
Maybe he had been sleepwalking or something, or it was simply a new place that had him on edge.
I’d keep an eye on him in the morning, to make sure he was okay. For now though, it seemed as if he really was going to go to bed. I should do the same, to be fully rested to guard them in the morning.
The next day, Leo seemed okay, though still somewhat nervous around me. He kept looking at me like he was trying to figure me out. It must have been because I wasn’t wearing my mask. For his comfort, I debated just putting the thing back on, but I still hadn’t committed to that idea yet.
Right now, we were outside, with Nova, Leo, and a few of the pack children playing tag in the field out back behind the pack house. They were running around, laughing. Leo seemed to be relaxing with the others, having fun.
I was pleased to see it.
Suddenly, nearby – too close – I heard the snapping of a branch.
Immediately, I was on high alert, my eyes scanning the perimeter, looking for the threat.
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Instead, I saw one of the taller, thinner branches falling down from a nearby tree. The wind was rather strong today and must have broken it. I detected no one unknown around.
Everything was fine. The children were safe.
I forced myself to breathe.
As I calmed, I felt the weight of a pair of eyes on me. Turning, I saw Ivan watching me from the deck of the pack house. As I spotted him, he approached.
I looked away, back toward the children, as Ivan came to stand at my side. He faced the same direction as I did, also facing the children. The weight of his gaze finally shifted away, but I couldn’t relax yet, knowing he had seen me jump.
“You can relax while you are here,” Ivan said. “You know me and the warriors that guard the place. You know these children and their parents. There isn’t a member of this pack you cannot trust, Claire.”
In my heart, I knew that, but Leo was in danger and that was difficult to step back from.
“You aren’t alone here,” Ivan said.
“I know,” I told him. “And I appreciate that, I do. I’ve worked with these warriors, I know they can be trusted.” I lowered my voice, not wanting Leo to hear. “But this is my son. My daughter. There is no one in the entirety of existence that I trust more to keep them safe than me.”
Ivan hummed once, in acknowledgment of what I said, though he didn’t seem happy about it.
“I will rest. I will sleep and I will eat,” I said. “But when I am awake, I will be watching out for them. I won’t be able not to.”
“I understand,” Ivan said. “But I hope you know that I will do the same.”
I did. Softly, I told him, “Thank you.”
“It is what pack does for each other,” he replied.
He was so confident, so sure. Looking out for each other was what packs should do for one another but it wasn’t always the case.
This pack was special.
“Thank you,” I said again.
He didn’t acknowledge me this time, and together in silence we watched the children.
Gideon’s POV
In my office, my Beta, Peter, and I sat around my desk, each with a pile of paperwork in front of us. These were Darius’s past business dealings that we were meticulously combing through, searching for any instance of wrongdoing or indication that he could have been invol with Leo’s contract.
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Chapter 86
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We’d spent hours search already, before my Beta finally spotted something and moved a file in front of me. It was a collection of invoices, and the letterhead indicated they were all from the same apothecary.
“That code there,” my Beta said, pointing toward the items that had been purchased. “That’s the code for wolfsbane.”
I checked the dates on the invoices, and they seemed to line up with some suspicious poisonings around the pack. “He was supplying Daphne.”
“Seems like,” Beta said. “But look at this one.”
He slipped another invoice in front of me. The date on this one was recent, within the past week.
How could that be possible? Darius had been in jail.
“Check the delivery location,” Beta said.
I looked down, and my blood ran cold. The wolfsbane had been delivered to Justin’s pack house.
The supply chain was still intact.
Damn it all.
“I need to warn Justin,” I said.
“He will not take the warning well,” Peter advised. “He will be defensive of his mate.”
“One of the terms of our alliance is that we would immediately alert each other if there was any indication of danger to the other’s pack. I am duty bound to call,” I said. “… even if I agree it will be a difficult phone call.”
Difficult was putting it mildly. I was sure that I was about to be chewed out and hung up on. Maybe it would even be the end of our alliance. But if Daphne was stocking wolfsbane, she intended to use it. Justin needed to be prepared for that, whether he wanted to admit his wife was dangerous or not.
She could very well be planning on using that wolfsbane on him.
Lowering the paperwork down, I reached for my phone. I had the direct line to the phone in Justin’s office, so
I called that first. The call connected and I braced myself for a touch conversation.
“This is Daphne.”
I froze, my mind going blank a moment. What the hell was she doing answering Justin’s direct line?
I couldn’t say that though, and quickly bit my tongue.
I was Alpha, and this was my allied pack. I had to be diplomatic, even if Daphne was an enemy.
“I need to speak with Alpha Justin,” I said. “Please put h on the line.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Daphne said. “My dear mate trusts
to handle all of the dealings with you and your
pack, Gideon. So whatever you have to tell him, you can say right to me.”
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