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“I have a feeling I know who this is from.” So many emotions surged through my veins as I picked it up and slid my pointed fingernail along the fold.
If you pay attention to the wrong beasts, you’ll lose everything.
It was written in block lettering, very masculine.
“Think this is connected to the last letter you got?” Hugo asked after he read it over.
“Absolutely.” I paced in front of the bed. “I’d love to point a finger at Armand’s wolves, but we saw them tonight. There’s no need for them to be cryptic with their messages.”
“And you promptly sent them packing.” Hugo grinned. “It was a thing of beauty. I’ve got guys watching them. There’s been no sign of Calista.”
My heart sank every time he told me that.
“If they aren’t behind these notes, then who is?” I sighed. “Unless they’re trying to throw us off their scent, so to speak. Make us think it isn’t them and have us running in circles. I’ve been so focused on them that I’m not even sure if there are any other current threats in the mountains.”
“There are always the usual suspects. Pedro’s always trying to strengthen his band of misfit shifters.” Hugo still wasn’t comfortable talking about his former best friend as an enemy. “I’ve been watching those squatch hunter sites pretty closely because they love to talk.”
I raised a brow. “What have they said?”
“Mostly a lot of nonsense to make their cause seem legit. They love to show any evidence that they’re on the right track. Animal tracks, markings, habitat. They know Lars lives in the mountains, but so far, none of them have gotten close to his house. In fact, they’re pretty far off. The latest buzz is that they think they’ve seen him, in his natural form. They’re posting videos that are terrible quality, and I’m pretty sure they’ve found a bear den.”
“Good luck to them with that.”
“It’s leading them pretty far off track—"
“They’re focusing on the wrong beast,” I interrupted. “Just like the letter said. What if we can somehow enlist these hunters to find Calista?”
Hugo rubbed his hand over his beard. “It would fit their narrative of saving humans from the big, bad beast, but once they realize Calista isn’t human, it could backfire.”
“True.” My heart sank every time a potential door closed. “What do you think we should do for Lars now that he’s human? I was hoping once he shifted he’d be incognito, but that won’t be the case. It hurts my heart to see him stuck at HQ.”
“Lars is much more instinctive than we could ever imagine.” Hugo put his hand on my shoulder. “But he’s also so blinded by desire, it will cloud his judgment. The best thing to do is to take the edge off. Let him spend some time with Hannah. Otherwise, he’ll be fighting for the wrong things and we won’t be able to fix it.”
seventeen
Lars
The wheels of clothing racks squealed against the concrete floor. As far as I knew it was morning, and only because the artificial lights inside HQ said so.
Hugo had only convinced me to stay inside the building in my natural form because I’d seen the hunters approaching my mountain with their ropes, arrows, and guns with my own eyes. But now, I was one of them. Human. I’d spent much of the night staring at myself in the mirror, looking for any trace of my natural form.
There was none.
Bibi still thought I was vulnerable in this form. The truth was, there was no weapon any of those human hunters could wield at me that I wouldn’t recover from. The reason I went along with the plan was that I didn’t want the attention, or to tempt those humans to try to access my home.
But I couldn’t be a prisoner any longer.
“Good morning!” Bibi’s voice rang out in the cavernous space. “Before you ask, because I can see it written all over that handsome face, Hannah is here. Chomping at the bit to see you, I might add, but I thought it would be nice for both of you if we took the time to make this special.”
“Every time I see Hannah is special,” I reminded her.
Bibi beamed at me. “It occurred to me that all the times I’ve seen you in your human form, you’re still very beast. Which is a very good thing, but this time we have the opportunity to make things different. So I wondered, what things have you always wanted to explore as a human, but have never been able to?”
I grinned. “Hanah said she didn’t want me watered down.”
“A few nice outfits and a little grooming won’t make you any less wild.” Bibi nodded to the crew of workers who’d set up shop near the racks. “I know you came on the show because you wanted Hannah to have the full Mating Game experience, but it’s available for you too, and now we can finally take full advantage of everything we have to offer. Our plan this morning is to fit you for clothing, shape your beard a bit, and show you some simple grooming techniques that will capture your essence. And then, if there’s anything you’ve been curious about trying, we’re here to make that a reality for you.”
I didn’t mean to let the low rumble slip from my throat.
