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“I also followed up with my guy on the cybersecurity measures we discussed, and he reassured me that they were already in place and running smoothly. He’s been doing quarterly-hour sweeps to ensure there are no glitches. There have been no signs of bugs on the phones, emails, or anything like that.”He sighed. “We’re outnumbered, Ridge. If we had more shifters on board, that would tip the balance in our favor. If we could get border patrols set up on the outskirts of town and through the woods, that would alleviate a lot of worries since we’d have another pre-warning system set in place.”
That all sounded good. Clawson had managed to accomplish so much, and I breathed a sigh of relief. He must have been working non-stop since we’d gotten back from Colorado. Granted, much of the groundwork had been implemented before the hunters had invaded our town.
“That all sounds great,” I said. “You’re right, though. If we could convince more shifters to relocate, we’d have a far better chance. What about Mrs. Marrow? Anything?”
Clawson groaned. “That’s a clusterfuck. It disgusts me that I let it get as far as it did.”
“Fuck off, Birch. That’s not on you, man, and you fucking know it. None of us were aware of what the old bitch was up to, but we’ve learned a lesson. Now we’re better prepared for next time.”
“My team and I finished going through the library and her personal affairs. She was indeed working with William Summers for at least a couple of months. We tracked down a list of everyone she figured was a shifter. Your name is numero uno, my friend, right at the top of the list. It probably didn’t help that you’re a Blackwood.”
No, it didn’t. My last name must have tipped off the hunters. I wouldn’t be surprised if all hunters knew about my ancestors selling out whole packs for riches and freedom, though freedom at the price of another’s life was never worth it in my book. The hunters would think I was worth my weight in gold, so that alone made me a prime target. I had no doubt that if Clawson and Tori hadn’t rescued me, the hunters would’ve started to haggle, promise, pressure, or even torture me for information on other packs.
“Marrow had a lot of names missing on the shifter list, though, so we can breathe a little easier that the hunters don’t know about everybody,” Clawson said. “After our investigation and the measures we implemented, I’m certain she was the only mole in town. We’re still doing thorough background checks on everybody in town, and that’ll take some time, but no red flags so far.”
“That’s good, even though doing such an invasive check into the citizens feels dirty.”
“I’m with you there wholeheartedly, but it’s a necessary evil at this point. Just be grateful you’re not the one reading all this shit. I now know things I’d prefer not to know. I hope to forget it all soon.”
I laughed. I could only imagine what he was discovering.
“Marrow also tried to get close to those she knew for certain were shifters. She was likely digging for information, anything she could sell to the hunters. What I found interesting was that she was deeply researching Lola Kipling’s background.”
That had me sitting up in my seat, the wheels turning in my head. “Why was she doing that?”
“Marrow left notes scattered in different areas about Lola’s ancestry. They’re hard to make sense of, but she was paying particular attention to Lola.”
That was something that needed further investigation. The shy psychiatrist had been my former prime suspect for Deputy Hill’s murder, but once the librarian proved the culprit, there hadn’t been reason to look any deeper into her. Now, though, there might be reason to look into her again.
I didn’t want anything else catching us off-guard, not when so much was at stake. More specifically, not when Tori was in potential danger. She was insistent on Lola’s innocence and had formed a friendship with her. Tori acted like a mother hen toward her.
It’d kill me if their friendship was endangering my mate, or if the psychiatrist was using her somehow.
“Dig up what you can, and I’ll look into her as well,” I said. “Tori is close to her, and I’ll be damned if she gets hurt in any way by Lola.”
Clawson huffed as if offended that he had to be told. “Already on it. Don’t worry about that.”
We finished discussing trivial topics to discuss at the next town council meeting—a new stop sign that needed to be installed, whether the speed limit should change in a street that no longer served as a school zone. The mundane tasks that I used to find boring were now what I craved.
After making plans to catch up later, we hung up. I felt more at ease after that talk. Clawson’s updates were promising. There were still a couple of things that needed to be hashed out, but for the most part, we had everything handled.
The shifters meeting was now the big thing to mark off my list for the day. I wasn’t looking forward to warning them and clueing them into the dangers and situations affecting Blackwood Creek, but it had to be done. Once Clawson spread the word about the meeting, it would spread through the pack like wildfire. It also helped that today was the annual End of Summer Fundraiser, so I could let every shifter I came across know. Living in a small town had its perks.
With all the recent events, I’d almost forgotten about today’s festivities. I was delighted Tori and I would get to do somethingfun, even if we still had responsibilities to fulfill while we were there. The fundraiser was a beloved tradition in Blackwood Creek, and I’d joined in every year since I’d returned. This year was different and special because Diana Bogford had organized it, so it was sure to be much more fun and successful than when Christie Greenthorne had organized it last year.
Christie had excluded most of the town’s residents, making them feel unwelcome by catering to the wealthier and more influential residents. That had disgusted me, and I hadn’t partaken in the event as much. I’d still given my annual monetary contribution, but had spared just an hour and then hung out at the tavern for the rest of the day, spending time with the less affluent townsfolk. There, we’d enjoyed a far more relaxed and entertaining day.
With Diana at the helm this year, I was confident the fundraiser would bring the town together and not divide us. The afternoon would be filled with carnival games, auctions, and other lighthearted stuff, such as dancing and a craft fair. It was enough to get people’s minds off the recent murder and subsequent attack on Tori, and the general unpleasantness of having a resident murderer amongst us.
These particular activities included every town citizen, which was essential to keeping the relationship between shifters and humans harmonious. Several trusted humans in town knew about paranormal beings living among them and were excellent at keeping it a secret. This shifter community relied on secrecy to stay safe from hunters, and many shifters were terrified that if humans found out about our existence, they’d turn on us.
I hoped if that ever happened here, Blackwood’s human community would remember their positive interactions with shifters and showcase that shifters were people, too. Hopefully, they would recognize that shifters were their neighbors and friends first. Then maybe there would be more support for shifters, and they wouldn’t be judged so harshly.
It was a balancing act that had been the leading factor in my decision to run for mayor. I knew if I wanted to fulfill my vision for a shifter haven, it’d be a problem if a human with no knowledge about the paranormal became mayor.
Music startled me out of my thoughts, and I smiled. I’d lived alone for so long that having Tori moving around and making noise in the house made my heart happy and my cock stir. The scent of something delicious wafted into my office, making my stomach growl and my mouth water. Whatever my little wolf was cooking smelled tasty.
Having done enough this morning, and unable to stand the thought that Tori was awake and not in the room with me, I stalked to the kitchen.
