A chill had me shaking worse. I grabbed a sweater from my bag, pulling it over my pajama top. Due to my exhaustion, I hadn’t even thought to find a heating source. The house had taken on quite the temperature drop and even asleep I had felt it. I had been cold in my dream, too.
The floor creaked as I walked through the living room. A pile of firewood sat near the wood-burning stove and I quickly got it going, taking a few minutes to bask in the warmth as it began to heat the small cabin. Before I could head into the kitchen to search for coffee, a knock sounded from the front door. My eyes immediately went to the window. From the small crack between the curtains, I could tell it wasn’t even quite daylight yet. Surely Detective Perkins wouldn’t be here already?
I glanced toward the room, debating if I should get my gun. I wasn’t as jumpy as I had been last night, but the caution was still there.
Instead, I walked to the door, peering through the peep hole. A frown had my brow drawing in. I twisted the lock, pulling the door open.
“You’re here early.”
Detective Perkins threw me a grin, holding up two convenience store style coffee cups. He was wearing a jacket, jogging pants, and running shoes. It was far from the stylish suit he wore not hours before.
“I knew you’d be an early riser. Besides, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you last night so I went home, changed, and have been sleeping off and on in my car. You weren’t well. You should have gone in to get checked out.”
“You slept outside?” Surprise laced my tone as I took the cup.
“That’s right. Not a big deal.” He nodded toward the kitchen, changing the subject. “I didn’t add cream or sugar. There might be some in there. I know Charlie keeps the place stocked pretty good for guests so feel free to fix it up how you like while I go get my files from the car.”
“Thank you.” I pulled my sweater down a little as he headed back out of the door. I couldn’t believe he actually slept outside. Would I have done that for him if the roles had been reversed and I thought he wasn’t okay? He didn’t know me. And I had been arguing with him a lot. Yet … he’d still stayed close. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. My views on his character shifted more in his favor. Maybe he wasn’t as bad I as I had thought?
I walked to the kitchen and flipped on the light. The sugar was easy enough to find in the blue and white canisters. While the coffee cooled, I headed back to the room to get dressed. He may have brought the files, but I had more things on my agenda than looking over paperwork. I wanted to check out the scene. To do that, I’d have to hit the trails. I had already plotted the route on the map before I headed up here. One led right to the location where the body was discovered.
I took out my black running pants and paired them with a long sleeve matching top, heading to the bathroom. Running was my thing, or had been the last few months. It helped me think and I would have plenty of time to do that when I explored the miles of trails that wrapped through the forest.
As I was slipping on my running shoes, the door sounded from the front. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, trying to hurry as I headed back to the living area. Detective Perkins was laying out files on a small round table in the far corner. He glanced up, only to do a double take as he looked over my clothes. He kept silent while I headed into the kitchen to grab my coffee. When I returned, he was still looking at me oddly.
“What is it, Detective?”
“Nothing. I mean… Where are you going?”
I glanced over his own apparel. The way he was dressed, he could easily accompany me.
“After this I plan to go for a run around the back trail to where Kelly Morrison’s body was found. You can come with me if you want.”
Detective Perkin’s face lit up in surprise.
“It’s not as simple to get to as you think. The trail you’re talking about taking winds around a good three miles before it gets to the river. It’d be easier to walk the quarter of a mile straight to the location.”
“But I want to see the woods and get a feel where this animal lives. Besides, three miles isn’t bad. The exercise will do us good.” His build told me he had to work out somehow. He was in good shape. At least six feet with broad shoulders. Much like Alex’s build, but the detective was a bit shorter.
He turned toward the table while the side of his mouth pulled back in annoyance. “It’s a bad idea after what you went through last night. But I’m sure you don’t care about what I think so let’s move on. You can start here.”
My eyes shot over to him and I flipped through the folders. “I’ve already seen these, Detective. I’ve gone over everything here countless times, including the crime scene photos. There’s nothing new here.”
“This is all I have to give you, Ms. Billings. You can look over everything and ask me questions, or I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
My temper sparked, triggering my headache, but I pushed it away. There had to be more than this. There had to be.
“Fine. I have a few questions for you. Tell me, who was the first person to speculate this may have been a bear attack?”
“Easy. Me.”
His lips hardened into a thin line, but his posture never wavered or increased in stiffness.
“Why a bear?”
“Again, easy. Because it was one. Given the trajectory of the claw marks and the fashion in which Kelly Morrison was killed, what else could it have been?”
I took a step forward, picking up a photo of the crime scene. It was a close up of the body, revealing the tears in the woman’s skin.
“I can tell you what it wasn’t,” I said, showing him the photo. “It wasn’t a bear.”
“Says who? Your experts?” Detective Perkin’s glare cut right into me. “Your experts are full of shit, Ms. Billings. Kelly Morrison was killed by a black bear. A really large one. And here you are, dressed in your workout gear, ready to go running through the woods to go look at a scene that’s been unattended to for over two years. What exactly do you plan to find?”
The horrific injuries had me shaking my head. I placed the photo back on the stack and met his eyes. “Does it matter? She wasn’t the only one who had a run-in with this killer. Do not for one second think I’m stupid. I’ve done my homework and I know there have been more deaths like this one. How many cases of attacks and missing persons has Wolf River had, Detective?”
The anger faded as he turned and walked to look out the window.
“Since I’ve been a detective? Or in the history of this town?”
Chapter 6
Alex
I knew Erin was headed in my direction long before her scent overpowered the Jack I’d been drinking. It cut through the toxic fumes like a breath of fresh air. It didn’t take long after that for me to hear her communicating with Caleb Perkins. The anger was immediate. His constant hovering made what I wanted even harder. Not because I couldn’t overpower him easily and take them both out, but because him being around her set me off. So many emotions had become warped since I had caught that woman’s scent. It was driving me damn near crazy as I tried to understand it.
I brought the end of the ax down on another chunk of firewood, splitting it down the middle. The pieces fell to the sides and I tossed them over into the pile, grabbing another to cut. Footsteps a good hundred feet away grew closer. I didn’t acknowledge that they were near. Instead, I kept at my chores, slamming the axe down even harder. The volume decreased and there was a hesitation in their voices as they came to a complete stop. Still I continued my own thing. Sweat was beginning to run down my back and face and I wiped the trickle from my brow. My temperature was up more than normal. Soon my skin would be on fire, craving not only the kill my beast needed, but her. Even celibate and alone, the sexual urges peaked around the time of a full moon. With it only being days away and her near, they were unbelievably strong.
“Mr. Villani.”
Erin’s call had my wolf rearing into me. I couldn’t tell if he was happy for the greeting or
delighted at the proximity in which she stood. She wasn’t too far away. Fifteen feet now, give or take a few inches. I didn’t have to see her to know. My instincts told me everything.
“Ms. Billings,” I answered, slowly coming to face her. The hair that I thought was darker last night appeared light today—chestnut brown. It was tied back into a ponytail again and the tight, black running pants and long sleeve shirt clung to her body in all the right places. I tried not to stare. Instead, I moved my eyes up to look at the small cut surrounded by bruising on her temple. “You look as though you’re feeling better.”
“I am, thank you.” She took a few more steps closer. Eleven feet. Now, ten. “Mr. Villani, I hope you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions about Kelly Morrison.”
My gaze cut over to Caleb long enough to see he was staring at me.
“I told you everything last night.”
“You really didn’t tell me anything, if I recall correctly. Since I was a bit under the weather, perhaps you wouldn’t mind going over my questions again. After you put the ax down, of course.”
The thud from the weight hitting the ground could have been a full sized truck dropping for all the silence that was between us. The request wasn’t sitting well with me. No … her expression wasn’t. The caution she held while she studied my every move had me ready to pin her down. Ready to … what? Fuck her? Feed my urges by scaring her? I wasn’t sure. Jesus, I needed more to drink.
“Thank you. If we could just start from the beginning. When was the first time you met Kelly Morrison?”
Caleb crossed his arms, just as interested as her, regardless that he knew everything.
“A long time ago. She was the little sister of one of my close friends. He’s been dead for a few years.”
“Dead? How?”
Heat blistered my skin as I began to clench my jaw.
“Mr. Villani?”
She turned to look at Caleb and I couldn’t help but place my hands on my hips, squeezing through the anger. Fuck, I didn’t want to talk about this. Especially with him around.
“Bear attack,” Caleb said, his tone now deep and forbidding. “Toby wasn’t alone though, when he died, was he Alex?”
My pulse roared in my ears as I met his stare. “No. He was not.”
“So tell her, then. Tell her what happened.”
He was goading me and instead of turning my attention to her, I stepped closer to Caleb. “That fucking thing nearly killed us all. Me, Toby, Kevin, and Jack. You love pointing out how I was the only one to survive. You act like I had a choice!” The roar that left me had Erin’s hand coming up. I knew she had a gun holstered under her shirt. The woman never seemed to be without it.
“I’m sorry. Listen,” I said, calming my intoxicated mind. “If I could have traded places with any of them, I would have. I’m sorry about Kevin, but I’ve said that to you before. Does the fact that I almost died myself mean nothing? Fuck, Caleb, I loved him. You know that.”
Silence was all I got from either of them. Caleb looked too pissed to talk and Erin was forever watchful, which brought back the reality of the situation. I was being questioned once again and I’d lost control of myself. This time, I refused to play their game. This wasn’t a real investigation and I wasn’t being forced to tell them shit.
I grabbed my shirt from the ground, spinning back to my house. I didn’t miss the intake of breath from Erin, or the fact that leaves were cracking under her feet as she began to follow. Four steps in, she stopped.
“Mr. Villani. Mr. Villani, please!”
“No.” I kept going, not bothering to turn back as I spoke. The tension was so thick within me, I could feel the deep scars that covered my back pull at the tightening of my skin. My bones were aching…begging to shift. Begging to kill them both so they could never remember the weakness I’d just displayed. Human emotion wasn’t weak, but my wolf felt it was, and the conflict from my two personalities was raging a battle that could come back to haunt me. I had to keep going. I had to put distance between us so I could cool off.
The door slammed at my pull and I threw the shirt, letting a growl pour from my lips as I headed to the kitchen counter where the bottle of liquor still rested. The burn felt good against my throat. I didn’t stop drinking until it was almost unbearable. Unfortunately, the knock sounded at the same time.
“Mr. Villani, I need to speak with you.”
Erin’s voice broke through not only the walls of my cabin, but through the barrier I used to guard the humanity I had left. A frown pulled at my features and I cursed under my breath.
“Go away.”
More knocking.
“Please. Just a few questions.”
“Go. Away!”
A sigh left her lips and I closed my eyes, lowering my head. She wouldn’t entirely go away until she interrogated me to the fullest. I knew that. She was stubborn. I’d seen it last night. This wasn’t over.
A few seconds passed before footsteps faded into the distance. I took another swig, slamming the alcohol down. How long would it be before she returned? Or the real question … before my wolf drove me right to her door … again. Even as I thought it, I hated that she was getting further away. I could sense the distance between us. It had me running my hands down my face in impatience.
“Damn Caleb, this is your fault.”
And it was. If he hadn’t set me off, maybe they would have just continued on their merry way. Erin would have never of seen my scars. She wouldn’t know that my past linked me to the very type of creature she was investigating.
Or would she? She seemed thorough. She might have uncovered it on her own and then we’d be right here anyway. She wanted answers. Wasn’t it better that I was getting this out of the way now? I’d tell her it was a bear like I’d said before. I never divulged the truth anyway. Who would have believed me if I would have told them about the terrifying creature who had attacked me in the woods? Who murdered my best friends and left me alive for reasons I still didn’t understand?
Further, our link stretched. Her scent was fading, her footsteps, almost gone from my hearing. I glanced at my shirt crumpled on the floor and walked over, picking it up. It took a few seconds before I could force my arms through the sleeves. The large tattoos on my biceps disappeared under the fabric and I was glad for it. I’d gotten the ink just months before the attack. Kevin had been with me during the hours it took for the artist to finish. I couldn’t look at the designs without thinking of him. Everything reminded me of that day.
My head subconsciously shook and I knew what putting on my shirt meant—I was giving in. Doing the one thing I didn’t want to … going back outside. I couldn’t help it. If I couldn’t follow Erin’s trail, I had to at least be outside within the same elements. The urge within was undeniable. A nuisance, more than anything. I didn’t want to be this taken over. She constantly stayed on my mind and I couldn’t exactly figure out why. Sure, she had initially been potential food for my wolf, but why this overly obsessive behavior? This attraction? She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but I’d seen my share of good looking women. Nothing besides the tattoo and her attitude put her apart from them. So, why?
The door slammed behind me as I tried to stop the repeating question. A single bird chirped in the background, but other than that there was silence. I walked over, picking the ax back up. But I didn’t start swinging. I held to the wooden handle, closing my eyes as I tuned into the surroundings. The connection I held with the wolves was faint, telling me they weren’t searching for food. I cocked my head, pushing my abilities to the max. The hum a voices were barely existent, but still audible.
“I’ll just talk to him about it later. I have to meet with Mr. Morrison in a few hours so I won’t have time today. Maybe tomorrow. Mr. Villani knows something. He has to.”
“I’ve already told you. Let it go, Ms. Billings. You’re wasting your time with Alex. He knows nothing and even if he did, he wouldn’t help you. I doubted
he even tried to help my brother when that bear tore him to pieces. You’re wasting your time even being here.”
“How would he have been able to help?” she cut in quickly. “I thought you told me he was attacked first.”
“Do you believe he went unconscious from his injuries?”
Erin didn’t respond for a few seconds. “The claw marks were deep and went down the length of his back. He said he almost died and you didn’t deny it. Sure, I believe he could have gone unconscious from loss of blood or shock. I would be surprised if he didn’t.”
“Bullshit,” Caleb ground out.
“Really?” There was hesitation and almost astonishment in Erin’s tone as she continued. “Detective, let’s be rational. We both saw his wounds. Alexander Villani wouldn’t have been able to save anyone, let alone himself if that thing had returned to finish him off. Do you want to know what I question concerning their attack?”
“What’s that?”
“How the other three men couldn’t take out a single bear after it hurt Alex. Did anyone get off a shot? Stab it during their own attack? Run to try to save themselves? We’re talking seasoned hunters. You told me yourself that they’d been hunting together since their youth. With your father, no less. How does something like that happen to four men in their early twenties, yet only one lived to tell about it?”
Caleb let out what sounded like a huff of air. “You tell me, Investigator. It’s the question I’ve spent the last decade trying to uncover. None of this shit makes sense.”
“No…it doesn’t. What baffles me the most is your anger toward Mr. Villani. You blame him for your brother’s death when he was the one attacked first. As if he could have actually done something to save any of them. I don’t understand.”
“Understand this,” Caleb snapped. “Alex isn’t providing the entire truth about the story. Omission of any kind wreaks of guilt. That tells me he’s hiding something. Like you said, how does something like that happen to four men? Four damn excellent hunters? It doesn’t. It all comes back to Alex and his lies. Maybe we could have found the bear that did this and put a stop to all the disappearances and deaths that followed. To make things worse, he’s connected one way or another to every case that’s followed his. Whether that be vicinity, association …. I’m telling you, he’s linked. He’s responsible for all of it.
WOLF (Wolf River Book 1) Page 5