by A. Star
Tijeras was east of Albuquerque in the foothills. The back road that ran by the ranch I’d scouted led directly to the village.
“Okay,” I said. “Let me show you what will happen if I ever hear you’ve told anyone, especially the cops or the sheriff’s office.”
I changed. It’s pretty horrifying to watch most shifters, but he’d seen Tommy change, so he knew what to expect. Or he thought he did. Werewolves tell me that changing is painful. I know that watching them change is painful. It takes two or three minutes, stretching and pulling, their bones and muscles rearranging into a completely different animal.
I’m the daughter of two gods. I don’t change the way other Weres do. It’s almost instantaneous, a morphing that takes less than thirty seconds. I don’t change mass, and my cat is far sleeker than my human form so I just slide out of my clothes. I don’t tear them, I just leave them behind. If I was modest, it would be a problem when I change back. But I grew up in a tropical culture that didn’t pay any attention to nudity.
I knocked him down, stood on his chest, and roared in his face. Then I changed back and put my clothes on. Victor lay on the bed shivering and drooling, staring at me with eyes wild with panic and fear. The smell told me he’d need to change his pants.
“Do we understand each other?” I asked as I settled the shoulder holster and put on my jacket.
He nodded so hard I thought his head might snap off. His mouth worked, but no sounds came out. The door was reinforced, so the idiots banging on it hadn’t managed to break it down. I knew my roar had been heard for at least a couple of blocks. I opened the door and let the boys outside see their fearless leader lying on his bed.
“Nice meeting you boys,” I said, and walked out. They parted like the Red Sea and watched me go.
~~~
I reported what Victor had told me to Carlos, of course. I didn’t think Victor would ever tell anyone what he knew, but Carlos needed to know. It would be paramount to keep him away from Layden.
“So, you think Tommy’s pack will be hunting at that ranch near Golden?” Carlos asked. “I’ll get a few men together to go out there with you tomorrow night.”
“I think that’s a bad idea,” I said. “If they get wind of any wolves in the area, they’ll run. They won’t recognize my smell, and in any case, they won’t be suspicious of a cat. They’ll carry on their hunt even if they see me.”
He shook his head. “Isabella, even a large cat is no match for a wolf pack. I can’t take a cougar one-on-one, but four or five of us ...”
“Carlos, I eat cougars for lunch. Besides, I’m not planning on getting into a fight with a whole pack. All I need to do is convince the alpha.”
“What the hell are you?”
“A Mayan princess. My father was Bahlam, the Tehuantl. A god. My mother was Ixchel.”
It took him a moment to register.
“Jaguar.”
I nodded. The only cats larger are lions and tigers, but none have a more powerful bite. My three-inch claws are sharper than most knives. In my native Yucatan, I’ve taken down tapir and wild bulls by biting through their skulls and crushing their brains. I’ve killed sea turtles by smashing their shells with my paw. And I’m only a medium-sized female. Some males go over 300 pounds.
“Madre de Dios. How old are you?” he breathed.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask that of a woman?” I said, smiling. “Let’s just say that I met Hernando Cortez in 1524. I think I can handle a pack of young Werewolves.”
~~~
While looking for a parking place near the sheriff’s office, I saw Ted come out of a restaurant with a tall, elegantly dressed blonde woman. She hugged him and he kissed her, then they walked off in separate directions.
What the hell was he doing making a play for me? It must be the full-moon vibes my cat was sending out. I wasn’t in the mood to be a notch on his bedpost, no matter how attracted or horny I was. Screw him.
He was professional when he came out of his office to meet me, but there was heat in his eyes that made me shiver. He took me into a room with a large map of Santa Fe County on the wall. Push pins of various colors were sprinkled all over it.
“These are unsolved crimes,” he told me. “Orange is for livestock attacks, thefts, etcetera. Red are murders, blue are assaults, green for burglaries.” He pointed to a red pin next to an orange one. “Art Hayes.”
I looked to the southern part of the map. Four orange pins were stuck in the map just north of the village of Golden.
“You said I could look at the case files on the animals that had been eaten,” I said.
He pointed to a pile of files on a table. I walked over and picked up the one on top. I leafed through it, looking at the pictures of the cow that had been killed. It definitely looked like a pack had been at her. The pictures in the next file were similar. The animals had been killed by having their throats torn out. Typical for wolves or cougars or many other predators. I looked through the rest and it was obvious that more than one animal had fed on the carcasses.
“Did you find any evidence of the chase?”
“In some instances. Usually it appeared the dead animal was taken down on the edge of the herd. Horses would run, of course. I don’t know what could catch a horse. I assume they were ambushed.”
I agreed with him. Intelligent wolves, Werewolves, often drove prey into an ambush. It helped to be able to plan a hunt and take advantage of the available topography. Not that normal wolves were dumb, but they didn’t plan hunts like a military campaign.
“Thanks. This is what I expected from your descriptions, but I wanted to see for myself.”
“Do you have any leads?” I could hear the hopeful note in his voice.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Someone I talked to suggested it was a bunch of kids doing it for kicks.”
“Kids eating a horse?”
“Not the eating part. Coyotes or wild dogs maybe. Hell, even domestic dogs if they found a fresh kill.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, then contact the Air Force and tell them aliens are landing in Santa Fe County.” I turned and walked out.
“Isabella. Wait.”
“What, Sheriff?”
“Are you free for dinner?”
“No. I have work to do. Ask one of your other girlfriends.”
~~~
I woke up the next morning and discovered I didn’t have anything to do until evening. I decided to take some time for myself and browse the art galleries on Canyon Road. Santa Fe has been a center for the arts since the early twentieth century, and there are hundreds of art galleries.
Coming out of a place devoted to nineteenth century Western American art, I ran into someone standing on the sidewalk. He was much larger than I, but I’m a lot more solid than a human. He stumbled backward and fell on his butt.
“Oh, God, I’m so...” I started to stammer an apology. “What the hell? Layden? What are you doing? Are you following me?”
He picked himself up and dusted his hands on his jeans. He wasn’t in uniform.
“Guilty as charged,” he said. “I wasn’t really following you, but I saw you go in as I was driving by, and wondered if I could buy you lunch.”
“You’re damned persistent.”
His smile lit up a sunny day. “Yes, I am. Hungry?”
I studied him. I didn’t understand what game he was playing, but I couldn’t deny how good he looked. My cat snarled at me, wanting me to take him right there on the street. I pushed her down, and she retreated reluctantly.
“Do you know a place that serves steak for lunch?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do. It’s just up the street.”
“Well, I am hungry,” I acknowledged. “Can you keep your hands to yourself?”
“Do you want me to?”
A flood of heat spread through me. Hell, no, I didn’t want him to. I wanted him to ravish me without apology.
Taking firm control of my emotions, but not of my hormones, I said, “Steak. Make my stomach happy and I might allow you a quick grope.”
“Best deal I’ve heard all day.”
He looked so happy that I wanted to slap the smile off his face. Or maybe kiss it so hard that... Damn! The man was getting to me.
We walked a few blocks to a large hacienda at the end of a long driveway off the street. It was a nineteenth-century home converted into a high-end restaurant with white linen tablecloths and crystal glassware. I glanced at the dress code posted at the door. We didn’t remotely meet the rules.
“Sheriff Layden,” the maître’d gushed. “It’s good to see you again.” He led us to a table in an alcove.
“Are you on the take?” I asked Ted.
“I don’t need a lot of material goods,” he chuckled. “I enjoy good food, so that’s one of the things I spend my money on.”
When the waiter came to take our order, I said, “The chateaubriand, blue,” and shut the menu.
He shot a glance at me, then looked at Ted. “Very good. And what sides would each of you like?” A chateaubriand is normally shared by two people.
“I don’t know what he wants,” I said, “but I’m not sharing. I don’t need any sides.”
Layden raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. He ordered a porterhouse, medium rare, with a baked potato and broccoli.
The steak was wonderful, a barely-seared chunk of tenderloin that covered the plate. I caught my companion watching me eat, but I minded my manners. I’m past my instincts to hold my meat in my paws and gnaw on it. At least I refrain in fancy restaurants.
Full and happy, I didn’t move away from him when he walked up behind me as we went outside. I leaned back into him and purred. There was one more thing that could make the afternoon perfect. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close. I closed my eyes and drank in his scent.
A silver BMW convertible drove by. The blond woman driving honked and waved at us. It was the woman I’d seen Ted with the previous day. My amorous mood evaporated.
I moved away from him. “Thanks, for lunch, Sheriff. Have a good afternoon.” I walked away without another word.
~~~
The sunset painted the western clouds in pink, red, and purple. The full moon rose over the mountains in the east, huge and bright orange. I sat on top of a hill and scanned the highway, watching traffic and waiting for someone to stop.
It was almost ten o’clock when a pickup truck followed by a minivan pulled off onto the side road leading to the ranch. They parked under a pair of large piñon trees, and a mixed group of people and wolves piled out. The humans shifted, and the pack flowed under the barbwire fence, heading off to the north of me.
I slipped down from the hill and ran the half-mile to where I’d left my truck. I shifted, leaving my clothes and weapons there, except for a neck bag carrying the .380 and a couple of knives.
It didn’t take long to circle back to the pack’s vehicles and pick up their trail. I settled into a ground-covering lope and followed them.
The pack had spread out, searching for prey. I zigzagged, trying to pick up as many scents as I could. They had longer legs and were traveling faster than I could. It wasn’t a problem. They’d slow down when they found something to hunt. The moon provided plenty of light, but wolves don't hunt by sight and neither do I.
It only took half an hour for me to catch up to them. They were harassing a cow with a half-grown calf. There weren’t any bulls with the herd, so the other cows had taken off, probably glad not to be the center of the pack’s attention.
The cows were Polled Herefords, bred without any horns. Since the largest natural predators in the area were coyotes, that normally wouldn’t present a problem.
My cat thought the calf would make a rather tasty meal. Of course, my cat thought any of those wolves would make a tasty meal, too. I wanted the wolves and the cows to know I was there, so I slunk upwind of the melee and jumped on top of a large sandstone outcropping. It didn’t seem to get anyone’s attention, so I let out a roar.
Every creature before me stopped. The calf crowded even closer to its mother, which I didn’t think was possible. The cow started shaking. The wolves all turned and stared.
That worked so well that I roared again. The cow and calf took off running. The wolves took off in the other direction, toward their cars. Most of them, anyway. The largest male laid back his ears and snarled at me. Obviously testosterone makes wolves stupid, just like it does humans.
I shifted. Standing nude surrounded by wolves wasn’t the most comfortable feeling, but the .380 in the bag around my neck gave me a bit of confidence.
“It’s all over,” I told them. “Your choices are to start acting like you have some sense, join a legitimate pack, or be hunted down and killed. Tonight is a warning.”
I shifted again and hopped down off my rock, it was only a twenty-foot drop, and strolled toward Mr. Stupid. He continued to snarl and bark at me, and some of his pack mates drifted back toward us.
The alpha probably had thirty or forty pounds on me, but a jaguar is built low and powerful. I stalked toward him, belly almost touching the ground. The rest of the pack began to surround me. I felt the tension level rise.
The large male’s haunches stiffened as he prepared to launch himself at me. I was quicker. I landed in front of him and batted his head with my paw. Bones crunched and he dropped to the ground with his head at an unnatural angle from his body. Leaping over him, I bowled over the wolves behind him and dashed away.
Most of the pack stayed with their leader, nosing him and milling around. But two followed me. I’m not built to outrun speed hunters with legs twice as long as mine. They gained on me, and I looked for an appropriate tree. An ancient juniper was just the ticket. I scampered up it and out on a limb twelve feet above the ground.
The two young wolves barked at me, and I heard answering barks and yips behind us. It was only a matter of time before I was back in the middle of the pack. There was always the chance that one of them had an average IQ and would decide to go back to their vehicles for a weapon.
I snarled at them, but they didn’t take the hint. When in doubt, go with Plan A. Dropping from the limb, I landed on the larger wolf’s back and bit him in the head.
Abandoning the body, I leapt at the other wolf. Instead of running as she should have done if she had any smarts, she rose up on her hind legs to meet me. When we hit the ground, I raked her abdomen with my hind claws. She screamed in pain and I took off again.
Circling around to my truck, I shifted and got dressed. Taking my rifle, I trekked over to where the kids had left their truck and van. I got there in time to see a bunch of naked kids carrying three bodies down the ranch road. One was still in wolf form, so I knew the girl was still alive.
There was plenty of moonlight, and the infrared sniper scope made my targets as clear as if it was daylight. Four shots took out four tires. It’s difficult to change two flats when you only have one spare. The kids dropped their fallen comrades and scattered.
I dialed my cell phone. “Carlos? I have your rogue pack. Come and get them. If you have a doctor or vet, bring him.”
~~~
Early the next morning, I pulled up to the county sheriff’s office and asked for Ted Layden.
“Hi, Isabella. It’s good to see you.” His easy smile made me a bit sad. If he wasn’t a player, I could get real attached to him. He was human, but I get lonely and he was more man than I’d met in a long time. Besides, I had a soft spot for men who fed me red meat.
“I have two bodies out in my truck,” I said. His smile disappeared. “I tracked down the guys who were killing livestock. Last night, they bit off more than their dogs could chew. They went after a herd with a bull and got trampled.”
The pack and I had had a long discussion as to what to do with the bodies. Carlos and I felt we needed to provide closure for Ted Layden. Carlos and a couple of his men had dressed t
he bodies. Then they threw them into a stall with a bull and zapped it with a cattle prod. The results would verify my story with Layden’s medical examiner.
We went out to my truck with half a dozen deputies. I heard someone calling the ME.
I pulled back the sheet covering the bodies. “The dogs ran and I didn’t bother to try and catch them.”
“Dogs?” Layden asked.
“Yeah, they had three or four large dogs with them. I don’t think the dogs did all the damage to your kills. I figure coyotes probably helped after the men and dogs were finished.”
He gave me a skeptical look, but didn’t dispute my theory.
After the bodies were hauled away and I finished giving my statement, I drove back to El Lobo and collected my pay from Carlos.
“The girl will survive,” he told me. “The rest of the pack will be scattered among packs throughout the Southwest. A little pack discipline should solve their issues.”
He walked me out to my truck. “Thank you, Isabella. If you’re ever down this way, stop by and see me. You’re always welcome.”
“Thanks, Carlos. I do occasionally go camping in the summers, and I’d enjoy spending some time in the Pecos Wilderness. I hear you’ve got a lot of big game up there.”
He smiled and shook my hand, then he looked past me and his smile died. I whirled around and found Ted Layden standing a few feet away.
I walked over to him.
“I take it you’re heading back to Boulder?” he asked.
“Yes. Classes start in three weeks, and I need to show up for my day job.”
“I’ll miss you. I hoped you’d stick around long enough for us to get to know each other.”
“Oh, Sheriff, I don’t think you’ll miss me very long. I’m sure your girlfriend will take good care of you.”
“Girlfriend?” He looked genuinely puzzled.
“Yeah. Tall, blonde, good looking. Dressed like she stepped out of Vogue. A difficult woman to forget. I saw you together the other day. You go very well together.”
He started laughing. “Stephanie!”
“Oh, so you do remember her?”
“Yes.” He was laughing so hard I thought he’d choke. “She’s my twin sister.”