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Leo's jaw clenched hard enough to make his teeth ache. "You're assigning me to babysit a potentially hostile researcher with unknown motivations and federal backing."

"I'm assigning you to ensure the safety of this community while we determine whether Dr. Thorne represents an opportunity or a threat," Ruth corrected firmly. "Your protective instincts and investigative skills make you the logical choice for this responsibility."

"Besides," Councilman Bradford added with a vampire's predatory smile, "if she does prove to be something other than a legitimate researcher, having our strongest shifter in close proximity will provide us with excellent early warning."

Aerin's expression remained composed, but Leo caught a glimpse of respect in her pale eyes. "I accept the conditions. Though I should warn you that my research timeline is compressed—if the pattern holds, we have perhaps two weeks before the next cascade failure occurs somewhere on the network."

"Two weeks to determine whether you're here to help us or destroy us," Leo said grimly. "That should be plenty of time."

"Captain Maddox will escort you to secure accommodations and begin the supervision protocol immediately," Ruth declared, clearly considering the matter settled. "Dr. Thorne, I trust you understand that Mistwhisper Falls takes the safety of its residents very seriously."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a founder settlement," Aerin replied, gathering her materials with efficient precision. "Though I hope you also understand that the safety of your residents depends on preventing the rest of the network from failing."

As the meeting dispersed, Leo found himself walking beside Dr. Thorne toward the town hall exit, his lion prowling restlessly at being forced into close proximity with someone who triggered every protective instinct he possessed.

She moved with the fluid grace of someone accustomed to navigating hostile environments, her awareness of their surroundings suggesting combat training that went beyond academic preparation.

"You don't trust me," she observed as they reached Leo's patrol vehicle.

"I don't trust anyone who knows that much about our defenses and shows up with federal authorization when we're already dealing with a crisis," Leo replied, unlocking the SUV with more force than necessary. "Call it professional paranoia."

"Your brother," Aerin said quietly as they climbed into the vehicle. "What was his name?"

Leo's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Marcus. Detective Marcus Maddox. He died investigating a case involving rogue supernatural elements three years ago."

"I'm sorry." The words carried genuine sympathy rather than polite condolence. "The dreams he was having before his death—do you remember any details?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because the pattern suggests that founder descendants are being targeted specifically.

If Marcus was having prophetic dreams about this location, it means someone wanted him here.

" Aerin fastened her seatbelt with mechanical precision.

"It also means his death might not have been as random as you believed. "

Leo started the engine with enough force to make it roar, his lion responding to the implications with barely contained fury. The idea that Marcus might have been specifically targeted, that his death had been part of some larger plan, was almost too terrible to consider.

"He dreamed about waterfalls," Leo said finally, his voice overflowing with emotion he rarely allowed himself to feel. "About binding ceremonies and ancient magic. He thought he was going crazy from the stress of his caseload."

"He wasn't going crazy. He was receiving ancestral memories triggered by the network's instability.

" Aerin's clinical tone softened slightly.

"The closer we get to a complete cascade failure, the stronger those memories become.

Marcus was probably experiencing visions of the original founder binding—visions that someone wanted him to follow. "

"To get him here. To get him killed. He moved out of town ten years ago."

"To remove him from the equation before the final phase of whatever plan is destabilizing the network," Aerin corrected grimly. "Which means whoever is behind this has been planning for a very long time and has detailed knowledge of founder bloodlines."

Leo drove in silence for several blocks, processing implications that made his protective instincts roar with helpless fury.

If Aerin was right, then Marcus had died not because of random supernatural violence, but because someone had deliberately targeted him for elimination.

The idea that his brother's death had been part of some larger conspiracy was almost more than his lion could bear.

"Dr. Thorne," he said finally, pulling up in front of The Moonbeam Lodge where she'd be staying. "If you're lying to me about any of this, if you're playing games with my brother's memory to manipulate me into giving you access, I will make sure you regret ever hearing the name Mistwhisper Falls."

Aerin met his golden eyes without flinching.

"Captain Maddox, if I'm wrong about this, then your brother died for nothing and we're all going to follow him into whatever darkness is coming for the founder network.

But if I'm right, then helping me might be the only way to make sure his death meant something. "

The words echo between them like a promise and a threat, and as Leo watched her disappear into the bed and breakfast, he couldn't shake his instinct shouting at him that Dr. Aerin Thorne was going to change everything he thought he knew about his brother's death and his own responsibilities to the supernatural community.

Whether those changes would bring justice or destruction remained to be seen.