Page 178 of Wolf Roulette

“There’s no proof of environmental impact.” Sascha returned. “And so there’s no case here. However,as we have the utmost respect for this valley, ingoodwill, we’re willing to accept a penalty of one point.”

Yes!

I didn’t celebrate aloud or otherwise move. “You profess to care for our surroundings, and yet offer so little.”

Our teams volleyed arguments back and forward for a time.

I tapped a finger on the table. “Tell me, Mr Greyson. If you’d spent several months in possession of Sandstone and the environment suffered for it, what penalty would you be prepared to pay then?”

“We’ll never know, Miss Thana.”

Dammit.He didn’t fall into my word trap.

“The contract is clear on this matter. Any lapse in best practices results in the loss of five points. But for the listed issues, the Ni Tiaki, very generously, accepts one penalty point from the pack.”

Sascha released a breath. A tiny breath that everyone else missed.

He spoke, “I’m glad we could reach a—”

“I’d like to present one more lapse in the care of land clause,” I said pleasantly. “Pascal?”

Our marshal sent through our ace.

The pack members read over it. Their so-called expert blanched and cast Leroy a wide-eyed look.

Yep.

I had him. “As you’ll see, in comparison to the last issues, this is far bigger. A waterway was compromised. Not only do we have dated photographs, we have videos of all the testing carried out at the waterway. There’s proven environmental impact. I’m sure you’re as shocked and devastated by this news as we are. Would you like to hear from our experts on this issue?”

Sascha listened briefly to his sandstone Luther. They had to be muting their microphone because I couldn’t hear the conversation.

When their conversation wrapped up, Sascha faced me, never grimmer.

“We are indeed shocked and devastated too. As you previously mentioned, our lack of experience is our excuse.”

Clever wolf.But he couldn’t get out of this unscathed.

He forced the words out. “What penalty does the tribe propose?”

I read the betrayal in his expression.

Sascha may hate me now, but if this worked—if—then we were one step closer to our ending. Assuming he still found me worthy after everything I’d done. Fear churned in my stomach at the thought of his rejection.

“This is a clear violation of the care of land clause,” I stated in a clear voice. “The rules are clear. We have the right to five penalty points.”

I let that sink in.

“But,” I stressed, “the tribe is grateful for the opportunity you gave us with employment in Sandstone. We acknowledge that possessing a grid you haven’t possessed in a long time is bound to carry a learning curve. We’re willing to be generous once again.”

“Indeed,” Sascha growled.

“In addition to the already agreed-upon penalty of one point, we will accept a further one-point penalty for this specific issue to bring the total to two points.”

I knew what he was feeling.

It’s what I experienced when Rhona lost Sandstone.

The ground was crumbling under his feet as he contemplated his people without a home—or dying around him. As he considered what might become of us in time with this lingering like poison.

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