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“You said it, not me.” He smirks.
I scoff. “A wolf could outrun an alligator any day of the week.”
He stands tall, pushing out his chest. “Yes, well, an alligator would win an eating contest.”
I laugh. “That’s not something to be proud of.”
“It is. My cousin holds the county fair record.” He looks smug as he boasts about his family.
I playfully cover my eyes while shaking my head. “Maybe I should make you half-wolf. At least then you’d have some real talent.”
He walks toward me with that stare that’s become familiar. Until him, I would’ve been freaked out by a guy looking at me the way he does, but I’m getting used to the alligator quirks. The intensity is kind of hot. “No. You have it all wrong. I should bite you and you’ll see the error of your ways.”
We look at each other. His pupils turn from round into animal slits. The amber of his irises is beautiful. They have speckles of browns and greens. I could stare at them all day long.
The overhead bell on the door chimes, interrupting the moment. “Brother, stop flirting with the rogues,” the new guy says.
Knox’s eyes leave mine as his features harden when he looks at the guy. I turn to face the door.
An older version of Knox comes in to view. There is no doubt they’re related.
“Bea, this is my less attractive older brother, Kean.” He doesn’t smile, and I’m unsure how to read the atmosphere between them.
“You wish.” He walks over to us and hands Knox two photographs.
“Darn it.” Knox holds the pictures up in the air to take a closer look.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, moving closer so I can see.
He covers the photos quickly. “You might want to sit down for this.”
“Don’t be silly. I can handle anything.” I’ve survived a hurricane and lost my pack. How bad could it be?
“How well do you know Colt and his uncle?” Knox asks as they both stare at me intently. When he did it before, it was sexy, but now it’s more deadly. An unsettled feeling sits heavy in the pit of my stomach.
“Is Colt in danger?” We may have gone our separate ways, but I don’t want anything to happen to him.
“He’s not the one you should be worried about.”
I frown. “Tell me what’s going on. I don’t want to wait until I’m old and grey to find out the truth.”
“The reason I tracked you down at Lake Falcon was because this guy came into my store.” Knox shows me the grainy photo from the security camera.
“That’s Colt’s uncle.” Even though the pictures are bad quality, it’s definitely him. It looks like the half-cut-off figure next to him is Colt.
He holds up the next picture. “We think this guy is the rogue shifter hunter. He and his pack of wolves dismantle anyone who isn’t in a stable congregation or pack.”
I narrow my eyes. “He takes them to pieces? So, he splits people up, like the group of unconventional shifters at the shelter?” The shelter is for any shifter who finds themselves without a home. It doesn’t matter what breed they are. Colt has some strange ideas, and maybe some of them stem from his extended family. I guess I should have questioned how he and his dad ended up in a different pack to his uncle in the first place, but it never seemed important before.
“It’s much worse than that. He murders them and keeps body parts, like the shark tooth around his neck, as souvenirs. He thinks he’s setting the world right,” Kean says.
I shudder. “This all sounds like something out of a horror story. Could you have mixed him up with someone else?”
“How close were you to the guy who was with him?” Kean pulls out another picture, and this one has Colt in the store with his uncle.
“He’s my fated mate, but he rejected me. He didn’t agree with me mingling with humans and said we couldn’t be together. He’s never done anything to make me think he could kill someone, though.” I shake my head in disbelief.
“His hatred runs deeper than just humans if he’s hanging out with the Gulf pack,” Kean says with a snarl.
I can’t risk underestimating Colt, especially when my new friends at the shelter could suffer. “Do you think they’ll keep looking for me? Are the shifters I’m staying with safe?”
“Surely Carlos isn’t stupid enough to enter the shelter, that’s if he knows where it is. It has a state-of-the-art security system. If they try to get inside, a few of the local congregations and packs would be there to see them on their way.” Kean sounds sure of himself, and the idea of having back-up takes away some of my worries.
“That’s good to know.”
We talk some more, and Kean helps out in the store for a while before leaving. The rest of the shift is fun with Knox, but the unease in my stomach never fully goes away.
