I give her a shrug like it’s not a big deal. I can’t believe they’re going along with that law for whatever reason.

“Sanctuary had three laws in place you could have used to get out of that flogging,” Leiza says abruptly, clearing her throat.

“Only two were relevant, since no alpha had an invitation to be on the grounds,” I state absently. “And if I hadn’t taken the flogging, my mother would have challenged Idun to an alpha fight like she planned to and gotten her ass beaten for no reason at all. Can we stop talking about it? It just keeps Idun relevant when you talk about her.”

Leiza stops walking, and I glance over my shoulder as her lips thin.

“This could change our lives, Violet. But people are wary about false hope. Without the Heads, none of this works, and you’re pushing all of them away,” she says so quietly I almost miss it.

“You forget I have one very strong, powerful Portocale alpha who has our backs. Always. And Zuela Van Helsing is staying until he finishes the stained-glass for the ceiling.”

Her lips purse. “Even I want to hide in the walls with him here.”

“You know him better than I do. I just know he watched me take a beating, and he showed up to put glass in without mentioning it once. You don’t have to trust him, but do you trust me?”

She gives me a long stare. “I trust you. I don’t trust the way you skip over the past like it’s not relevant. You don’t have any healthy fear in you, Violet. You can take beatings like that, but we can’t. And none of us want to see the Simpletons go through—”

“Violet!” Anna shouts, interrupting Leiza.

Both of us swing our gazes to the balcony where Anna is pretending to ride a pony.

“You’ve got baby duty,” Anna continues before riding her phantom pony into a wall.

“Why did I just see a ghost?” Leiza asks in a slight panic, which has my head snapping to her, as she stands wide-eyed and staring at the wall Anna just disappeared into.

“Because Anna is getting stronger,” I say on a sigh. “Long story. I’ll tell you eventually.”

Her mouth opens and closes like she’s in shock, and I quickly write out an invitation for Emit before handing it to her.

“T-that’s not okay. You can’t just gloss over—”

“I’m sort of busy. Can you take this?” I cut in.

She takes it absentmindedly, and I turn and walk up the stairs, as she just continues to concentrate on the wall Anna disappeared into.

I suppose the first time seeing a ghost would be shocking, even at her age.

My office is covered in every family history detail I’ve been able to uncover over these past five months, and I study the wall full of the most important pieces.

“All the pretty monsters want in your pants again, and you’re hanging out with the archives. You don’t deserve that vagina,” Anna informs me as she drops in and takes a seat.

“Don’t let anyone else see you who isn’t supposed to see you.”

“But I like the dirty omegas. I want to be their friend too. You’re just stingy and want to keep them for yourself,” my bestie from hell argues.

“You’re going to draw too much attention, and you’ll start getting salted out of fear. People are paranoid.”

“Monsters are paranoid. People are completely desensitized to the possibility of ghosts,” she grumbles when I take a seat.

The door swings open before I can counter that pointless argument, and Emit’s massive body steps in. His eyes lazily run over my legs, as I turn in the chair to face him.

“Can I help you with something, Mr. Morrigan?” I drawl, wondering why he’s biting down on his lip right now like he’s thinking dirty thoughts.

First Vance. Now him. I’m starting to worry about their heads. They’re not acting right.

“You’re going to need land. You have one shifter now, but eventually you’ll have more. They can’t run on just any land, because it won’t be sanctuary.”

I pause, staring at him with real interest.

“Shifters have to shift on occasion. They get too aggressive if they don’t. The older they are, the longer they can go. The younger they are—”

“I get it. Are you here to give me advice on how to keep them on sanctuary grounds from here to the woods?”

“I’m here to give you land that connects to town. Vance just amended one of your laws to include the town as a neutral, untouchable area for those who’ve been given sanctuary. Five of the six signed off on the amendment.”

Studying him, I notice the far-too-amused look in his eyes.

“In exchange for a price, I’m guessing. Vance did this to me earlier. You’re all manipulating me,” I point out, bristling in my seat.

“Of course we are. You wanted our full attention, and now—”

“No,” I cut in, holding up my finger. “I wanted help building my pretty sanctuary. I got four men who had popcorn delivered to a room I built to keep their conversations private, so that none of my omegas were threatened into silence and made to feel unsafe in my sanctuary,” I correct.

He grimaces, exhaling heavily.

“Then consider this a debt of apology,” he bites out. “It’ll help you build your sanctuary, though I agree you deserved more from a friend like I was.”