Page 12

SEVEN

LEO

T he morning after their first kiss brought a tension to the inn that didn’t involve magical disturbances and everything involved two people trying to navigate attraction while questioning whether their feelings were genuine or supernaturally manipulated.

Leo had arrived for his supervisory duties an hour earlier than usual, as if proving his professional dedication could somehow counteract the memory of how Aerin had felt in his arms.

Aerin had responded by burying herself so deeply in research that she'd barely acknowledged his presence, though her hyperawareness of his every movement suggested she was no more successful at compartmentalizing than he was.

The library felt smaller with both of them trying so hard to ignore the charged atmosphere between them.

"The corruption patterns are more complex than I initially thought," Aerin announced, her voice carrying the crisp professionalism of someone determined to focus on work despite personal complications.

She spread a series of diagrams across the table, each one showing different aspects of the magical network connecting the founder sites.

"The betrayal sigil isn't just designed to detect corruption—it's designed to actively cleanse it from the primary binding. "

Leo moved closer to examine the diagrams, his lion stirring restlessly at the proximity.

Over the past week, his animal half had become increasingly possessive of Aerin, recognizing her on levels that bypassed rational thought.

The sensation was unsettling for someone who prided himself on maintaining careful control over both his human and shifter aspects.

"Cleanse it how?" he asked, forcing himself to focus on the technical details rather than the way morning sunlight caught the auburn highlights in her hair.

"By creating a feedback loop that isolates corrupted magical signatures and channels them into a containment matrix separate from the main seal.

" Aerin pointed to symbols that shifted when Leo looke away.

"The process is elegant, but it requires perfect harmonic resonance between the bloodlines activating it. "

"Perfect harmony," Leo repeated, noting the way Aerin's pulse jumped when he leaned closer to study the diagrams. "That sounds like exactly the kind of requirement that led to the original binding's complications."

"Which is why the betrayal sigil includes safeguards against emotional manipulation," Aerin said, though her voice carried less certainty than her words suggested. "Mordaine designed it to function regardless of the personal relationship between the operators."

"Convenient," Leo observed dryly. "She creates a magical system that requires intimate cooperation while building in protections against the kind of intimate cooperation that destroyed her relationship with Kieran."

"She was trying to learn from her mistakes," Aerin defended, though she couldn't quite meet his eyes. "The safeguards are designed to prevent exactly the kind of betrayal that corrupted the original binding."

Leo studied her profile, noting the way she held herself with rigid academic composure while her magical signature betrayed emotional turbulence.

His lion wanted to comfort her, to break through the professional distance she was trying to maintain, but his human mind recognized the wisdom of caution.

"Aerin," he said quietly, "are you having second thoughts about what happened yesterday?"

"I'm having thoughts about whether I can trust my own judgment when it comes to personal relationships while conducting research that could affect thousands of lives," she replied without looking up from her diagrams. "Academic objectivity and emotional involvement are fundamentally incompatible."

"Says who?"

"Says every principle of scholarly research I've ever learned.

" Aerin finally looked at him, her pale eyes holding frustration and something akin to fear.

"Leo, I've spent my entire career building a reputation based on analytical precision and emotional detachment.

I can't afford to compromise that now, especially when the stakes are this high. "

"And you think being involved with me compromises your analytical precision?"

"I think being involved with anyone compromises my ability to make objective decisions about magical systems that could kill us both if I misinterpret them.

" Aerin's voice carried the sharp edge that suggested she was arguing with herself as much as with him.

"I think the fact that I'm attracted to you makes it impossible for me to evaluate whether the betrayal sigil's activation requirements are legitimate or a trap designed to exploit that exact attraction. "

Leo felt his lion's frustration surge at her withdrawal, but his human mind recognized the validity of her concerns. The attraction between them was intense enough to feel supernatural in origin, and given their research into magical manipulation, caution was probably wise.

"So what do you suggest?" he asked, settling into his usual chair with movements that were slightly more controlled than necessary. "We pretend yesterday didn't happen and maintain professional distance while living in the same building and working together every day?"

"I suggest we focus on the research and avoid making personal decisions we might regret when we understand more about what we're dealing with," Aerin said, returning her attention to the diagrams with determined focus.

They worked in silence for the next hour, the tension between them growing more pronounced with each carefully avoided glance.

Leo found himself cataloguing details about Aerin's research methods—the way she organized her notes, the soft sound she made when discovering something interesting, the unconscious grace of her movements as she worked.

His lion was purring with contentment at simply being near her, while his human mind struggled with the implications of such strong instinctive recognition.

It was while reviewing historical records that Aerin made a discovery that shifted their focus from personal tension to professional alarm.

"Leo," she called out, tight with concern. "Look at these municipal records from the past thirty years. Do you notice anything strange about the documentation patterns?"

Leo moved to look over her shoulder, his enhanced senses immediately picking up the subtle changes in her scent that indicated stress. "What am I looking for?"

"Gaps. Subtle alterations. Records that have been modified or removed entirely." Aerin pointed to a series of documents that looked normal at first glance but showed signs of careful editing. "Someone has been systematically altering Mistwhisper Falls' historical documentation for decades."

Leo studied the evidence, his law enforcement training helping him identify the signs of tampering that Aerin had detected. "What kind of alterations?"

"References to unusual magical phenomena have been downplayed or removed entirely.

Reports of supernatural incidents have been reclassified as natural disasters or equipment failures.

And look at this—" Aerin pulled out a town council meeting transcript that showed obvious signs of editing.

"Every mention of 'cascade concerns' or 'network instability' has been carefully excised from the official record. "

"Someone's been covering up evidence that the founder network was showing problems," Leo realized, his protective instincts immediately on alert. "But who has access to municipal records and the authority to make those kinds of changes?"

"Someone with long-term residency and official standing," Aerin said grimly. "Someone trusted enough to handle sensitive documentation without oversight."

Leo felt his lion's hackles rise. If someone in Mistwhisper Falls had been systematically covering up evidence of magical instability, it suggested coordination with forces working to destroy the founder network.

The idea that they might have an enemy embedded within the community made his protective instincts roar with frustrated fury.

"We need to identify who had access to these records," he said, full of authoritative edge that marked him as law enforcement. "And we need to figure out how long this tampering has been going on."

"I've been cross-referencing the altered documents with personnel records," Aerin said, pulling out a tablet displaying her analysis.

"The pattern suggests someone who's been in a position of trust for at least twenty years, with regular access to both historical archives and current municipal documentation. "

Leo studied the data, his mind automatically running through possibilities while his lion prowled restlessly with the need to identify and neutralize threats to their territory.

The list of people with that level of access was uncomfortably short, and several names on it represented individuals he'd known and trusted for years.

"This is going to require careful investigation," he said finally. "If we're right about internal manipulation, approaching the wrong person could warn whoever's responsible and give them time to cover their tracks or escalate their activities."

"Or to eliminate witnesses," Aerin added quietly. "If someone's been planning to destabilize the founder network for decades, they're probably not going to hesitate to remove obstacles to their success."

The sobering possibility settled over the library like a weight, adding personal danger to crisis of epic proportions.

Leo found himself moving slightly closer to Aerin, his lion's protective instincts demanding proximity to someone he'd claimed as mate despite their efforts to maintain professional distance.