by Marcy Jacks
He buckled in, able to see a little better with everything closer to him now.
"I promise I'm not crazy. I just need to get to some police right away."
The woman started driving, probably because she figured she had no choice, but after the car started to move, Dex was able to breathe a little easier.
He kept his window rolled up as the woman drove, but even then, he was pretty sure he could still hear the sound of howling not too far away.
He had no way of knowing if it was Bodolf howling for him, but his heart clenched as though it were, and Dex pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep himself from crying as they drove away from the shifter who’d risked so much to save his life.
* * * *
When he made it to a police station at the next town along the river, Dex rushed inside and started talking to the first person he saw. A receptionist. She tried to stop him, to direct him to take a seat, but the more he spoke, the more interested she became, and eventually, detectives and a few officers were called out.
They brought him to the back where he was able to make a statement. He thought it was a statement. They questioned him for a while. Someone brought him hot coffee, and Dex only realized his hands trembled when he wrapped his fingers around the warm paper cup.
The police wanted to know every detail he could give to them, where he’d been kept, how many people had been there.
They asked if he could describe the men he'd seen to an artist, and that had been nerve-wracking.
What if he gave the wrong descriptions? He could only see people when close up, and while he’d managed to get up close and personal with a lot of people, that didn’t mean he could accurately describe them.
What if he accidentally got some details wrong, and the sketch looked nothing like Nathan or any of the other shifters he'd seen?
It turned out to be all right, though. The artist did good work. Dex still worried there might be some details that were off, but now that he was no longer under Nathan's thumb, it was as though he were losing the mental picture of what the man looked like.
He knew exactly what Bodolf looked like, however. He didn't think he would ever be able to forget that face.
When the police began to question him about Bodolf, Dex found himself both confused and scared.
He tried to explain that Bodolf hadn't actually been there to make any purchases. He'd gone there to get as much information as possible so he could bring it all to the police the same way Dex was.
He wasn't sure if they believed him or not. It was difficult to tell with the way they spoke to him.
Having to explain that he'd let Bodolf fuck him in the woods had been embarrassing as all hell. Having to admit that he still wanted the other man even now was just as humiliating.
It was almost too much to deal with, especially when a specialist had to confirm she did believe these were all the signs of a mating.
The police left Dex alone for a little while after that, blanket around his shoulder and a now cold cup of coffee in his hands.
They thought Bodolf had been there to make a buy. He could tell. He was sure of it. Did that mean they were going to try to arrest Bodolf if they ever saw him?
If Bodolf was even alive?
Dex had explained the other man pushed Dex ahead to find the road so he could take care of those shifters who had been chasing after him, but now that Dex was here…
Police didn't always care about the well-being of shifters. Even Dex knew there were a lot of shifter communities that policed themselves.
Too many cops were worried about the politics of getting involved, about interfering with shifter life after so many shifters made it clear they wanted to be left alone.
The problem was it created more packs that behaved like, well, Nathan's.
Dex had always heard there were too many shifter packs that didn't want the law involved with their affairs so they could continue fighting amongst each other and abusing wolf souls.
But Dex was not a shifter. He was a human. There had been other humans in that camp, which meant the police would have to get involved. There was no ignoring this.
He waited for the detectives to come back, still on edge about what they would say, about whether or not they'd found Bodolf.
"You can go now."
Dex blinked. He stood. "I can go? Just like that?"
The detective nodded. "We've taken your statement, and we'll look into it."
He didn't understand. "Just look into it? You mean like send police cars out to look for the camp, right? There's got to be evidence still there. Even if they moved and cleaned up everything, there will still be blood, DNA and stuff, right?"
"We'll look into it."
It was the way this guy said it that made Dex smell bullshit. "Why do I get the feeling that you're not going to look into it?"
The detective kept his face stoic. Dex wanted to understand this. He wanted to know why they weren't going to do anything.
"Shouldn't I at least be taken to a hospital?"
"If you want to go to a hospital, we can arrange something."
"But what about the others? Even if you don't want to get in on werewolf affairs, there were humans in that camp. They were kidnapping wolf souls who were not shifters."
"I will look in with the person in charge of that department, but for now, the best thing you can do would be to get some rest and contact your family."
Dex felt the floor drop out from beneath him. They weren't going to do anything. They weren't going to help those other wolf souls.
"Why? Is it because you don't want to get in trouble? They're just shifters?"
"They have their own rules and laws. We can't interfere."
"What are you talking about? The law interferes with them all the time! I see it on the news. You can't just ignore this!"
"We are not ignoring this." The detective added some steel to his voice. "This is simply out of my control. We will be going around to local packs, we will show off the sketches you gave, and ask around. We will also look for any pack that has a man named Bodolf in it. We won't be doing nothing."
"Right. You just won't go out looking for the scene of the crime right now before the wolves can scrub everything away. Because you're afraid of them. Right?"
"I think you'd better go."
Dex wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but when the detective put his hands onto his hips, it showed off the gun holstered there, a lot.
Dex almost hadn't noticed it was even there before. Now that he saw it…
He wanted to get out of here. He went to the front, signed out, and had to wonder what the point even was of coming here when he left.
It was daylight outside at least. There was that for good news. He could probably still be snatched in the early morning, but he felt safer with the sun up.
Still…
“You want a lift to the hospital?”
Dex jumped. He looked back at the officer who made the offer. “I…I guess so. Thank you.”
He might as well feel safe when he went. It was better than walking. His foot felt hot, and it wasn’t throbbing anymore, but he knew that would change the moment he got going.
“Come with me.”
Dex leaned close and looked at the man’s name tag. Officer Marklavitz.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he had kind blue eyes. When he put his hand on Dex’s shoulder, Dex was able to easily follow the other man.
Something about him just felt nice and familiar.
He got into the back of the police cruiser, and the officer in blue went to the front.
“Are you going to be all right without your glasses?”
Dex nodded. “I’ll get another pair.”
“How bad is it? I don’t know much about that, would a pair of reading glasses help until we get you another pair?”
“No, I…” Dex trailed off. “What do you mean, we?”
He looked up at the officer, and those blue eyes look
ed back at him through the rearview mirror.
Suddenly, Dex had to wonder if it was a good idea to get into the back of this car or not.
Chapter Nine
Dex actually checked the door to see if he could open it. He considered jumping out while the vehicle was moving, but he was never going to get the chance to test himself and see if he was brave enough to do something like that because, of course, the back of a police cruiser would not open for him.
That was sort of the point. He was locked in. There was no getting out of this, and he’d been the one dumb enough to put himself in danger by getting into the back of the cruiser to begin with.
Dex wasn't too familiar with the area, but even with his blurred vision, every time he tried looking outside, he got the distinct impression they were not heading for the hospital.
Dex could only check once in a while out his window. The lack of focus was making him sick, but he was a thousand percent sure that any hospital there was wouldn't be down the highway again. It would have been in town. This felt as though they were heading back into the woods.
Dex held his head between his knees, struggling for breath. Not this again. He couldn't believe he'd put himself through this one more time. He was so stupid. He should have seen this coming, but he was the dummy who’d accepted a ride with a man he didn't know on the basis of a uniform.
And that was after getting into an argument with a detective over why he wasn't going to do anything about the kidnappings the shifters had committed.
"Please, don't take me back."
"I'm not going to take you back," Marklavitz said.
Yeah, right. Dex was going to believe that like he would believe Nathan was a real honest and sweet guy.
Prick. What an asshole. And Dex meant that for both Marklavitz and himself.
If he hadn't been so stupid, then he might have been able to think his way out of this.
He could hardly get his breathing under control. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to see Bodolf again.
He didn't want to go back to Nathan.
"Do you have asthma problems?"
Dex didn't answer. He wasn't about to make it easier on this guy who just wanted to give Dex away to the highest bidder. Fuck him, fuck Nathan, and fuck himself for being so stupid.
"Bodolf is alive."
Dex pulled his face out of his hands, and he flew at the front glass. "What did you do to him?"
Marklavitz half turned his head, but he quickly put his attention back on the road.
"We tracked him and you when he didn't get back to us. I'm part of his pack."
Dex blinked. "You…what? Really?"
He put his defenses back up when he realized this might just be a trick.
"No fucking way. You're lying to get me to help you find him."
"Bodolf is the commander of our pack. I'm his second. We've been seeking out wolf souls who were taken and sold for some time now. There's been a lot of activity around here."
Marklavitz glanced back at him one more time. "And you're not to tell anyone about that, got it? Everyone where I work knows I'm a shifter, but they don't know much about my pack. Or who my alpha is. In fact, they think I'm the alpha. They don't know anyone named Bodolf from my pack, and that's the way it's going to stay, understand?"
Dex nodded, just in case this turned out to be something real. "I…I understand. Where are we going? What highway are we on?"
He was pretty sure they were heading north and not south. If he was right, then that meant there was nothing to worry about.
Heading south meant going back in the direction of the camp. Heading north meant…he wasn't entirely sure, but it wasn't so bad as going south.
The cruiser suddenly turned, and they started driving down a dirt road.
"Are you sure we're going to Bodolf's pack?" Dex couldn't help the nervous fear that built up within him. He didn't want to be tricked again. He wanted to go to Bodolf, but he didn't want to put him in a situation that would require rescue again.
"We're going back. I know you don't know me, but trust me on this one thing. I'm taking you to Bodolf."
Something else occurred to him just then. "Wait a minute, if this really is Bodolf's pack, then why would you bring me here? Your asshole cop friends said they weren't going to do anything except ask around a little. If they come asking here, then they'll find me and Bodolf here!"
"They're not assholes. They're just scared."
"Scared of what? They're the law."
"And wolf packs are part of nature. We're…” Dex noted the way Marklavitz's hands gripped the steering wheel. “Things are just messy right now. If the humans aren't over involved, then they're under involved. No one wants to be accused of targeting shifters. It makes things look pretty bad when there's a fuck-up. That detective you spoke to will come here to have a word with me, but he'll leave without so much as a search of the property. Like I said, they think I'm the alpha around here, and if I tell them there's no one by the name of Bodolf on this territory, they'll believe me."
Dex hoped that was the way it would play out. This all just seemed a little too…complicated.
Just as Marklavitz said. Messy. This wasn't going to be something simple.
Eventually, through the haze, Dex noted the way the trees parted. He seemed to be coming into a little village of sorts. There were small homes, parked trailers, and one larger property that seemed to center everything out. He had to really squint to see some things, but the shapes of the other houses made it obvious what they were.
He saw people. No one seemed to be in chains or downcast. There were wolves, too. Some as big as Bodolf, and others were small, as if they were real wild wolves, but that couldn't be the case, right?
Not even a werewolf pack would bother with having real wolves walking around…would they?
No one seemed to take notice of the police cruiser. At least, Dex didn't think they did. He was having some difficulty with telling where the people were looking, but when anyone stopped, he got the feeling no one stared as though seeing a police cruiser here was something out of the ordinary.
As if they'd seen it here on their property a hundred times over.
When Marklavitz parked in front of the larger cabin, Dex was able to make out a few better details.
Like how nice it was. Nothing overly luxurious, but he could tell it was the sort of house he would never be able to afford to live in on his own.
It was definitely something that belonged to the guy in charge around here.
Marklavitz killed the ignition and exited the vehicle. He went to where Dex sat and opened the door for him. "Come on."
Dex hesitated. "You swear Bodolf is here?"
"He's here, but he needs you."
Dex tensed. "What? What do you mean?"
Marklavitz sighed. "I mean, he needs you. Actually needs you. As in right now. He was injured fighting off those wolves, and I can smell your lust right now. You need him, too."
That was so ridiculous. "You're telling me Bodolf is injured and you brought me here to have sex with him? Are you crazy? He needs to get to a hospital!"
He jumped out of the cab, ready to start a fight if he had to. Dex was spitting mad.
With how close he stood to the other man, it almost looked as though Marklavitz was raising a brow at him.
"You already mated with him once in the woods."
Heat rushed to Dex's face. "Yeah. So? What does that have to do with anything?"
"You did that, and you didn't notice the effect it had on him? He told me he was bleeding when he took you the first time. You had to have noticed that even with your poor eyesight."
Dex sucked in a breath, recalling what had happened.
That was right. He had noticed it. He'd been so close to Bodolf's chest that he'd been able to see all of the details. There was no getting around it. Dex had watched as the man's skin knit itself together. He'd watched as the bleeding stopped, and then, with the rush of pleasure he'd b
een flooded with, and the immediate danger right after, he'd forgotten all about it.
"So, that happened because of the sex? Really?"
With how close they stood, Dex could tell the other man thought he was talking to an idiot. "You're a wolf's soul, and you don't know what comes with that territory? Even basic omega and human mates have the ability to comfort their mates.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just never thought about it before. Are you sure he doesn’t need a hospital?”
Dex thought of the other man near death and covered in blood. What if he went in there and the man was passed out and pale in the face? Was this guy going to expect Dex to jump on Bodolf and start raping the guy or something?
“I think you should just go inside and see him.”
“I will.” Dex started walking before the other man could reach out and touch his shoulder, leading him into the house.
He didn’t want anyone else touching him right now. Strangely enough, knowing Bodolf was so close by was enough to make Dex not want any other shifter touching him, full stop.
As if there was some sort of betrayal in that.
He walked quickly through the house. There was a stairway nearby. He made it there and glanced back at the other man with his foot on the first step. “Is his room upstairs?”
Before Marklavitz could answer him, Dex turned his attention to the top of the stairs.
“That’s enough! Get out of here right now with your poking and prodding before I turn you inside out!”
Dex stopped short, and then he started running up the stairs.
He thought he heard a sigh behind him as Marklavitz chased after him.
Bodolf. Dex had just heard Bodolf’s voice. He was alive, and he was in trouble!
Dex burst through the door where he’d heard the other man’s voice. His heart slammed hard and heavy in his chest as he waited to see something horrifying and terrible before him.
Even when he had to squint his eyes to get a look at what was happening in front of him, Dex could tell there was nothing nefarious happening here.
His vision wasn’t that bad.
Bodolf lay back in a bed. There was red around him, bloody bandages thrown around on the floor, and a woman stood over the man.