Though Lord Linus’s voice was bright when he called to Lady Chrysanthe, the pinch of concern hadn’t left the corners of his eyes.
I heard the older ladies chortle to themselves when they found the baby onesies.
“Oh, look at this one—it’s a wolf print!”
“I prefer this deer print—it’s so darling.”
I waited long enough to make sure they were occupied before I started up the conversation again. “Do you think someone could have stolen the samples the Dominant was given?”
“Unlikely.” Lord Linus ran his thumb along the edge of my desk, which was smoothed and faded from age. “The Dominant received too few for any kind of dealer to be interested, and it seems like the Low Marsh Pack would have guzzled several bottles of the stuff by themselves. Moreover, all bottles are accounted for. It seems more likely that vials were either taken before the cache was discovered, or that there are more, additional caches across the world that less benevolent supernaturals have found.”
I chewed on my lip. “Someone could be manufacturing it.”
“It’s been deemed unlikely,” Lord Linus said. “As there doesn’t seem to be any widespread use of wolfsbane. There have been a few very isolated incidents across the USA of wolves inexplicably going feral. Pre-Dominant Harka will be speaking to the Dominant about the Low Marsh Pack, so I think it would be safe to expect that there will be a new investigation into those isolated incidents. But if this was turning into a drug epidemic, we would see a lot more wolves—or shifters—going feral by now.”
“If that’s the case it seems particularly odd that multiple members of the Low Marsh Pack were taking it as a group,” I said.
“Yes. That’s why it’s been deemed a priority to uncover the Low Marsh Pack’s supplier—though rumor has it they haven’t gotten anything useful out of Alpha Dolph.”
“They have spray scents!” Lady Chrysanthe’s bright voice poked through the direness of our conversation again.
Again, Lord Linus shouted back to her. “What do they smell like?”
“Wolf musk?”
“Don’t get that one,” I told Linus before shouting, “Don’t get that one! That’s a joke—it smells like wet dog! Shania, can you show her the hair care products?”
“Oop, yeah, you don’t want that,” Shania said. “Come on, the hair care products are over here—they smell really good, because the wolves use them, too.”
“What do you mean?” Lady Chrysanthe asked.
“Werewolves have stronger noses than we do, and they find some scents and chemicals overwhelming,” Shania explained.
“Really?” Lady Chrysanthe sounded near tears.
“Don’t worry. These shampoos, conditioners, and soaps are more soothing to their senses. I use them, and my boyfriend—who is a werewolf—loves it,” Shania said.
“Better get a box of them, Lady Chrysanthe,” Lord Linus shouted. “It might help your attempt to seduce Chase!”
“Thank you. Lord. Linus.”
Lord Linus chuckled. “Ahhh, young love.”
I was not nearly as invested in Chase’s possible romance—or rather I had way bigger things to worry about, even though it was an intriguing thought.
“You said no one at the Curia Cloisters has been able to get Dolph to talk at all? Why haven’t they called in a fae to use a truth potion or something?” I asked.
Lord Linus shook his head. “I ‘happened’ to get word just before we left. Alpha Dolph and Kash, the two members of the Low Marsh Pack who were using wolfsbane—both went feral sometime in the middle of the night, before any specialists were called. Now they’re too far gone for either of them to make sense.”
“How is that possible?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they’ve had to get more wolfsbane to push them over?”
“I don’t know enough about it to make an educated guess.” Lord Linus’s expression darkened. “But it seems possible that it was their supplier, covering their tracks.”
“Which means the supplier has some highly specialized magic, or has enough political clout to give them access without it being suspicious,” I said.
“Exactly.” Lord Linus nodded in approval. “I like your wits, Hunter Sabre. Regarding the issue, the first option seems the most likely given some of the unrest that has plagued us supernaturals recently.”
I grimaced. “Great. But that still leaves some pretty big questions out in the open.”
“Like?” Lord Linus asked.
“Why give wolfsbane to the Low Marsh Pack? They aren’t politically important, so was it an experiment or something? It has to have been—there’s no logical reason to target this specific area.”
Lord Linus drummed his fingers on my desk. “Perhaps it’s not so much the location as who is up here?”
“You mean Greyson? Or even the Northern Lakes Pack in general?” I asked. “That might make a little more sense. Greyson is going places.”
“And the Northern Lakes Pack is the strongest in the region. I’d bet it’s even stronger than Pre-Dominant Harka’s Pack,” Lord Linus said.
I made a noise in the back of my throat. “Maybe. But Dolph hated Greyson. He’s not super popular with some of the smaller Packs in the region. But I don’t think they’d have the clout or power necessary to get wolfsbane.”
“True,” Lord Linus agreed. “And unfortunately, it seems that theories are all we will have for some time. But I’m going to recommend to your Alpha that you prepare for some investigators from the Dominant to arrive in the next few months.”
“Great,” I said. “That’ll be fun.”
Lord Linus chuckled. “Think of all the excitement! It could bring new industry to your city. Though I will admit, I find Timber Ridge to be adorably quaint.” He turned in a circle, glancing at the displays, then paused when he saw the sign and backdrop advertising the picture-with-a-wolf. He pointed at it. “Is that real?”
“Yeah, we don’t do it too often mostly because the Pack is busy,” I said. “But it’s a big draw when we do open it up.”
“Fascinating,” Lord Linus said.
Lady Chrysanthe emerged from the gift shop, carrying two little handcarts. “Shania said I can pay for these here?”
“Yep!” Shania emerged, carrying another filled handcart. “Just put your stuff on the counter.”
I scooted down my desk, making room for Shania to unearth the tablet we used as our cash register.
“What kind of payment system do you use?” Lady Chrysanthe asked as she began unloading her finds—it looked like she’d gotten almost one of everything. In her first cart alone she had six different kinds of keychains, all twelve of the types of magnets we carried, two wolf bobbleheads, a handbag with wolves embroidered on it, and several t-shirts with Timber Ridge and wolf slogans printed on them.
Shania started scanning the merchandise, bagging it like a pro. “We take cash or credit.”
Lady Chrysanthe paused, her lips pressed together in concern. “Do you take fae gold? My Sovereign has told me multiple times humans do not consider it legal tender…”
There was a scuffle in the door that led to the back room where Moira’s office and the breakroom were, and the door was opened so abruptly it sagged on the hinges.