“How could you?”
“I just should have.”
“Jenna. Stop blaming yourself. I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t either.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a quick smile. “Your aunt was here around three.”
“What time is it now?”
She checked the clock. She must have fallen asleep for a bit. “Almost six in the morning.”
His eyes were closing. “Full moon’s getting closer.”
“It is. But I might be on to something. Birdie’s doing some research for me at the station.” She wasn’t sure he was awake enough to comprehend what she had to tell him, but she could always tell him again. “She’d already done a little research on her own.”
“Mm-hmm. Who?”
He was falling asleep, but that was okay. Rest was what he needed. “On Ingvar. Found an interesting change in her pattern of behavior. The kind of change that points to a few possible things going on. One being her identity was stolen. While giving that some thought, I came up with another idea.”
“Hmm.”
She smiled at his sleepy attempt to listen. “Go back to sleep, my brave wolf. I’ll fill you in later.”
“No.” His eyes opened a slit. “Another idea. What?”
“That Ingvar isn’t really Ingvar. Remember how you asked me if she’s always had those dark circles? Even you noticed without realizing it. I think another seer from our division, a woman who delved too deeply into the darker parts of our traditions, is behind all this.”
His eyes opened a little more. “Who?”
“Her name is Sola Skarsgard. She was dismissed for practicing the dark arts of her craft. Birdie is researching her. I’m hoping she finds some link that might connect her with Ingvar.”
“Is she powerful enough to build that circle?”
“She could be. I don’t know what happened to her after she was kicked out.”
“Does Ingvar know her?”
Jenna nodded. “Better than I do. They were in school together. Both studying to be seers.”
“Isn’t that a link?”
“It is. But not enough of one. Why would she suddenly take over Ingvar’s body to work all this dark magic? Why not just be herself? What does posing as Ingvar get her?”
Birdie pushed through the door, papers in hand. “I know what posing as Ingvar gets her. Closer to you, Jenna. Sola Skarsgard is definitely behind this, but that’s not her name anymore.”
“She changed it? That already sounds suspicious.”
Birdie shrugged. “She changed it because she got married. And now she lists herself as a widow.”
The small hairs on Jenna’s neck went up. “Birdie, what’s her married name?”
“Guddersen. Husband’s name was Leif. Does that mean anything to you?”
Jenna’s blood went cold, and Helgrind sent an angry whine through her bones. She pushed to her feet. “Yes. That’s the berserker who became a mercenary. The berserker I was tasked with eliminating. The very one who’s come back as a wraith to do the same to me.”
Titus struggled to get up. The wolfsbane still had more control of his body than he did, making every movement a battle. He pushed to his elbows, raising himself as much as he could. “They’re working together.”
Jenna came to his side. “I have no doubt they are, but that’s not your concern right now. You need to rest and kick this poison out of your system so you can be a hundred percent again. Come on, lie down.”
Birdie nodded. “Titus, honey, she’s right. I know you want to help, but you’re not in a position to do that. You’ve got to rest.”
“Women,” he muttered as he fell back against the pillows. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would have been able to hold himself up anyway. His head was spinning ever so slightly. “The two of you are so bossy.”
Birdie laughed. “If you’re listening, that’s all that matters.”
He looked at Jenna. “I’m sure you agree with her.”
She crossed her arms. “Yes, I do. Your health comes first.”
“You realize you can’t leave the hospital either.”
She smiled at him, uncrossing her arms to plant her hands on the edge of his bed and lean in. “I do, but I also know that means more time with you.”
He smiled back at her. It was hard not to when she was being this sweet. And he was madly in love with her, a truth that couldn’t be denied. “That’s very kind, and I appreciate it, but the full moon is coming. We’re running out of time.” Although he was starting to care less about being permanently bonded to her. Yes, it would make their lives harder, but at the same time, this incredible woman would always be with him.
If that wasn’t a win, winning no longer existed.
“I know, Titus. But I can work on things from here. It’s not like I’m going to be sitting around idle.”
“It won’t be the same. You’ll be hampered. Speaking of…” He glanced at the IV in his arm. “This seems unnecessary.”
Birdie clucked her tongue. “No, it isn’t. It’s speeding up the detox process. You remember when Ivy had the incident with wolfsbane? Being in the hospital made all the difference.”
“But she ingested it. I was only exposed to it.”
The look Birdie gave him said that made no difference. “And for all we know, your exposure was worse.”
She was a stubborn old woman, but he knew she had his best interests at heart. “Aunt Birdie, I’m not asking to go to the firehouse. Just home. It would be easier for Jenna to get things done from there. Please, get the doctor. I want to be discharged.”
Birdie looked at Jenna. The nerve. Like Jenna was in charge of his recovery. He was a grown man, fully capable of—a wave of nausea and weakness came over him. He suddenly exhaled, hard, like he’d taken a hard punch to the gut.
Jenna’s eyes narrowed. “Are you okay? You’re white as a sheet.” She put her hand
