The drive back to the homestead felt strangely lonely and I knew why. I’d grown accustomed to talking to Quinn, texting with Quinn, looking forward to seeing Quinn. Now, I couldn’t do any of that anymore. As my heartache intensified, I called my aunt. “How did you survive this?” I moaned into the phone.

“Oh, Savvy.” Aunt Jo sighed. “I crawled into a bottle until the first full moon ended. Then I flirted with a bottle during the second full moon. When the third arrived, I took a few sleeping pills and put myself to bed early. By the fourth, it was this nagging need, but completely manageable.”

“So, wait…bottle, bottle, bottle of pills, bearable.” I considered which poison I’d have to pick up from the ABC Store later tonight. Vodka was too harsh. Rum and Crown required too much Coke. Jaeger maybe?

“Savvy, before you go picking up liquor, remember you’re the Alpha.”

I definitely felt like I was being reprimanded. “And just what does that mean?”

“Oh, you know, just that you can’t crawl into a bottle, or down any pills, or pretty much do anything other than power through it.” She sighed, probably already anticipating my objection.

“Why not?” I was about ready to turn the car around and have it out with her, face to face.

“Because…you’re the Alpha. You’re responsible for everyone. You have to be ready, at peak performance all the time.” She chuckled. “You know this. The moon is messing with you.”

I pouted. “No, I blame Quinn.” I turned onto the driveway. “I gotta go.”

“Hang in there, Savvy.”

I grunted at her and ended the call. After parking in front of my tiny house, I stepped out of the vehicle while Tanner and Gideon rushed over to help carry the food. “Thanks,” I grumbled.

“Something wrong, Alpha?” Tanner frowned.

“Nothing you can help with, so let’s eat and get moving. I have to stay busy.” I trudged up the steps after them and into my temporary haven, closing the door behind me. “Did I miss anything?”

The two men exchanged a look. “Not much,” Gideon murmured, but I noticed he was careful to avert his eyes.

“Oh, really?” I turned my attention to Tanner. “Guess what the best part of being the Alpha is, Tanner?”

He set his sub down on the table and stared at it before finally meeting my eyes. “Knowing that as long as you ask the right question, no member of the pack can lie to you?” He sounded positively weak as he responded.

“Bingo.” I shrugged. “It’s like having phenomenal cosmic powers.” I glanced around my house. “Which goes so nicely with my itty-bitty living space.”

Gideon laughed. Then he saw Tanner glaring at him. “What? She’s funny!” Then he grumbled something completely indiscernible under his breath.

I leaned on my elbows and stared at Tanner long enough to make him squirm under my gaze. He took a deep breath. I knew he wanted me to get it over with. I grinned. “So, Tanner, what’s the right question?”

He sank in his seat.

Gideon snorted and Tanner glared at him. “What? She’s clever too!”

“Come on, Tanner. Spill it.” I smiled for the first time in what felt like forever.

He rubbed his hands over his face. “Quinn came and talked to us.”

I sat up straight. My heart raced. “What did he say?”

“He apologized for his behavior. He said he didn’t know what had come over him.” Tanner jerked his head toward Gideon. “This joker laughed then, too, before acknowledging it had everything to do with the full moon.”

“Then he trudged away. I’ve only ever seen one other person look that sad,” Gideon remarked.

My shoulders drooped. “Yeah? Who?”

Gideon whispered, “You.”

“Dammit.” I sighed. “And I thought I was hiding it so well.” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, at least you managed to get away for a bit and hang out with your aunt. That had to be nice.” Tanner shrugged.

I jumped up from my seat and nearly scared them to death as I rushed to yank the map out of my pocket. “Check this out.” I opened it and flattened it out on the table as they scrambled to move their food out of the way.

“You labeled the other two buildings.” Tanner’s eye widened. “How?”

I slapped the table. “Aunt Jo. Would you believe she recognized them?” For a second I stared at the tunnel system. “Oh, and she didn’t recognize these. I’m pretty sure the tunnels are new.”

Tanner frowned as he stared at the map. Then he glanced up at me. “You know, I was thinking about this. The composting started more than a year ago. I can’t even remember. The first pile was the one near the green house.”

I studied the tunnels. “Closest to the mines. I’m guessing he made that tunnel first. He could be around the garden, which no one would question, and then sneak undetected toward the mines.” Gideon’s eyes had widened. “I know your loyalty lies with your brother, Gideon, but I need you to be loyal to your mate’s pack too. Can you keep our secrets?”

He swallowed hard. “Are there a lot of them?”

I chuckled. “Not as far as I’m concerned, but they all relate to money, ultimately. The property we own, the mines, our accounts and other assets.” I studied his face. “Think you can keep that just between us? We’re trusting you…essentially with our lives. Money makes us a target.”

“So, you’re not the simple homesteaders you pretend to be.” He shook his head. “I’d heard rumors, but nothing solid.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve been highly motivated to keep this to ourselves. It’s safer. And…our women love gardening. I think.” I chuckled. “For all I know, they secretly hate it.”

“Now that we have everything labeled, where do you want to begin?” Tanner tugged at his chin.

“I think we should start with the guard hut and the shagging shack. I’m reasonably confident he’s not near the homestead during the day. I doubt he’d risk hiding out in the mines then, either, since the men are there working.” I pointed at our destination. “And I think we should shift and use the tunnels.”

Gideon glanced at the clock. “Do you want to do this now, or later?” He was biting his lip and I suddenly realized how soon the twins would return.

“Can’t pull yourself away from Shelby already?” I sighed. “Okay. You stay here, unless Tanner is backing out too. Then I’ll go alone.” I shrugged and focused on devouring the remainder of my sub.

Tanner stiffened. “I’d never leave you to do this alone, Alpha.”

I pushed my chair back from the table. “Okay, let me pack this up and we’re out of here.”

“You do realize you only ate about four bites of your sandwich, right?” Gideon frowned at me.

“I’m full,” I lied. This was easier than trying to explain how my stomach was in constant knots over Quinn. Then I stuffed the remainder of my sub in the bag, folded it over, and stuck it in our teeny tiny fridge. “Oh, and look at that. Now the fridge is full. I won’t need to shop for a week.” I sighed. “The new house had better be built fast. I don’t know how long I can stand this.”

Gideon smiled as he stared out the window. “The place will feel a lot bigger once…”

I glared at him. I couldn’t help myself. Obviously, he was about to remind me I was losing my sister. “Not a word. Not now. I need to focus.” I turned to Tanner. “Let’s go.” Then I moved into my room to strip down out of sight. I knew the guys didn’t care, but I needed a moment alone to collect my thoughts. As soon as I’d folded my clothes, I shifted.

When I emerged, Tanner had taken his wolf form too, and Gideon held the door open for us. We need to enter the tunnels under the house. There’s too much activity around the barn.

Agreed. Tanner trotted along behind me.

We soon disappeared under what was left of my house, then rushed through the tunnel. So, we have to take the left fork over here, then the right fork and it should take us to the garden shed, but we’ll keep going to the guard hut.

You want to go there first? Tanner sounded doubtful.

You’re afraid we’ll alert Dallas to our presence if he hears us at the guard hut. I whined as I tried to consider our options. Do you want to split up?

I think splitting up is a terrible idea. Tanner growled.

Well, together or apart. These are the options. I know the map wasn’t exactly to scale, but I’m confident we’ll be close enough to help each other if necessary.

Tanner stopped dead in his tracks. Why do I feel like whichever choice I make, it’s going to go horribly wrong?

I stopped running and turned to face him in the dark tunnel. Well, historically speaking, luck is not on our side.