by Ruby Raine
Melinda grinned, resting her head against his chest. Hers was exploding all over the place with so many emotions she could hardly contain herself.
It was an appealing idea. To forget the past.
Even if this did turn out to be a one night (or middle of the day) stand, it had been worth it. Her angst from all the William dreams was gone. Her worries and fears had flown into the wind. She wanted to wrap herself in this moment and remember how it felt, forever.
Riley had given her everything she needed. Her eyes fluttered closed, feeling satisfied, happy, and oddly sleepy. Like coming down of a massive high.
He let their bodies slide down onto the warmed granite, bringing her head onto his chest. He stroked her hair, listening to her breaths slowing as she drifted off.
How lucky was he right now?
He’d been talked into coming to the Isle and had agreed, begrudgingly, for his brother. And now there was no other place he wanted to be. Perhaps there was just a bit of fate at work. He hadn’t been sure he believed in it before, but now? Even with the mysterious gift he’d been given, the one where he’d get feelings that told him there was some place he needed to be...
Up until now, it had never led him to anything important. This one thing alone gave arguments in the reality of fate.
Melinda trusted him enough to open up to him, but also sleep next to him, a total stranger. What had he ever done in his life to deserve such a magnificent creature?
He despised whoever treated her so poorly that she thought so little of herself. He’d be content to spend the rest of his life making sure that never happened again.
CHARLIE SAT BEHIND the wheel of the jeep, driving, while Michael chatted on the phone with Mack, filling the sheriff in on the shapeshifter theory. William sat like a stone in the back seat, focused, deep in thought. He was also using his enhanced hearing and sight to track any unusual sounds or movement as they wound their way through the narrow roads of White Pines National Park.
“Hey, ask Mack if she happened to see Melinda while she was out today?” Charlie told Michael. He nodded and relayed the question.
“No. Okay. We haven’t seen her since this morning and she left her phone at home. Emily went looking for her, but she just called and said she didn’t find her. We’re getting a bit worried. K, thanks, Mack. See you in a few.”
“She seen her?”
“Nope.”
“So help me God if something’s happened to her...”
William inched forward and touched his shoulder. “Focus on the task at hand, Charlie. Control your emotions.”
Charlie nodded. William was right. He could not afford to lose control. But of all the days for Melinda to run off...
“Here’s the turn,” Michael pointed out.
Charlie pulled the jeep off the road and parked. “Mack said she’d meet us just over the hill.”
“How is she planning to explain our arrival at a crime scene?” asked William.
“It’s Mack, she’ll think up something,” said Michael.
Just then, an exhaust backfired as a hefty cargo van pulled up alongside them. The man behind the wheel waved, smiled, and kept driving up the road.
“Police vehicle?” asked Michael.
“I smell human food,” William told them.
“Mack,” the brothers said simultaneously.
Sure enough, as they approached the hill, they saw the driver get out and prop open a door, proceeding to set up a few tables. They heard Mack shout “Lunch” and watched as everyone at the crime scene eagerly made their way to the truck. As they gathered, Mack gave a short speech.
“I just want to thank all of you for your hard work today. I know this hasn’t been an easy one. So let’s all take a much needed break, have some food, some coffee, and then we’ll get back at it, okay?”
Mack walked to the other side of the van where Charlie, Michael, and William waited just in the woods, out of sight.
“Keep hidden as much as possible. You’ve safely got twenty, maybe thirty minutes. My guys get antsy to get back to work pretty quickly,” she added proudly.
Charlie tossed her a half-hearted salute, and they headed toward the crime scene. They kept to the edges of the wood line until out of sight of Mack’s team.
They saw the body, a bloody sheet wrapped over it.
William suddenly gagged, a low hiss echoing in his throat, fangs dropping.
Horrified by his reaction he spun around, trying to hide it. But the brothers had already seen. “Too much blood,” he admitted, forcing his fangs to retract.
“Maybe there’s more than one monster in the house that cannot handle his poison, after all,” Charlie mumbled sardonically.
“I’ll go do a perimeter sweep and check the out-skirting areas,” William retorted flatly.
“We’ll meet you back at the jeep,” Michael said as the vampire sped off in a daze, leaving behind a whirlwind of dried leaves and forest debris. “Does William seem a little off his game lately?”
“Have any of us been on our game lately?” Charlie countered.
Michael could not argue the sentiment and supposed the vampire was allowed to have a bad day now and then, too.
Charlie and Michael proceeded to creep around the crime scene, looking for anything the werewolf, and possible shapeshifter, might have left behind.
“Why don’t I just do a death reading?” suggested Michael.
“I don’t know, it’s going to be a vicious thing to watch, and chances are you won’t see anything more than we already know.”
“Believe me! I don’t like the idea either but what if I can see something helpful? I think it’s worth trying. We’re running out of options. And time.”
“Okay,” Charlie relented. “But if it gets too intense, just stop.”
Michael sat next to the body and reached out his arm. He flexed his hand, preparing himself.
Charlie didn’t like it. Michael’s ability could come in handy, but what a terrible magical inheritance. A witness to death. Sometimes he thought he understood how magic worked and sometimes he felt like he didn’t understand anything. His parents had always told him that magic worked in mysterious ways, and would provide the gifts it saw fit for the times ahead. And that those gifts could grow and change with time and need.
Charlie himself had never been bestowed any extra magical gifts. He assumed this was due to the extra passenger he already carried, that somehow the wolf negated a need, or perhaps didn’t allow the space for anything extra.
Michael touched the body.
Charlie tensed, watching his brother’s eyes rolling behind closed lids.
The reading ended abruptly when Michael pulled his hand away from the body.
“Too much?” asked Charlie.
“No. Too little.” Michael furrowed his brow, perplexed.
“What do you mean?”
“This guy didn’t die at the hands of a wolf. He died after being in a coma for a year. Just slipped away, peacefully.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No. It doesn’t.” Michael got up and paced for a minute. “I think this was a setup, Charlie.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The man was in the hospital when he died. I couldn’t see anyone else around. No family or friends. But I recognized his face.”
“Who was he?”
“A John Doe. Remember that tourist who fell off a cliff last summer? Was here alone and Mack couldn’t track down his identity, and no missing persons reports were ever filed.”
“This is him?”
“Yeah. He never woke up from the coma. Which means someone did this to him after he died. His face is so torn up, Mack wouldn’t have recognized him.”
“Shit.” Charlie let out a frustrated growl. “It’s a message for me. The alpha wolf wanted me to know he was here.”
Michael nodded. “I’d wager you’re right.”
Charlie didn’t know what to make of it other than,
sadistic. “What if it wasn’t just a message, but a distraction?” The idea hit his mind forcefully.
“That’s a disturbing thought.”
“Yeah. And probably wrong. But,” Charlie trailed off, a terrible feeling nagging at his insides.
“I’ll go talk to Mack,” offered Michael. “You find William.”
“Okay. Meet you at the jeep in a few.”
Charlie found William already waiting by the jeep.
“Anything?” the vampire asked.
“Yes, and how about you?”
“Nothing of any value. A few wolf hairs, but we already know a wolf was here. What did you find out?”
“That a wolf might have been here, but the body was dead before it was brought here.” Charlie went on, explaining what Michael had seen.
“Interesting. A message telling you that he, the alpha wolf, is on the Isle, but possibly also a distraction, bringing us here. Away from what?”
“Melinda?” This was Charlie’s only concern.
William’s face turned stoic, getting that deep in thought look.
“I do not think so,” he said after a moment.
“Can you be sure?”
The vampire hesitated in answering. He wanted to be correct, but he didn’t know if he could trust his instincts today. He felt off. And if he wasn’t so afraid to leave Charlie on his own, he’d be scouring the Isle searching for Melinda to be sure she was safe.
Michael appeared.
“Told Mack. No idea how she’s going to handle this one. But now that she knows what happened she can sort all that out. Did you find anything William?”
“No. And Charlie filled me in on your findings.”
“We were just discussing possible motives.” Charlie shifted on his feet.
“If it was a distraction, and not just a message, you mean?” confirmed Michael.
“Yes. My thoughts were Melinda.”
“You think it’s keeping us out here and away from her?” Michael’s heart dropped to his stomach.
Charlie puffed out his cheeks. “William doesn’t think so and I guess... I guess I don’t think that either. It wouldn’t make any sense. How would the wolf even be aware she wasn’t with us today?”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it either. But it would be awfully nice to figure out where the hell she is.”
“Let’s just take a step back for a minute,” suggested Charlie. “The wolf left me a message, that much is clear. But it didn’t kill someone to do it.”
“You think this alpha is not a killer?” suggested William.
“It attacked you, after trying to attack our father,” reminded Michael. “And from what I remember, it looked poised to kill when it bit you ten years ago.”
Charlie could not argue. “Obviously, there’s something we’re missing. Question right now is, do we continue into White Pines and the old tree, or just leave and get home?”
Michael opened his mouth but then closed it. After a second he said, “I’d still like to go.”
William agreed. “Yes. We should attempt to retrieve your mother’s body. If at all possible. I also think a thorough search of the area might be required just to be certain the something we might be missing in this scenario, isn’t somehow connected to the old tree. Or the power source.”
“You’re right, William. Let’s get moving.” Charlie got into the jeep, letting Michael drive.
The sun dipped behind a cloud and the park suddenly appeared much darker than it should for being afternoon, and usually the brightest and warmest time of day. The old tree was at the edge of a riverbank, and as they drove closer, fog started to roll across the road. Michael stopped and parked.
“Do you hear anything nearby, William?” Michael asked.
William closed his eyes and allowed his ears to listen for any abnormal sounds.
Birds, the river, fish jumping in the river, bugs and insects buzzing, and footsteps.
“There is someone close,” he warned, trying to better tune into the sound. “Humming. A woman. I think just a hiker walking through.”
“Let’s go then,” decided Charlie. Michael and William followed.
They approached the area apprehensively.
“It’s too bad I couldn’t see or hear how Mom and Dad opened the tunnel,” Michael mentioned to Charlie and William.
“Can’t deny that would be helpful,” agreed Charlie. “But we’ll manage.”
They came over the crest of a hill and stopped, searching the ravine below.
To their right, jammed against the riverbank was the old tree. It stood no taller than the surrounding trees, but was easily twice as wide and had many roots that shot out of the ground, winding around the base.
The embankment they stood on continued far to the left, dipping down into the river.
“I remember coming here,” Charlie muttered. “I was so little. I think the last time we came here I couldn’t have been older than...”
“Eight,” William answered for him. “You were but eight years old. Michael was five, and Melinda was but a toddler of three.” He looked at them, then. “I have many fond memories of this place.”
“It’s a shame they’ve been ruined now by bad ones,” said Charlie.
“Yes, well. Shall we?” William sauntered down, standing in front of the tree, investigating the tangled mess of roots. Charlie and Michael came up alongside him.
“How will we get in?” Michael looked ready to start digging if necessary.
“We will do as your parents did. Try one spell at a time. One attempt at a time. Until something works and the doorway opens.”
They spent the next few minutes meandering around the area, looking for any obvious magical clues. Things that a non-magical person would mistake for an odd or ancient symbol, some kind of artwork, but again, they struck out.
There was to be no easy way to get inside.
In fact, there was nothing remotely magical or supernatural surrounding the tree at all. It just looked like an old tree with a mess of roots at the base.
Michael took out his crystal, hoping against hope it would at least point them in the right direction, pick up some secret magical spot, or energy, find something. He let the crystal spin in his hand but it never stopped and never lit up. He frustratingly threw the crystal to the ground.
William dashed and picked it up, gently placing it back in his hand. “Michael, if this is truly the doorway to the Isle’s power source, it will take more than a crystal to access such a place.”
“I didn’t really think it would be easy, it’s just, our mother’s bones are right inside that cave. And to stand here this close and not be able to get in.”
“Maybe we are searching too close?” Charlie suggested, understanding his brother’s frustration. “Maybe we need to broaden our search a little. We should separate, do a quick probe of the area and meet back here in thirty minutes. We wanted to scour the place for signs of the alpha wolf anyway.”
William was at first apprehensive about separating, but after a moment agreed, when the only sound he heard was the lady-hiker, humming. She had stopped somewhere nearby. “Be careful,” he reminded the brothers.
“You too, William,” said Charlie. “There is a wolf out there.”
“I can handle myself. If you have forgotten, I’m toxic to wolves as well.” He let his fangs drop and chomped his teeth at them. The brothers rolled their eyes, but knew he was right. His bite would end the life of a werewolf in minutes. Very long agonizing minutes for the wolf. But wolves knew vampires could kill them and didn’t typically choose to pick a fight.
They each took off and began combing the area in search of any clues.
Michael took out his crystal and placed it in the center of his palm. He’d cast a spell on it to search for signs of magic. To seek out things like magical energy from spells used recently, or nearby. He stepped cautiously, letting it spin in his palm. It found nothing. This comforted his nerves only in the aspect that it didn’t ap
pear any magic had been performed in the area recently, therefore, most likely it was coincidence that the alpha had been in White Pines. But it was maddening that it picked up nothing at all. Nothing that led him to believe this was really the location of the Isle’s power source. Surely the crystal would be picking up some magical signal. But with each step, nothing.
William dashed a great distance, covering a larger circumference around the brothers. But had no luck finding anything, and was pleased that he did not come across any scents he did not recognize as either animal, plant or human. No scent of a wolf. Nothing to indicate the alpha had come anywhere near the tree. At least, not in its wolf form.
About fifteen minutes into his search, Charlie whipped his head around peering into the woods after hearing what sounded like an animal, growling. He sniffed into the air, but did not smell anything unusual. And when he saw or heard nothing else, he shook it off and continued.
After a few more steps, he froze again. The crisp snap of a branch breaking somewhere close by cracked through the air.
“Michael? William?” he called out in a loud whisper. There was no reply. It’s possible Michael could not hear him, but William would have.
His eyes widened. A spot of what looked like gray fur moving between two trees. He sniffed, but didn’t smell a wolf.
Flowers. He smelled flowers. Pine from the trees. Decaying brush and ground debris.
Another movement.
Charlie eyes narrowed in on the target, his wolf transforming him into a hunter now stalking his prey. He crouched, aiming his silver spheres into the woods, searching for the gray fur. A growl formed in his throat. He swallowed it, keeping silent.
His head flicked to the side. Gray fur. Bending up and down as if leaning over and picking something up off the ground. Charlie crept forward, attention on his target.
With each step, his head grew hazier, memory of what he hunted, fading. Legs faltered, knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
An intoxicating smell filled his nostrils, overwhelming all his wolf senses. The monster lurking inside him couldn’t care less about searching for the alpha. It wanted whatever made that smell.