* * *
Cries of the werewolves could be heard for miles, intermixed with those of the bears and mountain lions as the alpha Nate lay dead. Brendan shifted back to human form and began to pace in anger. This shouldn’t have happened, and he felt responsible for it. He rubbed the fur of Nate’s prone, lifeless body, scooping him up.
Chase also shifted back to human form. “What are you doing?” Chase asked. “There’s a dead sheep and a dead wolf. This is the way out. Nate sacrificed his life to put an end to this madness.”
“Jonathan has set us up and I want to know why, don’t you?”
“Sure, but this will prove nothing.”
“Clayton can check the remains of the sheep and he’ll know that no animal was involved with its demise. When we also tell him what we saw, he’ll put the pieces together.”
Chase nodded. “I’m sorry, you’re right. The pack doesn’t deserve to not be able to bury their alpha. We should take his body back to Silver Creek.”
Brendan carried Nate to his truck, loading him in the back. Tears burned the back of his eyes now. Nate had been a good alpha, and one who tried to keep his pack safe, but now, all of that was gone. His son was too young to take his place, and with his leg injury, he might never survive in the pack now that Nate was gone.
Katlyn ran to the truck. “What’s happened?”
Brendan didn’t say a word as he went back to his cabin and dressed as did Chase who came in behind him.
She barged inside and implored him, “Please, Brendan, tell me what happened.”
“What happened is that my neighbor has been trying to set me up, and he killed another sheep on our property. He also killed the alpha, Nate.”
Katlyn bit her fist. “Oh, no! Poor Maxwell.”
“Exactly. I’m bringing his body back to Silver Creek, and then calling Clayton to report what we found.”
“We overheard Jonathan’s name said right before Nate was killed,” Chase said.
“What if Clayton doesn’t believe that Jonathan was responsible for staging his sheep’s deaths?”
“She’s right,” a woman’s voice said. “You know perfectly well what needs to be done.”
Katlyn stared and realized it was Paige. “If Jonathan is murdered, the cops will be called for sure.”
“Yes,” Brendan said. “And we don’t know who was with him tonight.”
“Leave it to me,” Paige said. “I’m quite resourceful when I want to be.”
Chapter Thirteen
Paige walked into Jonathan’s barn with a glint in her eye. A man with crossed eyes and bloodstained overalls stared at her warily.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I’m your new best friend, if you supply me a bit of information,” Paige said.
“Why would I do that? I don’t even know you.”
Paige smiled, toying with the buttons of her shirt suggestively. “How about you tell me what I want to know and I give you a taste.”
“I might if you suck my cock,” he said crudely.
“Not so fast. First the information.”
“I didn’t agree to tell you anything,” the man said, reaching for her.
She easily sidestepped him. “Why did you bash in that sheep’s brains tonight?”
“I-I didn’t.”
Paige turned to leave. “It’s too bad. I’d have given you the best blow job of your life, one that you’d never forget.”
“Wait,” the man began. “Jonathan asked me to. He’s been trying to get rid of his neighbors. They’re really mountain lion shifters. Did you know that?”
Paige approached the man, “Actually, I did.”
She revealed her fangs and the man ran toward the door, but Paige was on him. Her fangs ripped into his throat and she felt no pleasure like she usually would as she drained the man of his lifeblood, but thought of what a waste of life he was. He, after all, was Jonathan’s accomplice and one sick enough to kill a sheep in order to set Shadow Creek up.
When Paige slipped into Jonathan’s house, two mountain lions joined her inside. She stopped as Brendan and Chase slunk forward through the house.
Jonathan laughed as he talked on the phone. “I’m positive that my neighbors are shifters, and I’ve tried to get that Rancher’s Committee to launch an investigation into the disappearance of my sheep. They must have moved the bodies before Clayton got there, but when he goes back out there tomorrow, I assure you that he’ll find the evidence against Brendan and Chase that he needs. All you’ll have to do is take them into your custody. Just make sure to bring your credentials. Once they are ousted as shifters, their ranch will be seized and I’ll be able to have my sheep graze over on their property whenever I want without any problems.”
Jonathan hung up the phone and laughed, saying out loud. “Those shifters won’t even know what hit them.”
Brendan raced forward, swiping a mighty paw that knocked Jonathan from his chair. Jonathan grabbed the poker from his fireplace and swung it wildly at the mountain lion, but Chase entered the fray, knocking Jonathan to his knees.
“So, Brendan and Chase are shape shifters?” Paige asked Jonathan. “I’m really shocked, but how on earth do you plan on trying to prove that one? Do you have them on video shifting? Do you really think that Clayton is that stupid?”
“I’ve already reported to the Shifter Patrol about the Shadow Creek shifters. They’ll be there tomorrow and take them all into custody.”
“So we really don’t have anything to lose?” Paige asked as the mountain lions advanced.
* * *
Brendan and Chase took Jonathan down. He tried to cover his head as he was ripped to shreds from their claws. Jonathan, bruised and bloody, staggered to his feet and outside where a pack of werewolves were waiting for him. His screams went unnoticed by anyone else in the house or grounds as Jonathan was so hurt financially of late that his help was completely depleted. From the sounds of his cries and their duration, it was quite apparent that the werewolves were making Jonathan’s death a slow one.
Brendan and Chase didn’t stick around. Brendan knew that Paige and the werewolves fully intended to take care of the remains of both Jonathan and his helper. Brendan had to hurry back to the ranch before the Shifter Patrol showed up. At this point, there wasn’t any reason to think that the patrol wouldn’t show up, possibly even sooner than anticipated.
When Brendan and Chase approached Katlyn’s cabin, a black SUV was in the drive and Katlyn was led, handcuffed, toward it.
* * *
“Can I get a drink of water?” Katlyn asked. “I’m quite parched.”
A man standing on the other side of the table poured her a glass of the requested water from a pitcher, handing it to her. “This will go much easier if you fess up,” the man said.
“I already told you I don’t know what you’re talking about. Shapeshifters, indeed. I think you’ve been watching too many sci-fi shows.”
“You were spotted at the Wilted Petal back in Newbury, Wisconsin.”
“I think you’re confused. What exactly is the Wilted Petal?”
A woman strode into the room. “There’s no sense in trying to make this one talk, Sam,” Martha said.
Katlyn tried not to react that the owner of the Wilted Petal, Martha, was standing here now. Was she part of the patrol, too? Had she set them all up?
“What do you suggest, then?”
“Her shifters will show up soon. I should have known she’d show up here in Wyoming.”
“I’ve never seen this woman before and she’s out of her tree if she believes that shifters are real.”
Sam paced, whipping a palm through his hair. “I’ve been tracking shifters for ten years now. I’ve been forced to watch in the shadows as their deviant behavior has been allowed, but no more. I rather relished being able to kill the shifters at that club.”
“Say what you want, but I have rights. I demand to see a lawyer, now.”
Pictures were tossed on the ta
ble and Katlyn picked them up, examining them. They showed her at the club with Brendan and Chase. “Do you still plan to sit here and deny that you were at the Wilted Petal and went up into a room to fornicate with those shifters?”
Katlyn rocked back on her chair. “Fine, I don’t deny that I went there, but those men weren’t shifters. They were very human, from what I could see.”
“You know damn well what that place catered to.”
“No. I was simply looking for ménage with two hot men, but that was before your men showed up and began to blast the place to smithereens.”
“Give up the shifters and I’ll allow you to leave,” Sam said.
“You were already at the ranch. If you’re so insistent that Brendan and Chase are shifters, why not round them up. Why detain me when I’m on hundred percent human.”
Sam paced the room. “They weren’t there is why. We have your friend here, too. You’ll call your shifters and tell them to give themselves up, or you and your friend will be—”
“Dead,” Katlyn finished for him. “That’s what you’ve planned all along, right? It’s why you tracked me down all the way from Wisconsin. You’re afraid what I might tell someone that your so-called Shifter Patrol murdered not only shifters that day, but humans, too. You had my place ransacked so I couldn’t go home even if I wanted to.”
“I told you, Sam. This one is too smart for her own good, and quite resourceful.”
“Is the Shifter Patrol part of the government now, too, or are you still only vigilantes?”
Sam shoved the phone her way. “Make your call.”
Katlyn folded her arms across her chest. “Not happening, but they might be already here for all you know.”
There was a knock at the door, and when it was answered, Clayton said, “I’m here to get the girl. She’s wanted for questioning by the governor.”
Martha’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious. I-I mean this is official Shifter Patrol business.”
“Oh? Since when is the Shifter Patrol part of the government or a branch of it?”
“All I know is that I’m not about to hand over the accused to anyone until she tells us what we want to know.”
Clayton pulled out a gun from the back of his pants. “Sorry, but that’s where you’re both wrong. Release the girl from her handcuffs and nobody gets hurt.”
Sam tossed the keys to Martha, who opened the handcuffs from around Katlyn’s wrists. Katlyn moved her hands to restore the feeling since they had been way too tight, but she wasn’t about to tell them or whine about it. She might be young, but she was hardly the type to give into anyone, regardless of the threat.
She stood and followed Clayton, insisting that she not leave without Tessa who they had said they had in custody.
“Fine, but if we don’t hurry, you’ll never get away.”
They searched every room until they found Tessa on a cot with a blanket over her head.
“What’s wrong with her?” Clayton asked.
“Severe sun allergy.”
Clayton picked her up and carried her to his truck and they were off down the road. “There’s no meeting with the governor, is there?” Katlyn asked.
“Might be if we go to the capital, but somehow I don’t see us making it that far. I’m taking you both back to the Shadow Creek. Brendan and Chase are waiting for you. I convinced them to wait until I made a try to get you released.”
“So you know who Brendan and Chase really are?”
“I can’t exactly deny it when they showed up at my place asking for help for your safe return. They had to shift to even prove what they said was true. I really thought they had lost it.”
“And did they say what happened to Jonathan?”
“He’s disappeared, from what I heard, and the sheriff is on scene. He said he knew that Jonathan was losing his ranch. From what Brendan said, Jonathan was trying to set up Brendan and Chase so that he could have his sheep graze on Shadow Creek’s land. He was always the delusional type, but staging a crime is an all-time low, even for him. I didn’t believe it at first until I found a sheep carcass on Shadow Creek’s land and followed the footprints over to Jonathan’s place.”
“Why did you decide to help us?”
“Well, with the Shifter Patrol rolling into town, it seems like more trouble than we need. The last thing we need is killing in these parts. And it seems to me that all of us who call Creeksboro home need to work together to make sure it’s handled.”
Katlyn turned to look out the window, hoping that, even working together, they could stop the Shifter Patrol from killing any more humans or shifters.
As they pulled up to the ranch, Shadow Creek’s entrance was blocked with a gate and a man holding a shotgun allowed them to enter. This is the same kind of thing the werewolves had done to protect their property, but now with Nate’s death, it was hard saying what would happen to the pack or Maxwell.
When the truck stopped at the main house, Brendan strode out and hugged Katlyn as she jumped out and Clayton carried Tessa’s prone body into the house. Paige met them inside and led Clayton upstairs with a drawn expression on her face.
Chase hugged Katlyn, too, as he rushed into the house. “I was so worried that we’d never see you again.”
“Martha from the Wilted Petal is in on it. I think she set up the shifters that day. I can’t believe they took Tessa, too, since she’s so sick.”
“We’ll hole up here against the patrol as long as we can, but you need to get out of here, Katlyn, for good. There will be a truck here soon to take Tessa, Paige and you to an undisclosed location,” Brendan said.
“I won’t leave you, either of you,” Katlyn said.
“We don’t have a choice in the matter now. I knew that eventually we’d be found out, but I need to know that you’re safe.”
“What about the ranch and the children?”
“They’ll never be safe unless we’re able to bring the Shifter Patrol down once and for all. I don’t know exactly how that’s going to happen, but we need to figure it out.”
Katlyn massaged her brow. “I need to get to the press or governor and tell the public what really happened back in Newbury, that the Shifter Patrol massacred the shifters and humans that day. They’ll listen to me, I know they will.”
“I’ll take her there,” Clayton said. “It the least I can do after the way I raked you boys over the coals for the missing sheep. I still can’t believe Jonathan was behind that the whole time. If he ever shows his face up in Wyoming, I’ll personally see him behind bars.”
“We’ll go with you,” Brendan said. “You’ll need protection.”
“Who will secure the ranch from the patrol?”
“The werewolves and werebears have volunteered to do whatever is needed,” Chase said. “We won’t allow our mate to be harmed.”
Clayton’s face reddened. “I don’t understand too much about your kind, but I image it’s not all that different than us humans, except that we don’t share our women.”
Brendan smiled, kissing Katlyn gently. “This woman might just be the death of us, but I’d much rather lay my life down for her than anyone else.”
“I concur,” Chase said, taking Katlyn into his arms, hugging her tightly. When he released her, he said, “I had visions that I’d never see you again.”
* * *
When Paige came down the stairs, she announced that Tessa was doing fine and that she wouldn’t suffer any long-term harm from the patrol taking her.
Katlyn smiled. It was hard for her to say, but she said, “I really appreciate you looking after Tessa the way you have. I might not be happy how it all went down in regards to you, but I trust that you’ll watch over her while I’m gone.”
Katlyn told Paige how she planned to tell the governor what happened back in Wisconsin to hopefully put a stop to the patrol.
“Thanks for that, Katlyn. Please, whatever you do, get the word out about that Shifter Patrol before they have the chance to
murder anyone else.”
Chapter Fourteen
They threw together a few belongings and left in Brendan’s SUV that would accommodate them all more comfortably than Clayton’s truck that the patrol might be already looking out for. Among the supplies were shotguns, handguns, and ammunition.
“Why do we need guns? Katlyn asked. “I thought as shifters you’d prefer to handle the patrol as mountain lions.”
“That didn’t do much for Nate, now did it,” Brendan said.
“He was a shifter, too?” Clayton asked.
“Yup,” Chase said. “Werewolf.”
“Holy cow. How on earth have you managed to keep this a secret for so long?”
“That shifters exist or that they live right under your nose?”
“Both, I guess.”
“It’s in the best interest of everyone to think of us like your run of the mill ranchers. It’s easier when an occasional sheep goes missing,” Brendan hinted with a wink.
“If that’s your idea of a joke, it’s not funny,” Katlyn said.
“The lady’s right. I’m afraid if we make it through this you’ll always be top of my suspect list when livestock goes missing.”
They must have known that Clayton spoke the truth because nobody commented further.
Clayton drove as Katlyn was sandwiched between Brendan and Chase in the backseat like it should be. She almost wished that she could be naked with them right now since they were headed into dangerous territory. What if the last time they were together was truly the last time? She couldn’t allow herself to think that.
Katlyn was nervous about seeing the governor. What if he wouldn’t help them by offering her a way to announce to the public what the patrol was really about?
“Don’t frown like that, Katlyn,” Brendan said. “It will make you old before your time.”
“I hope I’m around for the long haul. If Clayton hadn’t shown up when he did, who knows what the patrol would have done to me if I hadn’t given the both of you up.”
“We’d have rescued you somehow,” Chase said. “Although if it’s a secret they hoped to keep quiet, you pose the greatest threat to them.”
Katlyn (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 1) Page 12
