Hard and Easy [High-Country Shifters 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Melody Snow Monroe

not heard from the girl since she last saw her with her not-so-happy dad.
    The door clicked open a few minutes later, and Frania walked in. There were bags under her eyes as if she hadn’t been sleeping. Since she was in the middle of teaching, Madra would have to wait for the students to pass to their next class before speaking with her. During class, Frania seemed distracted, but at least she was working on her tablet.
    Once class ended, Madra waited for most of the students to exit before approaching her. “Frania, can I speak with you for a moment?”
    Her face brightened. Frania gathered her books and stepped over to the desk. “Yes?”
    “I just wanted to check to see how you were doing. Was your father okay with you going to the cave?”
    She shrugged. “He wasn’t happy, but I don’t care. I told him I wanted to go to the university after next year and study archeology.”
    Her heart soared. “I think that’s wonderful. How did he react?”
    “Better than I thought, but he said we’d discuss it later.”
    That sounded promising. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going to attempt to get some information from the wolves about their history.”
    She clamped a hand over her mouth. “How will you do that? It’s too dangerous to go into their territory.”
    “I have a friend who lives in a compound that respects both lions and wolves. I’m hoping to learn what the wolves believe is their history.”
    “Do you think they’ve seen our cave?”
    She thought it cute that Frania claimed the diggings as her own. “I doubt it, which is why I want to find other corroborative evidence.”
    “Don’t you think the wolves will claim the lions were the aggressors?”
    “If it’s true that they were, they might say that. However, even if it’s false, they might claim it also. That’s why I’d like to speak with them.”
    Frania pulled out her tablet and swiped her fingers across the screen. “I wanted to find more information on our ancient history, but most of it supports our old textbook.”
    “I know.”
    “But I found a picture. The only thing it says is that this tunnel is the entrance to a crypt. It’s in wolf territory.”
    She studied the photo. “It’s hard to say if it’s true. Photos can be so easily doctored. I’ll let you know what I find.”
    “Thanks, Ms. Madra.” She bounded out, happier it seemed than when she’d first come in.
    Renewed by her decision to pursue the truth, the rest of the day sped by. While she used her old lesson plans, she was more invigorated that usual. No sooner had she gotten home than Brin messaged her.
    Hey beautiful. I’m swamped with work, but the trial should be over soon. Could you save some time this weekend for an overworked, loving man?
    She pressed the communicator to her chest and sighed. “You are so wonderful, Brin.” She sent him back a message. “Absolutely.”
    She stepped over to her wall and tapped it. Her computer sprung to life. Creating a plan always helped her figure out what to do. She thought about consulting with Lara, but her husbands would undoubtedly catch wind of her idea and nix it. If all went well, she’d leave after school tomorrow and be with Henla in wolf territory by tomorrow night.

Chapter Nine
     
    Madra’s palms were sweating as she exited the underground. She hoped she’d planned for every contingency when traveling to wolf territory. She’d packed a few changes of underwear and a fresh outfit. Lara had commented that the trek to Henla’s outpost would take several hours. Her biggest decision was who to get to escort her.
    While wolves didn’t always attack women and children, if they were in the mood, they did. She couldn’t ask Larek or Brin to go with her. The last thing she needed was to put them in harm’s way, even though they could each have handled three wolves. That left the bears. When she’d attended Sella’s wedding ceremony, Sella had asked Jalen, one of the leaders of the bear shifters, to