She nodded. “I’ve got it from here. No need to have the Alpha accompanying me.”

“I’m coming.”

She glowered at me. “Suit yourself.”

I led her to an alley between Pandemonium and the shop next door. The narrow space was cobblestoned and damp, smelling faintly of vomit. They were overserving at Pandemonium, no doubt. I used the club for the monthly fights—the one release I allowed my wolf, besides runs in the Highlands—but never drank there. “Here.” I stopped by a narrow green door and pushed it open, then climbed the steps to the third floor.

Eve followed closely, stopping just behind me and watching as I knocked on the door. From within, a thump sounded, as if someone were falling out of bed. Footsteps followed, and I could smell the distinct signature of Clara, cloves and orange.

A moment later, she pulled open the door and stared out at us groggily. Clara’s purple hair stuck out at all angles, matching the shadows under her eyes. The annoyance on her face transformed to respect when she saw me, and she straightened as she lowered her gaze. “Alpha. How can I help you?”

“Clara. You can answer her questions.” I nodded to Eve.

Clara looked at Eve, her gaze flashing with confusion. “Okay.”

“Yes,” Eve said. “I have a few questions about Danny.”

“Really? I thought you were here to ask about my stylist.” Her tone was sarcastic as she patted her hair.

“Clara.”

She perked at the warning tone in my voice. “Apologies. What can I do?”

“Did you serve Danny last night?” Eve asked.

“He didn’t get the drink from us.”

“Really?”

“Really. Someone else must have ordered for him.”

“And you didn’t see who did?” Eve pressed.

“No. But Danny liked whisky, and he wouldn’t turn down a free drink.”

“He would have been an easy mark.”

She nodded. “Probably, but I didn’t see who did it. I thought it was you.”

“But you served me a beer.”

She frowned. “You’re right. Doesn’t mean you couldn’t have brought whisky in a flask and poured it into an empty glass you found. Or dropped a bit of potion in the glass he handed you.”

Clara was clever. We’d found no flask on Eve, however, and she hadn’t held the glass long enough to slip anything into it. Probably.

“Well, I didn’t,” Eve said. “You haven’t been down to the bar since the incident?”

“No, it’s on lockdown. Alpha’s orders.”

“Thank you.” Eve turned to me. “We need to go get that broken glass.”

“I have the key.”

“Thanks.” Eve turned back to Clara. “Was there anyone in the bar last night that you didn’t recognize?”

I studied Eve, wondering what her deal was. She was determined to solve this, but why had she been there in the first place?

“I didn’t recognize you,” Clara said. “And a few others.”

“Can you describe them?” Eve asked.

“An artist is coming by to help you do that later,” I told Clara.

She nodded. “I’ll work with them.”

“Good.” Eve looked satisfied.

“Thank you for your help,” I said. “We’re going to go check the bar.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” Clara frowned. “I didn’t like Danny, but he was pack. What happened to him was wrong.”

“It’d be wrong even if he weren’t pack,” Eve said.

“Sure. It’s just worse.”

Eve ignored that and turned to go. I followed her down the stairs, my gaze on her bright hair. It gleamed under the light, and occasionally, I caught sight of one of her pointed fae ears.

I looked away.

We reached the street and headed out into the alley. Pandemonium was dark and quiet as I let us in. I led the way down the stairs to the basement, then flicked on a light. It looked dingier without people filling it, but I preferred the quiet. Empty beer bottles and glasses were scattered all over the tables, and the floor was still sticky.

Eve headed straight for the shattered glass near the wall. She knelt and peered down at it, then rose and went to the bar, where she collected a half-spent kitchen roll. “I’m going to take some of this, all right?” she said.

“Aye.”

I met her at the broken glass and knelt down to inspect the pieces. She joined me, kneeling as far away from me as she could but still so close that I wanted to move aside.

She picked up a piece of glass with the towel and turned it over under the light. A bit of liquid had dried inside the glass, sticking to the side with an oily sheen.

“That will be the potion that killed him,” she said. “Left behind after the whisky evaporated.”

Carefully, she collected and wrapped the shards. When she was done, she stood. “I’ll need to take that back to my workshop to—”

“You’ll do it here.”

“I really can’t.” She pointed to the collar, glaring at me. “And it’s not like you’re going to lose track of me.”

She was right. It was just that I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.

It was fucked up. There was no reason to be attached to her. No reason to be attached to anything other than my pack.

Some distance would be good. I needed to get my head on straight where she was concerned, because none of this made sense.

“Fine. You may go. But you’ll report back this evening,” I said.

She nodded. “And you’ll look for the person on the business card? And get sketches of the other people made?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be back tonight to report on what I find. Leave me alone until then.” She spun and strode out of the bar.

I watched her go, her hips swaying as she strode away. I turned toward the fight ring, needing to focus on something other than her curves. I’d avoided women for years now—ever since I’d been eighteen and my father had fallen prey to the Dark Moon curse. Ever since she’d left.

All shifters were at risk for the curse, but my line particularly so. Too much emotion—especially strong emotion—and we would succumb to a madness that would steal our loyalty to our pack and eventually our minds. We’d go feral, our wolves taking over.

It had taken my father, but it would not take me.

I wouldn’t let it.

Quickly, I took a swig of the potion-laced whiskey, counting on it to help repress any emotions that might try to sneak through. I needed to be the cunning, clear-headed Alpha that I always was.

The fae woman was a problem, but it was possible she wasn’t Danny’s killer.

She was hiding something, however, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

5

Eve

 

I raced from the bar, hurrying up the stairs and out into the cool morning air. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, and I used its faint light to beeline it out of the shifters’ territory and into the main part of Guild City.

As I strode away from the tower, I turned back to look across the grassy courtyard. Lachlan was nowhere to be seen, but the hulking tower speared toward the sky.