CHAPTER SIXTY NINE


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    CHAPTER SIXTY NINE


    Nn’s POV


    Iughed, and that gave Jason what he wanted to hear without giving him anything at all. He thought he had scored a point. He thought I agreed that Talia was beneath the cost of an alliance. He had no idea that his words were the loudest kind of stupidity.


    ‘You should rip his tongue out for insulting our mate,’ my wolf growled.


    ‘In time. Be patient,’ I hushed him.


    “Fair point,” I finally said. “An alliance is worth more than a low-ranked she-wolf.”


    Jason’s smile grew wider. He stepped closer. “That is what I respect about you,” he said,ying it on thick. “You are a strategist. You know when to focus on the bigger picture. I have been thinking about that bigger picturetely. I guessed you were investigating your father’s death. Everyone knows you are not here for the scenery. I want to help.”


    I did not respond. ‘Maybe he’s smarter than we thought,’ Marco growled through our mindlink.


    ‘Don’t be fooled. He is still an arrogant idiot,’ I responded.


    Jason took my silence as permission to continue. “The Alpha King has a private library in the northern wing. It holds sealed archives and case records from years back. Investigations. Internal reports. All the files that he doesn’t want ‘themoners’ to see. The Alpha King keeps them under lock and key. You will not find anything in the public halls, but that room is different.”


    “Why are you telling me this?” I asked.


    “This is my way to make up for what I didst night,” Jason answered quickly. “The King left early this morning to inspect the hunting grounds again. He will not return untilte tomorrow. When he is gone, the pce guards will ck off. It is the perfect window to get a look without raising suspicion.”


    Jason made it sound like he was helping me. He was not helping anyone but himself. He was hoping I would take the bait. If caught, the Alpha King and I would be at odds. Then Jason would reap the benefits from the chaos.


    “Thanks for the information,” I said, and then gestured to the door.


    “Wait, there’s more,” Jason stated. “There is a mechanism in the shelves. It is easy to miss if you do not know where to look. The King’s crest on the third row hides a release. Press the center fang, then slide the book beside it out by two inches and it will open to the archives.”


    “I appreciate the tip,” I said.


    “You’re wee, Alpha Nn. I’ll let you get on with your morning,” Jason said. He left with Henry at his back. When their footsteps faded, Marco turned to me.


    “The fool thinks he can trick us,” Marco scoffed.


    “I know,” I replied.


    “You’re still going to go, aren’t you?”


    “Yes,” I said.


    “This could be a trap. This feels too easy,” Marco argued.


    CHAPTER SIXTY NINE


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    “You’re probably right; however, if there is proof the Alpha King colluded with rogues, it will be in the archive,” I responded.


    I spent the day in in sight. I ate with the warriors and watched a training rotation. I spoke to Beta Logan about patrol assignments for the southern border. When the sun went down and the corridors settled, I left my room without sound. I masked my scent with a clean, sharp cologne that burned my eyes.


    I was disappointed at how easy it was for me to get into the King’s study, as I only needed a lockpick. There were no guards around. I slipped into the King’s study and closed it softly behind me.


    ‘This is too easy. Be careful,’ my wolf warned.


    The room smelled of leather and polished wood, bookshelves lined the walls, and a map of the territories loomed over the desk. I scanned the shelves until I found the silver wolf emblem Jason had described. Pressing its fang released a hidden panel, and cold air swept out from the space beyond. I slid inside, and the wall closed behind me, leaving me in a narrow hallway.


    I walked to the end of the hallway and ended up in a small library. Its shelves were stacked with ledgers and sealed boxes. There was a singlemp providing just enough light.


    It was smaller than I expected, narrow and deep, with a singlemp on a timer casting a low ring of light over a central table. The shelves held ledger books, sealed boxes with numbered tags, and narrow binders with typedbels.


    ‘Be quick. We do not know if the guards do check this archive or not,’ my wolf warned.


    I started at the nearest shelf. The binders were arranged by year. I pulled one and flipped past indexes to the body of the file, which covered patrol reports, incident logs, and medical summaries from the royal clinic. Names were redacted with ck ink in some ces and left open in others. I read quickly, looking for anything about my father or rabid rogues.


    My wolf paced restlessly within me. ‘We have been here too long. Just take the files with us.’


    “That is too much of a hassle. Calm down. No one ising in here,’ I responded.


    I kept going. I looked for anything that said collusion. I found a ledger with entries tracking seizures from rogue dens. Redbone Flower seized from one raid. A note that the nt was banned. A hospital requisition for samples for study.


    Then a cold voice cut through the quiet, freezing me mid-page turn, “Who are you, and how did you get in here?”


    I froze. It was Talia.


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