“That is not what I said!” Ashleigh shouted angrily.

She was surprised by her own voice.

“Didn’t you?” Granger asked coldly.

“No, Granger,” she stated clearly, “I didn’t.”

“How else am I supposed to take it?” he asked.

“Exactly how I meant it!” she answered, “The Goddess made a mistake! There is no record of another wolf having two mates; it’s a mistake.”

“Or Caleb is using dark magic against Winter.”

Ashleigh growled in frustration. She wanted to be patient with him, to understand where he was coming from. But the ridiculousness of his words was too much.

“I’m not making it up! There are reports—” Granger began.

“What reports?” she demanded.

Granger looked away from her, unsure how to respond. He didn’t even remember all that Holden had said, only that there had been reports of Summer using fae magic.

“Does my father suspect this?” she asked, stepping closer to him, “did he show you a report claiming that Alpha Caleb was using fae magic?”

“No,” Granger answered quietly.

“Then who?” she asked, a barely audible growl under her words._.

Granger felt the heat of his anger rising as he witnessed how she tried to protect Caleb.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him closely.

“It was shared with me in confidence.”

“Then you saw it? Proof of these claims, not just someone’s ideas or words?”

He growled.

She growled back.

“So desperate to protect your mate?” he asked venom in his voice.

Ashleigh gritted her teeth.

“Yes, I am,” she hissed coldly.

Granger’s eyes widened, and he felt as though he had been punched in the gut.

“You!” she shouted angrily. “Idiot.”

“Me?” he questioned.

“Yes, you!” she paced back and forth for a moment, calming her frustrations. “You go around claiming that an Alpha is using fae magic. There will be consequences.”

“Then I should just sit back and relax while he manipulates you and tries to take you away from me?”

“No one is manipulating me!” Ashleigh shouted. “And I already told you, I’m not going anywhere!”

“If he’s using magic, you might not have a choice,” Granger said firmly.

Ashleigh growled again, this time letting her frustration out by hitting the sandbag closest to her.

“He isn’t using fae magic! He can’t!”

“How do you know?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she closed her eyes to think.

‘If I don’t find a way to prove it to him, he won’t let this go. But if I tell him, I am breaking my word.’

Ashleigh looked up at him once more, he was angry, but below the anger, she saw the hurt and the genuine love he held for her.

‘He is my mate. I have chosen to spend my life with him. So I can trust him.’

With a resigned sigh, she approached him.

“I am going to tell you something that you cannot tell anyone else,” she began, “I gave my word that this would remain a secret.”

“Between you and Caleb?” Granger asked icily.

“Shut up and listen,” Ashleigh growled.

Granger took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, it didn’t do much, but he nodded for her to continue.

“I know that Caleb isn’t able to use fae magic because I know that it can only be used by someone possessing fae blood,” she said quietly. “The person who told me this was my father.”

Granger felt his anger slipping away as it was replaced by confusion.

“How would he know that?”

“Knowledge passed down from alpha to alpha. I wasn’t supposed to hear it, he was teaching Axel, and I kind of snuck into the room,” she answered with a small smile, “he caught me and made me promise to keep it to myself. But I am trusting you to keep this a secret. Because you are my mate.”

“What else did he say?” Granger asked.

“I don’t know. He made me leave. But I didn’t need to know, so I didn’t ask any further.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Finally, she was sure he was processing and would understand.

‘Holden is a wolf of Spring; all they do is gather information. He must know something Alpha Wyatt doesn’t,’ Granger thought to himself.

He shook his head and turned away from her.

“Caleb must have found a way around it.” Granger sighed.

“Are you kidding me?” Ashleigh’s irritated voice demanded, “Are you that desperate to make him into the bad guy?”

“It’s not just me!” Granger shouted back at her, “I told you there are reports of fae magic in Summer!”

Ashleigh felt the frustration in her rising to a boiling point.

‘Who is whispering in your ear?’ She wondered to herself as the frustration grew. ‘Why are you so convinced of this?!’

A brief memory flashed a mischievous smile and sparkling eyes into her mind.

‘Alice…she must have seen the simulations too,’ she sighed to herself. ‘Damn spy,’

“There is no fae magic!” she shouted, no longer worried about hiding her irritation. “Summer uses technology. They have simulations and lights and mirrors! It isn’t magic! Caleb runs simulations using fae creatures from our history books! It’s a damn training exercise!”

“What?” Granger asked. He hadn’t heard anything about fae creatures before.

“I am telling you, Granger, stop saying these idiotic things before someone else hears you!” Ashleigh snarled at him before turning away and storming off.

“Ashleigh!” he called after her, the door slammed, and he was left alone once more with his thoughts.

***

“I don’t know why I listened to you!” Granger growled, slamming the mug on the counter. “So much for Spring, always having the best information!”

“What do you mean?” Holden asked, showing concern.

Granger looked over at the short man. For once, that Cheshire cat grin was not plastered on his face. Somehow, seeing the shock and confusion on Holden’s face made him feel a little better. At least he wasn’t the only idiot today.

“You made me look like an idiot,” Granger grumbled. “Are there even any reports that Summer is using Fae magic? Or were you just messing with me?”

Granger gave Holden a dangerous look that he was wise enough to recognize.

“I truly don’t know what you mean. I have been given the same information I gave to you, my friend.”

Granger scoffed.

“Well, it’s wrong.”

“Oh?” Holden asked, his curiosity piqued. He tempered his voice to keep it from showing. “But my understanding is that there is evidence of such use.”

“What kind of evidence?” Granger asked.

“Photographs of fae creatures within the Summer territories.”

“Pfft.” Granger laughed. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol settling into his system that made him feel better or just hearing Holden make the same mistakes he had. “Those are simulations. Training exercises. It’s tech, not magic.”

“That’s a rather convenient excuse.” Holden offered, testing the waters of Granger’s willingness to share information. “One easily come up with by a man as tricky as Alpha Caleb. I’d say the possibility still exists that they are using fae magic.”

“Summer isn’t using fae magic,” Granger stated, rolling his eyes at Holden’s insistence. “They can’t.”

“And why is that?” asked Holden carefully.

“Only someone with fae blood can activate fae magic.” Granger sighed as he took a drink.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Holden whispered to himself. A dark smile crept onto Holden’s face, unseen by Granger, who focused entirely on his mug.