Connor was still angry when they returned for lunch that day. They ate inside, it had started to drizzle.

"See, a pavilion is an awesome thing," Tanner chirped as he watched the drizzle outside the open door flaps. He caught Connor's dark stare and glanced away.

Connor was angry with himself. He was angry that he couldn't get justice for Brianna. It was just easier to vent that anger on Tanner or Jonathan, for not watching her closer. But they both knew they'd failed and rubbing salt in their guilt would not help any of them.

Three men appeared at the tent flaps. They wore identical black jackets, white shirts and wide, black hats. Grimweir.

"May we enter?" one asked at the door.

"You may," Connor answered and the three men came in. Arthur followed hard on their heels, though from his look Connor guessed he didn't know what they wanted either.

Tanner and Jonathan both vacated their seats, sitting on their sleeping mats instead. Amanda rose and found a third chair before sitting back down. Brianna was already on the floor next to Jonathan and Erica was near the door with Myrna with her.

Connor directed his attention back to the Grimweir as Arthur came to his side, finding himself a stool. Arthur was right, this was an ideal place to hold private meetings, something none of the other tribes had. He smiled at the thought.

"What may I do for you..."

"Abram, Abram Fischer," Arthur supplied. "You are yet Fyrd-Thain?"

The man, Abram nodded. Connor recalled from Arthur's lessons on other tribes that Fyrd-Thain was an old title among the Grimweir. Fyrd meant militia in old saxon, Amanda had supplied and Fyrd-Thain commanded said militia.

"We have come to hear this rumor directly," Abram said. "Of a drug that affects shifters."

"It's no rumor," Brianna snarled from her seat. Her right arm was still bound, though she said it felt better. "I was drugged. It's no lie. And I recall the scent, Fleischer. Say what you want about the camp being full of it, I was in that tent. I was close enough." She shuddered at the memory of it. "I know what happened."

Abram and his men craned their necks to look at her. When Abram's face turned back to Connor, his expression was sour, as if he'd seen a bug. "Women don't speak in council among our kind," he said, dismissively.

Brianna blushed and looked down. Connor glared at Abram, almost unable to speak.

"You came to hear about this rumor," Amanda growled. "Well, this is the one who lived it. You doubt your friends the Fleischer's capable?"

"Of this barbarity?" Abram replied, coldly. "Of course not. We are not blind to what they are. Do you see our women cavorting among them? I'll not let them from my camp." He turned to Connor. "You'd do well to do the same."

"I'll keep that in mind," Connor replied through tight lips.

"If it pleases you," Arthur said, intervening before Connor could speak again. "There is another who can attest to this drug." To Tanner Arthur said, "get Mitch. Let them here that story."

Tanner returned with Aaron and Mitch. Mitch spoke for a long time about his experience with being drugged, how he'd lost control of his mind and his shifts for many months.

"The skinwalkers told us this new drug was a blend of Fleischer's bathtub chemistry and Grimweir superstitions," Connor said, leaning forward and watching Abram's closely.

Abram snarled. "Superstition? Hardly. We know many things. Things other have forgotten."

"That was their description, not ours," Arthur offered.

"The Sons of Garm, we knew of them before they came to this country, from lore of the old world. We allied with them early on, for our own reasons. The Fleischers, we do not trust them. They came, with Lukas as a go between, to see about a certain grimoire. We knew they were seeking information to help defeat the bear clan. We never thought..."

Arthur gave a short barking laugh. "You never thought they'd use that information against wolves? You were played a fool then."

"Perhaps," Abram admitted. "Perhaps. This is a bad business and a bad precedent. To fight in open battle, I've no fear. But intrigue and drugs, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"We would never stoop to such a thing," Connor said. "Never."

"Nor we," Abram replied with a nod. "Samuel?" he added, looking to one of his wolves.

"The symptoms are clear, eh?" the one called Samuel replied. "Aye, I judge his story true enough."

When the Grimweir had left Connor mused, "what the hell was that all about?"

"We got indirect confirmation that they were involved in making the drug," Aaron said. "There's that."

"We got far more than that," Arthur said. He looked at Jonathan expectantly.

Still grooming his son, Connor thought.

"They came to our tent, in broad daylight even, to ask about these rumours," Jonathan said.

Arthur nodded. "And they spoke, even with that present." He nodded his head at Myrna, who blushed but otherwise didn't respond. Erica gave him a savage look. "You'd almost think they wanted it all around camp," he finished, not acknowledging Erica's glare.