“I agree,” James said with a dark smile. “Let’s hunt.”
As I bounded through the woods towards our goal, I had never felt more connected to the world around me. I could feel the remnants of the fall leaves under my paws, the bark of the trees that I brushed up against, and the crispness of the winter air. James stuck close to me, but we each ran free and unencumbered towards our destination. As I got closer to Austin, I could feel his worry and sadness, which spurred me on to greater speeds.
I caught the scent of death at the same time I saw a flash of Austin’s dark gold hair through the bare trees. I slowed down my pace as I approached so that I wouldn’t have to skid to a stop in front of him. He, Tony, and Trevor were all standing at the head of a corpse. I greeted Trevor with the pack bond but had to settle for giving Tony a polite wolf nod.
Austin had been cautious about which wolves I shared the pack bond with for a variety of reasons. Trevor and the rest of his team had been on the short list because he trusted them absolutely and they frequently pulled security. Tony, on the other hand, was not one of the wolves that had been included. I had met Tony and his son, Alex, not long after the Seaside wolves had found me on their territory. Tony had left his old pack because his previous pack master had objected to him marrying a human woman. After Alex had been born, the pack master had killed Tony’s wife in a fit of rage. Because Alex was half-human, he was unable to shift, and many packs weren’t interested in having a male who they considered nothing more than a burden. When Austin had started his pack, Alex and Tony were among the lone wolves that he had welcomed with open arms. Austin was also paying for Alex to follow his dream of becoming a nurse.
Tony looked devastated at the sight of the body, but Trevor was just as stoic as always. He was the head of Team Two, which usually took care of all of the pack’s stateside missions. He was the type of guy who looked like he belonged with the Vikings and definitely not someone you would ever want to cross.
James sniffed around the edges of what I suppose we could call the crime scene, while I trotted up to Austin with my tail held low. Austin looked just as strong and confident as he always did, but I could feel some of his real emotion trickling through our mate bond. I knew Austin wouldn’t let his façade crack in front of any of the other guys, but I still brushed up against him and sent him a wave of love and support through our bond.
“Hey, Anna,” he said softly as he caressed the top of my head affectionately. “I didn’t want you to have to see this, but…” his voice trailed off and I saw what he meant when I looked over at the scene.
There were no marks on the body to show how the man had died, but he was shriveled up like the life had been sucked out of him. It was unnatural. I carefully circled around the body and searched for signs of magic. By the musky undertone of the scent, I knew it was a wolf – one that was vaguely familiar to me and probably one of our pack. I suppressed my urge to howl my sadness up to the sky, and instead crept closer.
I sniffed delicately at the body and tried to separate the man’s natural scent from the stench of death that was overwhelming everything else. I gasped when I recognized who this was – it was Blendel – one of the wolves in our pack.
I looked up at Austin with wide eyes and he nodded sadly. I hadn’t recognized Blendel’s face because it had been aged to a wolf that was a couple of hundred years old, but as I looked closer, I could see all the signs that I had previously missed.
“What was he doing out here?” I asked Austin with the bond. “And what happened?”
“I’m not sure – yet. But when I find out who did this, they are going to regret the day they were born.” I could hear the fierce anger in Austin’s voice, and it stoked my own rage.
Tony must have figured out what I had asked Austin from his answer because he cleared his throat. “I was on guard duty today and came across this scene while on my patrol, but I’m not sure what Blendel was doing here to begin with.”
Trevor grunted. “He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near here either today or yesterday.”
The mystery just kept getting deeper. Because there was magic involved, I needed to figure out who did this – and fast.
I opened my magical senses and sent a couple of tendrils out to explore the area around the body. There were no traces of anyone else in the area. I narrowed my eyes when I realized something. “Aus, I can’t pick up on the scents of anything else,” I told him and James with the pack bond. “No birds, no squirrels, no raccoons, not even a chipmunk.” This deep within the forest, there were always creatures scampering around so there should have been plenty of scents.
Austin flicked his eyes toward James, but included me in the conversation. “James?”
“The same,” he admitted reluctantly. “There’s nothing within a twenty-foot radius.”
“They had to get here somehow,” I insisted. “Unless it was the fae…” For our sake, I really hoped that it wasn’t. Only the fae had the ability to make gateways to instantly transport themselves from place to place and only a small number of fae had that gift. I flicked my tail in irritation before a thought came to me.
“James!” I called to him with the bond. “Let’s expand the search area, but instead of trying to find the scent of the attackers, look for an area that is lacking in human or animal scents.”
James blinked at me in surprise but lowered his nose to the ground to search. I did the same thing on the opposite side of the crime scene, but it was James that found something first. “Here!” he called to us.
Trevor and Tony stayed with Blendel, but Austin followed close behind us. The trail of nothing was difficult to follow and it took us forever to make it only a mile through the woods. Yet, it only led us to a road where there were too many scents to pick out anything distinctive.
I ducked back into the foliage to hide from any passing motorists so I could think this through. We knew that Blendel had been killed by magic and that the killers had hidden their trail with even more magic. They hadn’t used a gateway to escape – they’d used a car. Well, probably, since the trail had led to a road. That in itself didn’t clear the fae of any suspicion but it did widen the pool of suspects. “It could have been witches,” I said reluctantly. “Jade had used my magic to power her spell, what if she did the same here?”
Austin walked back through the woods beside me as James led us back to the crime scene. “But why?” Austin asked out loud in frustration. “Whether our murderer is fae or witch, there had to have been a reason for them to come on our territory and attack one of our wolves.”
“He could have stumbled upon something he wasn’t supposed to see,” James suggested.
“Draining him of magic isn’t a reflexive defense mechanism,” I pointed out. “This was deliberate. And I don’t think it was a coincidence that he was only several feet outside of my warning barrier.”
“Neither do I,” Austin admitted.
“Our next question should be whether Blendel was even killed there. Someone could have purposely dumped the body there to make a point,” James told us as he trotted ahead.
I felt sick at the thought. Not only did we have to worry about some kind of fae possessing Justin, but we also had to worry about a murderer running around? “Do you think this is related to what happened to Justin?” I asked reluctantly.
“I hope not,” Austin said quietly. I glanced back up at him to see worry on his face.
“We have to acknowledge that it’s possible that Justin is responsible for this,” James pointed out. “Especially knowing that he’s being influenced by something dark.”
“I’m not denying the possibility,” Austin said out loud. “If Blendel had trespassed onto Zilker territory or started a fight with Zilker wolves, Justin would have sanctioned his death. But Justin would have also used the opportunity to rub salt in our wounds. He wouldn’t quietly leave the body for us to stumble upon.”
“Justin may not be thinking like himself if he’s under the influence
of something else,” I told them reluctantly.
“Or he might be thinking bigger than the death of one wolf,” James pointed out. “Blendel has challenged your authority on more than one occasion.”
I was confused for a moment about what the connection would be between the two before I realized what James was pointing out. “You think Justin would try to sow dissension in our pack by blaming Austin somehow? There are easier ways, and it’s not wise to choose a method of death that can’t be easily attributed to Austin being the killer.”
“But we did announce Anna’s magical abilities lately. And wolves fear the unknown.” James directed his words more towards Austin than me, but he didn’t try to exclude me from the conversation. I felt sick to my stomach. Blendel’s death wouldn’t be blamed on Austin, it would be blamed on me. I was the newcomer that the pack was unsure about. I was the one who had the ability to use magic, and no one really knew what that meant.
“Anna is a guardian, not a killer. No one who has ever met her could believe she did something like this,” Austin assured both of us. “We need to make sure the pack understands what a white wolf is.”
“But I did do something like this,” I admitted worriedly. “You’re forgetting about the winter king.”
There was silence between the three of us and I hated that I couldn’t hear their thoughts. Blendel had voiced loud complaints about the ‘fairy shit’ that the pack had gotten involved in lately. He had openly criticized Austin’s decision to have the pack train with swords in preparation to take on the fae. And none of the guys had said anything directly to me, but I occasionally picked up on a stray thought of concern because Blendel had been hinting the hurricane attack had occurred because Austin had welcomed the fae here. He hadn’t specifically included me in any of his tirades, but what would the rest of the pack do once they realized how similar my magic was to fae magic?
“We’ll figure this out,” I assured both of them a lot more confidently than I felt. I’m sure Austin saw right through my bravado, but he still gave me a sad smile.
When we got back to the scene, Mason and Jason had arrived on ATVs and one of them had a dump cart attached to the back. I guess that was the plan to get Blendel’s body back to the house.
I inspected everything one last time, desperate to find any clues as to what had happened, but there was not even one shred of magic left behind. Trevor and Tony helped the twins load the body into the cart and secure it. It was unnerving that one of us had been reduced from a living breathing person, to just ‘a body.’ I hadn’t known Blendel very well, but I knew how devastated the rest of the guys in the pack would be. I was also worried about how easily an enemy had gotten to one of us without anyone else being the wiser. An icy shard of fear shot through me at the thought that it could have just as easily been Cody or Jason’s body that we were bringing back to the house.
The twins had to drive the ATVs slowly through the unkept forest, but everyone else had shifted into their wolf forms to make the journey easier. Rich and Mike, two of the other wolves on Trevor’s team, met us somberly at the house. Austin shifted back into his human form and took back the pants that Mason had carried for him on the ATV. I stayed in my wolf form because I wasn’t comfortable with anyone but my guys seeing me naked.
“Our brothers will be back stateside later today,” Austin said as he met everyone’s eyes. “Tony, I’d like you to take care of Blendel and make him as presentable as you can. He was slain by one of our enemies and I know he wouldn’t have gone down easy. He deserves a warrior’s sendoff.” Tony nodded, but his face was pale and drawn.
“Trevor and James, I want you to coordinate the investigation. Find out who did this to one of our own. James, get word to the pack that we’re activating our security protocols and remember that the buddy system applies to everyone – even you.” James scowled, but didn’t argue.
Austin turned his gaze to Trevor’s guys. “Rich, Mike, thank you for coming so quickly, I’m sure they could use your help.”
“Anna,” Austin paused. “You’re our secret weapon – do whatever you can and stay close.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure what I could do. There wasn’t any magic left at the scene and draining a wolf of their magic was something that both the fae and a witch were capable of. I needed to find a way to track the killer. “I thought I would ask Caleb for his help with my research today,” I said hopefully. “I know he already has a lot-”
“This takes priority,” Austin said firmly.
I nodded my acceptance and Austin continued to give orders. “Mason, Jason, I need you to link up with Cody – he’s going to need more than one vehicle to get our guys from the airport.” Austin’s phone interrupted him with a shrill ring, and he grimaced when he saw who was on the caller ID. “Ragnar.”
I perked up. “He’s calling to threaten your life before he agrees to send Ingrid here to us,” I told Austin helpfully.
Austin gave me a wry look. “Of course he is.”
Austin stepped inside to take his phone call in private while I trotted to the back patio where I had left my clothes. The guys had all disappeared, so I hurriedly shifted and dressed so I could go in search of Caleb. I was hoping he would have some brilliant ideas, because I was at a loss.
Chapter 7
Anna
“Hey, Caleb!” I called with a forced smile as I walked into his room. “I brought lunch.” Blendel’s death hadn’t fully sank in just yet, but now wasn’t the time to fall apart. Tigger let out a single bark as he smelled the food from where he was trying to peek through the fencing, and I looked over to see both of the puppies wagging their tails hopefully at me. “I didn’t bring you guys anything but love and kisses,” I told them sorrowfully. That didn’t seem to dampen their spirits at all, if anything, my attention made them more excited.
“Thanks, Anna,” Caleb said as he pushed back from his desk and spun around in the chair. “You’re a life saver.”
I set the plate down in front of him and gave him a kiss before I headed for my two little pups. “Hey, puppies, I missed you so much!” They excitedly jumped up and down at the sound of my voice as I stepped over the gate and into the play area that Caleb had blocked off for them. Because Caleb worked from home, he had volunteered to take care of the pups during the day. And honestly, I think he liked having the company. I sat down on the floor so I could get some puppy playtime in while Caleb ate.
Tigger brought me his rope toy and growled as he wagged his tail to let me know he was challenging me to a game of tug-of-war, while Eeyore dropped his favorite toy mouse in my lap so I would throw it for him to chase. I giggled as I simultaneously played with both of them and they bounced around me happily.
Sometimes I just needed a few minutes away from everything to remind me of the joy that could be found in the simplest things in life. My two pups were delighted every time they woke up in the morning to start a fresh new day. All they needed was someone willing to play with them and they were the happiest little guys on earth.
“You want to bring them out?” Caleb asked with a grin as he walked over to us.
“What do you think?” I asked the pups as they wagged their little tails. “Do you want to go outside?” Because ‘outside’ was a magic word for them they started jumping up excitedly. “Let’s go!” I shouted as I opened the gate for them and laughed as they both scrambled to be the first one out.
Caleb and I followed them downstairs and Caleb put his plate in the dishwasher before joining us outside. The pups didn’t mind the crisp December air and sniffed around while Caleb and I watched.
“James filled me in,” Caleb murmured. “I’ve been researching as much as I can, but there’s really no way to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the fae. And the lamia are very good at erasing at signs of their existence.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “The human records would have probably gotten most of it wrong anyway. I’m really hoping Ingrid has some insights to share with us,
because I’m at a loss.”
Caleb put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “We’ll figure this out, we always do.”
“Do we?” I asked dubiously. “Because it feels like the fae have won just about every round against us. Even when I think we have the upper hand; I find out that it’s just a part of the game that Drake and Froston are playing.”
“You kicked the Winter King’s ass,” Caleb said as he gave my shoulder a squeeze.
“Because Drake and Froston manipulated and maneuvered me into it. They knew exactly what they were doing when Froston brought me there.”
“And when you saved us from the monster hurricane?”
“The one where I agreed to go back to Winter in order to get help from Drake?” I asked bitterly. “Summer only attacked because of my association with Froston.”
“Do we really know that?” Caleb asked quietly. “It seems like the fae usually have many more layers to their motivation than just the obvious.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said with a frown.
I leaned into Caleb’s warmth. “Speaking of being a pawn in a larger game, I should text Reagan and see how things are going with Emily and the rest of Justin’s pack.”
Caleb gave me a wry grin. “I didn’t realize your relationship had graduated to texting buddies.”
I chuckled. “Neither did I, but she kept asking me for shirtless pics of Cody.”
Caleb looked at me in horror and I laughed. “I’m kidding, she actually asks for yours, too.”
Caleb reached for one of my most ticklish spots and I squealed as I tried to get away from him. “Okay, Okay!” I laughed. “I was lying!” Caleb didn’t let up and we ended up wrestling on the ground. Eeyore decided he wanted to get in on the action by grabbing a hold of Caleb’s sleeve and trying to tug him away, and then Tigger took the opportunity to lick my face enthusiastically. “Ahhh!” I yelled. “Enough.”
Finding My Breaking Point Page 8
