Page 17 of Assisting the Alpha
Ethan shakes his head. “Not according to their families. Only in a ‘say hello in passing’ sense.”
“Jobs?” Raj suggests.
Kit answers before I can. “Bessie worked in the manor kitchens. Zoe ran a café in the village. Frida had a little charms shop in… Hang on, I have the address somewhere.”
“Riverside. Her shop was in Riverside.” I clear the lump from my throat. “Frida told me once that placing her shop in the neutral zone meant she could sell the more harmless charms to humans and the stronger ones to supes, since most coven members either had no need of charms or bought directly from her when they did.”
Raj gets up and adds their occupations to the bios on the whiteboard.
Skye frowns, the move pulling at his scar. “So Frida wasn’t left near her shop. Could that be significant?”
Ethan rubs his beard. “Say for argument’s sake that she sold a bad charm to a supe… I see no possible connection to a cook or a café owner.”
“What if it’s not about them personally?” We all turn our attention to Cal. I don’t know how old he is, only that he’s a vampire, but most vamps have seen a lot more of life than the rest of us, which makes them worth listening to. “What if this is an attack on the coven itself?”
I’ve changed my mind. I wish I hadn’t heard that.
Except what he’s saying is a real possibility, and everyone’s eyes are now on me. I take a sip of my tea to give myself a minute to think.
“You’re saying the coven might have an enemy.” My voice comes out impressively steady.
“Do they?” There’s a challenge in Ethan’s gaze. Even after this morning when he held me until I calmed down, I can tell my wolf boss still doesn’t trust me. Not that I blame him, but wow, I haven’t felt that safe and protected since I was ten. It made me more determined than ever to be as helpful as possible to the team.
I blow out a breath. “I wish I knew. Remember, I was only an admin, not one of the task force. I can tell you that Nyoka and Lola have dinner with the fae ambassador every Sunday evening, but since this wasn’t a fae, I’m not sure that helps.”
“Lola?” Skye’s subtle Scottish accent is more pronounced as he says the name.
“Nyoka’s wife and the coven lawyer.” The less said about Lola, the better.
Ethan leans back in his chair and studies me. “All the people I’ve met while I’ve been with you like you, no matter their species. What about the other members of the coven? We wereunder the impression that Birchester is extremely segregated. Are you the exception or the rule?”
I grimace. “The coven are incredibly anti-shifter. They’re not all that fond of any other species, actually. Some of it is subtle, but the bias is even woven into our children’s stories. We grow up with a lot of anti-shifter teachings in particular.”
They all exchange glances at that little revelation.
Cal tilts his head. “How strange.”
“Have you come across any covens like this before?” Raj asks him.
Cal quirks a single eyebrow. “No.”
“What caused the anti-shifter sentiment originally?” Skye asks me.
“Uh…” I try to find something useful to say. “I honestly don’t know. I think it dates back over a hundred years.”
Kit is the one to ask the obvious question. “Why are you different?”
Ah, this one I can answer. “My mum was a massive believer in equality. She didn’t want me to grow up with the bigotry the others have, so when she became coven leader, she created an exchange programme. It didn’t really take off, but it’s how I met my best friend, who’s a member of the Connor Pack. She also took me with her as often as she could to meetings and negotiations and stuff, so I could play with shifter kids who were hanging around. Since vamps don’t have kids, I gained a couple of honorary aunts and uncles from the visits. The only exception was the fae. I wasn’t allowed to go to those meetings. Oh, and I got to play with a dragon shifter child once, although his parents wouldn’t let him be friends with me afterwards.”
Cal’s lips twitch. “That’s not surprising. Dragons are notorious snobs.”
I’m extremely aware of how carefully Ethan is scrutinising me. It’s not like any of this stuff is a secret, though. It’s just alittle tough to talk about because it’s a reminder of my mum and how unique a coven leader she was.
Jet nudges me. “Your mum sounds awesome.”
I manage a slight smile. “She was.”
Ethan clears his throat. “So the coven are anti-shifter as a group. That does lend weight to the theory that these murders are targeting the coven in general, rather than these victims in particular.”
