Page 28 of The Secret Mate Society

"I did some digging," Trevor said, his voice low."After you met up with him.Something about him seemed...off."

I crossed my arms, trying to appear merely curious rather than defensive."Off how?"

"He's not just some random journalist, Calder."Trevor pulled out his phone and showed me a screen."Before Portland, he worked in New York state for a small town paper.Got fired after becoming obsessed with a story about animal attacks upstate."

My stomach dropped."Animal attacks?"

"Yeah.And get this.He claimed they weren't animals at all, but some kind of monster.Went full conspiracy theorist, according to his former colleagues.Got committed at one point and lost everything."

The whiskey in my stomach turned sour."How did you find all this?"

Trevor shrugged."I've got a cousin in New York.Works for one of the police stations.One phone call and he gave me the whole story."He paused, watching my reaction carefully."Calder, this guy's been hunting creatures like us for years.His father was supposedly killed by one when he was a teenager."

The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity.Ethan's reluctance to discuss his past, the way he'd tensed when talking about the cattle mutilations, how he seemed to know more than he was letting on.

"You think he knows?"I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I think he suspects," Trevor replied."And I think he's been looking for proof ever since his father was killed."He stepped closer, his expression grave."You getting close to him… it could expose us all.”

I felt something cold settle in my chest as Trevor's words sank in.The warm feelings I'd been nurturing about Ethan suddenly seemed dangerous, foolish even.

"You're suggesting I break contact," I said, my voice coming out rougher than intended.

Trevor ran a hand through his hair."I'm suggesting you be careful, Calder.If this guy has been obsessed with finding monsters before, what's to say he's not playing you now?Getting close to gather evidence?Or worse…"

My wolf bristled at the implication that Ethan could be manipulating me, but the rational part of my brain couldn't dismiss it entirely.The timing of his arrival in Portland, his interest in the cattle mutilations, his eagerness to get close to me… it all looked different through this new lens."Have you told anyone else about this?"I asked.

"Just Patrick.Thought you should know first before we bring it to the pack."

I nodded, grateful for his discretion."Let me handle it.I'll...find out what he knows."

Trevor's eyebrows shot up."You're still going to see him?!"

"If he is hunting us, cutting him off suddenly will only confirm his suspicions."I was rationalizing, and we both knew it."Besides, better to keep him close where I can watch him than let him run around town unchecked."

Trevor didn't look convinced, but he nodded."Your call, boss.But if he starts asking the wrong questions..."

"I know," I said grimly."I’ll take care of it.”

After Trevor left to join his patrol, I stood in my living room for a long time, staring at nothing.The whiskey bottle called to me, but I resisted.I needed a clear head to process this.Ethan Murphy wasn't just some random human who'd caught my eye.He was potentially someone who'd dedicated years to exposing creatures like me.Someone who believed a monster had killed his father.For all I knew, he could be a werewolf hunter in training.Such a thing had existed once and the Elder Council knew the hunters weren’t extinct yet.

And I could be Ethan’s next target.

Chapter13

Ethan

“What do you mean he’sdead?!”I balked, staring at Jake from across the conference room table.“Wejustfucking talked to him!”

Jake's face went ashen, his broad shoulders sagging as he sank into his chair."The police found his body this morning.Same...same way as the cow mutilations."

My hands started trembling.The room felt like it was spinning, the fluorescent lights too bright, too harsh.Marcus Greer was dead.The farmer who'd looked me in the eye and begged me to believe him.Who'd seemed so relieved that someone finally took his story seriously.

"Heart and liver?"I whispered, though I already knew the answer.

Jake nodded grimly."And a message for the first time.Carved into his chest."

The blood drained from my face.I gripped the edge of the conference table, my knuckles going white.This was exactly like all those cases I'd obsessed over for years.The surgical precision, the missing organs, and the messages left behind.My father’s murder was sloppy compared to them, but I actually saw his attacker.It wasn’t until the police came to get his body that they found his heart and liver missing.