by Lori Drake
Justin complied, lowering Gina’s body carefully to the bare earth before stepping back.
“Okay, other than the obvious… what happened? Where’s Sam?” Ben asked.
“He’s with the others, following the trail of whoever did this.” Joey wiped her blood-smeared fingers on her jeans.
Ben stared at her, disbelief plain on his face. “You let him go alone?”
Joey shot him a warning look. “I said he’s with Abby’s pack. He’s not alone. Come on, help me figure out what happened. The rest of you, keep your eyes and ears open.”
They knelt on opposite sides of the fallen wolf and set to inspecting the wound on her neck. Ben produced a penlight from his key ring so they could see a little better.
“This isn’t a knife wound,” Joey said.
Ben nodded. “Garrote. I’d put money on it.” He leaned down and sniffed the wound, then rocked back abruptly and stood.
“What is it?” Jon asked.
Ben didn’t answer. He strode a few feet away to snatch up a half-empty water bottle and brought it back to the body. Joey watched him curiously as he poured some of the water on Gina’s neck, washing away some of the blood that stained her pale skin. The edges of the neck wound were curled back, angry red and blistered.
“Son of a… Is that what I think it is?” Joey asked.
“Yeah,” Ben said. “Silver burns.” He poured a little more water over the wound, exposing the angry red welts that extended from the edges of the neck wound around to the back of Gina’s neck.
Joey’s blood went cold, her mouth dry. “She was killed by a silver-plated garrote.”
Sara whimpered, and Jon pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. “We need to get Sara out of here.”
Joey nodded and sat back on her haunches. “I agree, but let’s stay put until the others get back. There’s safety in numbers.”
“There isn’t much in the way of defensive wounds,” Ben said, continuing his inspection of the body. “There are silver burns on her fingers and blood and tissue under her nails, but there are also scratch marks on her neck where she must’ve tried to claw at the garrote.”
“In order to get it around her neck, he must’ve snuck up on her,” Joey said. “He’s either one stealthy motherfucker or she was completely oblivious to her surroundings.”
Joey pushed to her feet and looked around warily. The night was quiet and still around them, aside from the crackling and popping of the fire. Goosebumps rose on her arms as she tried to come up with an explanation—any explanation—that didn’t contain the word that twisted her stomach into knots.
Hunter.
She knew they were out there. Sam, at least, had dealt with them before. But in her relatively short life, she hadn’t ever crossed paths with one. She thought she had at one point, when Chris was killed a few months back. But that had turned out to be witches with a magic knife. The next “hunter” she’d encountered hadn’t been a hunter at all, but rather a fabrication by the previous Alpha of Chris’s pack to cover up the murder of one of his own. Could there be another explanation this time? It had to be someone that knew about the lycanthrope sensitivity to silver. Another wolf with a grudge, perhaps? Someone from Gina’s past, out for revenge?
It was a solid twenty minutes before Sam and the others returned. They spilled out of the woods, still in wolf form, and Sam broke off from the others as they made a beeline for Gina’s body. Mournful howls filled the air as Sam approached Joey, his limp tail and clean fur telegraphing their unsuccessful hunt before he had a chance to shift and make a report.
The air around Sam shimmered as he resumed his human form. “We tracked him for half a mile before we lost the scent. He used every trick in the book to break the trail, I swear. Whoever it is, they’re not an amateur and knew what they’d be up against once the body was discovered.”
Joey frowned but nodded. “She was killed with a silver-plated garrote.”
Sam cursed and raked his fingers through his short auburn hair. “Well, I think the party’s over for the night. We should get Sara out of here.”
Joey bit back a retort, because they were all keenly aware of Sara’s precious cargo, and she couldn’t fault them—not really—for wanting to protect her. “I know. But I want to talk to Abby before I go, and we need to collect your clothes.” She turned to Jon and tossed him the car keys. “Take Sara and go home. In fact, take Ben and Justin too.”
Jon nodded and turned to go with a hand at Sara’s back. Justin went with him.
A frowning Ben lingered. “Joey, I don’t think—“
Sam took a step toward him, making eye contact. “Your Alpha gave you an order.”
Joey grabbed Sam’s arm. “Down, boy.” It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate his support, but the fact that he felt the need to intervene rankled her almost as much as Ben’s resistance. “Go, Ben. That is an order.”
Ben’s jaw tightened, but he nodded and strode off, lengthening his stride to catch up to the others.
Meanwhile, Joey tugged on Sam’s arm until he faced her. “Dial it back a notch, would you? If I can’t enforce my own orders, I don’t deserve to be Alpha.”
“He needs to stop seeing you as his kid sister and show some respect.”
“So do you.”
Sam opened his mouth, then closed it and lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Joey’s wolf radiated pleasure at his easy acquiescence, but her human half knew the battle was far from over. “Apology accepted.”
With that settled, she tucked her hands in her pockets and resumed her wary and watchful stance while Abby’s pack continued to congregate around their fallen packmate. Her heart went out to them. She knew all too well what it was like to lose one of her own, and all things being equal, she would’ve preferred to leave them alone to grieve. But she did need to talk to Abby before they left, if for no other reason than to be sure they found somewhere else to crash for the night.
Plus, Sam’s keys were still in his pants, and she didn’t particularly care to go back into the woods to retrieve them without backup.
If it were possible to wear a path in tile, Chris would’ve done it. His teeth ached from grinding together, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Ever since Ben, Jon, Justin, and Sara had gotten home and relayed the evening’s events to him, he’d been struggling to remain calm. He’d tried waiting in the family room, but neither TV nor books were a suitable distraction. The more time that passed without a word from Joey, the more his worry and anxiety had morphed into anger.
By the time a key turned in the lock just after one in the morning, Chris had been pacing at the foot of the stairs for the better part of an hour. Halting abruptly, he turned to face the door and willed himself to at least appear calm.
Joey looked like she’d aged a few years in the time she’d been gone. Her features were tight, forehead wrinkled and eyes weary. But she smiled when she saw Chris and hurried over to hug him tightly, leaving Sam to secure the door and punch in the security code.
Chris hugged her back, but relief that she was home safe didn’t quite eclipse his anger. “We need to talk.” He tried, but failed, to keep his tone even.
Joey nodded and pulled away, but caught his hand and tugged him toward the stairs. He held his peace until they were behind her closed bedroom door.
Chris reclaimed his hand and leaned against the door, folding his arms. “Will you please explain to me why I had to find out about a hunter in our territory from Ben?”
Joey frowned, giving him a moment’s study before walking over to the bench at the foot of the bed and lowering herself onto it with a weary sigh. “We don’t know it’s a hunter. We’ve been wrong before.”
Chris swallowed a growl. “Either way, a wolf is dead. You were worried enough to send everyone home, but you still didn’t think to give me a heads-up.”
“I was a little preoccupied, Chris. Like you said, a wolf was dead. I was out there, in the woods, with a killer on t
he loose.”
“And you didn’t think I deserved to know that?”
She sighed. “Why are you so intent on taking this personally?”
“I’m not— Okay, maybe I am. But that’s because it is personal.” He pushed off the door and gave in to his restless feet again, pacing the length of the room.
“Why?”
“Because you didn’t tell me what was going on, and even now… You don’t understand why that’s so bad.”
She rose and stepped into his path, forcing him to stop and meet her eyes. “Then tell me.”
Chris clenched his hands into fists, fighting the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake her. “What was your number one priority?”
“Keeping my people safe.”
“Exactly!”
She blinked up at him. “I… really don’t know what you’re getting at. Can I buy a vowel?”
“Your people, Joey. You put your people over mine.”
“Your people weren’t there!”
“They still might’ve been in danger!”
They were practically nose to nose by now, with Chris looming over her. Eyes locked, they stared one another down in silent challenge, and Chris would be damned if he’d lower his eyes.
“Back. Off.” Joey bit the words off, the faintest of growls escaping her control.
“Why, because this is your house? Your room? Fuck that, Joey. We’re supposed to be a team. You wanted that. Do you still want it?”
“Yes,” she said, but there was just enough hesitation to tip his emotions further off balance.
“Then you have to talk to me. You can’t just keep me in the dark.”
“I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark, Chris. I was trying to do damage control. A woman died tonight. A guest in my territory.”
“Our territory.”
She rolled her eyes, but at least it broke the intense eye contact, however temporarily. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, I do.” Chris shook his head and stalked away.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere else. Home.”
“You shouldn’t go alone…” There was worry in her tone. He didn’t doubt it was genuine. “Chris, I— I’m scared.”
That gave him pause. He halted at the door. “Me too.” I just don’t think it’s about the same thing.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Chris leaned forward and touched his forehead to the doorframe. This push-and-pull was exhausting. How were they going to make this work, build a future together, if they couldn’t see eye to eye?
The warm weight of her hand settled low on his back, rubbing lightly through his shirt. “Look, I— I could’ve called once we were on the way home. So I’m sorry for that. I’m sure you were worried.”
Damn right he was. In a way, the anger had been a release valve for that particular pressure. “And the rest?”
Her arms snaked around his waist, and she leaned against him. “I’m trying to understand. You really think your people were in danger?”
Chris turned toward her and took her face between his hands. “My people were in danger. You. Sam. Ben. Jon. Sara. I know you’re their Alpha, but I was part of this pack long before I took on one of my own. If you want this to work, if you want us to work, you have to start seeing my people the same way.”
“Our people,” she murmured, like she was tasting the words on her tongue. “I get that, I really do. But I really didn’t think the threat extended beyond the immediate area. If I’d had any reason to, I would have called you. I don’t have to think of them as my people to know that’s the right thing to do.”
“I don’t know if we’ll ever agree on that, but… it’s a start.”
She wanted to protest. He could see it in her eyes, but he didn’t want to fight any more. His anger was spent, leaving behind nothing but relief that she was home. Safe. In his arms. So he kissed her, deeply and at length, until she either lost track of the conversation or didn’t care anymore. Either one suited him just fine. Her fingers curled in the back of his shirt, pushing it up and slipping beneath to caress his skin. It wasn’t long before she wasn’t the only one distracted, but there was one more matter that he needed to know was settled before he could lose himself entirely.
“Are our guests secure for the night?” he asked, even as he backed her toward the bed.
“Yes. They moved to a motel.”
“And the body?”
“Dealt with. Your pillow talk is really morbid tonight, baby.”
He chuckled and nipped her lower lip sharply, pleased by her sudden intake of breath. “Pillow talk comes after. This is foreplay.”
She laughed, and they fell onto the bed. As he peeled away her clothes, exposing her soft skin to his hands and mouth, his father’s warning came back to him, pattering away in the back of his mind like a mantra. Don’t waste a second. Chris’s focus narrowed until there was nothing left but her, permeating his senses and stirring a need so primal that he knew no matter how many seconds they had… they’d never be enough.
Much later, he lay in the dark, drifting on the edge of sleep with her snuggled up beside him.
“You did put your—the Granite Falls pack—on alert, right?” Her words anchored him in the waking world, at least for a little longer.
His fingers stirred against her back, an absent but soothing stroke. “Yeah.”
“Abby insisted that it was a pack matter, that they’d deal with it.” She lifted her head from his chest, propping herself up on an elbow.
“Are we okay with that?”
“I guess so. I didn’t press the issue. Maybe I should have.”
Chris cracked an eye open to peer at her in the darkness. There was enough ambient moonlight filtering in through the curtains that he could see her perfectly with his low-light vision. “Maybe. What’s on your mind?”
“Well, it is our territory. If there’s a hunter on the prowl, everyone’s at risk.”
“Mmmhmm.” His eye drifted closed again.
“And there are a lot of extra wolves in town for the funeral, not just Abby’s pack. That means… Are you falling asleep?”
“Yes,” Chris murmured. She pinched him, jolting him back to alertness as he flinched away from her lobster-claw fingers. “Hey!”
“Wake up. This is important.”
“I can’t help it. It’s genetic.”
“Memo to me: important conversations then sex.”
“Well, I don’t know if I can go again, but I can try…”
She pinched him again. “Be serious!”
Sighing, Chris shifted onto his side and mirrored her posture, propped on one elbow with his head leaning on his hand. He rubbed his face with his other hand and willed the drowsiness away. As if it were that easy. “Lots of extra wolves means what?”
“There are more opportunities for a hunter to make our lives hell, and if our guests start dropping dead, we could find ourselves in the middle of a pack war.”
When she put it like that, it did seem rather serious. Pack wars had started over much less than a visiting wolf dying in another pack’s territory. “What can we do that we haven’t already done? We don’t even know for sure it was a hunter, do we?”
“Who else carries a silver-plated garrote?”
“Someone with an axe to grind with a wolf. But that doesn’t necessarily mean hunter.”
Joey chewed on her lower lip. “I suppose if Abby isn’t concerned about it being more than a pack matter… maybe we shouldn’t be either.”
“What does Sam think?”
“That we have reason to be cautious.”
“That’s it?”
She shrugged. “He’s a man of few words.”
“You know what I think?”
“No, what?”
He leaned over to kiss her forehead. “We can’t solve anything tonight. Let’s get some sleep and reassess in the morning.”
Joey sighed bu
t nodded and snuggled back up against him. He could practically hear her fretting, and fought against looming drowsiness to stroke comforting circles on her back until she drifted off to sleep.
4
It wasn’t a retreat. It was a tactical withdrawal. Joey kept telling herself that until she was safely behind her closed office door. A wave of relief washed over her, and she sighed.
Yup, retreat.
Five minutes, that’s all I need.
The realities of being a host to more than two dozen out-of-town wolves were starting to sink in. At least it was a burden she didn’t have to shoulder alone. In theory. She fished her phone out of the pocket of her jacket on her way across the room and sent her absent co-host a quick message.
ETA?
Joey sank into the chair behind her desk and pinched the bridge of her nose. Having this many unfamiliar wolves in close quarters was always dicey. Whose idea was it to host a reception, again? Oh, right. Hers.
“No one to blame but yourself,” she grumbled, then glanced down at her phone again when it chimed.
10 minutes.
They were on the road, at least. That boded well.
You’d better not be texting and driving.
The reply came in the form of a selfie snapped from the passenger’s seat. Lucy, one of Chris’s—damn, she needed to stop thinking about them that way—one of the Granite Falls wolves made a duck face at the camera, which was angled so that Chris could be seen behind the wheel.
Joey laughed and shook her head, thumbs tapping out a reply.
Don’t scroll too far back in our message history.
The reply was classic Lucy.
Your kinky secrets are safe.