His gaze met mine over her head, all humor gone from his eyes. “Why don’t you head inside with my dad and bring him up to speed on what we’ve found so far. I’ll just be a minute.”
My first instinct was to growl and tell himheshould go inside whileI’dbe just a minute.But since I’m notjealous, it would be weird.
“Sure.” My response came out a little strangled, what with my wolf digging her claws into me as if it would keep me from taking her inside.Is there an off button in there somewhere?
Summoning all of my strength, I forced myself to pivot and put one foot in front of the other until I entered the cabin. I made a beeline for the coffee maker and started brewing a new pot. It’d been a long night, and I suspected an even longer sleepless day would follow.
Hawk whistled from the living area, his focus on the murder board. “Wow. Looks like you two have been busy.”
“As a consequence of sleeping all day yesterday, we worked through the night,” I responded, though I was only half listening because my ears were straining to hear something from outside.Ugh! Focus, Makayla!
I trudged across the room to where Hawk stood scrutinizingour photos and files. He reviewed everything in silence for several minutes before arching a brow at me. “Well?” he prompted. “I assume this has all led to some sort of theory?”
“Yeah, initially, but—”
The door opened and Alaric entered, his face drawn and his shoulders slumped.
Hawk shifted his focus, his stance protective. “Is Savannah all right?”
Alaric shook his head as he joined us in the living room, coming to stand between me and his father. “She’s falling apart, Dad. First Tyler, and now Kristen? Apparently, they were best friends. But I’m guessing you knew that already.”
“Yeah, I did,” Hawk replied.
“This is so messed up,” Alaric breathed. “She’s all alone.”
“No family?” I asked, feeling guilty for how I overreacted outside.Damn wolf. Of course, she was perfectly content now with Alaric beside me, his scent woodsy and intoxicating and entirely lacking Savannah’s floral perfume.
“Her parents died just after she finished high school, and like her, they had no siblings,” Hawk said, responding to my inquiry about her family. “Everly and I took her under our wing, and that’s how she and Tyler became close.”
“Mom came by to get her while I was outside,” Alaric said. “I think they were going to go for a run.”
Hawk nodded. “Good. Your mother will know how to help her. Now, why don’t you two show me what you’ve come up with?”
“Coffee first,” I breathed when I heard the machine ding, alerting me that it had finally finished brewing.
I grabbed a steaming mug for each of us and handed them out. Then we went over all the links and photos, and I told Hawk what happened three years ago with Sapphire. I also explained the theory I’d come up with and how the new development—a victim from the McKenzie Pack—had caused me to discard it.
By the time we were done, I could see the pride in Hawk’s eyes as he observed me and Alaric. He was impressed by our findings but also wary of what it all meant.
“You think another hybrid dropped Kristen’s remains on your lawn?” Hawk asked, his gaze on Alaric.
“I’m not sure. The ashy scent reminded me of the hybrid I killed the other day.”
And it reminded me of something else,I thought, frowning to myself.But what?I couldn’t pinpoint it. The memory was there and gone in a flash, tainted by the odd underlying addition of smoke. As Vex had been my one and only experience with a hybrid, I didn’t have any other suspects for my list. So I just shook my head, unable to add anything else of use.
“All right, so it seems we have someone creating hybrids. A trafficking ring. Murdered wolves. And missing girls.” Hawk recapped it all while scratching his chin, then he dove into a string of potential theories that left all three of us staring at the murder board afterward in an attempt to figure out our next lead.
“Well, at least we have Neo,” Isaid after a beat.
“Neo? Who the fuck is Neo?” Alaric growled.
“The wolf Vex sent to tell the boss about the delivered silver packages,” I replied, my gaze still on the board. “Have you found anything on him yet?”
“How the hell would I have found anything on him?” he demanded. “This is the first I’m hearing about him.”
I glanced at him. “Okay, first, that question was for Hawk. Second, I tried to tell you about him when you went all…” I trailed off and made a gesture of an explosion. “And then you were all”—I growled and crossed my arms over my chest—“and focused on the boss after I mentioned Neo the second time.”
Hawkchuckled.
