CHAPTER 64

It turned out the claw my wolf had created was both sharp and thin enough to fit between the glass pane and the fiber glass frame and cut the sealant, which was rubber or something like that. But it was slow and tedious work to do without disturbing the frame itself, and without letting the glass fall. The second glass pane was even more difficult because I had to hold the first pain and work through the tiny eighth of an inch space it left around the edges of the frame once the sealant was gone.

I did managed eventually, however. And with the help of a second thin but very curved claw I was able to tip the two panes of glass into the room gently and with no sound before crawling through the opening myself.

I found myself in Martha's bedroom, I knew by the woman's scent, a sort of mixture of sunshine and herbs, which made me feel even more terrible for taking apart the window. Martha had never been anything but kind to me. My wolf could sense her still, downstairs in the kitchen as I deliberated with myself over trying to put the glass back so there were no obvious clues to my entrance, or leaving it out, on the floor beside the window for a quick escape if I needed. It seemed as though she was starting yet another dish, something involving a lot of pots and banging, and the scent of tomatoes and olive oil. Martha was very, very upset.

It meant, however, that she wasn't likely to be back upstairs anytime soon, so I decided to leave the glass just slightly propped in the frame and hope she didn't come upstairs and try to let in some fresh air.

*There are cameras in the hallway, motion detectors too, but they are inert at the moment.*

That made sense given how many wolves were still roaming around the house at this hour.

*You are still certain you can replicate the device Aiden had that fools cameras?*

*Mostly certain.*

I could feel my adrenaline rising as I stalked toward the door. Mostly certain was going to have to be good enough.

The hallway was quiet when we stepped out into it, most of the residents of the house were currently either downstairs, or outside. That left Anthony in his office, once again with Leanne who had returned to him in the time that I'd spent climbing to the second story, and Jacob, who had returned from whatever he'd been doing at the bunk house and was in the room across from us. His light snores indicated he was sound asleep.

*Something weird is happening in the office, my wolf announced.*

I flinched, thinking the worst.

*No, not that*, she assured me,* it's some sort of electronic...something. It pulses and spirals, I can't really explain it.*

*Are they speaking?*

*No, not at all. He is breathing heavily, as if asleep and she is...just standing there, I think.*

That *was* weird. I did remember she'd said something about a coil, for the migraines.

*Well, if she's occupied we'll take the opportunity to get the bugs on her things and snoop in her room. If she's a traitor and working for Thostchild they must have some way of communicating with her, and now that you can sense that kind of thing our job should go much quicker. We'll take a closer look at what's happening in the office once we get done, if there's a chance.*

With that mutual acknowledgement we stepped out into the hall. I didn't bother crouching or creeping, on the off chance my wolf's replication of Aiden's camera fooling device was not one hundred percent I didn't want to alarm anyone looking at the cameras right off the bat.

I walked on stealthy feet though, and focused hard on those in the house, keeping track of every movement, every rustle, even their breathing.

Leanne's room smelled heavily of expensive perfume. A general taboo for wolves, since our delicate noses tended to be offended by such strong odors. Leanne had never really cared about that though, much more inclined to show off her status and wealth with her Azanit, and her carefully tailored clothing.

It was even worse on entering, nearly overwhelming actually. I guess even wolves could go nose-blind to strong fragrances if they were overused, I supposed.

*Be careful, she has motions sensors in the corners. These ones are on*. My wolf warned.

Uh huh. And that wasn't suspicious at all. I studied the darkened walls but could see nothing that would indicate any devices. I froze in place at the entrance.

*Can you tell their range? Or what direction they are set to detect?*

*No*, my wolf frowned.

Well that made things more difficult. And I couldn't even talk to Aiden to see if he had any knowledge that would help, not with the drowned communicator.

I studied the room, thinking.

It had only been a few days, but Leanne had already decorated the room as though she'd always lived in it. The king sized bed was adorned with an upholstered headboard that resembled the back of some king's throne, complete with galvanized gold along the edges and a matching bench at the foot of the bed. The blankets looked silken and heavy, right down to the glossy sheets pulled back neatly at the corner. Matching dressers and a dressing table squeezed into a space that was probably meant for a much more massive room. It was hard to discern the colors in the dark, but they were not bright or airy. Probably the heavy purple-red that she seemed to favor in her clothing.

If I were Leanne, how would I have set the motion detectors? I couldn't imagine that she would be one to tolerate the hassle of shutting them down and turning them on every time she left the room. I also couldn't see her cleaning her own room, that task would be for one of the weaker wolves, one who needed to perform such tasks for the pack to ensure their protection. Which meant the main traffic areas of the room wouldn't be targeted, that would be too much trouble. If I were Leanne I'd have the sensors set up to monitor snooping in the areas that I was most worried about.

*We need to follow her scent, if we get close enough can you shut the sensors off?*

My wolf cringed, because, at the moment she was doing the equivalent of holding her breath against the overpowering room.

*I'm sorry,* I told her.

She sighed and stopped blocking the heavy scents and shared her findings with me. The stench of the perfume was almost painful, creating an immediate knot of tension between my eyes. With incredible effort we focused harder, at the subtle differences in different areas of the room. It was difficult to pick out Leanne's scent in the miasma. Difficult but not impossible.

*Why would anyone want to smell like this?* My wolf complained.* It's like she rolled around in a tub of those cleaning liquids you always insist on using...she considered the hint of smokey scent that made the perfume famous...and then lit herself on fire.*

*It smells entirely different to the human nose*, I told her.

*So? This one isn't human. What type of mate is she trying to lure?*

Wasn't that the question of the day.

*There,* my wolf pointed out a small drawer in the gold-inlaid dresser. *She visits that drawer particularly often. There is something electronic...I'm not sure what but it's seperate from the motion sensor, inside, far at the back*.

*And the motion sensor?*

She thought. *Right behind it, between the dresser and the wall*.

Between the dresser and the wall? That was definitely suspicious. And a fortunate for us too, because we could approach without setting anything off.

*How close do you need to be to shut it down?*

*Within reach, I think.*

*And the other sensors, are they nearby?*

*There's one more and it's in the clothing den.*

*The closet*, I gave her the name, a little nostalgic that I rarely had to to that any more.

We moved slowly, just in case some shadow in the room would shift and ruin our plans, but made it to the dresser, nearly an arms length from the little drawer the device was set behind.

*Got it*, my wolf said after a moment.

*Perfect. Let's figure out what this bitch is up to.*