by C. C. Dado
“What did you need to talk with me about?”
“I have someone on camera last night sneaking around the side of the bakery.”
An instant look of concern crossed Christian’s face. “What do we know so far?”
“I ran by there before coming here.”
“And…?”
Zeus didn’t respond right away, choosing his words carefully. “He seems familiar, his scent. I know it somehow.”
“You know his scent but not who he is?” They both knew this didn’t make sense. A wolf’s scent memory was unparalleled. “Maybe it’s a distant relative of someone. Maybe it just seems similar to you,” Christian said in an obvious attempt to make Zeus not worry over possibly losing his tracking ability. A beta without the ability to scent his prey was no longer the beta.
“Yeah, maybe,” Zeus agreed, getting up from his chair.
“I need this taken care of, Zeus. I can’t have someone that could be a risk to Kimber and Kron in this town.”
“I know.”
“If you need more men, take them.”
“I got this,” Zeus assured him. The thought of other men near this person bothered him. Just one more thing he couldn’t explain.
Christian nodded, the life stresses heavy in his eyes, as Zeus headed for the door to get Rosetta, which ended up a bigger ordeal then he expected.
“My pup?” Kimber looked up at Zeus, clearly confused about him wanting to take her new friend.
Zeus looked over at Max and Christian, who had followed him out, for help, not sure how to respond.
“Oh hell no,” Max said shaking his head.
“Don’t swear in front of Kimber,” Christian reminded him.
“We are not taking that dog,” Max announced, looking at everyone.
Kimber’s eyes started to well up, her bottom lip popping out. Zeus and Christian both looked at Max.
“That’s Zeus’s dog, sweetie,” Max informed her, trying to take Rosetta off her lap and almost losing a finger in the process.
Zeus heard Christian suppress laughter behind him. He moved forward to help and got the same response from Rosetta. Apparently she was choosing her master this time, and it was Kimber.
“See. My pup,” Kimber said proudly.
“Sweetie, it’s not so much a pet as it is a vicious attack spawn from the underworld.”
Kimber covered Rosetta’s furry ears and glared at Max. “Not vic-ous -pawn!” she threw back in youthful anger.
Max turned to throw a matching glare at Christian.
“If you would calm down for a second, you would notice that Rosetta has already accepted Kimber as her master,” Christian said.
They all looked down at Rosetta, who had rolled over on Kimber’s lap to bare her little belly for a scratch, which Kimber gladly gave.
“She’s not in any danger from her.”
Max reluctantly acknowledged Christian’s words.
“What do you think, Zeus? Are you going to miss this little one?”
Zeus wasn’t really sure if he would or not. It was kind of nice to have someone around him all the time, but he would prefer it be someone who didn’t want to eat him. “I think Rosetta has decided what she wants.”
Christian looked over at Max who seemed irritated but resolved to the fact that Rosetta was going to be theirs.
“Okay, baby, your pup,” Christian said, Max groaning as Kimber squealed and squeezed Rosetta to the point of popping.
“Why don’t we take your brother and your new pup upstairs to bed.”
Zeus watched them head upstairs and then showed himself out, feeling a little lonelier than he had when he came in.
Chapter 3: Someone Stole My Hammer
THINGS RAN differently in the town of Easter Valley, since it was privately owned by the pack. Easter Valley was on pack land but with the exception of Seth, all pack members lived on the commune. It kept them safe, gave them space to be pack without fear of humans. They spent their days working in town but the folks were not aware of the shifter community they lived in; to them Zeus was the equivalent of a small-town sheriff.
Fred from the small hardware store had called Zeus first thing this morning about a robbery at his store. Zeus had skipped breakfast and headed over.
Fred gestured to the empty bench outside the back door of his shop. “It’s gone. I had tools sitting on the bench, ’cause I was working on fixing the trim out here, and now they’re gone.”
“What tools exactly?”
“Umm… let’s see, there was a hammer and a bag of nails. And it was my fancy hammer too. I had to special order that one from the manufacturer because it has my name on the side.”
“You called in a robbery because you couldn’t find your hammer?” Part of Zeus was proud that the loss of a hammer and nails was such a big deal to folks, because the town was so safe and these things just didn’t happen here. At least they didn’t used to.
Fred looked confused by the question.
“Okay, Fred, well, I’ve got some leads to follow up on, and I’ll let you know what I find out.” This very well could have been their new “resident.” “For now let’s not leave anything we want to keep sitting on a bench outside.” No matter how safe a town was, that was just stupid.
“Okay, Zeus, will do,” Fred assured him, brushing the dust off his coveralls before heading back into the store.
After that Zeus headed over to the bakery to make up for his missed breakfast. He loved Seth’s cooking.
It was a full house when he got there. Everyone but Christian sat at the tables.
“You.”
Zeus heard the accusation hissing out of Max’s mom’s mouth as soon he walked in the door.
“You’re the reason I can’t get anywhere near my brand-new granddaughter?”
Zeus looked over at the café tables. Kimber sat at a table, Rosetta standing guard next to her. Jack was kneeling on the floor in front of them, trying to get Rosetta to take a treat.
“Mom, it’s fine,” Max said from the register, carrying a sleeping Kron in a front pack on his chest. “Jack is going to train Rosetta for us.”
Max’s mom, Alicia, huffed in doubt.
Jack being a dog trainer was a great addition to the town. If anyone could turn Rosetta into a normal dog, it was him.
“You got him to sleep?” Zeus gestured to Kron.
“Nope. He hyperventilated till he passed out,” Max said, closing up the till.
Zeus wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“You want something to eat? We still have one maple bacon breakfast cupcake left.” Max was already grabbing it out of the cabinet.
It sounded like heaven in his mouth. And of course it would be. Zeus sat down at the café table across from Kimber, his large frame making it look like a child’s table. Rosetta turned and growled in warning at him, the traitor.
“Focus,” Jack said to Rosetta, the authority clear in his voice as he ran a treat by her nose that brought her attention successfully back to him.
Kimber giggled, pointing the dog out to Zeus. “My puppy good, Unca-Eus.”
“Yes, your puppy is good,” Max agreed, setting the breakfast cupcake in front of Zeus. “You better make that a good puppy.” Max pointed at Jack. “Or that puppy might be taking a trip, if you know what I mean.”
Kimber looked at Max like she wasn’t sure what was going on, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.
“She’s doing great, Kimber. She’ll stop being so grumpy in no time,” Jack assured her.
Alicia’s glare from the back café table prompted Zeus to hurry up and eat so he could get out of there. Nothing like a shifter mom’s anger to strike fear in the strongest of wolves.
Zeus shoved the last bite in his mouth and stood, feeling a pinch of sensation in the back of his neck, like an internal alarm. Something wasn’t right. He turned toward the window, scanning through the crowd of tourists. There was a figure walking with purpose toward the end of town. The perso
n turned at the last building, looking back over his shoulder. It was him. Even as Zeus’s body flinched to run after him, he didn’t want to cause a panic.
Zeus took his phone out to call Christian, aware Max and Seth had noticed the sudden change in him.
“He’s in town,” he said into the phone.
“I was just coming to have lunch. I’ll be there in five minutes,” Christian said and disconnected the call.
Zeus put his phone back in his pocket and flipped the Open sign to Closed, turning the lock on the door so no one would walk in while they talked.
“What’s going on, Zeus?” Max asked, placing a protective hand on Kimber’s shoulder. Every one of them focused on his answer now.
“It’s just a precaution. We have someone in town who doesn’t seem to be on the up-and-up, and until we know for sure that he’s not a threat, we are going to assume that he is.” Zeus directed his gaze at the kids, stating his main concern without words. “Christian will be here in a minute to get you. Jack, you and Seth should head on home.”
They all acknowledged his words with nods, and got up to start putting the baked goods away so they didn’t spoil.
As soon as Christian pulled up, Zeus headed outside.
“I’m going to go review the security footage. Maybe I can retrace his steps to figure out what he’s up to.”
“You call me as soon as you know anything.” Christian grabbed Zeus’s forearm as he walked by. “This is my family, Zeus.”
Zeus acknowledged his words, knowing the loss of his parents was running through his alpha’s mind.
Chapter 4: Tracker
ZEUS WENT through the surveillance tapes again. The stranger had first appeared three days ago. He walked in obscure places, out of sight of the main cameras in town, as though he knew the town had advanced security. Thankfully not all of Zeus’s security cameras were visible. The stranger was looking for something, or someone. Zeus had watched the look on-screen change to one of recognition as soon as Kimber hopped out of the Hummer and followed Max and Kron into the bakery two days ago. A sick feeling filled Zeus’s belly. He wasn’t aware until that moment how much he had hoped to be wrong.
All the shops had closed, and the locals had headed home for the evening. Like most nights, it was quiet enough to hear the pack howls in the distance. Zeus stood in the shadows along the brick wall of the bakery, his senses tuned to his environment as he awaited his prey.
Finally he heard it, the slightest of rustlings, which could have been one of the many rabbits the town was so well known for, or any number of other woodland creatures making their way through the woods that lined the town, but Zeus knew it was the intruder. He could sense a fear that didn’t come with an animal looking for food. He had to stop himself from moving forward. He was instinctually being drawn toward the stranger. He mentally shook himself, bringing his focus back on his mission. He had to protect his family, his pack. He could hear the sounds clearly now, the skittish footsteps of the man making his way toward the bakery where Zeus stood in the shadows, having known this was where he would go.
Zeus heard the lid of the bakery dumpster being lifted, and confusion made him pause. Why was the stranger going through the dumpster? He was about to step out of the shadows to find out when he heard the window of Jack’s little yellow house next door open.
“Zeus?” Seth’s nervous voice sounded, followed by the bang of the garbage lid slamming shut and retreating footsteps, ruining Zeus’s chance to catch the stranger by surprise.
“Yeah, Seth. It’s just me.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Just doing a security sweep, Seth. Everything’s okay. Go back to bed.”
“I thought I sensed someone else out there. Was it the person you mentioned earlier?”
“No. Go back to bed, Seth, before you wake up Jack.” Zeus didn’t want to worry Seth any more than he already had.
“Okay, Zeus.” Seth yawned, closing the window.
Zeus walked back toward the dumpster, hoping to pick up the stranger’s scent again. It was stronger this time, more powerful. The smell made him stretch his neck muscles, feeling uncomfortable, his wolf on full alert. He was drawn to the scent, but there was something else in it this time. Aconitum. People called it monkshood, and it was one of the few plants that could be deadly to wolf shifters.
Against everything in him, he accepted the danger his family was in and what he had to do. He walked back into the shadows, removing his clothes, preparing to shift. His wolf would never be mistaken as someone’s pet if seen. Luckily, the bakery and Jack’s house were at the end of town and backed by woods. He took a deep breath, letting his wolf take over, feeling his skin expand, making room for the fur that would soon encase his body. He dropped down on all fours as the change took over, and focused on the scent that was starting to consume his world.
It took him just outside of town, deep into the woods. It wasn’t a widely used part of the forest—too close to the town for the wolves to run and too far away from town for the tourists to stroll to. Zeus made his way through the trees and brush, following the signs made by the stranger. His wolf’s excitement grew as he sensed they were getting closer. He slowed when he was near enough to hear him without being seen. He knew he should just go in and deal with him swiftly, but something held him back. Zeus would stay there until the stranger fell asleep so he could get closer.
The smell of fear and sickness rolled toward Zeus in waves, off the stranger, and it didn’t lessen until his breathing changed, evening out and slowing as sleep took him. Even in sleep he was restless.
Zeus made his way out of the deep trees and into the small clearing, the pads of his feet gently brushing the ground. A makeshift lean-to partially sheltered the sleeping stranger from the night. Zeus moved closer, his predatory skills allowing him to get a better look without waking the man. He noticed Fred’s hammer next to the lean-to, which explained the missing tools. Next to the sleeping form was a backpack, seemingly empty, with a pile of discarded food wrappers nearby. None of it made sense. This did not look like someone intent on evil; if anything it looked like someone who needed help.
Looking down at the sleeping form, Zeus had to hold back his wolf. His protective instincts had flared to the surface, but not in the way Zeus had expected, not to protect his family, his pack. The feelings pushing at his surface were to protect this man. He looked older close up, probably in his early twenties. His features were soft, and he had sandy-brown hair, with light-toned skin, darkened around the eyes, like his troubles followed him even in sleep.
Zeus held back a growl at the slight stench of monkshood, until he realized it was mixed with sweat. This person didn’t have poison; he was poisoned. The plant was even more poisonous to humans. No one in their right mind would voluntarily take it. Zeus could tell by the mixture in the sweat that it was not enough to kill him. Just enough to make him sick. Maybe he’d accidentally eaten some, thinking it was edible. He was obviously out of food. But Zeus’s men regularly combed these woods to remove any plants that could be poisonous to young shifters.
Zeus wasn’t sure what was compelling him to want to protect this man, but he sat in watch until the early morning. At one point in the night when the wind picked up, Zeus lay down and scooted to the opening of the lean-to to block the man from the cold, the need to shield him greater than the risk of being seen by a human. He wished he could snuggle into his side and give him all his warmth, but he didn’t want to give him a heart attack if he accidentally woke. So there he lay until the first sign of movement. Then he slowly backed away into the trees until he was no longer visible.
He would find out what was going on. Whatever it was, it wasn’t black-and-white. Everyone would be at the commune tomorrow for Sunday meal and the run, so they were safe. Zeus needed to talk with Christian. By the looks of the camp the stranger had created, he wasn’t planning on leaving soon.
Chapter 5: The Catch
“NOTHING LIKE hav
ing dinner with Satan’s lapdog,” Seth said from across the banquet table, gesturing toward Rosetta, who was currently trying to bite the wrist of one of the pack members for trying to pinch Kimber’s cheeks. Their family sat around one large table, surrounded by the pack. Rosetta seemed to have adjusted a bit to their select group, thanks to Jack, but if anyone came anywhere near her new best friend, Kimber, it was every shifter for themselves, and Kimber would clap and laugh. Nothing like a rabid dog to make a shifter child happy.
“Rosetta. Heel,” Jack commanded, and Rosetta instantly switched her attention to him.
Zeus was impressed.
“Kimber loves the dog, the dog stays,” Max declared, handing the plate of roasted rabbit to Christian, eyeing everyone at the table to ensure nobody suggested differently.
Seth put his hands up in mock surrender.
“Jack has been doing an amazing job training her. She almost lets my mom come near Kimber now,” Max informed them all.
Seth smiled proudly at his mate.
Zeus didn’t even have to look at the other end of the table to feel the glare coming at him from Max’s mom.
Jack adjusted his glasses on his nose, smiling across the table at Max. “Thank you. It’ll just take some time. I tried to get Mrs. Stegal to let me train Rosetta, but she wasn’t interested, may she rest in peace.”
Everyone around the table looked down for a moment in silence for the dead woman who’d owned the batshit-crazy dog.
“Did you find anything in your sweep last night?” Seth asked Zeus as he handed him some bread.
“I have some leads,” Zeus responded nonchalantly.
Christian looked pointedly across the table at him, like he knew there was more information Zeus wasn’t telling them. Zeus would pull Christian off to the side for a talk after their meal.
“Who is it?” Max asked, his concern for the kids clear as he cut up bits of rabbit before putting them on Kimber’s plate. He occasionally tossed a piece to Rosetta. “Monster,” he mumbled under his breath.
