WOLF (Wolf River Book 1)

by Alaska Angelini

“An early dinner,” I insisted. “I’ll leave before the sun sets.”

  Footsteps had both of us looking up further down the trail. A growl teased the back of my throat and I somehow found myself moving in to stand closer to Erin as Caleb appeared. Anger was pouring from him so thick it almost made me smile.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you, Alex. You wouldn’t know how to tell the truth if your life depended on it. Sheriff wasn’t there. Doubt he ever was.”

  I hid my aggravation. Of course the sheriff wasn’t there. I had to have some sort of excuse to go through with my plan of getting Erin on my side.

  “It was wrong, I admit, but I had to speak with Investigator Billings alone.”

  Erin glanced up at me. I knew I needed to somehow make it to where she didn’t think I was the bad guy. I wanted her trust and it was vital if I was going to keep her suspicions far away from me while she was here.

  “You couldn’t have just waited or asked me to give you a moment?” Caleb’s lip curled. “Lies. That’s all you’re good for.”

  “Enough,” Erin bit out. “I won’t be in the middle of some feud between the two of you. Mr. Villani needed a moment and he got it. Arguing isn’t going to change the way he went about it. Which was wrong,” she rushed out toward me. “If you both don’t mind, Mr. Morrison will be expecting me soon so I should be on my way. Detective Perkins, would you still give me a ride?”

  “Actually,” I cut in, “I have to go over there to talk with him about the bench. I’ll take you if you’d like.”

  Who the hell was I kidding? If I showed up driving Erin, Gregory was going to shit a brick. We may have been on decent terms, but I saw the way he looked at me. And I’d appear a hell of a lot guiltier to him if I was latched to Erin’s side. This was a bad move on my part and I knew it.

  “She’s going with me.” Caleb was already stalking forward and Erin nodded in agreement.

  “I should ride with Detective Perkins. We’ll talk later. Not tomorrow, but the next day. Five o’clock.”

  Before I could say a word, she caught up with Caleb and began walking away. She didn’t even look back in my direction once. The lack of attention had my wolf-blood boiling in my veins. She gave me a time and then turned her back to me—ignoring me, dismissing me? And set it for days away?

  Obsession. It grew with every step she took further away. I was angry and captivated all in one. Manic in my need of something I didn’t even know. My mouth opened and I had to force myself not to call out to her. Not to invent some ridiculous excuse as to why she should see me tonight. Right now. Dammit! I was out of control, spiraling on some dangerous path of right and wrong. But what was right? Was it my will to do whatever I needed to survive, or was it to attach myself to a woman I didn’t even know, for reasons I didn’t even understand? Attach. The word kept returning in my mind. I might as well of fucking wrapped myself around her leg for the all the desperation that was crowding my inner self. And it was crowding and drowning me.

  The light buzz of their voices grew fainter, but I kept just enough distance to hear their generic conversation. When they got closer to Erin’s home, I made myself stop long enough to listen to the engine turn over and for them to leave. After that … I was gone. Sprinting in the direction of her cabin at such a blur that I barely noticed the ice cold wind against my face. Had the alcohol affected me so much? No. I was inebriated by naughty what-ifs. Erin was twisting my mind. I could still feel her body along the front of mine as I wrapped myself around her. That ass, her smell, it was all going to be my undoing.

  I ran faster, letting the air burn into my face. The fact that I held my breath occasionally so it couldn’t cleanse her scent was irrelevant. I could bleach my insides and never be without her. It wasn’t something she did or something even I had done, it was him. My wolf—the part of me that I couldn’t completely control. He desired her and to hell with what she or I wanted. He ruled my body and he’d covet her any way possible until he decided what came next.

  The closer I got, the more traces of Erin broke through. Only then could I breathe regularly. She’d walked this very path not minutes ago and with as fresh as the trail was, she could have been here now. I slowed, savoring in the realization that I was so close. My mission, unknown. All that was pulling me forward was the need to discover every single thing I could find out about this woman. To experience more of this unexplained fascination that was blinding me to realities of the situation.

  Smoke poured for the small cabin and I let my senses tune in as I began to walk forward. No one was there. I had time to do whatever I wanted. The thought brought a smile to my lips and I picked up the pace until I was twisting the knob and frowning as it stayed rooted in my palm. Locked.

  I let go, scanning the deck. In a frenzy of quick movements, I began to search for an extra key—atop the frame of the door, under the rug, even under flower pots. Nothing. I headed around to the side, checking the windows. Impatience was pushing through. When I rounded the back of the home, I could barely contain myself. Still no luck. I rushed around the last side, pushing against the glass. It wasn’t until I got back to the front, and to the very last window to the right of the deck, that one finally glided up. I cursed as I pull myself through.

  Adrenaline spiked and my beast roared to the forefront as I shut myself inside. The smell of her was all I focused on and for seconds I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Not with the way every inch of my skin tingled at her presence.

  Slowly, my eyes opened and I took in the papers and photos that were spread across the tabletop not far away. Blood and injuries made my pulse increase as I picked up and flipped through the pictures of Kelly. A frown appeared and sadness swarmed. I hadn’t known her very well, regardless that she had been Toby’s sister. She was a lot younger than us. It still didn’t stop the questions I had about her death. There were so many. It was all so confusing. She’d been on my land. Why? Fuck, I didn’t know. I had been locked up at the time, but her screams had still reached me and turned me even more crazed. I had beat against my cage like the monster I was, pulling and trying to break free. Luckily, I hadn’t.

  I took in the claw marks. The hunter in me calculated and critiqued the work. I knew it. It was of my kind and likely the work of one other—my attacker. The same werewolf that plowed into Erin’s car. It had to be. I’d missed him that night and I knew it was because he’d sensed me and took off. He was always a step ahead, always staying just out of my reach so I never quite saw him. But I had his scent. The bad thing was, in human form, he’d smell different. I wouldn’t know him from anyone else.

  When completely in werewolf form, everything was a haze. Like a dream. Sometimes it was hard to remember the entire night. It was these days before my forced change that I was able to blur the lines and convert if I chose. But I rarely did, lately. The human part of me refused to give into the temptation of being a monster. Even if that monster was what my dreams were made of. It was torturous to be two different people. Especially when the bad part of you was stronger.

  I put down the papers, heading toward the bedroom. My mind cleared enough to take Erin’s attack into account. Would he come back for her? Our wolves didn’t like missing out on an intended meal. Was he obsessing as much as I was, or was he more controlled than me?

  Surely, he was. He was older and more experienced. After all, even the pack followed him as their alpha. But that was worse. It had my pulse escalating even more. He’d accepted what he was. Probably lived in that form as much as he was able. And the pack had seen her. They were watching her. Whether it was for their own interest or his, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t like it.

  The air around me caged my beast, calming him and trying to warp my thoughts back to only her. Just like they had since I’d met Erin. This stage would probably continue until after the full moon. All I had to do was make it a few more days and I’d go back to normal.

  I lowered to sit on the edge of the bed, bringing myself to push away the co
mpulsive urges. Erin might be in danger. Before this moment, I’d considered myself the biggest threat, but I wasn’t. She was investigating his crimes. Not mine. If he put two and two together, he’d know she was the woman from the car, and he’d come after her for good. He’d kill her. And once again, people would suspect me. God, I should have absorbed this information before now. I just couldn’t. I couldn’t focus on anything.

  A sigh left me and I fell back, grabbing for her pillow. My eyes closed while heaven engulfed me. Fuck, she smelled so good. For minutes I laid there, once again oblivious to the threats I should have been concentrating on. Each second that passed brought me deeper into a place of mystery. A place I’d never been before. Fire burned the pit of my stomach and heat warmed my eyelids as my wolf selfishly fed from the emotional sanctuary I floated in. The moon was so close to being full. A few more days. I wouldn’t be able to see her the twenty-fours before my change. I’d be chained away. But if I could … dammit … to have her at my disposal then. To be my wolf and taste her—

  My eyes snapped open.

  I’d kill her. Jesus, what the fuck was wrong with me? I wanted to in that moment. I wanted to have her as close to me as I could get—in me. It scared the shit out of me. The power of these cravings were undeniable. The human in me teased the thought of feeling something again—love, compassion, a bond with another. The killer in me wanted all of it with her being the cherry on top. It frightened me to think of who might win.

  Chapter 9

  Erin

  Reserved. I had to act reserved.

  Out of all the conversations I’d had with Mr. Morrison, never once did I think this would happen. Alex had warned me, but I still couldn’t quite grasp the magnitude of how crazy I thought this family was. Had there not been real victims with suspicious deaths, I would have chalked this case up to a wasted trip.

  “I’ve seen one. It was this tall,” Mr. Morrison said, holding his hand up a good foot above his six feet frame. “It had razor sharp teeth that were a good inch long and it growled like nothing I’d ever heard before. I was only a kid myself then, but I’ll never forget it. I know what I witnessed back in those woods. I’m telling you, they’re real, Ms. Billings. I swear to you. One of those things killed my girl and I want them exposed once and for all. We have to band together and track these creatures. They need to be slaughtered before they kill someone else!”

  Red tinted the older man’s face as his agitation rose. I took in the other three people in the room—his wife, Kitty, their son, Morton, who was in his early twenties, and their youngest son, James. All of them held true fear for what I was almost certain didn’t exist. Yet, I couldn’t tell them that. Not with how passionate they were over the situation. Besides, what if there was something? Not a werewolf, but something resembling one. The experts held to the fact that they didn’t believe this creature was a bear. So what the hell was it?

  “I’ll see what I can discover. Is there anything else you can tell me? Maybe something about your son, Toby’s attack. That’s two of your children who’ve been killed by an animal in the woods. Have you heard any information that could be helpful?”

  A whimper left the woman’s lips and she turned her head into Morton’s chest, sobbing loudly as she broke down. Her husband lowered his head, placing his hands on his hips.

  “Toby’s death was hard for us all. Kitty still hasn’t gotten over it. The shocking way it happened… He was going places. He was the first in our family to be accepted into college. He wasn’t even supposed to come down for the weekend. Said he had studying to do, but he was excited about the hunt. He hadn’t been in so long, and it was all he talked about the day before he left with those boys. We never thought it would be the last time we’d ever see him.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, lowly. “Losing both Toby and Kelly had to have been extremely hard. I can’t imagine the pain you all must harbor.”

  Mr. Morrison nodded, standing up taller. “It’s been very hard, but that’s why I’m not letting it go. To take Toby was heartbreaking. When it killed our daughter, it nearly destroyed me. Two years later and I just can’t do this anymore. I refused to live in fear a day longer. This has to stop. If something else happens…”

  Kitty let out a loud cry, her body trembling and wracking through her hysteria. I watched the young man hold to her tighter and lead her out of the room as Gregory continued.

  “I know this probably sounds way out there to you, but this isn’t a joke, Ms. Billings. These … things ... these werewolves, they exist. Everyone here knows it. Some have seen it in the distance around their homes at sunset. Others have been woken up in the middle of the night, their livestock, screaming and massacred. It kills anything it can get its hands on. I tried to bring in animal trackers, but no one ever finds anything. And they don’t know how to talk to the people here like I know you can. You’ll be different. You were a real detective. You know how to solve crimes, and this is a crime, Ms. Billings. Please, help us. Don’t let someone else suffer what my family and others have.

  God, I could almost believe this legend. But it wasn’t true. It just wasn’t. Yes, something was murdering people and animals, but it wasn’t a damn myth. It was something else. A freakishly large bear. Maybe even a mutated or deformed one if I wanted to believe Alex. Perhaps it had deformities that made it appear to be something it wasn’t. There was no telling. But where was it? Where was it hiding? And had it really lived all these years? Mr. Morrison had supposedly seen something in his youth. He had to be in his mid-fifties now. That would make it too old to be a natural animal. Or was there more of them? Shit, this didn’t add up.

  “I’ll try my best. If you remember anything about either of your children’s accidents, I need to know. Even if you think it’s irrelevant.”

  James took a step closer, drawing my attention.

  “What about Alex, father? Tell her about him.”

  My eyebrows drew in at the name. “What about Mr. Villani?”

  The two looked at each other before Gregory shrugged.

  “I’ve known Alexander since he was a child. He and Toby were really good friends. Hell, he stayed over here all the time during his high school years, camping out in the yard with the others. We were heartbroken over Toby, but there was a happiness when Alex survived. Things just … he ...” Mr. Morrison trailed off. “He almost died. I think he might have at one point in the hospital, but there were whispers from Joy, a nurse who worked on him. She said his eyes changed at one point and his temperature spiked to unbelievable heights. He should have been dead from that alone. Then, suddenly, he woke up perfectly fine. Fever gone, clear and coherent. He was okay for a few weeks. Sad over what happened, of course, but he stayed to himself. Then a tourist wound up torn to shreds. That’s when things took a weird turn with him. He moved out of his parents’ house. Not uncommon for a guy in his early twenties, but it was the way it went down that drew suspicion.

  “His parents said they woke up to their house being destroyed that morning. Holes were in the walls, windows were in the process of being broken out. Blood was all over Alex’s bed and the floor. Alex said he cut himself on some glass, but his momma never saw no wounds. Nothing but the blood. That’s when he left. Didn’t talk to them for years after that. I still don’t think he has since that day. The guy lives out in the woods, keeping to himself. No one sees him around the time of a full moon, but we’ve learned to lock ourselves away during that time, too. That’s been ingrained in all of us since youth. You just do ’round these parts. Better safe than sorry.”

  I looked between the two, only to bring my focus back to Gregory. “Are you saying you believe Alex Villani to be a werewolf?” I took the next logical—illogical—leap. “That whatever attacked him changed him into what it was?”

  “So the story goes, right? If you get attacked by a werewolf and survive, you change too. I’m not sure if that’s what really happened or if he is one, but it would make sense. Although … I’d
hate to consider it. Makes me sick to think about. He’s a damn good boy. Still seems like he is when I talk to him. I just don’t know what to think.”

  I paused, trying to figure out a way to word my question without offending, but I didn’t know how to get my point across without being blunt. “Do you think he’s responsible for Kelly’s death?”

  Silence.

  “I … pray it’s not true. I loved Alex like one of my own. The proximity of her body to his residence does makes me question it, but she loved to walk those trails. Hell, we couldn’t get her out of the woods. She never believed the stories. She used to laugh when anyone mentioned the possibilities.” He got quiet, his cheeks turning red again as his mind seemed to race. “If Alex did do this, he has to be held responsible. He has to die before he hurts someone else.”

  My eyes widened. “Die? Mr. Morrison. If, and to me, that’s a big if… If there are werewolves, and I’m not so sure there are, you don’t think that perhaps our government can contain them so they can pay for their crimes?”

  “It’s too dangerous,” Mr. Morrison rushed out. “These wolves are killers. Murderers! They have to die. That’s the only way.”

  My hand rose, trying to calm him. “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. First, let’s see what I can come up with. I need to talk to this nurse you mentioned. I’d also like a list of the names of people you know that may have witnessed this animal. Also, anyone whose livestock has been attacked or mutilated. If I can get those, I’ll begin.”

  “James.” Gregory’s hand waved at the boy, who walked forward, handing me a paper. “Already took care of it, Ms. Billings. I don’t sleep much at night. I’ve written names, addresses, and dates I believe the incidents happened around. Everything I could think of.”

  The dark ink was easy enough to read as I scanned over the slanted letters.

  “Thank you. I appreciate it. If there’s nothing else—”

  “You.” He took a step forward. “Something hit your car last night. That’s how you got that cut on your head, right?”