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The shift was quick, and I was soon on four paws, my sight, hearing, and nose focusing to the point I could hear the small things compounding into a cacophony. Tuning out the town noises, I fixated in on the forest. A small creature scurried away from me, as they always did, but tonight I was hunting bigger game.
The scent was strong here at the motel and as I moved farther up the ridge, it started to fade. Turning around, I went the other direction to try to trace it toward the road to our neighborhood. It was strong there, before fading again. It was like he lingered here and only here, the rest a hasty escape. Likely from my patrols earlier in the night.
There were no signs of a camp in the thick of the forest surrounding Dixon, the strongest still at the motel. I’d have to check in with the owners and see who was staying if they’d give that information up. We got a lot of travelers in these parts, but they were hardly ever busy outside of festivals and holidays.
Giving up, I went back to the Jeep, shifting back and changing hastily. I’d just sat down when Callum returned. His jaw was clenched, blond hair mussed now like he’d run his hands through it repeatedly, a telltale sign that this wasn’t going to be good news.
“Definitely an animal attack. It seems the man who died was a bouncer from the bar. The only suspect was a man who confronted a woman passing through. Tina chased him off and Blake walked her home. He even made it back to work but then they found him early this morning.”
“Shit,” I cursed. “Let me guess, no traces of this guy either?”
“None,” he agreed. “Once he was kicked out, they never saw him again. We’ll have to have Rivera check feeds and see if we can get a visual somewhere.”
“And the woman?” I asked, curious why a lone wolf would single out a human. Unless…
“She’s staying here, in room six. They questioned her before they realized it was an animal attack, though sheriff says it looks staged to be one, he’s suspicious. Plus, he said Blake outweighed her by a solid two hundred pounds,” he added.
“He was strong here by the motel and down by our road, but it fades every single way out. He’s walked it plenty but never lingered apparently. I’ll be honest and say I have no clue what his endgame could be.”
“I’m going to question her then, see if she can give more insight or a description,” Callum said, glancing in the mirror and fixing his hair. I held back an amused snort at his preening and settled into my seat.
“And I’ll wait right here for you to charm her. Talking to people isn’t my thing,” I said with a humorless laugh. I’d sure as hell been reminded of that my entire life. Grandfather loved to lecture me on my people skills, but even he knew by now it was a lost cause. I lost count of how many times he had to reassure people that my bark was much scarier than my bite. I disagreed but if it made them feel better, who was I to correct him?
Callum climbed out and slammed the door shut, strutting over to room six and knocking on the door. A bleary-eyed woman answered, blonde hair sticking out comically and her makeup from the night before giving her full raccoon eyes. There was something in her tense stance and the way that her eyes darted around the lot that told me she was the one who would have real answers for us.
ChapterSeven
Vanya
My entire body felt like it was going to implode from anxiety. When a loud knock echoed in the room for the second time, I wasn’t even afraid to admit that I let out an undignified scream. I hastily got dressed and composed myself before looking out the peephole.
The man outside of the door was huge and imposing, but didn’t strike me as a cop. He also wasn’t the creepy, killer wolf so I opened the door. In fact he was freaking gorgeous. His blond hair was just long enough to fall in his eyes, but it didn’t look shaggy or unkempt. He had piercing blue eyes that I could get lost in. His jawline could cut fucking glass, every feature and muscle I could see, honed to perfection. But it was the single dimple on his left cheek that truly got me.
“Hello. My name is Callum. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?” he asked before narrowing his eyes. “Are you a lone wolf?”
My eyes went wide at that and I started rambling, clearly freaking out. Nope, that doesn’t make me look guilty at all. “Listen, my truck broke down and is stuck at Dave’s for longer than I’d like. There were no scent markers in town so I thought it was safe.”
He scoffed like I was lying. “No scent markers? We have this entire town covered.”
My eyes narrowed angrily before I crossed my arms, the earlier worry replaced by fire now. “Like hell it is. I’ve been up and down this road now and the only other wolf I smelled was the dick who apparently wasn’t just creepy, but a full-on murderer.”
Who the hell did this guy think he was to come in here and insinuate that I was a liar? There was nothing in this town other than some spooky stories about the Bluffs. We had a silent stare off before he finally spoke again.
“What did he say to you?” His question was borderline accusatory now and I bit back my attitude. If he was a big name in his pack, then I wasn’t going to burn bridges while backed into a corner. I was a rebel, not an idiot.
“He didn’t like that I turned him down. But the guy was also dirty, smelled, and was at least twice my age,” I said. For some reason I didn’t tell him about tracking, though I likely should have. But if he didn’t trust me, I wasn’t going to trust him yet. The smart thing would be to ask after his alpha, seek sanctuary among them.
“Have you seen him again?” Once again, another emotionless, cold question.
“No. But it’s been less than twelve hours.” I shrugged, showing the same indifference. I’m sure he’ll show his ugly mug again. You don’t kill like that then just leave.”
He eyed me for a moment like he just couldn’t figure me out. “Why would he leave you a warning?”
“Because men don’t take ‘no’ well?” I asked like he’d lost his mind. “You’re asking me to know the inner workings of a clearly disturbed man I met once.”
He stepped forward menacingly as my attitude ramped up again. I stood off with him, not flinching as he leaned down.
“You should watch how you speak to an alpha,” he warned quietly. My anger didn’t fade, but internally I was smacking myself. Being personable was never my strong suit, but dammit I was a loyal wolf.
