by Evie Hart
She held up her hands. “A peaceful protest that got a little…well, not peaceful. In my defense, I was not the one who bit Lorenzo’s wife. That was Amelie.”
Amelie.
“Amelie bit his wife?”
“It was an accident.” She hesitated. “They got angry and one of them shifted, so we had to do the same to protect ourselves. We don’t tend to be around each other in animal form for obvious reasons, so we don’t particularly know who any of them are in their wolf form.” She shrugged. “Amelie lunged for a wolf who was snarling at her, and she got in the way. There were no hard feelings, but I think Lorenzo expected Amelie to toe the line that he drew.”
“Why would she do that? She’s not a wolf.”
“No, but he does have final say over new shifters staying here.”
“What? Why?”
She shrugged. “Probably some minotaur crap law he pushed through at some point. He said she could stay, but I’d expect he didn’t like that the new girl was challenging him.”
“But she was siding with her own kind.”
“Exactly. In our world, blood means everything. She may have been a cougar, but we’re all cats. We’d never side with his kind.”
Man, shifters were…secular.
“Do you think Lorenzo is capable of killing anyone?”
Luna took a deep breath, but she didn’t reply.
“Luna?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ve seen him kill someone, but it’s different here. Pack rules are the law in our territory,” she added quickly. “We follow the Haven laws mostly, but there are a few things that are dealt with within the pack.”
“Do you know anyone who had a problem with Amelie?”
“No, nobody. She was welcomed with open arms after what had happened to her. We became friends almost immediately.” She looked down at her hands. “I miss her.”
I shifted as Snow came wandering into the living room. “Filthy animals, dogs,” Snow said in an affected tone. “No problem at all about licking their genitals.”
“I watched you lick your backside before breakfast,” I said dryly. “Don’t take the high ground now.”
Luna laughed. “If you go into the sunroom, there’s a really great sun spot on the sofa there.”
Snow’s eyes lit up, and she bounded back out again.
“She’s a character,” Luna said brightly.
“She’s something,” I replied. “Can I ask what happened? With, you know.”
“It might seem archaic, but it’s generally accepted that when shifters mate, we mate for life. Some of us can be single or casually dating for a hundred years before we meet our mate,” Luna explained. “Because of that, infidelity is a crime punishable by death. It’s seen as unnatural, mostly because we believe it’s wrong to marry unless we’ve met our mate.”
“I guess you’d never cheat on your mate, right?”
“Exactly. It would cause us physical pain if we did.” She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “The only way you could cheat is if the person you married wasn’t your mate.”
“What if you met your mate after?”
“You’d have to get a divorce before you could even touch them. Like I said, it’s archaic, but it’s how our society works. You’d be frowned upon, but nothing would happen to you except you’d have some judgment thrown your way.”
I nodded slowly. “Makes sense. I guess this person didn’t get a divorce?”
“No. He was found in bed with his mate.”
“And he was killed?”
“Yes.”
“What about his mate?”
She shrugged. “She knew the rules as well as the rest of us did. She knew he was married. She knew the punishment for infidelity and how it would affect her.”
“How do you kill? I mean—I never realized how different you were.”
Luna’s lips tugged to one side. “We fight. It’s a bloody, disgusting mess in front of the entire pack.”
That seemed brutal. But, hey, witches burned their dead and sent them to the center of the lake on a fiery pyre, so what did I know?
“So he’s capable of killing,” I said.
“Yes, he is.” Luna looked at me for a second before he said, “But not like that, Avery. Lorenzo is an egomaniac and ballsy. If he wanted Amelie dead, she’d have been killed by his wolf. Not by a silver bullet. And everyone would have known it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I WAS RUNNING out of time.
Dead ends were everywhere I looked. I felt like I was walking around a labyrinth, solving riddles and clues, only to find myself back in the same spot I’d been ten minutes before.
I was also running out of ideas. Every person I knew of who had motive to kill Amelie were being ruled out one by one.
Well, I said being, but they had been.
I was back at square one with absolutely no idea what to do next.
Which was why I was at Ana-May’s café, sitting by myself, and eating the biggest slice of chocolate-chip cheesecake known to man.
I was drowning my sorrows in food and I was totally okay with that.
There was no better place to drown your sorrows. Perhaps alcohol, but alcohol and magic could be a dangerous mix.
Cheesecake was definitely a safer bet.
I jabbed my fork into the slice and shoved the creamy goodness into my mouth.
What had I really learned today?
Aside from my lesson in shifter pack politics, not a lot. I already knew that Lorenzo wasn’t responsible for killing Amelie. Regardless of his unappealing demeanor, there were some things not even a pack alpha would do.
Luna was right. If he wanted to kill someone, he’d make sure it was done under pack rules, on pack land.
Poison and guns were a coward’s way out in the eyes of a shifter.
Poison was a women’s trick, if the serial killer documentaries on Netflix were to be believed, but I didn’t know of a single woman except the alpha’s wife who’d want Amelie dead.
A bite wasn’t exactly a motive to murder, though.
Sighing, I scooped another forkful of cheesecake into my mouth.
“Well, well, well, look who it is.” Orion approached my table, a takeout cup in his hand. Today’s design was psychedelic squirrels.
I peered up at him. “Hey. What are you doing this far out of the forest?”
“You make it sound like I’m, well, one of these.” He pointed to the squirrels. “Mind if I sit?”
I waved my hand toward the empty seat opposite me and sat up straight. “You leave the forest?” I said with mock-shock. “I thought you were bound there.”
“Ha ha,” he said dryly. “Yes, we all leave the forest. Some of us have jobs, you know.”
“Do you?” I paused. “Wait, that sounded rude.”
Orion laughed. “Yes, I have a job, but I work for my father. Since I’ll have a job in his office one day, it makes sense.”
“What are you? His apprentice?”
“No. I’m pretty much his lackey. Sometimes he actually lets me help him, but most days…” He shook his head. “I’m a servant.”
“Right. I mean, you look like one, what with your potato sack for clothing and all.” I looked pointedly at the perfectly-pressed light blue shirt he was wearing.
He grinned. “I know. It’s so uncomfortable.”
It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. His confidence bordered on arrogance, but on him, it kind of worked. It was strange because as a rule, I wanted to punch people like him in the face.
Was it because he was handsome? Was my shallowness showing?
Ugh. I didn’t have time for this.
“So, what’s up?” He rested his forearms on the table. “You look sad.”
I swung my gaze toward him. “I’m not sad. I’m…thinking.”
“Well, you look sad when you think.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I drawled. “What are you doing in town?”
“P
ublic relations,” Orion replied, his tone just as dry as mine. “My father is meeting with the leader of the druids, so he sent me to meet with the Council.”
“I would have thought the Council meeting was the most important.”
“That’s not always the case. In the current climate, the shifter leader was also not present at the meeting.” He paused. “But that’s all I can say. The meetings are confidential.”
“I know that much. Despite my entire two years in the human world, I’m still a lot more familiar with the paranormal one.”
“You lived in the human world?”
“You didn’t know that?”
He shook his head, his thick, golden hair swishing. “No. You’re not entirely wrong when you joke about us never leaving the forest—it’s where we feel most at home. We don’t have close relationships with many of the people in town.”
“I guess that makes sense.” I pushed my fork back and forth on the plate. “Two years doesn’t seem that long, but they were some of the best years of my life and the worst. I had to hide my true nature, but there was a freedom that came with being invisible.”
“Then you come back here, and everyone knows who you are.”
“My name is both a blessing and a curse,” I said softly, smiling wryly at him. “There’s a reputation that comes with being a Thorn.”
“Didn’t one of your relatives throw fireballs at someone?”
I hesitated. “Ophelia. She was…unique.”
“Hasn’t your grandmother been terrorizing the town for weeks?”
“She’s bound to the Thorn farm,” I said, an edge to my voice. “And thank you for proving my point.”
Orion held his hands up. “I’m sorry. I understand what it’s like to be judged for your family name.”
“That’s right—aren’t you a notorious womanizer who breaks the rules and has his father break him out of jail?”
He paused, his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. Surprise flashed across his handsome face, quickly followed by shame and regret until his lips turned downward.
“Yes,” he slowly admitted. “I was. But I’ve grown up since those days, and I’d thank you to tell your grandmother that.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. He knew exactly where I’d gotten my information.
“And I have to admit, I’m flattered you’ve been talking about me.”
I choked on my coffee. I didn’t even have the time to respond before a shadow fell over the table and I looked up to see Dax glaring down at us both.
“Detective Sanders. What a surprise to see you here,” Orion said brightly, sipping on his coffee.
Dax slid his gaze toward him. “It’s the only coffee shop in town, and I was told I could find a certain wayward witch here. Not that much of a surprise.”
“How did you know where to find me?” I paused. “If Nicole ratted me out, I’m going to put a spider in her pillowcase.”
Not that it would bother her. She’d apologize on my behalf and set it free.
Dax was barely able to control the twitch of his lips. “She’s safe from your revenge plots. Your aunt told me she’d seen you walking in here.”
“Which one? I’ll put a spider in their pillowcase, the dirty traitor.”
“I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Well, Aunt Rose is at home, and I know for a fact Aunt Shelly is making home visits with her magic fertilizer today, so unless you ran into her, Aunt Bella is to blame.”
Dax’s eye twitched.
“I knew it,” I said smugly. “Coming to rescue me from jail with a sword doesn’t excuse this betrayal.”
“Your aunt rescued you from jail with a sword?” Orion asked, one eyebrow curved upward in shock.
“She wasn’t in jail,” Dax cut in. “She was brought in for questioning, and the next thing I knew, I had the three musketeers invading my police station.”
“Your police station? You’re not the sheriff.”
Hot dang, I liked this elf. He had attitude.
“Mr. Aeraos, is there a reason you’re still here?” Dax said through gritted teeth.
“Is there a reason you are?” Orion shot back. “As far as I’m concerned, you interrupted my conversation with Avery for no reason whatsoever.”
Yup. He was growing on me.
Anger flashed in Dax’s eyes. “If you’d let me speak, I’m here to talk with Ms. Thorn regarding a serious matter.”
I turned on him with innocent eyes. “Did the Venus Fly Trap outside Green Thumb eat a brownie again?”
His gaze darted to me. “No. The brownies are safe from your aunt’s murderous plant.”
“Did Nicole forget to seal the cage of the rats?”
“No. If she did, I’d have a host of irrational women standing on my desk.”
“Did my bat poop in your car, too?”
“I knew that was your cat.” Dax pinched his nose. “No. And no, no, and no, to your future questions. I need to speak with you if you don’t mind.”
I paused. “I do mind.”
“Tough. I don’t care.”
I sighed and finished the last of my coffee in the cup, then turned to Orion. “I’m sorry. Lord Rude over here forgot his manners when he rolled out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
Orion’s lips twitched. “Don’t worry about it. You still owe me dinner, so I think I can take a raincheck on a coincidental coffee date.”
I opened my mouth to correct him on this being any kind of date, but Dax grabbed me before I could say a word. He threw a garbled, cookie-cutter goodbye in Orion’s direction before I was unceremoniously dragged outside into the sticky, early-summer heat.
“Why yes, Detective, being manhandled was on my bucket list,” I snapped as he pulled me down the alleyway. “How did you know that’s what I wanted for my birthday?”
“Your birthday is in March,” Dax said simply, letting me go. “And you’ve been avoiding me.”
“How do you know when my birthday is?”
“Police records. You were a suspect.”
I hmphed. “What do you want?”
“What’s with your cozy chat with elf-boy?”
“Who I speak to is none of your business.” I leaned back against the wall and folded my arms across my chest. “What’s with your manhandling of me?”
“You’re getting involved in my investigation,” Dax said firmly. “I accepted it when Betty Lou was alive and you were bound to find her killer, but your vow died with her.”
I said nothing. I simply leaned against the brick wall behind me and stared at him, waiting to see how far he’d go with this.
“You have no rights to investigate this. You’ve been in Amelie’s house, and now I hear you’re questioning shifters over their connections.” His eyes flashed with annoyance. “Stay out of this.”
“I wo—wait, what? How do you know I’m questioning people?”
“Lorenzo had someone tail you this morning. He thought you were sticking your nose into what he called “pack business,” so he came to me not long ago demanding you stop.”
I snorted. “Sounds to me like he’s got something to hide.”
“He has an alibi.”
“Yeah, and let me guess, his pack stuck up for him, right?” Sure, I believed Luna when she said that if Lorenzo had wanted to kill Amelie, he’d have done it publicly, but Betty Lou changed that idea. I still doubted his innocence. Just a little bit.
Dax’s eye twitched.
“I thought as much.”
“Listen to me, Avery.” He reached out and touched my arm. “Whoever did this had the balls to kill the most powerful witch in town. If you think they won’t come after you, too—”
I yanked my arm out of his hand. “She wasn’t the most powerful witch in town. Politically, yes. But not otherwise.” I stared him down. “And you know it.”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “But the chances are, whoever killed her, didn’t.”
Orion appeared in the entry
way to the alley and looked between us, his eyes narrowing as they fell on Dax. He glared at him for a second with Dax returning the angry stare.
“You done?” Orion asked me, his gaze a lot softer when it landed on me. “I have to get back for a meeting in half an hour and I still need to decide on a pet for my niece.”
I tried to hide my surprise. “Sure. We’re done here.” I threw one last glare at Dax and stepped away with Orion.
“Avery,” Dax called, making me stop a few feet away.
I turned and looked at him. “What?”
“Power only counts if you can control it.”
Hurt slammed through me, slicing me like a knife.
I jerked, taking a step toward him. I was ready to throttle his stupid ass, but Orion grabbed hold of me and pulled me against him.
“He’s not worth it,” he whispered in my ear. “He’s trying to wind you up, and you’re letting him. Ignore him.”
I took a deep breath. He was right. That was a cheap shot from Dax, and he dang well knew it. It wasn’t like my lack of control over my magic was my fault.
Instead of throwing a curse his way, I turned and shrugged off Orion’s hands. “Do you really need a pet for your niece? Do you even have one?”
“Seven nieces and twelve nephews,” he replied without missing a beat. “We have big families.”
“No kidding.” I paused. “But you do need a pet?”
“Yes. It’ll drive my brother insane.” He flashed me a grin. “I’m the fun uncle who buys you all the things your parents never will.”
“I highly doubt your siblings agree with the “fun” part of your statement.”
“They don’t. Didn’t stop me buying a four-year-old a drum set, though.”
I rolled my eyes as I pushed open the door to Paws and Claws. Nicole was crouched in front of the rabbits with a little girl who was leaning over the side of their enclosure.
I wanted to smile. My cousin not only had a way with animals, but one with children, too. She knew how badly all her animals wanted a home and how badly the kids who came in here wanted one but fixing them up with the right people was hard.
It looked like this little girl needed a rabbit.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t appreciate the cuteness, because Dax had gotten so far under my skin.
