Chapter Seven
Nathan hunched over the bar as the bartender, Heather, placed his beer in front of him. He gave her a grateful nod and stared at the pale gold liquid but didn’t move to touch it. Alcohol wouldn’t do anything for him right now anyway.
He considered staying home after work and not talking to anyone, but he already did that for most of the weekend. After what happened at the picnic, he didn’t want to be around people. He drove deeper into the mountains, and once he thought he was far enough away, shifted into his wolf form and let it roam as much as it wanted. It was begging him to be free, and after the whole debacle with Violet, he was only happy to give in. He woke up the next day and made his way back to his car. He thought letting his wolf free would make him feel much better, but he was only more confused. Monday morning came far too early. He was still unsure of what say to Violet, so he went in to work late hoping to avoid her.
Then, she saunters up to him, tells him she’s sorry she kissed him, and proposes they sleep together to relieve the sexual tension between them. So they could work better.
Sure, he’d had numerous one-night stands in the past, but he liked to think he treated the girls he slept with with respect. He was straight with them, never promising more but always making sure they left satisfied and happy. No, he didn’t treat it like some business arrangement or scientific experiment. It only solidified the fact that Violet was cold and calculated with no feelings whatsoever.
A muscle flicked angrily in his jaw. He decided right then and there he was done. Done with Violet Robichaux. He hoped she would leave Blackstone soon, so he would never have to see her again.
Mine.
“Shut the fuck up!” Nathan slammed his fist down so hard his glass shook, splashing beer all over the bar top. Heather gave him a disapproving look, and he shot her a sheepish smile as he reached over the counter for a dry rag to mop up the mess.
“Nathan?”
He whipped around at the sound of the voice. “Melanie?” He didn’t recognize her at first. The night they met, she’d been all dolled up. Now, her face was make-up free, her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she was wearing sweats.
“Nathan,” she cried in relief. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was waiting for you last night but you didn’t come.”
“Melanie, what’s wrong?” He noticed the deep bags under her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She took a hard gulp, then tears began to roll down her cheeks. “I didn’t know what else to do or who to turn to.”
“Melanie—” He nearly jumped when she threw herself in his arms and pressed her face into his chest. Gingerly, he rubbed a hand down her back. “It’s okay,” he soothed. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s my sister … Joanne. She’s missing. I went to her apartment on Friday, but she wasn’t there. None of her friends have seen her for two days, and she’s missed all of her classes. I’ve been calling her, but her phone keeps going to voice mail and I’ve already left a hundred messages.”
“Did you call the police?”
She nodded. “I went to Verona Mills P.D. and they asked me a few questions, but they think she just ran away. They said they’d keep an eye out, but they refuse to do anything else until she’s been missing for a few days.”
“Maybe she needed a break?”
“No,” she protested. “Joanne would never run away like that! She tells me everything and as far as I know, there was nothing wrong. She loved her classes, her professors, and she doesn’t drink or party.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I went to her apartment. I didn’t find anything.” She gave a small laugh. “It was clean. Much more than it usually is. Like someone had cleaned it. All her clothes were there.”
He gently pried her arms away from him. “So, why come to me?”
“You said you owed me a favor, right?”
“Sure.”
“Flight shifters have great eyesight from a distance, but our sense of smell is pretty much shit. I want you to come with me and see if you can sniff out any clues. I think someone may have taken her.”
“You want me to go to your sister’s apartment and smell her stuff?”
She let out a long sigh. “I know. It’s a long shot, but I’m desperate. I can’t wait on the police. What if something happened to her? And you know humans don’t really care about our kind.” Her gaze dropped to the ground. “The moment they found out she was a shifter, it was like they lost interest.”
Nathan’s hands clenched into fists. He’d been living in the Blackstone bubble so long he’d forgotten how cruel humans were to shifters. In fact, his own parents had faced the same prejudice themselves. They were run out of their small town in the middle of the night because someone outed them as wolf shifters. If they hadn’t thought of leaving and heading to Blackstone, who knows what would have happened and how his life would have turned out. “All right. Let’s go have a sniff before any scents disappear.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Oh Nathan, thank you!” She launched herself into his arms and hugged him tight.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “We should—” A strange sensation prickled down the back of his neck, and his wolf stood at attention. As he looked up, his gaze crashed into familiar light blue eyes.
Violet stood right behind Melanie, her posture stiff and her face expressionless. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something flash in her eyes. Slowly, he let Melanie go and marched toward Violet.
Complete and utter shock was coursing through his system, and he said the first thing that came to mind. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing,” she said in a flat tone. “Absolutely nothing.” She quickly pivoted and began to walk out of the room.
“Fuck!” He didn’t know why he gave a damn. Violet could think whatever she wanted to think, and he didn’t owe her any explanation. But it was like his feet had a life of their own, and he found himself going after her.
He caught her arm as she reached the door. “Violet!”
“Let go,” she said, yanking her arm away.
“I can explain.”
“You don’t have to explain anything.” Her face was calm, but he could feel her animal’s anger. It was practically hissing and spitting at him. His own wolf was furious at him for riling up their mate. Her gaze traveled behind him. “I see you’re busy. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“This is exactly what I think. But don’t worry, I can take a hint. You said it yourself that day at the mines. You don’t want me.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” He tried to grasp her again, but she evaded him. “I never said that to you!”
Her eyes blazed. “Newsflash Ben: I don’t want her either.”
Blood drained from his face. “You heard that?”
“Does it matter? Anyway, I won’t be bothering you again.”
She didn’t even look back; instead she pushed against the doors, disappearing from his sight. And he stood there, staring dumbly. He did say those words, but only because he wanted to get Ben off his back. Damn I’m an idiot.
He went after her, but when he reached the parking lot, she was gone. Sniffing the air, he picked up her scent and followed his nose until he found her in the rear part of the building, struggling with her car door.
“Damn thing,” she cursed. “I’m bringing you back to the rental place tomorrow, you piece of—”
“Violet,” he called. He was next to her in an instant.
She started, and before she could jump away, her grabbed her arms and held her in place. “Stop!”
“No, you stop!” She wiggled, but he didn’t let her go. “Why are you—”
“Nathan, what’s going on?”
Shit. He had forgotten all about Melanie.
Violet stopped struggling. “Your date is waiting.”
Melanie gasped. “Date? Oh no. Crap, I knew I had gotten you into trouble.” She walked closer to them. “I’m sorry you got the wrong impression. We weren’t here to hook up or anything.”
“You’re not?”
“He’s already turned me down.” She gave Nathan a knowing glance.
“Turned you down?” Violet asked.
“Yeah, long story,” Nathan said.
Melanie continued. “I came here because I need Nathan’s help. He owes me a favor.” She took something from her pocket and put it in front of Violet’s face. “He’s going to help me find her.” She quickly explained about her sister, repeating what she had told Nathan. Much to his surprise, Violet relaxed although she did tense up when Melanie finished her story.
“So, you have no idea where your sister is?”
Melanie shook her head. “I swear, I’ve tried everything. Something’s happened to her, I know it.”
Violet placed her hands on Melanie’s shoulders. “We’ll help you.”
“Hold on,” Nathan began. “What do you mean we?”
“I mean you and me. My sense of smell isn’t as good as yours, but I can still pick up trace scents,” she said. “We can cover more ground quickly. Does your sister have a vehicle?”
“Yes,” Melanie said, her face lighting up. “It was still in her parking space.”
“All right. We can search her apartment and her car. Do you know of any other places she frequents?”
“I can think of a few,” Melanie said. “But, oh … you don’t have to do this, uh….”
“Violet,” she said. “I’m Violet.”
“Melanie.”
“Right. Melanie, if your sister is missing and the authorities refuse to help, then we have no choice but to assist you. Right, Nathan?”
“Yes, but—”
“I’m here and I can help, so of course I will. Now,” she straightened her shoulders, “I’ll ride with Nathan and we'll follow you in your car. We should go now. Scents and other clues may be degrading as we speak, especially in this weather.”
Nathan shrugged. “My car’s out front.” This wasn’t working out the way he thought it would, but he’d take it.
Chapter Eight
Violet stared out the window as she sat in the passenger seat of the Mustang. Watching the scenery outside, her vision blurred as memories she could no longer hold back flooded into her mind.
When the opportunity to study mineral deposits in the far-flung country of Eritana came, Violet didn’t think twice. The authoritarian government rarely let anyone inside their borders due to the civil war still raging in the country. But her university struck a deal with them: in exchange for letting their scientists come and do their research, they would also bring much needed supplies and medication to the people living in the remote villages. They came to an agreement, and soon Violet found herself in a rusty old truck, bouncing along the dirt roads that led up to the mountains of the Vaisjaani Nature Reserve.
The village she and her team were staying at was so small, it didn’t even have a name. But it was the perfect spot to set up their base camp. Many of the villagers also offered shelter where they could sleep in exchange for extra supplies and money.
Unfortunately the village was also very backward, and because she was an unmarried woman, no one would let her stay on their property. Some old wives’ tale. It was bad luck, they said. She offered them double what was in the agreement, but it didn't persuade them. She was frustrated and had nearly lost hope when an older woman approached her as she was walking by herself figuring out to do.
Her name was Antonia, she had said. She ran the local girl’s orphanage just outside of town. Antonia took on the girls no one wanted, the girls who had no parents because they lost their lives to the war or the ones who were in danger of being exploited.
So it seemed Antonia would be taking on another unwanted female. She followed Antonia a good thirty-minute walk from the main village to the dusty, run-down brick home where she ran her orphanage.
It was perfect. Actually, she didn’t care; all she needed was a place to put up her tent as she would spend most of her time exploring the mountains with her team anyway. When she arrived, twenty-three girls, the youngest around two years old and the oldest nearly fourteen, were waiting for them. They greeted Antonia warmly but Violet with wary and curious eyes. She shrugged. She had no use for children. To her they took up too much time and resources and detracted away from more important things, like research and learning.
Every morning at seven a.m. she would leave the orphanage to head out to the village and come back after dark. The girls watched her but never approached. When her first day off came around, she was relaxing under tree, eating a protein bar and reading a book, when she felt someone’s presence nearby.
Clear green eyes peered up at her. The little girl blinked and when Violet smiled at her, her face broke into a gap-toothed grin. That was the first time she met Nadia.
It was strange how her face was so vivid in her mind even though it was nearly six months ago when she first saw the girl. Her face was small but clean, and she had the whitest blonde hair Violet had ever seen.
Her heart began to pound as she recalled a different, even more vivid, memory. Red. Blood red everywhere. On her paws and on her fur. On soft white blonde hair and lifeless limbs.
“We’re here.”
Nathan’s voice jarred Violet out of her memories.
“Violet, are you okay?”
She didn’t even realize her heart was pounding in her chest or that she had been wringing her hands together until her knuckles turned pale. “I’m fine.” Yanking the door handle, she stepped out.
Melanie had parked her car right beside Nathan’s, and she was already waiting for them outside of the four-story brick building. She waved them over.
“I have a spare set of keys,” she explained as they entered the apartment building. They walked all the way up to the third floor and stopped at the first door on the left.
“Wait,” Violet said. “You should go inside and grab us something of Joanne’s—something only she would touch, if possible.”
“Why?” Melanie asked.
“To establish a base scent,” Nathan answered. “We need to know what she smells like, so we can distinguish anything inside that’s not her or you.”
“Gotcha.” Melanie scratched at her chin. “I think I know what would work.” She disappeared into the apartment and came back after a few moments. She held out a faded pink piece of fabric. “She always sleeps with this. It was her baby blanket.” Her face drew into a worried expression. “Now, I’m even more sure she didn’t just run away on her own. She would never leave without this.”
Nathan took the blanket and gave it a sniff before handing it to Violet. “Okay, let’s go inside.”
Melanie led them into the apartment. It was small but clean and looked lived in. They were standing in the living room which had a couch, a coffee table, and TV. On the left, Violet could see a doorway that led into a kitchen. A door on the right side was most likely the bedroom.
“I’ll take this room since it’s the biggest,” Nathan said.
“I’ll go into the bedroom,” Violet volunteered.
As she guessed, the door on the right did lead her into the small bedroom. A double bed was squeezed up against the corner, and next to it was a bedside table with a lamp. She walked there first and sat on the mattress. It was made and smelled clean. Leaning down on the pillow, she could pick up Joanne’s scent—feathers and something citrusy. As far as she could tell, no one else had been in here recently.
As she turned her head, the framed photo on the bedside table caught her eye. It was a picture of two little girls, one older and one younger, obviously related. Joanne and Melanie.
It was Joanne’s picture that had unlocked those memories of Nadia. Her hair wasn’t as light, but the innocent smile reminded her of the little girl. And that’s when she knew she had to h
elp find Joanne. To atone for her failure.
“Violet!” came Melanie’s voice from the living room. “Come quick!”
Violet got to her feet. “What is it?” she asked as she joined the others.
The couch that had been in the middle of the room was pushed aside and Nathan was on his knees, his nose pressed to the hardwood floor. His brows were knitted together in concentration. “Shit,” he cursed.
“What is it?” Melanie asked in a tentative voice.
Nathan pushed himself up. “Blood. Lots of it. Probably a couple of days old.”
“Oh no.” Melanie’s voice broke and tears pooled at her eyes. “Joanne.”
Violet put an arm around her. “There, there. You and Joanne are shifters, right?”
Melanie nodded. “We’re owls.”
“She might have been struck on the head. Such wounds can cause a lot of blood loss,” Violet began. “The injury she took most likely broke the skin on her skull and there are so many blood vessels in there. In fact, twenty percent of the blood your heart pumps goes up to the brain and—”
“Violet,” Nathan said in a warning voice.
Melanie looked even paler and not comforted by her words at all. “Oh, sorry. Anyway, my point is, since Joanne is a shifter, it’s likely she’s already healed.”
“Oh.” Melanie seemed a little more relieved.
Violet walked over to the where Nathan was kneeling. “So, you think someone cleaned it?”
“Definitely.”
Melanie’s eyes lit up. “There was a carpet there. I’m pretty sure.”
“When she bled out, they could have gotten rid of the carpet and mopped up what was left,” Violet said. “As long as they made it look like she ran away, it could be days before the police sent over any forensic experts.”
“If they send one at all,” Nathan added, his jaw set.
“Anything else you can pick up?” Melanie asked.
“Let me try,” Violet said. “My nose is a little more fresh.” She knelt down beside Nathan and lowered her head to the floor. “Hmm … I don’t smell—” Her body went still.
The Blackstone Wolf Page 6
