"Someone's been covering up evidence that the founder network was showing problems," Leo realized, his protective instincts immediately on alert. "But who has access to municipal records and the authority to make those kinds of changes?"
"Someone with long-term residency and official standing," Aerin said grimly. "Someone trusted enough to handle sensitive documentation without oversight."
Leo felt his lion's hackles rise. If someone in Mistwhisper Falls had been systematically covering up evidence of magical instability, it suggested coordination with forces working to destroy the founder network. The idea that they might have an enemy embedded within the community made his protective instincts roar with frustrated fury.
"We need to identify who had access to these records," he said, full of authoritative edge that marked him as law enforcement. "And we need to figure out how long this tampering has been going on."
"I've been cross-referencing the altered documents with personnel records," Aerin said, pulling out a tablet displaying her analysis. "The pattern suggests someone who's been in a position of trust for at least twenty years, with regular access to both historical archives and current municipal documentation."
Leo studied the data, his mind automatically running through possibilities while his lion prowled restlessly with the need to identify and neutralize threats to their territory. The list of people with that level of access was uncomfortably short, and several names on it represented individuals he'd known and trusted for years.
"This is going to require careful investigation," he said finally. "If we're right about internal manipulation, approaching the wrong person could warn whoever's responsible and give them time to cover their tracks or escalate their activities."
"Or to eliminate witnesses," Aerin added quietly. "If someone's been planning to destabilize the founder network for decades, they're probably not going to hesitate to remove obstacles to their success."
The sobering possibility settled over the library like a weight, adding personal danger to crisis of epic proportions. Leo found himself moving slightly closer to Aerin, his lion's protective instincts demanding proximity to someone he'd claimed as mate despite their efforts to maintain professional distance.
"We need to be careful about who we trust with this information," he said, his voice carrying the intensity of someone who'd learned that betrayal could come from unexpected sources. "Until we know who's been manipulating the records, we can't assume anyone in official positions is completely trustworthy."
"Including the council members who assigned you to supervise my research?" Aerin asked, her pale eyes reflecting understanding of the paranoid logic their discovery required.
"Including anyone who might have had the authority to alter official documentation without triggering oversight protocols," Leo confirmed grimly. "Which makes our research significantly more dangerous and probably explains why your arrival triggered such immediate interest from multiple parties."
Aerin was quiet for a moment, processing implications that added layers of personal risk to their already complex situation. "Leo, if someone's been working to destabilize the founder network, and if the betrayal sigil represents a threat to their plans, then our research makes us targets."
"It also makes us the best chance this town has of stopping whatever's been planned," Leo replied, his lion's determination overriding caution. "If we can figure out how to activate the sigil safely, we might be able to cleanse the corruption from the entire network."
"And if we can't? If the activation requirements are a trap designed to exploit our connection?"
"Then we deal with the consequences as they come," Leo said, his tone carried the certainty of someone that believed that action was preferable to paralysis. "But we don't let fear of manipulation stop us from trying to save thousands of lives."
Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the library door, followed by Lyra's voice calling, "Aerin? There's someone here to see you. Says she's from the fae university."
Leo and Aerin exchanged glances that carried multiple layers of concern. Official contact from the fae university could be routine academic follow-up, but given what they'd just discovered about internal manipulation, any unexpected visitors represented potential threats.
"Did she give a name?" Aerin called back.
"Dr. Silvane Morwyn. She says she's here to conduct a progress evaluation of your research."
Aerin went completely still, her face draining of color in a way that made Leo's protective instincts surge to full alert. "That's impossible," she said quietly. "Dr. Morwyn died three months ago in a magical accident at the Arctic research station."
Leo was on his feet immediately, his lion rising to the surface as threats to his mate triggered responses that bypassed rational thought. "Stay here," he ordered, his voice dropping to the rumble that meant his animal half was in control. "Don't open the door for anyone until I get back."
"Leo, wait?—"
But he was already moving toward the library door, his enhanced senses cataloguing threats and defensive options. If someone was impersonating a dead researcher to gain access to Aerin, it suggested their enemies were escalating from subtle manipulation to direct action.
He found Lyra in the inn's main parlor, speaking with a woman who looked exactly like what Leo would have expected from a fae academic—tall, elegant, with silver hair and features that seemed to shift slightly when he wasn't looking directly at them. But his lion's senses detected something wrong beneath the surface, a scent that carried traces of deception and old magic used for purposes that didn’t mean legitimate research.
"Dr. Morwyn," Leo said, his voice carefully neutral despite the way his lion was snarling warnings. "I'm Captain Maddox, Dr. Thorne's assigned liaison. I wasn't aware the university had planned any progress evaluations."
"Captain," the woman replied, her smile carrying too many teeth for comfort. "The university is naturally concerned about Dr. Thorne's extended residency and the reports we've received about unusual magical phenomena. I'm here to ensure she hasn't exceeded the scope of her authorized research."
"What reports?" Leo asked, noting the way the woman's magical signature felt wrong in ways he couldn't quite identify.
"Reports of unauthorized activation of ancient magical systems," the woman said, moving closer with fluid grace that reminded Leo uncomfortably of predatory hunting patterns. "Reports that suggest Dr. Thorne may have become emotionally compromised by local influences."
The accusation hit too close to their recent concerns about manipulation and compromised objectivity, but Leo's lion was focused on more immediate threats. Something about the woman's scent was making his animal half increasingly agitated, as if she carried traces of corruption that his senses could detect but not quite identify.
