Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Ronan

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The first thing I smell is strangers.

Not the kind that wander too close to the border by accident. Not hikers or hunters. These ones carry steel,

oil, and the faint chemical tang of Assembly weapons. The scent rides the wind along the eastern ridge of

my territory.

My wolf lifts his head inside me immediately.

Assembly, he growls.

“Yeah,” I mutter under my breath.

I stand on the overlook behind the pack house, eyes scanning the forest below. The late afternoon sun spills

through the branches, lighting the valley gold. Anyone else might think it’s peaceful.

It isn’t.

They’re out there somewhere. Watching.

Behind me, boots crunch over gravel. Barric approaches, arms crossed, his expression already sour.

“Trackers found prints,” he says. “Three. Maybe four.”

I nod once. That matches the scent.

“They crossed the eastern boundary two hours ago,” he continues. “Didn’t come deep. Just far enough to

look around.”

My wolf paces in the back of my mind. Trespassers.

They’re testing boundaries again. Or they think they are too good to be caught.

“Assembly scouts,” I say.

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Chapter 33

Barric’s jaw tightens. “Yeah. That was my guess.”

:.

We stand there for a moment, both staring toward the trees.

Assembly scouts in my territory isn’t just an annoyance. It’s a message.

Or a warning.

Or a hunt.

They said they would send word back. Instead they tried to send spies onto my land.

Strike three.

“What do you want us to do about them?” Barric asks.

My wolf snarls. Kill them.

I resist the urge. Barely.

Killing Assembly scouts would start a war I’m not ready for yet. Not while things here are still… unstable.

Not while Aria is still fighting against whatever is trying to hold her wolf back.

I shake my head. “Leave them.”

Barric blinks. “Leave them?”

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“Watch them,” I correct. “See if we can figure out what they’re looking for.”

His lips slowly curve into a crooked grin. “Spying on spies,” he says. “I like it.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

He snorts.”No promises.” He turns toward the house, already pulling out his phone. “Cam will love this,” he calls over his shoulder. “It’s been a while since he’s had anything interesting to do.”

He’s right. Cam could track a rabbit through a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, all that talent meant it took a

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Chapter 33

lot to keep his attention.

The male spent most of his free time in his shed tinkering away at some elaborate traps which fed his need

to solve problems.

Still, the tension in my chest doesn’t ease.

Because I already know what those scouts are doing here.

They’re here to collect something on Aira.

My gut was telling me the information they got from their little test wasn’t enough for them to act against

her, especially not after I’ve given her my protection.

Aria, my wolf says quietly.

Yeah. Her.

Her scent was changing and that scent told me things I didn’t want to believe.

Things I told Kade he must have been mistaken to believe.

Do they know Lorian wasn’t human? That she had prevented her children from accessing their wolves?

The Assembly has to know about Lorain, that’s the only reason they would be sniffing around Aria.

They could be waiting for her to turn. But why?

As far as the Assembly knows… Aria is human.

A strange human, maybe.

One who can resist the Call.

So if they are worried about it being a sign of her turning it makes no sense. She would just join his pack

officially, just like her brother.

Unless they wanted to keep tabs on her for other reasons.

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