Chapter 40: Ferrin

Arlo was still waiting outside when I left our quarters, but his expression was a bit less jovial than it was a few moments ago.

“What did you do to get Damen’s knickers in such a bunch?”

“What makes you think I did anything?” I asked as he followed me. Obviously, Damen had mind-linked him as well.

“He told me I better get my arse to your office to make sure you haven’ done somethin’ royally stupid,” Arlo replied.

Honestly, I didn’t know what I could have done. Unless this was about last night, but all my thoughts of sending Willa away had completely passed now. Everything had been going smoothly since we returned, so I had no idea what was going on. And it was pissing me off as well.

I stormed into my office to find Damen and Austin waiting, both looking particularly displeased about something.

“What the hell is all this about?” I asked angrily.

“You tell us,” Damen said, dropping an accordion folder on my desk dramatically.

It only took an instant to recognize it, and I cursed under my breath. Billy had slipped the folder into my bag before I left ahead of Willa. I had noticed it when we were driving to the patrol hut but didn’t mention it to Austin at the time. I wanted us both to focus on getting Willa back first. Then with the stunt Willa had pulled and her being injured, and everything else going on, I had completely forgotten about it.

I sighed. They obviously knew what the contents of the folder were, and I couldn’t blame them for being worried. But, if I was being honest, seeing it again now, I wasn’t sure I was ready to address it. There had been so much we had already been through in less than two weeks, and this… This was what made it all feel like too much.

I walked to the credenza in the corner of the room behind my desk and poured two fingers of whiskey. I downed it in one go and refilled the glass, taking it to the desk with me.

“Okay, we all know I’m late to the party here, so someone is going to have to fill me in on what is going on,” Arlo said.

“That folder contains the original, un-doctored autopsy and police report for Melanie Carmine’s murder,” Austin spat.

“Along with other leads and information about the case,” Damen followed angrily.

“I found it in Ferrin’s bag that was left in my car.”

“And you thought you had the authority to open it?” I shot back irritably.

“There was wolfsbane all over the bag, Ferrin. I needed to see if it was important and needed to be salvaged,” Austin growled.

“I’m going to ask you a question, Ferrin,” Damen said, his voice serious, almost menacing. “I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, but I want to hear it from you. Does Willa know about this?”

I flinched. “No.”

“What the hell, Ferrin?” Austin exclaimed. “Why keep this from her? Do you know how dangerous that is? Where the hell did that even come from?”

“Her father,” I shot back. “And he kept it from her, too. With good reason.”

Damen shook his head. “There’s a difference with a parent keeping this from her. You’re her mate, Ferrin. Her mate who promised he would help her find her mother’s killer.”

I was struggling to keep my temper in check.

“Fine,” I said, throwing the file over the desk, hitting Damen in the chest. “Give it to her. But when she’s forced to leave me, to leave all of us, I’m holding you solely responsible. That’s if she doesn’t end up dead. And you better pray to the fucking moon goddess that doesn’t happen because not even thirty years of friendship would keep me from ripping you apart with my bare hands.”

The room went dead silent. My expression didn’t change, remaining cold and deadly as my best friends looked at me in pure shock.

I would not lose my mate.

“Okay, now,” Arlo said calmly, “I think it’s time we all settle down and let Ferrin explain what is going on.”

I took a few more deep breaths to calm my temper before falling into my chair. I took a swig of whiskey, letting the burn focus my mind.

“The evidence in that folder leads back to Willa’s uncle. Melanie’s brother and current alpha of the Black Moon Pack.”

“Shit,” Austin said, running his hand over his face.

I watched the muscles in Damen’s jaw work for a moment. “As tragic and awful as that is, why keep this from her? She needs to know, and you can help her get over that betrayal. We all can.”

I finished my whiskey, staring into the glass while deciding if I would get another. I decided against it and started telling them what her father had told me.

“Son of a bitch,” Austin finally said when I had finished. “there’s really no good way to handle this.”

“I tell her. She goes after her uncle and ends up forced to rule in Avilvale. I don’t see the pack leaders allowing her to keep ties to me if that happens.”

“Not to mention the council’s reaction. They would see it as treason,” Austin said.

My heart jumped to my throat. I hadn’t even thought about that.

“So, either she dies, or there will be war regardless of the choice she makes. Or you don’t tell her, and she never forgives you if she ever finds out,” Arlo said solemnly.

“Or we convince her not to go after her uncle herself,” Damen said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “First, we need to have a professional look over all of this. To get a definitive answer that any of this is even possible.”

He leaned forward in his chair as he dialed a number.

“Rhodes,” he said. “How fast can you get back to the castle?”

Dante responded.

“Make it yesterday,” Damen said. “We’ve got a development that you need to look into, but we need to do it from here.”

Dante provided his reply, and Damen hung up the phone. “He’ll be here in a few hours. We’ll dig into this information. We’ll also go over any bit of intel we have from the other Avilvale packs, find out if there is any remote possibility that their loyalty to Melanie still exists. If Dante and I come to the same conclusion as Willa’s dad, and we believe her uncle was involved, then we’ll find the proof to bring him down. If we can convince Willa to let us handle it, maybe we can ensure a clean exchange of power in the Black Moon Pack. No one in Avilvale will need to know she’s still alive or that she’s the new Luna of Whearhal.”

Damen stood from his seat and gestured to Austin.

“Austin, I need you to contact the border patrol and make sure they let Dante right through.”

Austin nodded and followed Damen toward the door. But before they left, Damen paused and turned back to me.

“A bit of advice, Ferrin, from one friend to another… Don’t fucking mark her without telling her.”

He slammed the door behind him before he heard the low growl that rumbled in my chest. If he expected that to happen, he had better damn well hope they could find the proof they needed within the next two days. I wasn’t putting it off any longer. And I damn well wasn’t going to make it easier for her to leave me.

I immediately regretted that thought. I threw the empty whiskey glass across the room in frustration, shattering it against the bookcase. I was being selfish, and I knew it. But damn it, when was I going to catch a damn break. If there was ever a good reason to be selfish, it was this.