Page 47 of Secrets and Ruin

“Yeah, it’s strong enough. There’s a lot of other stuff, though. A lot of things have passed by more recently. Nearly all of it is fae in nature, but there’s some natural stuff in there, like deer.”

“Yeah, I’m picking up on that,” I said, swallowing. Fae. Everything smelled of fae and magic. The natural world, the earthiness of the area, and the vegetation were almost overwhelmed by the scent of fae. They complemented each other but weren’t balanced.

“Perhaps we should’ve brought breadcrumbs. Like Hansel and Gretel, you know that story,” Landon remarked, looking over his shoulder, probably seeing the same thing I did—the darkness. Not even a pinprick of light told us how to get back to the estate. We could only track our own scent.

“I don’t think breadcrumbs would help us here.” While the idea was a joke, I appreciated the attempt. “Weren’t those stories based here? Think we’ll find the house made of candy or whatever it was?”

“I have no idea, but I’m glad to see we’re on the same page with our knowledge of old fairy tales. I never really cared for them when I heard them, and Pa was never the type to use them to teach us lessons, so they weren’t part of my life.”

“From memory, most of the lessons weren’t worth all that much,” I said, huffing in disdain for those old fairy tales. “I’ve only heard and read the tame versions. You know, the modern retellings and movies using them as a backbone. That sort of stuff.”

“I watched some of those, thanks to my sister,” Landon said with a smile. “She loved those movies as a kid. She grew out of them, but she’s not really much of a kid anymore, is she?”

“She’s not a kid, no,” I agreed. “She’s still young, though. She’s not an adult, but she’s right there, standing on the edge. I’m trying to enjoy the time we have before she gets to make all the choices I know Heath is scared of her making.”

“He’s right to be scared,” Landon said as we kept walking through the dark. “He doesn’t talk about it often enough and does his best to not outright ask her, but it’s always there, hanging over his head. My head, too.”

I stopped, causing him to bump into me as I saw something interesting. I planned on continuing this conversation, but at that moment, I wanted to point out the trail I could see.

“Landon, do you think that’s a safe trail? Does Niko’s scent head toward it?”

“Yeah, it does,” Landon said, moving around me. I followed him, letting his nose get us to the path. Once we were there, we could both smell Niko much better, like something about the path held off the thick scent of fae. More interesting was who else I could scent.

“Fenris used this path,” I said, going down on a knee to see if I could identify any tracks. There were no paws, something that took me by surprise. Only boot tracks and they were faded, having been stepped on by other things.

“So, Niko ran out here to chase him, and Fenris was here, probably leading Niko deeper into the forest,” Landon said, sighing. “Niko’s old. He would have known it was a trap, yeah? Dirk speaks highly of him, at least in terms of being a supernatural. He had to know.”

“I think he would, but walking into a trap is sometimes the best option,” I said, looking up at him with a shrug. “I don’t think he would have recognized who Fenris was. It took me a long time to recognize you and Heath so well through my magic. I’m still trying to identify everyone quickly within the pack, so I can recognize outsiders easily, but I slip up when everyone is moving around. My theory right now… Niko would be working on the fact that Dirk didn’t check in, didn’t reach where he was supposed to go, then a wolf breaches his territory. He was called out, and his son was missing. He didn’t stop to tell me Dirk was potentially in danger because he didn’t entirely know himself or didn’t think I needed to know. Niko is really private, so he might have hoped to handle it without calling in the pack.”

“All solid theories,” Landon said, helping me up with a single solid hand under my elbow as I stood. “You forgot that Niko was incredibly angry with you and maybe wanted to handle it himself becausehe’sDirk’sfather.”

“That seems pettier than I figured Niko was capable of,” I argued, frowning as I started walking, following Fenris’s and Niko’s scents, now mingling. I could smell the similarities now. The wildness of Fenrisbelongedin this place, while Niko smelled like he was a more refined version. In a guilty way, I was angry I had missed it for so long. They both were born here, they were from this place, and I had never pieced it together. I hated that I had missed it.

“It might not be intentionally petty, but it’s worth recognizing the potential,” Landon said pragmatically. “You threaten his relationship with Dirk. He was only supposed to be in Texas with you for a year. We’re well past that. I don’t go out of my way to ask Dirk if he plans on living in Germany again, but I think we all know he has no plans to. My father is his Alpha, and Pa loves him. You love him. You accepted him with open arms yet gave him all the space he ever wanted. You gave him no reason to want to leave and were never going to force him to come back here to Niko.”

“I think you did that,” I said with a small smile. “Giving him no reason to leave. You’re right about the second. I wasn’t.”

“I made it easier for him, but if he and I didn’t work out, he would still be in your bar foryou, Jacky. He would still want to helpyou. You threaten Niko. You kept Dirk’s secret from him and made Dirk feel safe enough to explore his options. You made Dirk feel like he was part of afamily.”

“And you don’t think Niko did that for him?”

“I haven’t met Niko, so I don’t know, but… clearly, there was something, right?” Landon shrugged. “There’s something making it difficult for them.”

I had a feeling I knew what that was but couldn’t explain it to Landon, not when he initially tried to guess, not today. It was the secret I could never give anyone.

“You look like you want to say something,” a feminine voice chimed in. I froze midstep, looking around. Landon didn’t freeze, wheeling around as I spoke.

“Landon—”

“I heard it,” he said, the tension of the moment radiating off him.

I looked around as well but didn’t see anyone.

“Let’s keep moving,” I said, walking a bit faster now.

“What are you doing in these woods? Don’t you know there are monsters out here?” the feminine voice asked.

“Ignore it,” Landon ordered, but I didn’t need the reminder. I only walked, Landon at my side, looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds while I kept my eyes on the trail ahead, hoping the scents we were tracking didn’t leave it.

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