The Border Patrol

Chapter 19

The Border Patrol

Devin hated waiting.

Unfortunately, investigations involved a lot of it.

Waiting for reports.

Waiting for patrols.

Waiting for answers.

Waiting for whoever was responsible to make a mistake.

The eastern border hadn't produced anything useful in nearly a week.

Which was why Devin immediately volunteered when Garrett organized another search patrol.

It had nothing to do with Jade.

Probably.

As he crossed the training grounds toward the staging area, two younger warriors stood nearby speaking in low voices.

The moment Jade passed them, their conversation stopped.

Devin frowned.

The behavior felt familiar.

Too familiar.

After Jade disappeared toward the equipment shed, one of the warriors muttered,

"Maybe Sabrina was right."

The second nodded.

"Pretty convenient she's suddenly involved in everything."

Devin's expression hardened.

Todd heard it too.

"Idiots."

The two wolves immediately looked away.

Good.

Because Devin had very little patience for gossip.

Especially during an active investigation.

Yet the exchange lingered unpleasantly in his mind.

The rumors were spreading.

---

"You've been staring at them."

Todd fell into step beside him.

"I've been walking."

"Sure."

Devin ignored him.

"We need to focus on the patrol."

"We?"

"We."

Todd looked delighted.

"I love when you include me in your suffering."

Before Devin could respond, Garrett appeared.

"Enough talking."

The Beta handed out assignments.

"We sweep the northern section."

He pointed toward several marked locations on the map.

"Jade knows these trails best."

Jade, standing nearby, narrowed her eyes.

"I suddenly dislike how often people say that."

A faint smile appeared on Garrett's face.

"Good."

She muttered something under her breath.

Devin was reasonably sure it wasn't complimentary.

As the patrol gathered supplies, Jade approached carrying several maps Garrett had requested.

A pair of warriors she regularly worked alongside shifted away from her.

Not openly hostile.

Not openly rude.

Just distant.

Careful.

As though Sabrina's rumors had already planted doubts.

Jade noticed.

Devin noticed her noticing.

Something about that bothered him.

More than it should have.

Garrett accepted the maps without comment.

Unlike many others, the Beta seemed completely uninterested in gossip.

A quality Devin was beginning to appreciate more every day.

---

An hour later they were deep within the eastern forests.

The air smelled of pine, damp earth, and fallen leaves.

Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead.

The patrol spread into organized groups.

Garrett led from the front.

Several warriors ranged ahead.

Todd drifted wherever he pleased.

Which somehow left Devin beside Jade.

Again.

Neither commented on it.

At least not immediately.

"You keep looking over your shoulder."

Jade stepped over a fallen log.

"You keep trying to tell me what to do."

"That's not an answer."

"It's not a problem."

Devin resisted smiling.

Training with her had become dangerous.

She was starting to argue exactly like him.

The realization was mildly horrifying.

They continued deeper into the woods.

Searching.

Listening.

Studying every sign.

And despite the seriousness of the mission, Devin found himself noticing things.

Jade moved through the forest with confidence.

Instinctively.

Comfortably.

Like she belonged here.

She rarely paused to consider directions.

She simply knew them.

The fact still unsettled him.

How long had she been doing this?

And how had he never noticed?

---

Around midday, Jade abruptly stopped.

Every warrior instantly froze.

Garrett turned.

"What?"

Jade crouched beside a patch of disturbed earth.

Studying it.

Devin moved beside her.

A faint scent lingered.

Old.

But familiar.

"The same one."

Garrett frowned.

"The unknown scent?"

Jade nodded.

"Older this time."

The patrol immediately began following the trail.

For twenty minutes they moved steadily through increasingly dense undergrowth.

Then Jade pushed through a wall of bushes.

And froze.

"Oh."

Devin stepped into the clearing behind her.

His stomach dropped.

A campsite.

Hidden beneath thick tree cover.

Recent.

Large.

Organized.

Garrett moved instantly.

"Spread out."

Warriors surged into action.

Searching.

Cataloging.

Investigating.

Within minutes they found evidence.

Bedrolls.

Food supplies.

Fire pits.

Tracks.

Lots of tracks.

"This wasn't one wolf," Todd said.

Garrett nodded grimly.

"No."

The campsite had clearly housed multiple occupants.

Yet whoever had stayed here was gone.

No pack symbols.

No personal belongings.

Nothing that identified them.

The camp looked intentionally cleaned.

Which somehow felt worse.

---

The discovery should have been enough.

Instead, Jade found something else.

"Devin."

Her voice immediately drew his attention.

She stood at the edge of the clearing staring at the ground.

He joined her.

"What is it?"

Jade pointed.

At first he saw nothing.

Then disturbed soil caught his eye.

Partially buried beneath leaves lay a small silver pendant.

Together they unearthed it.

The item wasn't valuable.

Nor particularly impressive.

Except for one detail.

A strange symbol had been engraved onto the metal.

Garrett studied it carefully.

"Anyone recognize it?"

No one did.

Not even Todd.

The pendant was bagged as evidence.

Another clue.

Another question.

No answers.

---

As warriors continued searching, a voice rose from the opposite side of the clearing.

One of the younger patrol wolves looked toward Jade.

"Funny how she's always finding things."

Several wolves looked up.

The implication was obvious.

Jade's shoulders stiffened.

Before she could respond, Garrett's voice cut through the clearing like a blade.

"She's finding things because she's paying attention."

Instant silence.

The Beta rarely raised his voice.

When he did, everyone listened.

"If any of you spent half as much time observing as she does, we'd have solved this already."

Nobody spoke after that.

The younger wolf immediately looked embarrassed.

Jade looked surprised.

So did Devin.

Garrett wasn't the type to hand out praise.

Which made the defense significant.

---

They spent several more hours tracking signs away from the campsite.

The trail was frustratingly incomplete.

Whoever had stayed there knew how to hide evidence.

Branches had been swept.

Tracks deliberately disrupted.

Scents scattered.

Professional.

Deliberate.

Garrett hated it.

"They knew we'd eventually come looking."

Nobody disagreed.

Because he was right.

---

Late in the afternoon they reached a rocky slope overlooking a narrow ravine.

Jade moved ahead.

One step.

Then another.

A loose section of stone shifted beneath her boots.

Suddenly the ground disappeared.

Devin reacted before he thought.

His hand shot forward.

Caught her wrist.

Jade gasped.

The edge crumbled away beneath her feet.

For one terrifying second she hung there.

Then Devin pulled.

Hard.

Momentum carried her forward.

Straight into him.

The impact sent both of them stumbling backward.

Silence followed.

Jade stared up at him.

Wide-eyed.

His hand still wrapped around her wrist.

Their faces were entirely too close.

Neither moved.

Neither seemed capable of it.

"You okay?"

The question emerged rougher than intended.

Jade blinked.

Then nodded.

"Yeah."

A pause.

"Thanks."

Silence lingered.

Then frustration flashed across her face.

Not at him.

At herself.

"I hate that."

Devin frowned.

"Hate what?"

"I slipped."

For a moment he simply stared.

"You almost fell down a ravine."

"And?"

"And you're worried about losing points."

Jade crossed her arms.

"I was doing fine."

"You were not."

The argument immediately broke the tension.

Somehow that seemed to happen often around her.

Behind them, Todd made a suspicious choking sound that sounded remarkably similar to laughter.

Both stepped apart.

Immediately.

---

By the time they returned to Silverwood, sunset painted the forest gold.

The patrol gathered in the council room to review findings.

The campsite.

The pendant.

The unknown scent.

The disrupted tracks.

Finally.

Progress.

Garrett pointed toward the map.

"They weren't travelers."

Knox, attending the joint meeting, nodded.

"They were organized."

"Agreed."

Rowan folded his arms.

"This wasn't random activity."

For the first time, the investigation felt tangible.

Real.

Something was operating in the forests between their territories.

And now they had proof.

As the meeting ended, wolves began filing from the room.

Snippets of conversation drifted through the hallway.

"...heard she was using Ryker..."

"...always around important people now..."

"...seems suspicious..."

The conversations died the moment Devin appeared.

Good.

Because his patience for gossip had evaporated.

For the first time, he found himself genuinely wondering where the rumors had started.

And more importantly...

Who benefited from them.

Across the room, Jade gathered her notes.

Tired.

Focused.

Completely unaware he was watching.

Or maybe she wasn't.

Because a second later she looked up.

Their eyes met.

Briefly.

Then she rolled her eyes for absolutely no reason.

Turned.

And walked away.

Despite everything, Devin found himself smiling.

The investigation was becoming more dangerous.

That much was clear.

Yet somehow, the more he learned about Jade Sullivan, the more impossible it became to understand how he'd ever overlooked her at all.