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I nod, forcing my anger to fade away with each breath I take. It’s easier when I’m not a wolf, when my Alpha instincts can’t rear their vicious heads and take over.

“Interesting,” is all I say to Zahra.

But her curiosity is piqued. “Why are you asking that? What’s going on?”

When I speak, however, it’s directly to Alina. I want her to hear this news loud and clear, and to understand exactly what it means for her and Noah’s safety.

“Last night, I spotted a group of Samson’s soldiers positioned a few minutes from the Whiterose-Blackburn border. That’s why I came back here in the middle of the night—to warn you. But then I scented Blackburns on the wind—”

“What?” Alina interrupts. “That’s not possible. I haven’t scented anything.”

I shrug. “You’re not an Alpha. You also probably haven’t been trying to scent anything. When’s the last time you shifted anyway?”

Zahra huffs out a humorless laugh. “She hates that question.”

Alina glares at both of us in equal measure.

“Anyway, I followed the scent back to where I was last night. But it wasn’t just Blackburns that I found stalking the edges of their border. There was a Whiterose among them.”

Alina merely frowns, as if taking her time processing what that means. Zahra, on the other hand, jerks back as if I’ve struck her.

“What? That’s not possible.”

“I know what I saw and scented,” I tell her. “I swear on my pack’s honor that there was a strong, healthy, able-bodied Whiterose among the ranks of the Blackburn satellite pack. As of two hours ago, approximately.”

Zahra looks so utterly horrified that I know, without a doubt, that she has nothing to do with whatever conspiracy has been forming underneath Henry’s nose.

Because it’s obvious, really. Henry, old and tender and slow to act, has lost his touch as Alpha. His pack is dying quietly because he hasfailed as a leader to find ways to reinvigorate his people. And, even with me telling him that the Blackburns are a threat that shouldn’t be ignored, he seemed determined to simply wait and see what would happen.

I would think that Henry himself was working with Samson, if I didn’t see for myself the hatred that glistened in his eyes at the mention of the pack he has spent most of his life fighting with.

Henry Whiterose would never work with Samson Blackburn. But another member of the Whiterose pack, perhaps a younger shifter who has grown tired of the passivity of a slow death, probably would. Maybe Samson promised them something in exchange for a chunk of Whiterose territory.

At this point, I can only make guesses.

Plus, another pack’s politics aren’t really my problem. All I care about is ensuring the safety of my Mate and our son.

Zahra exhales slowly. Her breath comes out shakily. Slowly, as if not to startle me, she rises to her feet.

“Susie Canan is loyal,” she tells me. “She’s Henry’s niece. Noah is safe at her house, since it’s close enough to Henry’s home that it’s constantly surrounded by his Betas.”

“Any one of those Betas could be in league with whichever member of your pack is with the Blackburns right now.”

Zahra cringes. But, instead of replying, she looks at Alina. “I should go.”

“You don’t have to,” Alina insists. “In fact, Rowan is the one who should go, considering I didn’t invite him here in the first place and he’s making an ass of himself.”

“He’s trying to protect you, Lina,” Zahra murmurs the words so quietly that I know I’m not supposed to hear them, but shifter hearing abilities can’t exactly be switched off. “And anyway, I need to go take care of this.”

“Tell Henry that the Blackburn satellite is positioned about a third of a mile southwest of the U-bend in Bonny Creek,” I say to Zahra as she makes her way toward the door.

She nods once at me.

Part of me wants to ask her if she’ll tell me where this womannamed Susie Canan’s house is. I could use my Alpha influence on her, and maybe even force enough information from her that I could connect the rest of the dots on my own.

But that would be unkind. It would also completely undermine Henry’s authority in his own territory, which is not technically something you’re supposed to do when you’re allies. Also, evidently, he has a brewing mutiny to deal with.

Not to mention that I can feel Alina’s glare piercing into me from the side.