6. Chapter 6
Adrian
I glare at the papers spread across my desk, each one offering nothing but frustration.
As predicted, I didn't sleep a lick last night and by the look of things, tonight may bring me the same luck.
My mind wouldn't stop replaying my encounter with Jennifer Fangsworth, then circling back to another woman I would rather not think about. Another woman who made my blood boil and my wolf’s mood turn fierce and longing at the same time .
And now this.
The theft of the Draak matriarchal tiara is the worst in a pile of worst-case scenarios I would rather not think about. And what's equally frustrating is that hours later, I'm drowning in preliminary reports that tell me almost nothing.
My deputies and I spent the evening and well into the night combing the crime scene like we were looking for a needle in a haystack and we got nothing in return for our efforts.
All we have to go on is an empty safe, an unlocked door, and not a single useful clue.
No fingerprints, no footprints, no signs of forced entry.
And no witness thanks to a clever hack in the video surveillance system. At least I’ve already ordered a full background check on all the staff. It won’t be done for a couple of days, but it’s a start.
Just a missing priceless dragon artifact and a wedding teetering on the edge of disaster.
The clock on my office wall reads 10:47 p.m. The rest of the station is quiet, with only the night dispatcher's soft radio chatter filtering in from the front desk. I rub my eyes, willing the pounding headache behind them to subside.
My phone buzzes, Percy Ashbane's name flashing on the screen. I consider letting it go to voicemail since our last three conversations have been increasingly tense and I have nothing new to tell him, but duty wins out.
"Wolfsbane," I answer.
"Any progress?" His voice is strained, the usual carefree tone buried beneath layers of stress.
"Nothing new." I shuffle through the reports again, searching for something I might have missed.
"My deputies interviewed the entire family and every staff member that was on duty that day.
We'll come back tomorrow to continue the interviews, but with the security system hacked, it could be a long process before we gather any meaningful information. "
If ever. Whoever did this knew what they were doing and I'm not discounting the possibility that we may never recover the tiara. Not that I would tell any of this to Percy.
"Seraphina's grandmother is talking about postponing the wedding." Percy exhales heavily. "Says we can't have a new matriarch start her reign without it."
"Shit." I lean back in my chair, the leather creaking beneath my weight. "How's Seraphina handling it?"
"How do you think?" Frustration edges his words. "She's alternating between planning murder and planning to flee the country. Frankly, I'm halfway of a mind to do just that and forget our clans for once."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I understand the significance, Percy. We're doing everything we can."
"Everything isn't enough," he says with a sharper tone than what I'm used to.
My old friend is usually all smiles and humor.
Well, except in business. Dragons are ruthless in business, as their wealth can attest to.
"It's not long before accusations start flying and once they start, tensions will escalate faster than I can calm them down. "
The implications hang between us. The Draak-Ashbane wedding isn't just about two people in love; it's the culmination of years of careful diplomacy, a fragile peace between dragon clans with centuries of bad blood between them. If it falls apart now, things may escalate indeed .
"I'll extend the search," I promise, though I'm not sure what else we can try. "I won't stop until I turn over every rock in the castle."
"Just fix this," Percy says before hanging up.
I toss my phone onto the desk with more force than necessary, my wolf bristling at the command in his tone. The beast paces restlessly beneath my skin, frustrated by a threat it can't sink its teeth into.
Maya left a coffee on my desk earlier, but it's long since gone cold. I drink it anyway, grimacing at the bitter taste. The caffeine won't help the headache, but at this point, I'm running on fumes and spite.
I flip open the case file again, studying the layout of Windfall Manor for the hundredth time.
The tiara was kept in a hidden safe in Silverine Draak's office instead of the clan's vault.
A hidden safe with a state-of-the-art combination lock.
Not the most secure location, but Silverine had insisted on keeping it close to where the bridal preparations would take place.
A decision she's no doubt regretting now.
My thoughts drift to Julia, her image appearing unbidden in my mind.
Could she be my thief? For a moment, I consider her as a suspect.
She knew of the tiara's existence. She certainly had access.
But then I remember how utterly devastated she looked when Deputy Chemko interviewed her.
The tremble in her voice as she willingly offered to help with our investigation.
How desperately she insisted that the wedding must proceed as planned.
No, I don't think Julia is our thief. She needs this wedding to happen almost as much as the bride and groom themselves.
I growl, pushing the memories of Julia Schroeder away. This isn't the time for distraction, especially not that kind of distraction .
The station's front door opens, and I straighten, immediately alert, its distinctive creak carrying down the hallway. Who could be coming in at this hour?
Footsteps approach, light, determined clicks against the linoleum floor.
Her scent reaches me before she does, and although I’ve only met her twice, I know it as surely as I would know the scent of every member of my family.
It reaches me in tones of vanilla and cinnamon, layered with an undercurrent of sourness that betrays her anxiety.
Julia appears in my doorway, her curvy figure silhouetted against the dim hallway light.
She's dressed more casually than I've seen her before, dark jeans and a soft-looking pink sweater that makes her seem younger and more vulnerable.
Her curly brown hair falls loose around her shoulders in touchable waves that make my fingers flex involuntarily.
"Sheriff Wolfsbane," she says, her voice carefully neutral. "Do you have a minute?"
“Of course, Ms. Schroeder.” I gesture to the chair across from my desk.
“You can start by calling me Julia.” She sits, her posture rigid with tension.
Her lovely face is lined with worry and judging by the dark circles under her eyes, she hasn’t been sleeping.
"I figured you'd be here. I doubt the Ashbane or the Draak clan will give you any peace until that tiara is back in their vault. "
I can't argue with that.
"What can I do for you?"
"You can tell me what's actually being done to find the tiara." Her hands rest in her lap, fingers laced together so tightly her knuckles are white. "Because from where I'm sitting, it seems like we're getting nowhere fast."
"We?" I raise an eyebrow. "Last I checked, this was a police investigation."
"Last I checked, I'm the one whose reputation is on the line." Her eyes flash with that defiance that keeps catching me off guard. "I even think Silverine Draak suspects me of the theft, though she didn't say so."
I study her for a moment, taking in the way she chews nervously on her bottom lip, the way her shoulders are stiff with tension. She's exhausted, desperate, and probably scared, though I have an inkling she would die before admitting it.
"You're not a suspect," I say finally. "At least not to me."
“That's refreshingly open-minded, but it doesn't solve my problem.” Something in her expression softens slightly before she rebuilds her walls. “I really need this wedding to go as planned. I’m ruined if it doesn’t.”
I lean forward, resting my forearms on the desk.
"How so?"
"I just started this company six months ago.
" She runs a hand through her curls, frustration evident in the gesture. "This wedding is my first high profile contract. My entire reputation depends on this going well. Even if I have nothing to do with the tiara’s theft, I won’t recover if the wedding is canceled.
No bride will want to hire the wedding planner of the biggest flop in decades. "
"And you think I have answers I'm not sharing?"
"I think you have resources I don't." Her gaze is direct, unflinching.
"And I think two heads are better than one, especially when one of those heads belongs to someone who knows Windfall Manor inside and out. I’ve been working on this wedding for six months.
I know not only the manor but the comings and goings of all the personnel. I can help."
I consider her words, turning the possibilities over in my mind. She's right, her insider perspective could be valuable.
But there's another problem that's been plaguing me, one that has nothing to do with missing tiaras and everything to do with meddling mothers and pack politics.
"I might have a proposition for you," I say slowly, the idea forming as I speak. "A mutually beneficial arrangement."
Julia's eyebrows rise slightly. "I'm listening."
"I'll let you in on the investigation, grant you full access to what we know, give you regular updates, the whole nine yards." I pause, gauging her reaction. "I’ll even restore your reputation with Silverine Draak."
“How?” She leans in, her beautiful face eager. A whiff of her scent wafts up to me, stirring things inside me I wish I could ignore.
My wolf rises inside my chest, the beast eager to get closer.
“You become my mate,” I say, not even sure why. “At least, in the eyes of everyone but us.”
"Excuse me?" Her expression shifts from interest to disbelief in a heartbeat. “You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”