“He said House Morrison?” Cade crossed his arms, mirroring my pose. “Why don’t you believe that?”
“It’s too neat, it’s too pat.” I tapped one finger on my bicep, realizing that I was still shirtless. “He was trying to tell me any story he thought I would believe. Moreover, I think he’s loyal to House Bartlett. When he talked about the dryads, he kept sayingwe. He still thinks he’s part of House Bartlett, even if he’s selling your secrets.”
Cade nodded, silently agreeing with my assessment. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “We should question him now. Isaac and I know some spells that will loosen his tongue.”
Someone knocked on the door, and both Cade and I turned. I sniffed, out of habit, but I couldn’t smell or hear anything beyond the wood.
“Yes?” Cade called out.
“Cade. I have news,” Isaac said.
Cade nodded at me, and I walked over to the door, opening it. Isaac stood on the other side, Jay and Nia behind him.
I stepped back to let them all in. Both wolves sniffed sharply when they entered the room. Jay blushed hotly, but Nia just raised an eyebrow. I held up both hands, shrugging.
Sure I could have gotten Cade the information faster, but where was the fun in that?
“Sorry to interrupt,” Isaac said. He stopped, narrowing his eyes at my shirt on the floor, then frowned up at Cade.
I imagined even to a human nose, the room still reeked of come and arousal. The warm blush that rose high on Cade’s cheekbones didn’t do much to deny the implicit accusation.
“Have you already started questioning Keith?” Cade asked.
“That’s the problem. By the time Jay came and got me, Keith was dead.” Isaac’s face was dark, brows pulled together, lips tight.
Cade spun, eyes narrowed at Jay. “You left him alone?”
“No, Nia was right outside the cell. She said she didn’t hear anything or see anything.” Jay glanced at her, and Nia nodded.
“We should go look at the scene,” I said. “How did he die?”
Isaac looked at Cade. “You might want to stay here.”
“Why?” Cade asked suspiciously.
“It might bring back memories,” Isaac said, his tone frank. “It looks like a werewolf attack.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
We walked in silence, Cade and Isaac leading the way, speaking in whispers. Nia, Jay, and I pretended we couldn’t hear them.
They were arguing about what it meant, whether or not it was House Morrison intending to shake Cade up. Cade parroted my arguments back to Isaac. It was too neat. It was too obvious.
House Morrison might as well be marching up to House Bartlett’s front doors, wearing full military regalia with a marching band blasting John Philip Sousa.
“You didn’t kill him?” I asked Nia.
She shot me a filthy look, the annoyance clear in the roll of her eyes.
“I didn’t think so, but whoever did is trying to frame you or—” I frowned, the implications still making me nauseous. “—this is a message for Cade.”
Or me, but no one knew who I was. No one except Jesaiah had even voiced a suspicion.
Isaac called light into his hand, his magic a brilliant white that illuminated the forest around us. We followed a dirt path, the massive trees on either side looming over us, thick with history and memory.
I could see the marks on the ground where someone had been dragged—likely Keith—deeper into the forest. Eventually, we reached a clearing with three small, windowless, cinder block cabins set in a semicircle.
Isaac led us to the first one, but before he could get too close, I held up a hand.
