Page 16

R owan

Earlier that morning, as soon as I was certain that Noah was safe and sound in the school bus, I circled back toward the Whiterose-Blackburn border.

It wasn’t my original plan. I had meant to shift back into my human form, put my clothes back on, and speak with Alina like a reasonable person about what I witnessed happening during my patrol. I was going to explain that the danger is too obvious, and too close, for us to take this lightly.

I might have even considered begging on my knees for her to relocate to Greenbriar territory, if only temporarily.

Instead, I caught a whiff of the Blackburn scent on the wind. Weak and diluted, just like the first time, but present enough to be carried this far into the territory on the brisk morning wind.

It triggered something inside me. I couldn’t shift back. I had to chase the scent.

I chased it all the way back to where I hid last night among the foliage, observing the satellite pack stationed near the border.

It was a risk for me to be there in broad daylight.

If any one of them patrolled too close, they’d catch a glimpse of me.

Thankfully, though, I was at least positioned downwind.

I’d been just about to assure myself that the only reason the Blackburn scent was so close to Alina’s house was because of the wind that had picked up dramatically overnight, when something else caught my attention.

The unpleasant, decaying aroma of the Blackburn pack wasn’t the only scent mingling in that camp.

There was a Whiterose among them.

Not a prisoner. Not a hostage. Because they were moving around freely, their heart pumping with enough liveliness to suggest that they weren’t injured either. One of Henry’s young, vital pack members was in that camp, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

Betrayal is common among other packs, but not the Greenbriars.

We are too bound by traditions, too faithful to the old ways.

More recently formed packs, however, often struggle with the constraints and nuances of hierarchy.

Alphas butt heads. Betas bicker and backstab.

Omegas are used as metaphorical cannon fodder.

I never thought the Whiterose pack would ever stoop to such a status.

I ran back as fast as I could, the conspiracy unraveling in my wolf mind with ease. And when I reached Alina’s house and sensed her within, I was relieved, but then I immediately noticed that someone was missing.

I realized that Noah wasn’t home.

So, now, here we are, squaring off against each other with a Whiterose healer to bear witness.

“I’m not going to tell you where Noah is,” Alina tells me firmly, arms crossed against her chest. “He’s with his friends and he’s having fun. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“You don’t understand. He’s in danger.”

For all I know, the family that my son is staying with is involved in this conspiracy behind Henry’s back.

Alina huffs loudly in frustration. “As I said, Rowan, he’s perfectly safe. I can’t even tell you how many times he’s spent the night at their house before. They’ve been friends since kindergarten. Susie’s boys have been over here plenty of times, too.”

Knowing that I won’t get through to Alina, I whirl around to face the friend.

Zahra, I think her name is. Alina mentioned it once or twice.

To her credit, the wolf knows her place.

Her eyes are lowered, and she’s doing everything she can to appear nonthreatening.

I might not be her Alpha, but she understands what will happen if she makes one wrong move.

It’s instinctive, this submission. And yet, even despite her careful stance, the young woman’s jaw is set in stubborn anger.

“Look at me,” I snap.

Zahra obeys, lifting her face and letting the full force of her glare strike me. A low growl slips out of me before I can stop it.

“Rowan!” Alina gasps.

She steps forward, positioning herself between me and her friend.

“Relax,” I grumble at my mate. “I just need to ask this healer some questions.”

“It’s fine, Lina,” Zahra murmurs.

With a resigned sigh, Alina steps aside.

“Where were you last night?” I ask the Whiterose wolf.

She quirks a challenging eyebrow at me, but doesn’t hesitate to answer. “I was at home.”

“Are you one of the healers that Henry has sent to the western border to treat the elderly population out there?”

This time, she looks more confused than anything. “What’s happening on the border?”

“Answer my question.”

“No,” she replies automatically. “No, I mostly treat pack members who live here in West Pond. I’m still an apprentice, for the most part. I assist my mother.”

“Rowan, what is the point of this?” Alina hisses.

I ignore her, stepping closer to Zahra. “Could you tell me what reason a Whiterose might have to cross the western border?”

Her confusion deepens. “Into Blackburn territory? They’d have no reason at all. We avoid that border as best we can. Many of us believe we should relocate the pack further away from the Blackburns, especially now with the recent trouble.”

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 has failed 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 woman named 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.

Zahra leaves the house quietly. I wait until the sound of her footsteps fades enough that I know she’s no longer within hearing distance, then turn toward Alina.

She purses her lips and moves to the table. Keeping her back to me, she cleans up the ceramic mugs and teapot with all the methodical grace of someone who has worked at a restaurant for years.

“I was having a nice afternoon until you barged in, you know,” she mutters.

“We can fight about that later, if you’d like,” I suggest. “But for now, I need you to come with me to go get our son, and then we need to go back to Greenbriar territory. Whatever is about to happen is not something I want my family involved in.”

Alina whirls around, eyes flashing with fury. Instantly, I know I’ve said the wrong thing.

“Your family?” she snarls, lips curling with such merciless disgust that I feel my stomach drop at the sight. “I will never be part of your family, Rowan Greenbriar. You are the one who made that decision for me. If anything, you are the one who has ruined me.”