Page 18 of Secret Heir's Return

“What did you find?” Dad asked as he came to look with us.

Brady presented a glass bottle, the scent of magic perfuming the air as he lifted it for all of us to see.

“Potion bottle. Looks like this is why the scent trail ended here. It’s strong too.”

Dad took the bottle from him, sniffing the contents before handing it to me. “Can you follow the trail of magic?”

“No, someone has hidden the magic itself. The witch who did this is strong and smart. This bottle is the only remnant of the magic used to conceal him. Besides, do we really need to follow a trail? We know where they’re going.”

Dad nodded. “I suppose you are right. I just would like to get a look at the witch they are working with. If they are as powerful as you seem to believe they are, they could pose more of an issue in the future.”

“Do you want to send scouts to have a look around that bar of theirs?” Brady asked as he handed me the bottle to pocket away for him.

Dad frowned before nodding his head. “Let’s get back to the house and form a proper plan first. I don’t want to send in a scout blind.” With that, the four men around me shifted back to their wolf forms. Since I had my dress with me and I was currently pocketing the bottle in said dress, I rode on Dad’s back, back to the packhouse.

Xander stood beside Mom outside on the porch. I noted the scent of smoke in the air and assumed that Alma had probably been there just moments before we had returned.

“What did you find?” Mom asked as she approached us. Xander followed slowly behind, his gaze locked on me as I slid from my dad’s back.

“Brady found this,” I said, as I pulled the potion bottle from my pocket. Mom took it quickly and examined it. I gagged as she ran her pinkie along the inside and tasted the contents.

“Potent stuff,” she commented. “I don’t recognize the magic’s signature, though.”

“I didn’t either,” Brady said after shifting back to human form. He pulled his pants up and held his shirt in hand. “I was hopingyou maybe did. It’s too strong for it to be just any witch they hired.”

As they discussed it, I watched Xander shifting nervously. His gaze was pointed to the tree line before looking back at the house behind him.

“If you’ll don’t mind, I’ll go upstairs. If you need me, you’ll know where to find me.”

He didn’t wait for any of us to answer, though only I had anything to say about it.

“We will be a few hours, Liberty,” Mom said as I watched Xander disappear into the house. “Do you want to go and spend more time with him? I’m sure we can handle things and fill you in later.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I need to learn balance, and this is something that is important.”

“The balance will come easier once you are able to mark him yourself,” Dad commented as he led us into the house and to his office.

Brady trailed behind the stairs, his gaze moving towards my room. “What if he could shed some insight about the witch forus? He’s the rogue’s so-called leader’s son, right? I bet he knows who the witch is.”

Dad followed my brother’s gaze and nodded. “If it comes to that, we will ask him. However, he hasn’t quite joined the pack just yet. He’s marked your sister, but she has yet to mark him. There are already rough waters ahead for him with his father. I don’t want to draw a wedge that will make things harder for him.”

“Yes,” Mom agreed. “Your father and I had already discussed that together. It’s best to allow him to stay neutral for as long as possible. At least until the coronation ceremony.”

“Coronation?” I asked with surprise.

“Of course,” Dad nodded. “As your mate, he will be your co-alpha. That requires him to be coronated right alongside you. So long as he pledges his allegiance to the pack, that is.”

Mom patted my shoulder as the office door closed behind us. “It won’t happen until you mark him, however. I assume you will only mark him when you are confident in your mate bond.”

“Yes,” I affirmed. “But I didn’t know that there would be so much to it than me simply marking him.”

“You’re the next in line for the pack alpha, Liberty,” Dad said with a sigh. “There is more to it than most mate bonds. Your mother was coronated at my side as my Luna.”

I muttered to myself for a moment before waving my hand at everyone as they stared at me. “Okay, I get it. I just didn’t think that far into this. Can we get back to the business at hand, then?”

“Right,” Dad said. He pulled out lists of our best scouts and maps that detailed the surrounding areas of the bar that the rogues called home. Dad himself had put together these maps after he learned where the rogues were holding up, and now they were coming in handy.

I gave the planning only partial attention as Dad talked about who would be the best to go find the witch. Brady mentioned sending another witch along with the scout to help hide scents and magic signature so as not to clue the rogues and their witch to our movements. When they asked me my opinion, I nodded and agreed with my brother, although my thoughts were elsewhere.

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