Page 52 of Clashing With The Grumpy Wolf

Now all we need is for the thief to accept our bait.

Silverine chooses this moment to return, the door swinging open before her as if by command. She immediately catches the tail end of our conversation.

"Insufficient quantities of theVanda Coerulea?" Her disapproval crystallizes the air around us. "This is completely unacceptable. You must keep looking for suppliers."

Seraphina, still standing near the window where sunlight catches her scales in iridescent patterns, straightens her shoulders.

"It's enough, Grandmother." Her voice is quiet but firm. "The orchids in my bouquet and hair will be beautiful, and as long as I wear some on my person, the tradition will stand. We can use the lavender orchids for the tables, as Julia suggested. It’s my decision, in the end, and I say it’s enough."

I observe this quiet rebellion with fascination, noticing how Silverine's eyes widen slightly at being overruled, however gently. A loaded silence fills the room as grandmother and granddaughter regard each other across the elegant space.

"To the next item for your approval today," I say, breaking the awkward standoff. "Courtney, do you have the name cards Silverine chose for the special honor table?"

Courtney, who's been typing furiously on her laptop, looks up with a startled expression. She glances around the table, patting the stack of folders beside her, then checks her tote bag with increasing panic.

"I… um…" She rifles through her papers, color rising in her cheeks. "The gold-edged place cards for the honor table should be right here…"

She dumps the contents of her folder onto the table, sorting through everything with trembling fingers. Finding nothing, she looks up at me with wide, horrified eyes.

"I think I left them in my room!" she says, looking utterly flustered. "I remember setting them aside to bring the sample linens and… oh no. I'm so sorry!"

Silverine's eyes narrow with disapproval, her mouth tightening into a thin line that could slice through steel. I quickly step in before she can unleash what would undoubtedly be a blistering critique. My poor assistant is terrified of our dragon clients enough as it is.

"Go grab them, please. Quickly, and then set up the table for Silverine and Seraphina to approve," I tell Courtney. "This is the last thing we need for the rehearsal dinner."

She nods and hurries out, the door swinging closed behind her with a soft click.

"Your assistant seems unusually scattered today," Silverine observes coolly. "This is the third mishap this morning."

"She's been working very hard," I defend automatically, though I've noticed the same thing. Courtney has been making small mistakes all day, which isn't like her at all. The theft of the tiara must be getting to her as it is to all of us.

Yet another reason why I don’t believe she could be the thief. The thief doesn’t get flustered by dragon matriarchs and doesn’t make mistakes.

“Let me show you the menus, and then we can approve the cards.”

Seraphina nods, then bends to retrieve a box on the chair next to her. She pauses, her hand emerging with a small ornate box instead. She opens it, revealing neatly stacked gold-edged place cards, the very ones Courtney just left to retrieve.

"Were these the ones?" Seraphina asks, her eyebrow arched questioningly as she holds up the box.

I nod slowly, a frown forming. "Yes, exactly those."

"Typical," Silverine mutters. "Perhaps you should consider hiring an assistant who can remember what's directly in front of her."

She moves to examine the cards, effectively dismissing the topic. To my surprise, a small smile forms on Silverine's lips as she studies my compromise solution.

"This is… acceptable," she concedes. "Just bold enough to highlight my aunt’s status in the Council without being gaudy."

Coming from Silverine, this is practically a standing ovation. I return her smile with a professional one of my own.

Before I can respond, the manor's fire alarm system erupts in ear-splitting shrieks. The sudden noise is deafening, the harsh, pulsing sound reverberating off the ornate walls of the Rose Salon. Silverine startles, her wings partially emerging in instinctive response.

"What in the name of the Ancient Fires?" Silverine exclaims over the noise.

Chapter 16

Adrian

I'mintherosegarden, going over the final security plan with Bobby Chemko and Maya Lorne, my deputies. We've been discussing the need to tighten the window for kitchen deliveries and the management of guests pouring in for the ceremony for the past half hour.