To Skin a Wolf

by A. L. Kessler

  “Has Levi called you in?”

  I motioned to the pictures. “Not with his words, but this is a pretty clear invite, don’t you think?”

  “No, I don’t. You stay out of it.” He handed me back the pictures.

  Like that was going to happen now. “As you wish,” I muttered and turned to walk out. “Aren’t you curious as to why it’s not been turned over to PIB?”

  “I am, but I’ll make sure to ask Levi about it when he’s back from vacation.”

  So he was going to stick with the vacation story. There was going to be one massive explanation needed when I finally saw Levi face to face. I spun around and went back to my office. Half of me expected to find something else on my desk. Luckily, it was empty. I sat down and looked at the clock. It wasn’t too late to call the alpha in California, but it was a bit late to call the one here in Colorado. So, Cali it was.

  I dialed the number from the information I had gathered on Maddy. And waited.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, this is Agent Collins from the PIB branch in Springs, Colorado. Who am I speaking with?”

  “Wes Brothers of the Orange County wolf pack. What is this concerning, Agent Collins?”

  I took a deep breath. “A few months ago you had a wolf disappear, Maddy Clark. She was reported missing, but nothing was followed up on by the pack.”

  “She was a high-risk runaway when it came to a wolf. Always looking for the next thrill, the next danger. I put in the missing person report, and I figured she’d turn up somewhere…so she turned up in Colorado?”

  I hated this part. “She was murdered here in Colorado. She had assumed the identity of another local wolf and convinced the pack master here to date her.”

  He hesitated. “Murdered? Did she cross the wrong path of another wolf?”

  “We’re not exactly sure at this point. That’s all I can tell you. I’d like to speak to you about what she might have been running from. You said she was always on the lookout for the next thrill?”

  I heard him take a deep breath. “Yeah, she didn’t want to stay in Cali, said that she didn’t want to be that close to her old pack anymore. The local government had us treating the relocated wolves as pups until they were adjusted and treated for their PTSD and had a way to manage it. She was here maybe a week before she disappeared.”

  “You didn’t think to look at other packs?”

  “I told you, I figured she’d turn up somewhere.”

  “Okay, what happened in her other pack that it was disbanded? The papers only said that it was violent.”

  “It was disbanded for forcing their members into a fight club, if you would. Cage fighting. Those who lost were punished or killed.”

  I made a note in my notebook. “So the pack was disbanded by the government, and did they bring the alpha in? PIB should have been involved.”

  “Our PIB out here is corrupt. He disappeared and PIB never pursued it.” There was anger in his voice. “They should have just let our kind handle it.”

  I’d seen werewolf justice before. It wasn’t pretty, but at least they took care of it. I couldn’t speak for the PIB agents on the case because I wasn’t there, but the wolf should have never been able to just disappear. “Two wolves passed into our territory with new pups that had been changed forcefully at a protest. The pups said the wolves were on the hunt for another wolf who was able to shift halfway.”

  “There are very few of us who have that ability, but I believe that pack master did. I have his name, but that’s all the help I’ll be. I’m sorry to hear about Maddy, and I hope she didn’t cause too many problems for that pack master.”

  I got the name from him and disconnected the call. Turning to the computer, I woke it up so I could put the name straight into the database. Zachary Ingram.

  The search pulled up a few articles on him, one that talked about protests in California. I opened the article and skimmed it. The opinion piece gave me pause. It claimed that the cage fighting showed just how dangerous lycanthropes could be and that they should have restrictions placed on them. The protests started there and moved across the country. I followed another document that came from the California PIB and saw pictures of wolf pelts and dismembered bodies. The same thing we were dealing with here. Zachary was listed as a suspect but then labeled as deceased. I jotted down the name of the agent who had been working the case.

  I glanced at the clock. It was too late to do anything else on the phone, and the research I was going to do had been solved by Zachary’s name. The case was eerily similar, and now I had a connection between everything. The protests.

  Pulling out the pictures that my uncle sent me, I opened up another search program and typed in the license plate of the ambulance. It came up as registered to our county. So they were still in the city then, dealing with this. It had to be a hell of a job to hide it from PIB. I had handled the case before; normally it would be handed back to me if it became a PIB case. Of course, maybe the vampire king was hiding it from PIB.

  I put the pictures away and decided to call it a night. Home sounded like a good idea and dinner sounded even better.

  My hand hesitated on my doorknob as something brushed against my aura. A warning from the protection spell that I had put on the house. I checked the door and it was still locked, a glance at the app on my phone told me that my security system was still armed. But something didn’t sit right. I drew my gun and unlocked the door with my code. The security system beeped at me as it disarmed.

  I waited for something to happen when I walked in the door, but nothing stirred. Not even the cat. I let out a sigh, my magic was usually reliable, but maybe something had crossed the barrier and then ran off. An animal or something. Maybe Osiris tried to get out of the house and set it off. I went to holster my gun, but something moved in my side vision. I tightened my grip on the gun and turned. Nothing there.

  My heart hammered in my chest and sweat dripped down my back. It wasn’t the cat. No. It moved swifter than that and bigger. A blur of black moved past me, barely brushing my shoulder and going too fast for me to make it out.

  Fuck.

  I was dealing with a vampire. I tried to get a lock on it so I could trap them in a circle, but it continued to move too fast. The only option when dealing with a vampire like this was to run. I couldn’t win in a firefight and magic would be questionable. I darted back towards my door only to be slammed into the wall.

  My breath left my chest, but I raised my arm to shoot. A shock went through my hand when it was pinned against the wall. The gun clattered to the ground, and another hand closed around my throat. I looked into the eyes of a vampire I didn’t expect to see in person for a while.

  Ira’s black eyes stared back at me. His complexion was a bit dark for a vampire, but it was a skin tone found in old blood. His lips turned up in a smirk that sent chills through me. The points of his fangs peeked out from underneath.

  “Hello, Abigail.”

  I couldn’t manage a word through my shock. I was trapped against the wall by the one vampire everyone thought would stay away.

  “Surprised to see me? You thought I was in Alaska, didn’t you? I was, for a little bit. But I decided to come back.” He chuckled.

  I swallowed and my throat pressed against his hand. “What do you want?”

  “I want to know where Levi and your uncle are.” His hand loosened a little bit. “Provide me with that, and I won’t hurt you…for now.”

  I tried to shake my head. “Rome.” I hoped that I still believed that enough to get away with the lie. My heart was already pounding and my breathing screwed up, so I wasn’t sure how else he’d be able to tell.

  “Rome.” He repeated slowly.

  “Yes, he called me earlier today to tell me that he was safe and to stay in the states.” That wasn’t a lie, but I couldn’t seem to find my calm. I tried to call on my magic to try something. Anything. I had no fire around me to use, but if I could focus enough to…

  P
ain struck me in the collarbone and I screamed. Ira’s jaw was locked on to me, his fangs piercing my skin. I thrashed against him, but I was not a physical match for him. The pain ripped through me, stealing all my focus. Osiris came running at the sound of my scream, and in a blink of an eye, my cat suddenly formed into Merick.

  What. The. Fuck.

  Ira turned his head, tearing my skin with the movement. “Oh, isn’t that interesting.”

  Merick held his hand out, and a red circle flew up around us. He was going to kill us both. I tried to find the lack of logic in that thought, but now I was trapped in a circle with a raging vampire. The other part of me was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Merick was my fucking cat and I never had a clue.

  “Let her go, Ira.” Merick kept his voice even.

  “You can’t kill me without risking her life.” He flipped me around, wrapping an arm around my neck. He put pressure on the dripping wound there and I hissed in pain.

  “You’re an asshole.” I snarled. Ira pulled me against him tighter, and for a moment I wish I had been a vampire so I could match him for strength. I reached across my body to draw my second firearm. I hated shooting at such close range, but I had no choice. I aimed down and fired into Ira’s foot. He threw me away, and I stumbled out of the circle. It hadn’t been meant to trap me, but only Ira. I raised my gun, but he was gone.

  I swung around and aimed at a thankfully clothed Merick. “You better start talking.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Put the gun down; I just saved your ass.” Merick growled. “And you’re bleeding.”

  I hesitated at putting the gun down, but he was right. He’d been there and saved me. Had he not, I would have bled to death. Or worse, been forced to become part of Ira’s experiments. I put a hand to my collarbone, and bright red blood coated my fingers. “There’s a first aid kit—“

  “In the bathroom, I know. Go sit.” He motioned to the kitchen.

  I sat down and closed my eyes for a moment. I was trying to digest what just happened. Ira in my house, Merick was my cat. I pulled out my phone and texted Levi.

  ‘You have a lot of shit to explain.’

  Merick came in with the white box. “I was assigned to protect you, disguising myself as a cat was the only way I could think to do it without drawing suspicion to myself.”

  That wasn’t creepy at all. “Who assigned you to watch over me?” I reached for the box, but he pulled it away. “I can patch myself up.”

  “I can’t tell you who. You are just going to have to continue to trust me.” He pulled out some gauze. “You’re lucky this was all the damage that he did.”

  I was just going to have to trust him. People had been asking me that all my life and I was getting tired of it all. “I want answers.”

  “And you’ll get them, in time. But right now, I’m worried about the chunk he took out of you.” He went to the sink and filled a bowl with water. It was unnerving how comfortable he was in the house and the way he moved through it like it was his home. Though, I guess in a way it was now.

  “How long were you planning on staying hidden?”

  He returned to the table with a bowl of water and washcloth. “Until I couldn’t. I thought I was going to have to blow my cover when your house was destroyed, but you felt the spell the moment it went off.”

  “You activated it.”

  “On accident, I went down to investigate something and set it off.” He dabbed the wet cloth to my collarbone and I hissed. The rag came away bright red, and he flipped it to another clean spot and went back to the wound. “If Ira had wanted to kill you, he would have snapped your neck the moment I changed back.”

  “That’s a hell of a spell to keep up that long and without me sensing it.”

  “I change the moment you leave the house.” He reached for the gauze. “It takes a lot of energy, which is why I slept a lot as a cat.”

  It made sense, and it explained some of the odd things that happened while I was gone. “Why didn’t you warn me someone was in the house?”

  “I was sleeping; he was silent until you came in. I had no idea he’d entered. He didn’t trip any of my alarms.”

  “And he barely tripped my magic.” We frowned at each other. “Which means that he was welcomed in the house at one point.”

  My parents. My heart dropped. “Does Ira have any association with the Cult?”

  “Not that I know of, but it’s not something I’ve looked into. I’ll make sure to do such. Do you know where Levi is? Can you get ahold of him?”

  “He’s in the state, in the city even.” I locked my jaw as he taped the gauze into place. “He’s been lying to me the last few months. Oliver sent me pictures from their current situation and included a Colorado license plate on the ambulance. I found out that it belongs to this county.”

  “I’m sure there are reasons behind it.”

  “There better be.” I snapped. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s been a long night, and you don’t deal well with pain.” He chuckled. “I’ll get you a glass of wine.” He walked away from the table and my phone went off.

  “What are you talking about?” came Levi’s text back.

  I picked it up and tried not to flinch at the pull of the wound. “Ira paid me a visit, Oliver sent me pictures. Where in the city are you?”

  “Angry texting, must be talking to Levi.” Merick set two glasses of wine on the table.

  I glared at him. “You’ve been here long enough to learn my habits, and that’s unnerving.”

  “You should be ashamed of your grocery shopping habits.” He shook his head. “All you get is cat food and coffee.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve gotten better.”

  He made a hmm noise and sat down. “Ira knows someone is with you here now, so he won’t be returning, but when you’re working a case…”

  “Someone is almost always with me on the scene. Right now there’s a wolf pack member at every crime scene.”

  He shook his head. “A wolf vs. a vampire. I wish Nick was still here to help you.”

  “Excuse me. I can take care of myself,” I snapped back.

  “Like you did just a few minutes ago?” He shot at me. “Look, it’s time you set your pride aside and realize that there are bigger things out there than you.”

  “I never said there wasn’t.” I took a sip of wine and my phone dinged.

  Merick motioned to it. “That’ll be Levi, I’m sure.”

  I picked it up and looked at. “He’s coming over.”

  “I’ll make myself scarce then. Our little secret, Abby. Levi has his; you need to have yours.” He picked up his glass of wine and poured it into mine. “Don’t want to tip him off. Remember, you’re not supposed to have anyone here.”

  He turned into a cat and trotted off. I shook my head and wondered if I was dreaming somehow. I texted Levi back and washed the other wine glass before putting it away.

  Levi appeared with Mario by his side. Levi’s blonde hair wasn’t styled as neat as normal, and even I could see the exhaustion in his blue eyes. Mario was Italian through and through, dark hair, eyes, and olive skin. He stood about the same height as Levi.

  Mario opened his mouth to say something, and Levi shoved past him and straight to me. He touched my collarbone and I jerked back. “Don’t you even start to lecture me right now.” I snapped.

  “I’m not, I’m making sure he didn’t try to kill you.” Levi dropped his hand. “In your own home. What happened?”

  I glanced at Osiris and he meowed at me. I took a deep breath. “Ira came and threatened me, looking for your location.”

  “What did you tell him?” Mario asked.

  I glared at him. “Must he be here too?”

  “Mario, leave.”

  “Levi, with circumstances being what they are, I don’t think that’s a wise choice.”

  I sat down and grabbed my wine. “I’ve already shot one vampire tonight, do I need to shoot another? You’re in m
y house, and you’re not welcome here.” I took a sip of the wine.

  “It’s okay Mario, I don’t plan on leaving the house, and I won’t go back to the scene without you. Why don’t you go back to the mansion for now?”

  So the facade was up. They’d be going back to the mansion. Mario could work on his strange little project and leave Levi and me the hell alone. Mario disappeared without another word.

  “Why have you been lying to me?” I growled. “The pictures Oliver sent me clearly showed that the scene was in Colorado, in our own damn city. That was my case with PIB, and you shouldn’t leave me out of it.”

  “PIB handed it over to us, the king wants us to keep it free of any PIB interaction if we can. So I didn’t bring you in.” He shook his head. “Saying that I was out of country was the only way I could think of to keep you from prying. Your uncle…” he snarled. “Once again disagreed with me. He said that if Ira was in town and threatening people that were involved with the case that you deserved to know.”

  I took a long drink of my wine. “Not that I make a habit of agreeing with him, but he’s right. I was just attacked in my own home by a vampire that the executioners should have brought down over a month ago.”

  “You really shot Ira?”

  I smiled over my wine glass. “I shot him in the foot; it was the only way I could get away.” It wasn’t the full truth, but it was enough that it wouldn’t register as a lie. “I want in on the case.”

  “No.”

  “Not as a PIB agent, as one of your people. Ira knows I’m associated with it already. I can do it without Boss Man knowing.” I put the glass down. “You have over fifty bodies and other victims.”

  “No, Abigail.”

  “Why won’t you let me help you? You’ve done nothing but lie to me and deceive me for the past year. What the fuck is going on?”

  He was quiet for a moment, and I expected a response about watching my tone, but he shook his head. “I can’t allow you to enter this case even as one of my people. It puts you too close to Ira, and I will not allow him to have that kind of control over me. Or you. If it suits his purpose, he won’t hesitate to kill you.”