Enigma

Chapter 44

"Lydia worked for the government, alright," Arthur said, looking at his phone with a cold smile. "She was a CIA agent."

Lillian's head snapped up, her wolf's ears twitching. A CIA agent? Lillian had known Lydia's occupation wouldn't be something as mundane as a clerk. But a CIA agent?

She cocked her head at Arthur. He scrolled through his phone, his eyes narrowed. "After she presumably retired, she worked as a 'treasure hunter.'"

"A treasure hunter?" Elle asked, stepping out of the house to stand next to her mate.

"That's code for rogue hunting," Arthur said, glancing at Noah and Lillian. "Human government agencies have been going after rogue immortals for as long as I can remember."

"Why?" Elle asked, her hand on her sword. "I thought only the Order had the authority to hunt down rogues."

"Yes. Treasure hunting is illegal, but humans never cared for following laws that aren't beneficial to them. They want immortals to study and experiment on in order to find out more about us. And rogues, especially weak ones, are often a convenient target. No one misses them, no one will start asking around about some rogues if they're not causing trouble."

Lillian whined and shook her head. The thought that Lydia was responsible for such things made her heart ache. Noah made a noise at the back of his throat and stepped close to her, his side brushing hers.

Arthur looked at Lillian. "This information is certain. Lydia Harrison worked as a treasure hunter after retiring as a CIA agent. But this is where it gets interesting. Five years ago, she went under the radar."

Five years ago. That was around the time she came into Lillian's life. Lillian's blood ran cold.

"Our guess is that she was tasked with some sort of mission," he continued. "Probably something that ran long term and required she go off the radar."

Elle pursed her lips and looked at Lillian. "Do you think she knew about you when she approached you?"

Lillian sat down under the shade of the big oak. Had Lydia known about Lillian? Was that why she approached her? But it didn't make sense. Lydia had never done anything to hurt Lillian or the twins. She'd protected them until her dying breath.

Maybe it was all a big coincidence, but even as she thought that, she knew it was unlikely.

Lillian's wolf dug her claws in the ground. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.

"A treasure hunter," Elle mumbled. "I never knew such a thing existed."

Treasure hunter.

Lillian cocked her head to the side. A memory nipped at the edges of her mind, just out of reach. She looked at the ground, trying to pull on the skein of that thought.

Treasure hunting.

It popped in her head, suddenly clear as day. The memory of coming back from work to find the twins covered in dirt and Lydia coming in from the backyard with a small shovel.

"Mommy! We buried a treasure under the tree!" Elijah's excited voice announced. Lydia had laughed and shaken her head at the twins.

"It was supposed to be a secret, Elijah," she said, her smile deepening the lines on her kind face.

"Oh! Sorry," Elijah's wide eyes.

"But you always tell us not to keep secrets from mommy," Ezra said, looking at Lydia with big blue eyes.

"I do, don't I?" Lydia had patted the twins' head. "Well, then. I guess your mommy can know this secret, then."

Lillian's wolf started digging where she stood. She had thought the twins and Lydia were simply playing, that they had buried something silly like a toy or a bone. It could still be nothing. But her instincts said otherwise.