Into the Fog (Fisher's Bay 1) ✅

Trouble Brewing

He glanced over at Rob. Normally he wasn't at these meetings unless they had a legal issue, but as the one who helped Ms. Ingrid track down Nadia, he had information they needed.

"But... that's not possible," said Chelsea Richards, leader of the cougar herd. Remy tended to like her more than the others for her level head. "I mean... unless she's not really Ingrid's granddaughter."

Every eye turned to Rob, who sat calmly in his chair, almost as though he was expecting this very thing from the second he had been summoned.

"Everything I've found points to her being Mara's daughter, though it was... difficult to find much. Especially before Nadia was in high school," he said. "They moved around a lot, never stayed in one place too long, nor did they visit the same place twice. Mara changed their names often."

"Can you find Mara?" Chelsea then asked. Rob shook his head.

"I tried for a year, before I gave up. Nadia doesn't know where she is either," he replied. "Mara likes to stay off the grid."

"I don't think we'd find much about that from Nadia. According to Chloe, everything she's said makes it sound like she truly believes she's Mara's daughter," Tate added.

While normally his beta would be here, Remy thought it better that she keep an eye on Nadia right now. There was a storm coming in and well, they still weren't sure just who she was. At the back of his mind, his wolf pushed through that it was also good to keep Nadia safe from the townsfolk who clearly thought she was responsible for George's death. Remy quickly dismissed that worry.

They may be abnormally paranoid about this, but no one would actually go after her. They'd demand that she be brought in for questioning. Maybe locked up while they questioned her. But that's about it.

"You should bring her in and question her," Matthew insisted, as if on cue. "It's the only way to get to the bottom of this."

Tate shot Remy a look that had him sighing heavily.

"We can't exactly do that. She doesn't know about our kind," Remy said.

"You've got to be kidding me. That can't be possible," Agatha scoffed. "Human or not, if she grew up with Mara, there's no way she could have hid it."

"Nadia told Chloe that her mother was often high or drunk. We think she wasn't shifting and using drugs and alcohol to self-medicate for the side effects," Tate continued. "She might have even attributed anything weird to mental illness, for all we know."

Remy's wolf whined in his head, stunned by the information. He was as well, though he kept his expression schooled. He had been curious as to how Mara Johansen would hide her wolf from her own daughter. Denying one's supernatural nature usually had dire effects on the psyche and the body.

Even Ms. Ingrid had aged rapidly and her mind degenerated without being able to use her sea form. According to her and the few resources they had in the Archives, Havsfru typically lived a few centuries. The only thing that had helped slow Ms. Ingrid's deterioration slightly was the fact that she had stayed near the ocean and had been surrounded by other supernatural beings.

However, regardless of whether Nadia was truly a Johansen, she couldn't have had an easy upbringing. Remy's heart ached for her, though he still fought his wolf's urges to comfort her. It was hard to stay focused on the meeting with everything in him screaming to go to her.

"Not now," he growled to his wolf.

His wolf whimpered, but settled down.

"I wouldn't put it past Mara to steal a baby," Agatha sniffed.