Adelaide loosens the drawstring on the velvet pouch and pulls something out just enough to examine it. I catch a glimpse of what looks like a dark coil of leather.
"Underworld energy," Iggy mutters. “It isn’t from this plane.”
What would she want with something like that?
My mind races through possibilities. Adelaide doesn’t collect magical items or use any herself. She prefers to solve problems with her fists.
Oh god. What if Adelaide doesn't need this underworld artifact for herself? What if it's meant for the killer Marlow has been tracking? He believes the culprit hides in the heart of the pack. What better place to hide than with the one wolf no one else has the right to question?
Is Adelaide protecting whoever Marlow’s hunting? Is she hiding a killer?
22.Forbidden Waters
Wynn
Iggy disappears into the trees as he flies back to the cabin alone. He told me he’d make sure the coast was clear, but I think he’s just giving me a moment alone after whatever we saw with my cousin Adelaide.
The remote cabin is still a long way off, and I can't stop myself from glancing over my shoulder every few steps.Stop being paranoid, Wynn.I'd know if someone were following me—wait, what was that?
A sudden snap of a twig up ahead has me freezing in my tracks. Who’s there? Animal, human, or wolf?
Slowly, I creep forward, senses on high alert. No one can find Marlow. I refuse to lead any pursuers right to him.
There—a rustle of leaves and barely audible footsteps. I cautiously creep toward the disturbance to find a dark figure crouched in the bushes.
"Marlow?" I whisper, relief and exasperation warring within me.
He jerks upright from his hiding place in the underbrush, catching sight of me. "Wynn? Shit, you scared me."
"What are you doing out here?" I demand.
"Didn’t like sending you into the wolves' den all alone.” He nods a few times, his eyes darting away as he glances down at his boots. “I needed to make sure you were okay. It's romantic if you think about it."
"It’s my pack and you need to be hiding from them," I remind him.
"Right. See, the thing is… Iwasworried about you,” he tells me seriously. “But I’m also lost.”
“Oh my god,” I laugh. I sent him back on his own with what I considered good directions, but the idiot got lost. “What would you do without me?”
“Die. I’d obviously die.”
I take a moment, making sure we aren't followed, then I start leading us in the right direction while I explain what happened on my visit to the pack.
"We saw Adelaide with a necromancer tool, and Iggy was close enough to sense the underworld energy. He had to be right on top of the thing but that’s a good sign.” Marlow might be able to find the real killer the same way. But there’s more. “There’s a chance… my cousin might be hiding the man you’re after."
Marlow says nothing, and when I look back, a guilty expression appears on his face. The demon never looks guilty, even when he'scaught red-handed. I'd love to savor this, but I can’t.
"Do you know something I don’t?”
"No. I suspected," he admits. “I've seen how your pack operates. When I veered off the path during a fight night full of commotion, I was still spotted and taken down."
Oops. My bad. "Sorry about that."
"You and I were hiding at the furthest edges of your pack lands, and you still never took a moment for granted. It's even harder to hide from werewolves in the heart of their own territory. The simplest way to stay hidden is with help, and the wolves most capable of sheltering someone are those who don’t answer to anyone else, which only leaves the Alphas."
He isn't wrong. But the pack means everything to Adelaide. Why would she harbor a killer? "My cousin... I just can't see her..."
"Hey wait." He swings around in front of me, forcing me to stop. "Let's not worry about it now."
