Draven had only bitten his head off, and Torger had left before they came to blows. The pressure was on everyone, especially the police station to find something, anything. He had his officers crawling through the archives for similar cases and yet they’d turned up nothing there, either. It made no sense to him that something like this was the first time for this type of serial killer. Not even a little hint of what was to come. There weren’t even any possible suspects, which confounded him. He focused his attention on the road ahead of him. Draven’s Crossing disappeared behind him. The only indications of the town were the lights shining from the tall buildings. As the forest surrounded his car, he felt a sense of peace settle onto his shoulders. The deeper he got into the woods the less he felt the pressure until he found himself centered and calm once again. His wolf didn’t feel so antsy. There was no need to run, just to get away. He didn’t look forward to starting the grind again but his strong sense of duty wouldn’t allow him to abandon his position or the people of his territory.
Again, tension ratcheted up in his body. Also, the sense that whoever it was that was carrying out these killings would get away with it if he gave up just rubbed him the wrong way. He rolled his head to loosen the knots in his neck. Blowing out a breath, he tried to focus on unwinding, letting go. Torger refused to turn into Javert. This was not a simple case of someone stealing bread. Breathing in and out he started to repeat the word Ohm, in his head to try and center himself, clear away the negativity that swirled in his body like a miasma. His shoulders slid down as his body sank into the leather seating of his SUV. By the time he pulled into his driveway he could handle his brother staying with him, his duties as the Alpha of all Packs, and the Serial Killer case that haunted his tracks.
He pushed the button to raise the garage door and felt a sense of calm as that familiar mechanical rattle welcomed him back. After parking his car, he got out and stretched his body. Aches and pains pinged throughout him, attesting to the long day he’d had. A long hot shower, a nice dinner and a chance to catch Isadora Jones’ latest interview was what he called a perfect end to the day. There was coffee to look forward to tomorrow. When he unlocked the door he could hear the blast of the TV. There was no scent of steak to welcome him, not even a beer on the counter. Nothing to show Torger that his brother was happy to be staying with him and wanted to show his appreciation.
Torger shook his head. Rather than poke his brother about a lack of hospitality towards the host, he headed straight for his room and shut the door. For a second, he just leaned against the thick slab of wood. The quiet darkness and solitude of the space embraced him. Far from the lights and noise of Draven’s Crossing, he could breathe and hear nature all around him, well, the outside noises that weren’t being drowned out by whatever show was on. He flicked on a light and went straight to his gun safe near his bed. Automatically, he entered the code and unholstered his guns. The door popped open and he put in his weapons, badge, wallet, the watch his father gave him when he became Alpha of Packs, and his security access card.
The only things he didn’t put into the safe were the files on the case. Once he had a shower and ate something, he’d go over them with a clear head and in a relaxed environment. The television volume rose and Torger resisted the urge to grind his teeth. That’s if he didn’t try to kill his brother first. Instead, he placed his briefcase on his desk and undressed. His wolf wagged its tail within, happy to be in a natural state. The full moon was close, and soon he’d be able to let the canine out to run free. Lately, they hadn’t had too much time to really get some exercise. The late nights of pizza, burgers, take-out and beer were catching up to him. His metabolism may be high but it wasn’t high enough to battle against lots of nights of crap food and calorie-laden alcohol. Stress wasn’t helpful, either. There was also the sexual buzz that he hadn’t been able to ignore. All the phone calls between himself and Isadora, as well as her showing up on the scene demanding information, wasn’t helping him try to ignore his attraction to her. Now there was the coffee date they had. He wasn’t sure how to respond. Was he supposed to read into it? Maybe that it was more than what it seemed; a simple meeting of two people? He had hopes but didn’t want to push them too high. His wolf wanted to fuck the living daylight out of her and sate both of them, to finally release some of the pent-up tension and stress as well as attraction they had for her.
He shook off the direction of his thoughts and turned on the shower. Steam billowed over the cut glass door as he stepped inside the small cubicle. Hot water deluged over him, pulling a hiss from his throat as his skin heated close to the burning point. He grabbed the shower gel and began to clean up, hoping that he would be able to relax. The scent of mint drifted into the air. His skin tingled, flushing cool then hot and back again with each swipe of his hand. He saved his cock for last. The feel of the salve prickled over the sensitive flesh of his penis and balls. Torger groaned as pleasure flooded his stomach; shards of heat slid up his spine and down to his toes. Pressure began to build as blood pooled in his groin and filled his cock. The shaft thickened and rose up as he pumped the rod with slow strokes. Not neglecting his balls, he gave his testicles a gentle massage.
His mind turned to Isadora Jones. Her image rose in his mind’s eye: her smooth, flawless cocoa colored skin, her deep brown eyes with hints of pink in them. A smile played on his lips as he thought of the pink streaks in her hair that changed color with her mood. Torger shifted in his chair as his pictured her long, slender fingers that would feel so good on his skin, around his cock. He could see her athletic figure with generous breasts and hips and her small waist that would fit against his body. She was as persistent as her inner animal and just as fiery. He wanted to see that fire turned on him in passion. He groaned at that thought. Isy. His eyes slid closed as he pictured her in front of him completely naked, water sluicing over her skin. Isy, her flesh shone in the overhead golden light. Her nipples would be dark and tempting, the buds thick and tight just asking to be suckled. He licked away droplets of water on his lips as he thought of taking those tips into his mouth and tasting her.
She would trace her figure, outlining her sides, drawing attention to her flat stomach and wide hips. He wondered if there would be pink pubic hair there too, a thin line of it. Torger grinned at that thought before refocusing on her nudity. He wanted to sink into her balls deep. Another groan issued from his mouth as his cock twitched in response. The dream continued to build.
A loud banging sound seeped into the fantasy, pulling him out of the temptation of dream Isy.
“Bro, we’re out of mayo,” Urban shouted through the door.
Torger stifled a curse and clenched his jaw. The urge to rip his brother’s throat out rose up as his vision became bathed in red and fantasy Isy began to fade. His body temperature spiked as a growl started in his chest, slid up his throat and filled his mouth before coming out between shut teeth.
“Bro? You trying to drown yourself in there?” The banging continued.
He had to push away the rage. Closing his eyes he thought of one word: Ohm.
“Bro?” Urban kicked the door.
Torger tried not to shout back. Ohm.
“Broooooo?” Urban called out.
His body shook with effort as the anger threatened to consume him. Ooooohm. The chanting wasn’t working.
“Broooooo? You dead? Does this mean I can have your porn collection?” Urban had stopped banging on the door thankfully.
Enough! “All right, all right. Keep your shirt on.” Torger shut off the water and dried off before wrapping the towel around his waist. He opened the door to find Urban rifling through a bookshelf. “What are you looking for? There’s no mayo or porn in there.” He wasn’t about to tell him where he kept his adult video collection.
Urban looked up and grinned. “Ah ha, you were listening. Just checking out your book collection. Pretty interesting reading material here, didn’t know you liked corset rippers and BDSM books. Dude.” Urban chuckled.<
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Torger’s anger melted away. He’d forgotten all about those books. A flush of heat spread over his cheeks, down his neck and through his chest. He wasn’t sure whether to kill his brother or just ignore him. Torger decided for the latter. “Can I get dressed in peace?”
“Sure.” Urban slid a book off the shelf and left the room, making Torger wonder just what his brother was up to. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater and joined Urban in the kitchen. “What do you want to eat? I can order out or I can cook something. Totally up to you.”
His brother didn’t answer immediately. His attention seemed to be glued to the book he’d chosen, a BDSM book, much to Torger’s amusement. “Um, steaks.”
Torger rolled his eyes. “Do you eat anything else? What did you want the mayo for?”
“Was gonna make sandwiches. And uh, yes? I do eat other meat besides cow. This is pretty good. Got any of these in ebook?” he asked without looking up.
“You read that stuff?” He wondered if his brother would make some facetious comment.
“We all need a break from the shit we see and let’s be honest, romance is the furthest thing from our jobs that we can get. Sci-Fi and fantasy are getting too crime oriented as of late.” Urban stood up and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge before settling back down again at the dinner table.
Torger took out the steaks from the fridge and began to season them. The silence between the siblings didn’t weigh on him. His mind was clear and for the first time in days, he was relaxed. By the time he got the meat into the broiler, he was completely at ease. The shrill sound of his cell phone’s ring tone broke the companionable atmosphere. Stress flared along his limbs. “Goddamnit,” he muttered before going to fetch his phone. He answered after the fourth ring, praying that it would be good news this time. It wasn’t. Another body had been found outside a theater. Torger paced in his kitchen, back and forth. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to growl into his phone. He could feel it rumbling deep in his chest though. His wolf wanted to start barking and growling and biting something, anything. “Anything on the cameras?”
He waited for the answer and tried to ignore Urban’s raised eyebrow. His hand tightened around the plastic shell as Officer Duggan gave him his answer. No. Nothing on the cameras. Nothing. As in there was another murder and they were still at square one. No leads, no suspects. Nothing.
The growl that had been trying to escape clawed up his throat and came out. The phone went silent, and Torger had to take in a breath and count to ten before he could give any orders. “Keep working on it. Find something. Have the media caught on yet?”
His thoughts drifted to Isadora Jones. If she had a scoop, she would be at his doorstep right now with a camera crew. Her absence didn’t make him feel easy. She could be on her way. He wandered into the living and drew aside the curtains. Nothing to indicate that the protective wards he’d had placed on his property had been tripped, and the only lights he could see were from Draven’s Crossing proper. He wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or worried that she was off playing investigator on her own.
Torger turned back into the conversation. “Sorry Doug, look, just keep me informed. I’m not going in right now, I’ll be in later. Oh, has Detective Santa Rosa checked in? No. Okay, ring her and let her know about the latest body.” He ended the call before any more questions could be brought up. Torger would have gone in, but knew he’d be next to useless. His stress level had risen so high that he’d be snapping at anyone even if all they were doing was offering him coffee. Besides that, Draven didn’t want him in the office so much. He was beginning to feel useless. The sense of being dragged down started to press on his shoulders. A sense of tiredness weighed on his eyelids. Part of him wanted to get into bed, curl up and not greet the world come morning. The serial killer case was an albatross around his neck and there was no end in sight and no one else to help with the burden. No one had answers. It was frustrating and depressing. Even the little things that helped lift him on a usual day weren’t working, and he wasn’t sure what to try next. Moonlight filtered in through the window over the sink. The trees and grounds were bathed in silver light. His wolf whined. The urge to run, to hunt and howl, to release his true nature beat in his blood as his hearing and sense of smell sharpened.
“Whoa there, slugger. Calm down or I’ll be stripping off my clothes and running out the door,” Urban warned.
A glance over at his brother told him everything he needed to know. Urban’s face was sporting a light coat of pale brown and his eyes were now a pale amber rather than green.
Guilt pinged him, and he pulled back the urge to shift. “Sorry,” Torger muttered and turned back to cooking the steaks. He grabbed some vegetables out of the fridge and began to make a salad.
“Wow, vegetables? What’s the occasion? Trying to watch your waistline?” Urban teased.
The small jab broke some of the tension, allowing him to push back some of his frustration. Torger chuckled. “No, just figured we needed to eat something green, a break from all the meat.”
Urban laughed. “Awww, worried about my health, are you? Look, I can see you’re stressed. This isn’t an easy situation, I know. I’ve been there, but you’ve got to ask for help.”
“I have asked for help, and Jackal almost got killed. It’s like this bastard is a ghost. I don’t know where to look for him. The archives have turned up nothing like this, and my international contacts have nothing to offer. The underground is quiet, scarily so.” Torger blew out a breath and ran and hand to his hair. His frustrations began to rise again and needed to be vented. Running in wolf form was looking better and better.
“And how do you hunt a ghost? You bring in a witch.” Urban grinned.
“Do you know a witch that can find this kind of spook?” Torger turned to look at his sibling, skeptical that he knew someone he could call.
“You’ve got me, and I’ve got contacts you don’t have. But we have to address a bigger issue. When was the last time you got laid?” Urban gave him a look that made Torger cringe. “Has hitting the gym helped?” Urban pressed.
Torger thought about it. Laying a few punches on the heavy bag wasn’t working either. Nothing seemed to be helping. He was over-caffeinated and frustrated with no way to vent properly. “Well….”
“See? Let me help you while I’m here. I dropped in unannounced and you didn’t bite my head off, which I’m thankful for.” Urban said nothing else.
Torger closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to remember that this was someone related to him, not a stranger, that he knew people and could help. He looked over at his brother who swiveled around in his chair and started to tap away on his laptop. Torger took that as an indication that Urban was going to help whether he wanted it or not. Grinning, Torger went back to cooking. Some of the weight seemed to be lifted off his shoulders, and his head felt a bit clearer.
“So, when are you gonna start dating, Tor?” Urban asked, his tone conversational, no teasing anywhere.
Torger clenched his jaw in annoyance and tried to rein in his temper. He’d hoped that Urban would’ve dropped that subject. He was just thankful that he hadn’t pushed the issue of his workload. Besides, it wouldn’t do to snap at him. He was just looking out for him, not wanting him to be lonely. At least, that’s what he hoped. Besides, it was better than hearing their mother ask him when she’d get grandchildren from him. “When I feel like it.”
He wasn’t sure what else to say. Isadora Jones was on his radar, but neither of them had time to really pursue the attraction. Besides that, she was a reporter. How would the Chief of Police and a reporter ever be able to talk about anything but work? He couldn’t see her just leaving things alone when he told her to drop it and he had no desire to watch her interview the hot new guys who were in town for whatever reason. He wasn’t a jealous guy, but Isy was a gorgeous woman. How could any red-blooded man not hit on her or want to bed her?
“You can’t date som
eone from work you know? Are you not dating because of you know who?” Urban looked him over, an unasked question in his eyes.
Torger growled. “Don’t go there.” He didn’t want to bring up his ex. She was in the past. There was no attraction for him when it came to Sheila. She’d made her decision, and he was thankful for it. Now he knew what true attraction was instead of just basic mating lust, and he preferred the former. He just didn’t want to talk about it.
“Why? You haven’t dated since Sheila. Look, it wasn’t your fault. She fell for someone else. It happens.” Urban shrugged.
Torger rolled his eyes. Sheila hadn’t just fallen for someone else; she’d been fucking him from the start and hoped to wed Torger for his position as Alpha of all Packs. “It has nothing to do with her.”
“Hey, you know the bachelor auction is coming up.” A cheeky smile curled on his brother’s face. “Maybe you should take part.”
Torger narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t. Anyway, you’re too late. I’ve been volunteered. And it has nothing to do with Sheila or anyone else. It’s this damn case. All I’ve got are dead ends and nothing to go on.” He sighed and settled into a chair. Torger knew he was leaving out one big bit, but his brother didn’t need to know about Isy, not yet anyway.
“Good and I’ll be there to make sure to up the price.” Urban looked up and grinned.
“That’s just weird, bro, and creepy. ‘Sides you’re not going to be here long enough to take part in the auction unless you want to be an entry. I can ask Rose to add you to the list.” The horrified look on Urban’s face was reward enough for him.
“Okay, let’s talk about the case.” Urban finished his beer, grabbed another one and sat back down, his laptop sitting ready.
[Draven's Crossing 1] Hidden Diversions Page 5