to evade justice so far, that’s likely to take a while.”
Callum nodded. “Agents Min-Seo and Shan haven’t been able to find any leads. I can’t believe a human investigator will be able to do any better, at least short of divine intervention.”
Blaise elbowed Joe. “Don’t you dare have a vision.”
The sea dragon traced a cross over his heart. “I solemnly swear to do my utmost to avoid seeing the future. Even if that means not taking a bath until Fenrir learns how to shift.”
Seren looked pained. “Fenrir, please regain control over your transformations as quickly as possible. I have to share a bed with this man.”
Their easy camaraderie enfolded him in warmth. He could feel them with him, supporting him, as surely as if they were all curled up together in a snug den on a bitter winter night.
Pack.
“Sorry.” He looked around at them all, throat tightening in gratitude. “Am sorry. Should have listened to you before.”
“Yeah, you should.” Blaise tousled his hair. “But we should have listened to you too. You were right. You should be the boss of what you do with your own body. I’m sorry we made you feel like you didn’t have any other choice than to rush into all this.”
“We should have respected your autonomy,” Wystan said. “Even though it was against our own judgment. Just because you were physically unable to carry out your wishes yourself didn’t mean that we had the right to take the decision out of your hands. As it were.”
“When cub is determined to leap on a porcupine, is right for pack to try to stop them.” He let out a wry huff. “Though some cubs only learn from a muzzle full of prickles.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean the cub should give up entirely, right? You just need to keep trying until you figure out the right approach.” Joe waved an arm in the direction of the base. “Don’t let that fat, juicy porcupine escape into the bushes.”
Seren raised an eyebrow. “Did you just call Fenrir’s mate a fat porcupine?”
“It’s a compliment,” Joe informed her. “Right, Fenrir? Back me up here, bro.”
Despite everything, he found his mouth curving upward. “Porcupine is irresistible. Suspect shouldn’t call Darcy that to her face, though.”
“See?” Joe beamed at him. “There you go. You’re learning already.”
“Slowly.” With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. “Need to apologize to Darcy too. While still can.”
Blaise looked him up and down, and pursed her lips. “True, but…Wys, how long do you think Fenrir has before that stuff wears off?”
The paramedic spread his hands. “Based on our past experiences with Lupa’s serum, I’d expect him to stay in this form for around twelve hours. That’s just my best guess, though.”
“Good enough.” Blaise looked back at Fenrir. “I’ve got an idea, but it’ll take a little time. Do you trust me?”
“Always.” He grimaced. “When am not being a damn idiot, at least.”
“Good.” Blaise took his arm in a firm grip, linking it through hers. “Then come with me. There’s something we need to do.”
Chapter 16
Darcy clicked her mouse, dropping a marker onto the virtual map. “So this is where Lupa tried to sacrifice Joe to a demon?”
Seren studied the laptop screen for a moment, then nodded. “Approximately, at least. It’s somewhat difficult to be precise, given that I was captured and dragged the last half mile or so. Not to mention, the whole region was on fire at the time.”
“That’s fine.” Darcy annotated the marker with a few notes, and color coded it to mark it as an attack site. “I don’t need the precise co-ordinates. All I’m trying to do is see if there’s any kind of pattern to Lupa’s appearances.”
Darcy leaned back in her chair, idly swinging her dangling feet. Buck had cleared a space for her to work at his office desk, though he’d grumbled non-stop the entire time. She studied the map displayed on her laptop screen, mind whirring.
Seren gazed at the screen too, her brow furrowed. “I must admit, I cannot determine a pattern here. These appearances seem random.”
“Nobody acts randomly,” Darcy said absently, still lost in thought. “Even when people are trying to be random, they’re generally terrible at it. Habits are a lot harder to break than you’d think.”
“I bow to your expertise.” Seren literally bowed—a slight, formal inclination of her head and shoulders. “Have you found a clue, then?”
“Not yet.” Darcy drummed her fingertips on the table. “But I’ve found more questions, and that’s a good first step. Though this