“He’s dying.”
“I’m assuming the council refused? And why is this only coming up now?”
“Yes, they refused—he didn’t interview well, apparently. Too power hungry and not pack material.”
Aaron stifled a laugh. The man who ran illegal boxing matches, threatened people, and had bodyguards with guns came across as power hungry—who knew?
“Alpha Wallace wasn’t aware that Smith and White were the same person,” Sam said.
Hadn’t they mentioned it in that meeting? Obviously not.
“What does that mean for us?” Harry asked. He glanced at Aaron, who shrugged—he had no idea.
“The SCTF believe this is connected to the missing shifter.”
It took Aaron all of two seconds to connect the dots. “They think Smith took Wilson?”
“That’s the theory. They think because he couldn’t get bitten the legal way, he’s taken it into his own hands.”
Harry grimaced. “What about the murders, though?”
“Yeah,” Aaron chimed in. “Are they saying he did those as well?”
“That’s still a grey area, I believe, but as you can imagine, they’re desperate to find Smith before tonight.”
Oh fuck. “Before he changes.” Aaron shuddered at the thought of Smith with shifter strength and enhanced senses.
Alpha power laced Sam’s voice, whether from the impending full moon or the gravity of the situation, Aaron wasn’t sure. “If Smith’s been bitten and if it takes, who knows what he’ll be capable of. He needs stopping before the change can happen.”
“What do you want us to do?” He was already up and heading to get his shoes when Sam’s voice stopped him.
“We wait.”
“Wait?” Frowning in confusion, Aaron slumped back onto the sofa and stared at the phone, “I thought you said he needs stopping.”
“He does, and the SCTF are searching for him as we speak. They have help from the other forces.”
“They don’t wantourhelp, though?” He heard the disappointment in his voice, but he couldn’t help it.
Sam sighed. “It’s the full moon run tonight, Aaron.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean—”
“The SCTF might be okay with us being there on a full moon, but the regular police aren’t used to dealing with shifters; they won’t feel comfortable with us working alongside them, especially not tonight.”
Objectively, Aaron knew it wasn’t personal. It wasn’t him they didn’t trust; it was the whole idea perpetuated by the legal requirement for full moon runs. He wasn’t going to kill anyone if he didn’t run tonight. For fuck’s sake. Yes, he might be short-tempered and restless, but that wasn’t a threat to anyone’s life. Unless they attacked him.
If he was totally honest, it stung that Michael hadn’t called or texted to tell him any of this, let alone ask for his help. “What are we supposed to wait for?”
“They’re searching Smith’s businesses and home addresses for both him and Wilson. If they locate Wilson, they’d like our help in bringing him in.”
Aaron scoffed. “Oh, so we’re not good enough to help with the search, but when they don’t want to risk their officers tackling Wilson, then we’re suddenly okay?” His hackles rose the more he thought about it. “We just wait around for their call and then go and do their dirty work for them?”
“Aaron.” Sam’s tone wasn’t laced with Alpha command this time. It positively dripped with it. That one word alone was more than enough to snap Aaron back to his senses.
Glancing down, he saw the hole marks in his jeans that his claws had made. Maybe the regular police weren’t all that far off the mark. “Sorry, Alpha.”
“I know it’s hard to sit on the sidelines and wait, but under the circumstances, I think it’s the right decision. Emotions are high tonight, and this case only exacerbates that.” His voice softened. “Don’t think of it as doing theirdirty work. Wilson is one of us, and who knows what he’s been through in these last few weeks. I would much prefer we get to him first rather than leave it to nervous police officers armed with guns. Wouldn’t you?”
