Ethan (Moonlight Wolves Book 5)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “And what would you like to be informed on, exactly?”

  Hazel looked at him, annoyed. He knew what she was talking about. She sighed and shook her head in disbelief. It was like she was the one in the interrogation room all of a sudden.

  “There’s been a murder here, Matthew,” she told him, exasperated. “Camilla Phillips was murdered. In Jerome. Things like this . . . well, things like this don’t happen here. I want to know something because I’m in the dark. Everyone here is in the dark. Tell me something to help ease my mind, please.”

  “You’re friends with Hann Bellova, aren’t you?”

  Hazel didn’t blink. She didn’t move an inch. She didn’t want to give him anything to go off of, and she knew that he was watching her every move and looking for some type of tell that would reveal to him whether she was lying or not.

  Hazel was annoyed with her ex-boyfriend, but she couldn’t deny that he was one damn good detective.

  “Yeah, we’re friends. What’s he got to do with this?” Of course, Hazel knew. The body was found on his property. It was standard routine to question him.

  “How’d you two meet again?” Those intense brown eyes seemed to stare into Hazel’s soul as she slowly breathed out through her nose.

  “I was a kid. He was friends with my parents. Still is. He’s an old family friend.”

  “Camilla Phillips was found on Hann Bellova’s property, you know. Any idea what she was doing there?”

  “Hann Bellova owns most of the forest that surrounds Jerome. The acres he doesn’t are owned by the federal government. Trespassers are consistently ignoring the signs that tell them to not trespass on private property. Hann can’t do anything to keep these kids from hanging out on his land. He just owns too much.”

  “You don’t find it a little odd that she was found on his property?”

  “I think that if you’re going with that theory, you’re barking up the wrong tree.” Hazel shook her head. She knew Matthew was a better detective than this. And she also knew that he was just trying to close any loose ends as he tried to find the killer. She was just defensive because it was currently her alpha being questioned. “Also, if Hann had anything to do with this, don’t you think it would be a little odd that he would call the police this morning and tell them he found a body?”

  Matthew sighed and leaned back in his chair again, done with his intense stare showdown with Hazel. He ran his hand through his hair. Hazel felt bad for him in that moment.

  “Yeah, you’re right. He could be just trying to play us, though.”

  Hazel saw uncertainty in his eyes, and she decided to jump and play on his emotions while she could. She didn’t know when he’d put up that wall that he had up while he questioned her again.

  “Matthew, I think you’re better off focusing your energy on other leads. Hann wouldn’t do something like this.”

  Matthew turned his head to look at her, stress already evident in his eyes. He stared at her for a heartbeat before he said anything else, making her palms sweat.

  “You’d better be right.”

  Chapter 4

  “They don’t think that you murdered the poor girl, do they?” Ethan asked Hann in disbelief.

  Hann had just returned to his house, where Ethan and Ross were waiting. Kato, the second alpha in line, was on his way with his own personal bodyguard, Britta. When Hann called Ethan saying that he had just left the police department and to meet him at his house to get informed, Ethan all but raced over to the alpha’s place. Ross still managed to get there before him, though, and when the bodyguard saw his alpha was fine and unharmed, Ethan could see the relief on his face.

  “I think time will tell.” Hann smiled at him, patting him on the back as he walked by him to fill up his empty glass with water. They were currently in Hann’s kitchen, and Ethan couldn’t believe that he walked in to find Hann was cooking himself breakfast after being interrogated for the last few hours.

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Ross muttered, his head in his hands at the kitchen table. The bodyguard looked worn out beyond belief.

  “Well, what did they say?” Ethan asked Hann, knowing he looked like a persistent child but not caring. He had grown to really look up to Hann, and the idea that the police would try to pin this murder on him was making him furious.

  “They said that they would be in touch,” Hann told him, flipping the eggs he was cooking on a skillet. “And I trust they will do their job and figure out that I am not the one who killed that poor girl.”

  Ethan saw Hann close his eyes momentarily and shake his head in disgust and sadness. Ethan knew the alpha was more than likely thinking about the scene he stumbled upon that morning.

  Ethan didn’t know exactly what the murder scene held. Rumors were swirling among the pack of course, and most of the scenarios were full of blood and carnage. Ethan didn’t like to think about it. He felt sad that Hann had to stumble upon that.

  “What do you think happened?” Ethan asked. Hann saw the body. He saw the crime scene. He saw all of it. Maybe he would give Ethan some insight into his thoughts.

  Hann stopped cooking for a moment to look at Ethan, who was standing next to him with his arms crossed. Ross took his head out of his hands and looked at his alpha. All the attention in the kitchen was on Hann as he very clearly tried to process what he’d seen. And what he thought.

  “I think the police will find out who committed that horrible crime,” he told Ethan and Ross. “And if they don’t, I will.”

  Hann turned to flip the popping bacon, sending grease everywhere on the counter next to the stove. Ethan felt chills go down his spine as he realized just how bad things were.

  A girl was murdered. In Hann’s property. In pack territory.

  There was no way this murder was from a shifter . . . was there?

  Ethan didn’t get a chance to voice this horrible idea, though, because Ross began to voice his own ideas about the murder.

  “I think we need to be one step ahead of the police in certain matters,” Ross began, then paused when Hann looked like he was going to interrupt and protest. Ross waved a slight hand to finish, and Hann let him. “I’m not saying that we’re going to do anything illegal. But we need to make sure the humans of Jerome and the police department don’t just start stumbling onto shifter secrets. We’re all on edge, and they’re only searching a small section of forest. If they’re granted the right and the warrants to search all of your properties, and all of the federally-regulated forests, then they can potentially run into the gym and the bar."

  “And if they do, we will show them all of our permits and licenses,” Hann replied, shrugging. “They are actual establishments and well-run businesses. It’s not our fault the humans don’t know about them and live too far away to visit.”

  “We need to make sure they don’t start to question the wolf population, as well,” Ross added, giving Hann a look.

  “If it would make you feel better, I will make sure to talk to each and every shifter here and tell them to be on their best behavior.”

  “Yes, that would make me feel better.”

  “I think I might have a way where we could be one step ahead of the police,” Ethan said, interjected himself into the conversation.

  “Well, I’m all ears,” Hann responded, giving Ethan a happy-go-lucky smile.

  “You know Hazel?” Ethan waited to continue until he saw both Hann and Ross nod their heads in affirmation. “She’s an administrative worker for the police department. I bet she knows someone who is involved with the case somehow. She could be on the lookout and tell us whenever they’re on their way here, or when she thinks they might be onto us about who we really are.”

  Hann nodded in agreement, giving Ethan hope that this plan could work. “Yes, I did see her earlier. I think this might work best. I believe she knows the detective quite well that is working as the lead man on this case.”

  Ethan paused as he glanced at Hann, his smile downt
urned for a second. What did Hann mean when he said she knew the detective quite well? Ethan hated the jealousy that coursed through his veins toward this detective that he didn’t even know. Hell, he barely knew Hazel, and he was already acting like a crazy jealous boyfriend.

  That wasn’t good.

  “Will you talk to her and ask her if she’d be willing?” Ross asked Ethan.

  “Of course,” Ethan responded, shaking his head and forgetting momentarily about the detective and his relationship with Hazel.

  They needed to know what the police were up to, especially if they were in their territory. They could potentially run into something and figure out just what they were all hiding in the woods. And if the humans in town found out that they were shifters and could shift into massive wolves whenever they wanted to, all hell would break loose.

  Even among the horrible and tragic mess that today had entailed, Ethan was a bit excited as he left Hann’s place to talk to Hazel.

  “Thanks for meeting with me,” Ethan told Hazel as he sat down across from her at a local coffee shop. “I’m sure today has been hell for you.”

  Ethan had called Hazel about half an hour earlier and asked her to meet him somewhere on her lunch break so that they could talk about something important. Ethan had to call Finn, who had to call Lea, in order to get her number in the first place. Ethan couldn’t guess what Hazel was thinking when he called her and said that they should meet.

  He knew how he felt. His palms were all sweaty, and he felt nervous just being around her. The way she smiled at him as she ordered her coffee made him want to reach across the table and grab her hand, squeezing it tightly as he told her how he really felt. How she made him feel.

  He would never do that, of course. And he had to stay focused. He was here on official pack business.

  “You have no idea,” she said, sighing and stirring cream into the coffee she just got. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. You haven’t been in Britta’s morning defense class in a while.”

  Ethan felt goose bumps form on his arm as he realized that she had noticed his absence in class. He didn’t know why that made him feel so good.

  “Yeah, this alpha business is no joke. I’ve been trying to learn from Hann as much as I can, so it’s been eating into my time in class and at the gym, sadly.”

  Ethan really did miss Britta’s class, though. He even missed just hanging out in the gym with some Moonlight Maine Pack members. It was an informal way to just hang out, without the pressures of the nightlife and drinking that the bar sometimes led to. He had been so busy running around and learning from Hann, as well as Michael, who was visiting now more than ever because of all of the attacks, that he felt like he hadn’t stepped into the gym in ages.

  He missed it. And he missed seeing Hazel every morning with her sleepy eyes and ever-present coffee in hand.

  Just then, Hazel reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. After quickly apologizing and answering the phone, to which she simply said a slight “okay” and then hung up, Hazel sighed. She threw the phone back in her purse softly, though Ethan could see that she was a little stressed from whoever, or whatever, was on the other line.

  “Sorry about that, that was an officer I work with,” she explained, sipping on her coffee. “Actually, he’s the detective on the case. He wants me to get him a coffee from here before I leave and go back to work.”

  Ethan wouldn’t get a better opening than that.

  “The reason I called you is actually about the murder case,” he sighed, leaning in close so that he could lower his voice. They were in a human coffee shop in the middle of town, and he didn’t want anyone to overhear them. Thankfully, shifters had great hearing, so he could lower his voice, and Hazel would still hear him. Also, everyone else in the coffee shop was too busy talking to each other about the murder of Camilla Phillips. “Hann and I were wondering if you could try to find out some information for us.”

  Hazel looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

  “Ross and security are on edge right now because of the police officers that are combing through the woods for some evidence. We don’t want them to stumble on any shifters or anything like that. We were wondering if you could just keep an ear open. Make sure they don’t mention the pack or anything like that. Tell us if they’re coming our way or wanting to question one of us. You know, things like that. We would love for you to help us, but only if you’re comfortable with it, of course.”

  Ethan watched her the whole entire time he spoke, and he became delighted when she nodded and her face lit up with approval.

  “I’ll do anything to help you and Hann; no matter what it is. I’ll keep an ear out and even ask Matthew, the homicide detective, about the case.” Hazel broke off to sigh, making Ethan wonder, yet again, what her relationship with the homicide detective was. That jealousy began to roar in his veins again, and he managed to tamper the feelings down by drinking his tea. “I can’t make any promises that he’ll tell me anything useful, but I can try. I’ll make sure I keep you guys updated.”

  “Good. That’s all we want.” He couldn’t help but smile at her, loving the way the natural sunlight filtered through the coffee shop’s windows and shone on her brown hair. He thought that she was so beautiful. Thoughts of the detective were momentarily gone from his head.

  “Are you going to be at that get-together at the bar tonight?” Hazel suddenly asked, throwing Ethan off for a quick second. “I know people were talking about canceling it because of what happened this morning, but I think it’s still going on.”

  If he was being honest, he really didn’t want to go. He wasn’t one for those types of get-together’s, though most found them a fun way to relax with the pack and blow off steam after a long day. Ethan, however, preferred to be alone at home reading a book on most nights.

  Yet another reason why he felt like he wasn’t going to be a great alpha. He really just wasn’t a great fit for the role.

  “I don’t know,” he honestly told her. “Today’s been a bit crazy, so I might end up just crashing at home before I know it.”

  “Well, I’ll be there if you stop by.”

  Suddenly, everything changed. The little get-together sounded a whole lot better in Ethan’s mind.

  And, before he could stop, he said almost exactly that.

  “I think I’ll stop by then,” he told her, smiling.

  He cursed at himself in his head for coming on so strong. Couldn’t he have been a little subtle?

  “Okay, good.” Hazel beamed at him, and he thought that maybe his rash statement wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “I have to go back to work. But I’ll see you later?”

  Ethan somehow managed to nod and not drool as he watched her walk out the coffee shop.

  Chapter 5

  Hazel wanted to get intel, and she wanted to get intel right then and there when she got back to the police precinct after her lunch break with Ethan. Her heart was still beating furiously in her chest from even being around Ethan, and she tried to tell herself that she was acting like this because there was a murder–not because of Ethan. Hazel got out of her car, slamming it shut and sighing when she saw that the group of journalists and bloggers had grown in size and were now seeming to set up shop permanently outside the precinct.

  Great. The stormy weather made the atmosphere chilling, and Hazel zipped up her jacket when the first few raindrops began to fall. Hazel jogged into the building as the camera crew began to throw tarps over their equipment before the water damaged it permanently.

  The busy, dimly-lit police precinct greeted her on the other side. Everything seemed to be washed in yellow from the cheap lights that filled the room, dampening Hazel’s mood just a bit more. That cigarette smoke was still evident, and growing. Hazel could bet that Matthew had already been through a pack this morning.

  Hazel made a beeline to Matthew’s closed door, knocking softly and opening the door when she heard his gruff “come in.”
His coffee in hand, she closed the door behind her with a smile. Matthew looked up and nodded when he saw her, not giving her much else to do other than set the lukewarm coffee in front of him on his desk.

  “Anything new in the case?” Hazel asked, sitting down in front of him and hoping maybe he was ready to spill something to her. She didn’t want to go back to Ethan and Hann with nothing. She wanted to protect her pack and make sure that they weren’t caught off-guard.

  But Matthew’s icy attitude toward her wasn’t getting the results she wanted, sadly. And she wasn’t about to throw herself at him to get them. She did have some respect for herself, after all.

  “Why do I feel like you’re digging?” he asked, staring at her with such coldness that she actually shivered in her seat. She hated that he could do that to her. He was the only human who could, and it was something that she thought made her weak. It was also one of the reasons why she’d found herself first attracted to him all those years ago.

  Matthew wasn’t from Jerome. He’d transferred to the small town’s police department a few years back, and no one quite knew why. Even Hazel didn’t know, and she was probably closer to him than anyone else. He was a quiet guy. With a six-four athletic build and a honey-brown gaze that made more than one woman or man swoon while being interrogated; the guy was handsome. He had that secret past and mysterious persona that made people long for him.

  And, once upon a time, Hazel longed for him. Now, though . . . . Well, now she thought she had her sights set on someone else with honey-brown eyes.

  “I’m not,” Hazel replied, sighing. Of course, he would be onto her. Why did she think that she could just come out and ask him? Was she stupid? “Why would I be digging?”

  “I don’t know,” he responded to her, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair as if he had all the time in the world. As if he wasn’t working on the biggest case Jerome ever had. Or would ever have. “Why don’t you answer that one for me?”