Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
They nodded in understanding, but their stances were still uneasy.
“What else?” I pushed. We needed to have this out. Things were getting too complicated. They needed to know I was still fully in line with our goals and my duties.
“She has a lot of power,” Sixten said.
“Of course she does. She’s my true mate. She’ll match me.”
“If she shifts, will she then be able to affect a bond like you do?” Tanix asked. “Because, assuming you can’t talk your wolf back one day, we’d have some serious problems if she ever tried to disrupt the pack, which she might do out of spite. Or to get away.”
I took a deep breath. “In theory, she won’t be able to mess with the bond without training. There is a quality to being an alpha that is instinctive, but many of the details need to be taught. I’ve studied since I first shifted. She shouldn’t be able to do much damage right away.”
They nodded again, the tension of the group starting to drain away.
“This product is dangerous to the pack,” Tanix said, nudging the crate with his toe. “It sounded like Hadriel didn’t much like it, but it still weakened the bond.”
I nodded, looking down on it. “I have questions. Can it be tossed into a stew, for example, and fed to us without knowing? Can it be slipped to us in another way?”
“What happens if it’s you who takes it?” Tanix asked. “If it is slipped to you in your sleep?”
“He wouldn’t be in wolf form in his sleep.” Dante frowned at Tanix. “That’s a bit too far along Paranoia Lane, don’t you think?”
Tanix bristled. “Is it? If I were her, I’d do everything in my power to break this pack down and get away. We’re not dealing with a morally sound individual. We’re dealing with a woman who was just handing out drugs mere moments ago. She refuses to take accountability for what she has done, and she constantly pushes back on the alpha. Do you really think, when given the chance, she won’t do everything in her power to disrupt the pack and escape?”
“She doesn’t even know she’s magical,” Dante said. “Since we’ve taken her in our custody, she hasn’t tried to hurt anyone. She’s joking and having fun with Hadriel, for fuck’s sake. She’s not acting like a normal criminal.”
“Because she’s been dazzled with a true mate connection, most likely, and it hasn’t yet sunk in that we’re going to kill her—”
“Enough.” I held up a hand, closing my eyes. “Enough. Pack this product away and make sure no one is allowed near it. Make sure someone is watching our food and water. This product is dangerous to our way of life, and we need to account for that.”
“Can I just . . .?” Sixten raised her hand. “Can I just point out that she has popped a random tab into her mouth on two occasions without flinching? She offered to take half of the ones Hadriel would eat. Is it just me, or is she not at all concerned with how dangerous they are?”
She wasn’t—not even a little bit. Her confidence in her creation was unparalleled. Even Finley, master plant worker, would sometimes pause when under scrutiny of a potentially dangerous mixture. Not Aurelia. She believed one-hundred percent that her creation was safe, validating it by taking it personally.
“Is it at all possible . . .” Sixten said haltingly, offering a small grimace, “that we possibly . . . have the wrong drug maker?” She held up her hands. “I know we found Granny’s lair, and I know the shoe fits as far as location and isolating these people and product supply quantity, but . . .” She grimaced again. “It’s just—this product looks a mess, doesn’t it? What we’ve seen in the market looks a lot different. Some of that is packaging, but . . . the color of it? The sizes? Those are different. So far this stuff really doesn’t seem dangerous. Their patrol ate it off the ground. The names are even all different!”
My breath caught with the implication but I wouldn’t allow any hope to surge. I couldn’t. If I let my barriers soften and opened my heart, I would be just as lost as my wolf. Not even my sense of duty or rationality would save me.
Dante stepped back into the cart, opening the crates and exposing the various products. All were a little lopsided, cut by hand or ripped, some resembling the color of those in the marketplace but all a little—or a lot—off.
“We already knew someone else was doing the packaging,” Tanix said, “and she’s only been blasé about the one drug. Who’s to say the rest of this stuff isn’t exactly as dangerous as we’ve seen?”
Sixten fell silent. That was a very good point.