“Wait,” Kyra’s voice came through my phone.
I didn’t know her very well—she’d been traveling a lot—but I was open to ideas. Especially new ideas. And most importantly, new ones from the fey. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve already discussed this. I haven’t been here for most of the meetings since… But you’re talking about how you questioned Alphas. You’re assuming it was a strong werewolf that participated in her kidnapping, but that might be ruling out the real culprit.”
“You think a weaker werewolf could pull this off?” Michael said.
I turned to him. His eyes were focused on the road, and he’d been quiet. So quiet that I thought he wasn’t listening to the call.
“It’s extremely possible if I’m understanding this correctly,” Kyra said. Her words were crisp and clear. “Samantha said it was fey magic messing with the bonds. Right?”
“Right.” I wasn’t sure why that needed clarification. I’d said it plainly.
“Then the werewolf element doesn’t have to be strong,” Van’s voice came through the phone.
“That’s right.” Cosette muttered something that had to be a fey curse. “That’s actually right. I can’t believe we missed that. I was so focused on—”
“How?” I asked. I didn’t understand fey magic at all. Clearly.
“Whoever accessed your bonds just opened the door for the fey to take over. They served as a link. I’m not a werewolf, and I’ve never tried to look at your pack magic, but all of you are tied together, right?” Kyra asked. “In a similar way to how this council is linked?”
“I think that’s right,” Michael said. “We all have access to the pack bonds. Although the level of control we can exert over them depends on the strength of the werewolf. That’s why some can command, and some must obey.”
“But you all have access to the bonds that tie each wolf to another, no matter the power level?” Kyra asked.
I looked at Michael. God. We were so stupid. “I just assumed if they were going to overpower her like this and for this long that we were looking for someone very alpha, if not an actual pack Alpha. There are enough of them that are mad at her, and a few that have made it clear they want her gone. It made sense that it had to be one of them.”
“Yeah. That made sense when we thought a werewolf took Tessa,” Adrian said. “They’d have to be strong enough to overpower her. Which takes some serious claws to do.”
“But it wasn’t a werewolf that took her,” Van said. “We know Helen was behind the attack. So, it could literally be any wolf. Although I might add a caveat that it’s probably a wolf that’s familiar with your bonds. Most likely someone of loose connection or someone who left your pack.”
I was glad to narrow it down some, but putian. The betrayal was a sharp burn in my soul.
Someone I knew did this?
“Think about who hates Tessa,” Van said. “Who else had access to and knowledge of your bonds and hates her? A close friend? Maybe an ex of yours who—”
Chris’s raspy laugh came through the phone, and I knew—I knew—what he was going to say because I was thinking the same damned thing.
“Anyone know where the hell Imogene’s been?” Chris asked. “She hates Tessa, and she knows our pack bonds. She knows all of your bonds, Dastien. You grew up with her. You dated her. She’s top of my list.”
“Anyone talk to Shannon?” Michael asked. “She’d also be at the top of my list. And possibly—”
“I’ve talked to Shannon,” Meredith said softly, but we all heard her.
Everyone was quiet as we waited for what Meredith would say next.
“I talked to Shannon last week. I…I don’t think she’s involved, but I didn’t really believe Tessa when Shannon was being a jerk to her. I don’t think I’m the best person to read her.”
No. Meredith really wasn’t. “Do you know where Shannon is?”
“Look, I…she hates Tessa, but Shannon asked about her. I thought it was from guilt over what she’d done and what had happened, but now I’m not so sure.”
My hand tightened around the phone, and the screen cracked. I dropped it into my lap before I could do any more damage. I wasn’t going to like whatever Meredith said next, but I needed to hear it.
“Shannon asked about what we knew. I thought she was coming around—caring about someone other than herself—but I could be very, very wrong. She could’ve been asking to find out if we knew she was involved. I hadn’t talked to her in months. I thought…I was just happy to hear from a friend. I didn’t think about—”
Meredith’s rambling was getting on my nerves. She talked to Shannon and felt bad about it. Fine. But I needed the facts. “What did you tell her exactly?”