She’d shut up then when a couple of uniformed cops walked into the reception area.
Really? What Morton Fritts claimed didn’t sound too likely, Maya thought. But what if it was true? And what if instead of his chasing them with his stick they’d felt frightened and attacked the human threatening them?
A stretch, she realized…yet she had an urge to go up that trail now, during the daytime when it was light outside and the wolves might be sleeping. Or if they were hunting they’d surely make noise and she could get out of there.
But what if, after he was attacked, Morton Fritts had dropped his weapon and left it there? It would likely have his fingerprints on it—and Maya could photograph it.
Or maybe there would be other evidence that could show that the wolves only acted for their own protection and weren’t the initial aggressors.
It would be an explanation that she—and WHaM—could use to perhaps reduce the animals’ bad reputation here…
And it wouldn’t hurt to give some proof of the goodness of wolves to the representatives of the US Fish and Wildlife Service who happened to be in town, as well.
That would give her a good excuse to see Ryan again—not that she really needed one beyond the talk she now planned about wolf safety. Oh, and human safety, too.
But for now…
She hurried back to the hotel to change clothes.
*
As much as Ryan disliked what he’d done, he at least had more information. He had used his power as a representative of the United States government—or at least one of its agencies—to have his contacts in DC get in touch with local authorities to extract what information they had about the attack on Fritts.
Now he mulled it all over again as he walked silently with his cover dog and aide through downtown Fritts Corner.
The story his supposed superiors at US Fish and Wildlife—actually, some members of Alpha Force—had conveyed to the police chief was that they needed all information available to collect statistics. They wouldn’t guarantee any reprisal against the wolf or wolves at fault but might allow it locally, the way those that had attacked livestock were being treated elsewhere in the state.
Ryan would need to stay on top of it all and prevent anything similar around here if some other agency or regional authority decided to try to take action against the local wolves. After all, no matter why or how Fritts had been attacked, he had survived it.
If he hadn’t, protecting any wolves, especially those involved, would be difficult—no matter what their backgrounds.
Worst-case, if these wolves were wild, Ryan would use some contacts Alpha Force had within US Fish and Wildlife to ensure they were trapped and relocated to a habitat much farther from human habitation.
And if they happened to be shifters—well, things would be handled quite differently.
But the real Fish and Wildlife Service had been informed about this attack. They probably would have been anyway, yet now Ryan felt somewhat responsible for whatever happened to the wolves—shifters or not—who were involved.
Now, he, along with Piers and Rocky, passed through the park that had become so familiar to them. The podium where Maya had given her last talk was in front of them, and just beyond that were the forested hillsides—their destination at the moment.
Was she going to be able to give another talk there—the kind they’d discussed, where humans would be warned to be careful? They should know that anyway.
In any event, Ryan had entered the forest from the other end last night, to prevent being seen by anyone even before his shift began.
He had left the area the same way, after changing back.
He recalled very well the way he had gone after the wolves menacing Maya.
Maya. Where was she now?
He had no doubt she was using her own skills and knowledge to look into the realities of last night and how Morton Fritts had been hurt. She was a lovely, gregarious woman who loved wildlife—very attractive to him.
Not that he, or any member of Alpha Force, could let any interest like that go further. But he appreciated her.
And hoped she was learning something she could share with him. Something to protect wolves, despite the glitch caused by the attack on Fritts.
But for now… “You ready?” He looked at Piers, who’d been equally silent on their trek from the hotel and held Rocky’s leash.
“Yeah. But do you really think we’ll find anything helpful—even you, with your special…abilities?” Piers had lowered his voice along with only hinting at what he was talking about, like Ryan’s special, acute senses even when he was in human form since he definitely wasn’t shifted now.
“Guess we’ll just have to find out.”
They started up the nearest dirt path at the end of the park. Ryan inhaled deeply. Would there be any residual odors from those wolves—any that he could pick up while not shifted?
Would there be anything else indicating where Fritts had been attacked…and what kind of wolves had done it?
This probably was useless, but waiting longer made even less sense.
“Yeah,” Piers said. “Meantime, now that we’re alone here—except for Rocky—tell me what you hear and see and smell, would you?”
Ryan smiled. His aide had told him many times that he’d volunteered to be a nonshifting member of Alpha Force because he found the concept of shapeshifters fascinating. But would he want to be one if he had the ability to choose?
“No way,” he’d spat out when Ryan had asked. “I’d never be able to be as good at it as you.”
Which had only made Ryan smile all the more.
He looked down at his cover dog now. Rocky was busy doing his dog thing, sniffing the undergrowth and lifting his leg now and then to leave his own canine scent.
What would the wolves think about that? Although, if they had been shifters, they probably wouldn’t know anything about it since the likelihood was that they wouldn’t shift again for a month.
Of course Ryan, in his human form, inhaled the odors of wildlife and more around here—including the scents that his own dog was leaving, though a whole lot less acute than if he’d looked just like Rocky.
They neared the clearing where Ryan had jumped in last night to prevent Maya from being attacked.
Which was when he smelled it. Smelled her. And not just the residual aroma from the night before.
“C’mon,” he growled to his aide and cover dog. He pulled quickly ahead and emerged from among the trees around him, right into that clearing.
“Maya,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
*
Maya gasped and jumped sideways.
She’d been keeping her mind open to sounds, had enjoyed hearing many different types of birds and became aware of leaves blowing in the slight breeze.
But she had listened especially for any noise that could be wolves. And not only wolves. She had done her research before her journey to this area. Although they might not be present right here, there were often sightings of other kinds of wild animals in Washington State, including bears, cougars and coyotes, as well as more usual small mammals such as rabbits and raccoons.
Any of them, if present, could create rustles in the dried leaves on the ground or other noises.
But she hadn’t been listening for human voices.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she shot back, turning to look at the source of that question.
Although she wasn’t exactly shocked by the sudden appearance of Ryan or Rocky or Piers. They were, after all, wildlife advocates, like her.
Still…the tall man who was Ryan now stood beside her, almost as if attempting to intimidate her.
Well, that wasn’t going to work. In fact, she had a sense that this guy, and maybe his friend and dog, would do their utmost to defend her if a wolf did happen to show up right now.
“We’re still trying to collect all the facts about that attack last night,” Ryan said. “We learned it might have occurr
ed around this part of the hillside so we decided to check it out. The more we know, the more likely it is that we’ll be able to prevent more attacks from happening.”
“Hey, we’re on the same wavelength,” Maya said, a sense of warmth shooting through her.
“Maybe.” Ryan’s scowl didn’t exactly intimidate her—or even turn her off. But she knew he intended to convey something that wasn’t being said.
Something like, stay away from here, got it?
Although—how had he determined to come to this particular spot? Surely he hadn’t eavesdropped on the same people she’d heard talking at city hall?
But if he had learned about it, that meant more information was getting out—whether by gossip or more official channels.
“But look, Maya,” Ryan continued. “You told us that you were nearly attacked last night. What’s to say that the wolves around you then aren’t still in this area? If they were defending what they consider their turf, or maybe they’re even breeding now—they could attack again. And the other wolf that challenged them might not be around then, or might even join the attack. What about the talk you’re giving to tell people to stay far away from wildlife?”
“I figured I’d do what I wanted till I give that talk,” she retorted. “Once I do, I’ll have to live with what I said in case someone catches me disobeying myself.” She shot him a huge grin.
Although Piers, too, was smiling, Ryan wasn’t.
“Well, obey yourself starting now,” Ryan said. “If nothing else, hang out with us while we’re up here. Otherwise you could get hurt—or worse. Then think about how people around here would react to the new influx of wolves—maybe justifiably so.”
He was right. Maybe her own type of research and showing love to wild animals wasn’t the wisest way to go just now.
“Okay,” she conceded. “I’ll stay with you, and we’ll leave this area—right?”
“Yes, let’s get out of here,” Ryan said. He looked at Piers, who also nodded, and, as if he understood, Rocky rose from where he sat, too.
“Let me show you something before we go,” Maya said. At the time Ryan had startled her by talking, she’d thought she had seen something at the edge of the forest.
A slight clearing, with leaves somewhat trampled.
And if she wasn’t mistaken…
“When you startled me, I’d just seen that. It might mean nothing, but…well, I was looking for any evidence about what happened when Morton was attacked. We’ve all heard from different sources that this area could be where it happened. It’s a large enough hillside, and there are quite a few animals around that are carnivores. Even so—”
As she’d spoken, she had moved back to the area at the edge of this clearing where she had seen some tromped-down leaves…and more.
And pointed now toward a spot on the ground.
A reddish-brown spot.
A spot that could be blood.
Chapter 9
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan saw Piers glance toward him as if awaiting his confirmation about the composition of the dark spot on the ground.
He had already inhaled almost instinctively. Despite the lessening of his senses in human form, he did catch the scent of what the spot appeared to be: blood.
Not that he could inform Maya of his certainty.
But even though it was blood, she was right. He couldn’t be sure it was human blood, and even if it was, that the blood belonged to the man who’d apparently been a victim of an attack last night.
Ryan, while in human form, had met Morton, had inhaled his scent, but that wouldn’t tell him what his blood alone smelled like. Even if he shifted and inhaled this aging and foliage-tainted scent, he might have a better idea but wouldn’t be sure.
For now, he would just act like a regular human—at least to the extent he could.
“Wow,” he said to Maya. “That certainly looks like it could be blood—but you’re right. We’ve no way of knowing if it could be Morton Fritts’s. Even so—”
“Even so,” Maya repeated, pulling her camera from the bag over her shoulder and filming the spot, then pulling back to take in more of the area. “We can inform the authorities.”
Enough time had passed that, even though Ryan believed he also caught a faint aroma of canines in the area, he couldn’t be certain. That could simply be his expectation—or imagination.
Either way, he didn’t want the blood to be human, and if it was, he didn’t want it to be the result of an attack by wolf, shifter or otherwise.
Or an injured, or dead, wolf’s blood.
“Yes, we can,” he said, “although since Morton apparently survived it would be better if he told the authorities where he was hurt. Maybe he already has. That might not matter now anyway. It’s not like a crime scene where one human attacked another.” On the other hand, he wasn’t about to mention it but identifying which wolf it was, assuming Fritts had been mauled by a canine or two, would be particularly interesting to him—and to the rest of Alpha Force. He again traded glances with Piers, who was undoubtedly thinking the same thing.
Perhaps it was, in an unusual kind of way, a crime scene, after all—one involving another human in a nonhuman form…
“You’re right. I guess the best thing would be just to mention it to the authorities, maybe show them the pictures I took, and let them decide if they want us to show them where this is. It could just be the result of a wolf or other predator catching its nonhuman dinner. And they’re allowed to do that.”
“Right.” He looked at her. She appeared almost fierce as she nodded toward him, clearly willing to do a lot to defend the wildlife she cherished.
“And in any event, even if it happens to be Morton’s blood we can’t tell whether he acted aggressively first or just protected himself. The authorities might not care either way, but I certainly do.”
“Me, too, of course.” Ryan shrugged off the sudden desire to pull her into his arms for a hug. To thank her for her attitude. That was all.
Not because that sudden desire meant anything else…
“Okay, then,” he continued. “Thanks for pointing that spot out to me. It never hurts to have information, even if it doesn’t make sense to use it. Now, let’s head back down to the park.”
*
Maya found herself smiling nearly the entire hike down the hill. That was partly because of the company she was with: other wildlife lovers.
But in addition, Piers gave her the handle of Rocky’s leash, and she got to be with the wolflike dog nearly the entire walk. She had to be careful, of course. Although Rocky stuck with her, he could topple her over if he ever decided to start running while she held the end of his leash.
But he didn’t, good dog that he was. She patted him often.
Rocky and she led the group, and she heard Ryan and Piers behind her, talking. Which in itself was interesting. They discussed what else they would do for the rest of this day.
They also asked again when she intended to give her next talk, about staying away from wild animals for safety. She informed them she had a phone number to call to set it up, and they agreed she should ask for a time tomorrow afternoon.
“I can give a call to work out the time as soon as we’re back in the park and I get a better signal,” she told them.
She looked forward to her next talk, especially considering all that had happened in Fritts Corner since she’d last happily discussed the resurgence of wolves into this area.
Now, that talk could have become a little controversial, but she was going to do all she could to encourage the incredible excitement of having some previously missing wildlife return—yet stress how people should react for their own safety, as well as the wolves’.
She would also need to make certain somehow that it was well publicized so a lot of people would know about it and, hopefully, show up.
And as many as possible remain pro-wildlife despite the now more obvious need to be careful.
They reached the a
rea at the base of this portion of the hillside, then took time to walk around it into the park.
There, near the podium, Maya handed Piers the end of Rocky’s leash and made the call she’d planned on. She reached City Manager Perry Fernander, and he OK’d the following afternoon at one thirty for her next talk.
“All set,” she said as she pressed the button to hang up.
“Good deal,” Piers said, and even Rocky, standing beside Piers with his leash slack, panted a little in a way that resembled a laugh.
“I take it you’ll come,” Maya said to Ryan, who also stood beside them.
The tall man’s brows went up, although he didn’t smile. “Of course not,” he said, “despite my insistence on your giving this additional talk and scheduling it as soon as possible, and—”
“I get it,” Maya said with a laugh at his sarcasm, and her insides seemed to warm at the idea that he would be there to listen, maybe to help her, or maybe to contradict her if he didn’t like her approach.
But somehow she had an urge to impress him—even as they both did their best to help wolves.
For now, though, she called the police department, put the speaker on so the men could hear her conversation and told the dispatcher who answered about having heard about a possible wolf attack last night and seeing something today that could be blood near a path in the middle of a hillside, then described the general area. The woman put them on hold for a minute, and when she returned said the authorities had already been informed by the victim about what had happened and where. She thanked Maya, then hung up.
Which gave Maya some sense of relief. She had done her duty but didn’t have to follow up anymore about that unnerving patch of darkened red on the ground.
But she wished she had more information—like where the attack actually had happened and what had provoked it…
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