Evershaw didn’t look at Todd as he paced in his office, Smith sitting in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. “Tell me again. What caused this?”

“A hex,” the old man said. “Someone in proximity to you was able to place a hex on you, some time between when you killed the original poisoner and when you had the fit last night.”

“What would it look like?” Evershaw kept moving, tension running through him at the implication that Deirdre had betrayed him, and pushed away the wolf’s urge to run back to her to make sure she was okay. The wolf knew she wasn’t the one who wanted to kill him. “How would I know who did it?”

“It could be anything.” Smith sighed and rubbed his temples, then nodded his thanks after Todd offered a glass of bourbon. They’d run through the good whiskey the day before. The ErlKing sipped before going on. “Some small object dropped in your pocket or stuck to your shoe or left in your car. Based on when the fit struck you, I would assume it was on you for at least part of the day but you didn’t feel the effects until they accumulated.”

“One of the witches at the florist’s could have done it when I went to help Deirdre.” Evershaw ground his teeth and wished he had a punching bag in his office so he could burn off some of the rage before he ended up throwing Todd across the room. “It had to be one of them. They’re the only ones with magic who would have done it.”

Todd cleared his throat. “Not the only ones, Evershaw.”

Smith glanced at him but held up his hand to cut Evershaw off before he went on yet another tirade about the witch’s innocence. “One only needs magic to make the hex, not to place it. It’s possible that a mundane placed the hex on you regardless of who made it.”

“Well, that narrows it down.” Evershaw kept pacing, irritation boiling with each stride. He wondered what Deirdre was doing, whether she’d woken up and wondered where he was, whether she suspected something was different because he wasn’t there. He’d warned Mercy not to say anything to Deirdre or change how she acted, but there was no telling whether Mercy would be able to comply.

“Who did you run into yesterday?” Smith stretched his legs out in front of him, almost braced against the desk, and savored the bourbon. “Did anything unusual occur?”

Evershaw ran through the day, listing out the various pack members and passersby he’d run into, then got to the Chase building and the initial confrontation with Palmer. Evershaw slowed, examining each person who’d gotten within arm’s reach of him, and tried to figure out when the hell someone might have cursed him. Or hexed him. Not that he gave a shit what the difference was.

When he paused, Todd leaned against the back of the couch in the office, his attention on Smith. “Could it have been our little witch?”

“No,” Evershaw snapped. The next person to blame Deirdre would get their ass kicked.

Smith frowned as he looked at the ceiling, swirling the bourbon until it sloshed quietly against the glass. “It’s possible but unlikely.”

“What does that mean?” Evershaw said. He clenched his fists and tried to think of something in the office he could destroy that would alleviate some of the tension.

“She’s strong enough to make the hex, certainly. And smart enough to know that she couldn’t adhere it to you herself, so she could have given it to someone else to do so.” Smith scratched his jaw and Evershaw saw a hint of the antlers and moss. The ErlKing peered into the bourbon. “That way the geas would not restrain her from harming you, although she would still suffer some of the consequences. If she was angry enough, then perhaps it did not matter.”

“She didn’t do it.” Evershaw started moving again. “I know she didn’t.”

“Just because you don’t want it to be her doesn’t mean it isn’t,” Todd said.

Evershaw scowled at his cousin. “That’s an interesting change of opinion, since last night you were all about me bringing the girl into the pack. Now you’re convinced she’s a traitor?”

“She was the only one there with you when this episode happened,” Todd shot back. “And she somehow got you to feel when she was allegedly in pain that first night. There’s something else going on and there’s no telling what it actually is. Just keep your mind and your eyes open, man.”

Smith took a deep breath. “Of course, there’s only one way to find out.”

Evershaw and his cousin both looked at the old man. The alpha spoke first. “And that is?”

“Wait until it happens again,” Smith said. He shrugged, holding out his glass so Todd could refill it. “Or identify what carries the hex. Either way, we’ll know.”

“So we’re just supposed to wait around—again—for someone to try and kill Evershaw?” Todd folded his arms over his chest after replacing the bottle in the liquor cabinet next to the desk. “How is there no better plan than that?”

Smith finished the drink and pushed to his feet, stretching his arms out and twisting until vertebrae cracked. “When you don’t know the perpetrator or the motive or much about the weapon of choice, it can be difficult to posit a theory. But please go ahead, young man, if you have a better idea.”

Todd pressed his lips together and fumed, refusing to respond, and Evershaw shook his head. Completely unhelpful.

Smith only inclined his head to acknowledge the point, then limped to the door. “I’m still waiting to hear from Iskander, the djinn, on whether there are other forces at work. It’s entirely possible it isn’t witch magic that wants to kill you, although I would expect to recognize it if it were. Only witch magic is so beyond my... awareness.”

Evershaw grunted and kept pacing. “Let us know, Smith.”

The old man waved at him over his shoulder and disappeared out of view, leaving Evershaw to glare at his cousin. “Any bright ideas, Todd?”

Todd scowled right back. “Just be careful. Think with your brain for once instead of your dick, okay? She’s a witch. She’s powerful enough that she makes the fucking ErlKing hesitate. Be careful.”

“Update me if the trackers find anything useful about the other two witches.” Evershaw’s thoughts were already on Deirdre, back in his suite, and his feet took him in that direction without another word to Todd. His cousin stayed in the office, complaining more loudly the farther away Evershaw got, but he ignored it and kept going. The only way to figure out whether Deirdre was trying to kill him was to ask her.