“For what?” Michael asked, although he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.
“To be bitten and accepted into any pack that would take him.”
“Jesus,” Arlington hissed, then slammed on the mute button. “Why the fuck didn’t we know this?”
Hesitant to add to his bad mood, Michael said carefully, “I think it’s safe to assume they refused him, considering he’s still human. And in that case, the council aren’t required to report it to the human authorities because no bite takes place.”
“Fucking hell.” Arlington unmuted the phone. “Alpha Wallace, why did White request to be bitten and when slash why did you refuse him?”
“We refused him because when we interviewed him, he was… not someone we wanted to give enhanced strength and senses to. It wasn’t a sense of belonging, of pack, that Mr White was after, more the power that comes with it. A man like that doesn’t want to be part of a whole; he wants to rule it.”
“That’s not why he came to you, though, is it?” Arlington asked. “At least that’s not the reason he gave you.”
“No.” She sighed. “Mr White came to us because he’s dying.”
Silence.
Michael reached forward and hit the mute button. He gestured to the phone. “Are we discussing everything with the council now?”
Arlington grunted. “Under the circumstances, I think we’d better.”
Hitting the mute button again, Michael leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. “Alpha Wallace, this is DS Archer. Is it reasonable to believe that Wilson could’ve been taken by Smith and forced to bite him? How likely a scenario is that?”
Shifters were quick and strong. Could they be captured easily and forced into doing something against their will?
“We’re like anyone else, Detective—if you have the correct means at your disposal, then it’s certainly a possibility. I don’t know how resourceful your Mr Smith is, but shifters aren’t some magical creatures that are immune to everything. It might take a much larger dose than for a human, but sedatives and tranquillisers will work long enough for a shifter to be subdued if you act quickly. As will a serious injury. I imagine Smith and his associates aren’t short of weapons.”
“No.” Michael ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the too-long strands. “They certainly aren’t.” Fuck, this morning had taken a huge turn for the worse. “Can a shifter be forced to bite someone against their will?”
He could almost hear the raised eyebrows in her tone. “If someone held a gun to your head, Detective, would you bite them?”
“Point taken.” In retrospect, it had been a stupid question, but for fuck’s sake. How was Smith becoming a shifter something they had to worry about now? He was bad enough as a human. How bad would he be after getting a power upgrade? “If he’d already been bitten and gone through the change, Aaron would’ve known, right?”
“Yes. If Mr Smith changed at the last full moon, then both Mr Harper and Mr Nash would’ve smelt it on him if they were in the same room.”
Aaron had sat next to him in the back of a car. There was no way he wouldn’t have known.Would he have told you, though? Would he have turned on one of his own?He dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. He trusted Aaron. He’d been as appalled at the murders as everyone else. No way would he protect a killer.
“If they’ve captured Dale Wilson,” Alpha Wallace said, “isn’t it possible that they’re somehow using him to commit these murders? Forcing him somehow?” The line went silent as thoughthey’dbeen muted this time. “I’m not clutching at straws, Detectives, just offering ideas. I want to stop these killings as much as you do, but I want to ensure the right people are held responsible. Just because the deaths were inflicted by shifter claws doesn’t mean they did it willingly.”
“I’ll take that into consideration, Alpha Wallace, of course. For now, I’d like to concentrate on finding both Smith and the shifter before the full moon tonight in case our assumptions prove to be correct.”
Michael quickly dug his phone out of his pocket and did a quick search. “According to Google, technically the full moon isn’t until 7.09 a.m. Tuesday morning. If Smith’s been bitten, is that when he’ll change?”
“It’s not an exact science, Detective, and the change—if it takes place, because not all who’re bitten will become shifters—is different for everyone.”
“How different?” Frank glared at the phone, appearing as frustrated by the turn of events as Michael was.
“The change itself can begin as early as ten to twelve hours before the exact time of the full moon itself—the instant when the sun and moon are aligned on opposite sides of the earth—and can take as little as an hour or stretch to several for the change to complete. But come 7:09 a.m. tomorrow, if he’s going to change, he will have.”
“So, saying he’s left it till the last minute to get bitten, we need to find him tonight?”
“That would be preferable, yes,” Alpha Wallace replied. “If we can get to him before the change—if he’s been bitten—then I can arrange to have him taken to Krillick Hall where he can be properly contained.”
Arlington met his gaze, then Frank’s. “Do we have a list of all Smith’s known businesses and his home address?”
“Yes.” Frank produced a folder Michael hadn’t noticed him bring in. “He owns two nightclubs, a pub, and two cafés slash coffee shops. And also two rental properties as well as his permanent residence.”
“If he’s expecting to change into a shifter within the next few hours, then he’s going to need somewhere private and secure to hole up for a while. Check all the properties he owns, starting with his home address.”
