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Phil lifted his brow at me as he and the sheriff waited for my response. The deputy wasn’t a shifter, but as with most of the law enforcement in this town, he was aware of the shifter population. It had never bothered him that we co-existed. As long as everyone followed the law, he didn’t see the difference between the two species.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. “The pack in Montana refuses to budge from their territory. They’re adamant about staying where they are, no matter how many shifters disappear from their lands or ours.”
Neither man looked surprised. Moving an entire pack of shifters was a big deal. Wolves were naturally territorial creatures, so being forced off their homelands wasn’t something that would be taken lightly.
The Montana pack had lost around ten percent of its shifters in the last two months, but their alpha had a point about too many of us being in one place. I couldn’t decide if too many was better or not. The added strength would be a plus, but the larger numbers and permanence of the town could make us a target if someone was looking to take out a large group of shifters at once.
“The alpha’s sure it’s hunters,” I continued, “but he’s stubborn and doesn’t think a permanent place like Blackwood Creek is safe for our kind. He even tried to convince me to move our pack there.”
Clawson chuffed at the idea, and I smiled in agreement. This was a safe community. We had better defenses since we knew the ins and outs of the area and had safeguards in place.
Not wanting to disclose the other alpha’s misgivings, I didn’t tell them that he’d also subtly hinted at not being keen on trusting a Blackwood in the first place. With my family history, I couldn’t fault him, even though it stung not to be judged based on my own deeds and actions. But who was I to question his decisions? He was their alpha, and the lives of his shifters were in his hands.
“I’ll get in touch with more packs as soon as we track them down.” With the hunters driving everyone underground, we hadn’t had a lot of luck finding anyone. “There are bound to be more packs out there who’d want to come into our fold and settle in a safe place.”
The plan was for shifters and humans to live together in harmony and build up shifter reinforcements against the growing number of hunter attacks. The hunters could mobilize and have a more regimented force at any time. It’d be wise to have something similar so we could better defend ourselves.
“Hunters coming to town because of the shifters might also endanger the humans,” Phil spoke up. “I could help with that. We should crack down on everyone in town who knows about the shifters and make sure they’re not telling any other humans. The shifters should also be closely monitored to ensure no one is raising suspicions about who resides here.”
I lifted my brow and looked at Sheriff Clawson. The wordscrack downcould have been interpreted a whole lot of different ways, but I had no doubt I was reading Phil’s meaning exactly the way he meant it, and it wasn’t a good connotation. The last thing we needed was a half-cocked deputy threatening the humans who lived here. We needed peace and harmony.
“I mean, you have to see where I’m coming from,” Phil said. “The Full Moon Howl Margo is organizing is a stupid idea. The humans living here who don’t know about shifters are bound to notice all the howling that goes on at one of those things. They’re sure as fuck not going to think all the coyotes and hounds in town got together.” He shook his head. “And it’s gonna start a thing, I’m telling you. They’re going to start worrying about the wolf population in this part of Pennsylvania. One person reports it to animal control, and it’ll give our town more unwanted attention. Every hunter out there will be gathering their silver bullets and gearing up to check us out.”
“We’ve had plenty of Full Moon Howls in the past,” Clawson snapped at his deputy. “The wolves run far enough away from Blackwood Creek. We’ve never had any trouble, and no one is ever suspicious. If it was an issue, it would have been brought up generations ago. You should be concerned with the law, Deputy, not with what shifters do as wolves.”
His tone was sharp, edged with anger, and a growl emanated from his throat, but it was all man, nothing of the wolf, even though I scented his wolf’s agitation. It wasn’t the first time I witnessed the sheriff get heated with the deputy over the past few months. They’d gotten into it in public often enough that people had started talking. I had no clue what was escalating the drama or what had caused it, but I knew my friend Clawson well, and he did his damnedest to keep his feelings and work obligations separate and in check.
Even with his obvious irritation at Phil, he was still working relatively well with him. As a rule, though, shifters hated hearing from a human how shifters should function. Humans had no clue what it was like to have control be a constant need. Shifting and running was what helped us stay balanced.
Phil’s jaw twitched as he muttered, “I’ll stick to protecting everyone in town, no matter what it takes or how your fun run fucks everything up.” His gaze fell on me, and he narrowed his eyes. “That includes checking out suspicious new characters in town.”
There was no mistaking who he was talking about. My wolf growled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. He perceived the deputy’s comments as a threat to Tori.
A cell phone rang—the lead lines of “Baby Got Back”—and we all turned to look at Phil. Somehow, it defused the tension by a notch.
Phil grabbed his cell and answered. “What?...yeah...okay...I’m heading out now. I’m in the sheriff’s office. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
He hung up without saying goodbye and pushed his chair back.
“That was Deputy Dailey. He needs me to check on something.” He stood and left the room without further comment. What was more important than deciding how to protect this town?
As soon as the door closed behind him, I turned to Clawson. “Make sure your deputy doesn’t inadvertently stir up trouble. His heart might be in the right place”—and I couldn’t be certain it was, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt—“but Phil doesn’t understand shifter culture. It might divide the town if he tries getting involved in everyone’s personal business like he’s threatening.”
Clawson waved me off as I stood to leave. It was almost as if he didn’t care what happened, but I knew he did. This was his town, too.
“You have to see to that,” I pressed.
“Yeah, I see it. I’ll keep him in line,” Clawson said, and I left his office.
Smiling at the deputies and dispatchers in the office, I headed outside. Tori’s intoxicating scent rattled me immediately. It came from the Moonlight Café and wafted in the direction of the B&B.
My wolf whimpered and my cock hardened.
I could head out and follow her, use her scent as my guide and maybe get a glimpse of her. But a glimpse wouldn’t be enough. Of course, I could say I had business to discuss with Diana. It wouldn’t be a complete fucking lie. We always discussed the town, the direction we each wanted to see the town take. She was a solid sounding board for me, and it would give me a chance to be near Tori.
I took a few steps toward the B&B before shaking myself out of the impulsive trance.
No, Tori wanted distance. I had to respect that.
