by Haley Weir
"Is Giddeon in the study?" Diana asked as she shook a few leaves out of her jacket.
"Is this about the screenplay?" Olivia led them down a narrow corridor where paintings of past kings had been hung up to showcase the Black family pedigree. "Seth and Damien have been giving him hell about exposing shifters to human eyes, even if it is only in a movie."
"People love the Beauty and The Beast story. What's the difference?" Diana shrugged and followed her friend into the enormous room that served as the king's study. Giddeon stood beside the fireplace with a grave expression on his handsome face. The harsh frown softened into a look of content when he caught sight of his wife and child. Diana tried to shove aside her envy and took a seat in one of the chairs situated in front of the desk.
Giddeon kissed Casey and waved goodbye to his son before the door closed behind them. Diana steeled herself for the moment those unnatural glowing eyes settled on her face. "I know I asked you to come here so we could talk about the movie, but...the ladies are worried about you, Diana."
"What?"
"Casey asked me to speak with you," he explained. "You lock yourself away in that apartment and write—”
"Look, I don't need a counseling session or an intervention." Diana shoved herself to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm in a bad place in my life right now, but I'm not helpless."
"No one is saying you are," Giddeon sighed and took a seat behind his desk. "You were dropped by one of the biggest studios in Hollywood because you were pushing for this project to get made. I can't help but feel responsible because it's the story of my people. But I don't want you to worry about the script when there are more important things happening."
Diana lowered her head and stared down at the expensive rug beneath her tattered sneakers. "What am I supposed to do if I can't work? Sit around my apartment doing nothing?"
"Something tried to kill you."
"It hasn't been back."
"It could return," he argued. "And then what? You're barely sleeping and you only eat when Casey hounds you about going to lunch with her and Rina. Even if you were trained to fight enough to protect yourself, you would still be in no condition to handle this on your own. Stay here at the castle."
"I've lost a little bit of weight, but I think it's clear to anyone with eyes that I'm not starving." Diana gestured to her body. Her stomach was gently rounded, and so were her hips. Thick thighs and a large butt helped to drive her point home. "I just need time to get my affairs in order, and things will go back to the way they were."
Giddeon slammed his fist on the top of his desk. "There's something out there killing women who look like you! Not to mention the fact that my family's enemies will come after you if you turn out to be the mate of one of my brothers."
"I'm not."
"You could be."
"I've met Seth and Balor. Neither of them have shown any indication that they're attracted to me," she snorted. "To them, I'm just Casey and Rina's friend and I don't expect that to change. So, unless you have any eligible bachelors at that dating agency of yours that would like to have a conversation outside of the digital realm, I'll be going."
"And if I do?" he asked. "Have someone in mind, I mean. Someone interested in traditional courting methods."
"Then feel free to give him my number." Diana grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. Giddeon muttered something under his breath, but she didn’t linger long enough to hear it. Laughter streamed through the halls of the castle, causing a knot of bitterness to settle in the pit of her stomach. It was unfair that her friends had tricked her into a meeting with Giddeon. When Casey had stubbornly run in circles with Giddeon chasing after her, Diana hadn't involved herself in their business unless she was asked. When Rina pretended that Caleb wasn't the love of her life and then foolishly pushed him away, Diana hadn't involved herself. What gave them the right to meddle in her love life?
Diana ignored the voices that called after her as she pushed through the front door and retreated to the courtyard. One of the shifter males had been waiting with her car near the gate. Diana climbed behind the wheel and drove back towards town. Her apartment wasn't the safest place in Destiny, but it was her place—a sanctuary away from the war brewing between the shifters. Diana wanted a quiet life more than anything...even when there was a voice in the back of her mind that warned of danger getting closer.
~*~
Destiny Falls
Alaska
The sheriff's station was bustling with activity as the phones rang non-stop. People all around town were calling in to report that the killer Seth and his deputies searched for was their neighbor's son or their professor. But Seth knew the sketch on top of the files that cluttered his desk was meaningless, for whatever killed the three victims hadn't been human. The creature he saw outside of Diana Kelly's apartment building was no shifter, either. Even so, he had bodies in the morgue and no answers to give the people who had elected him as sheriff.
A knock on the door pulled Seth from his thoughts.
"Come in," he called as he rubbed his eye sockets with the heels of his palms. Giddeon entered his office and shut the door with a quiet thud. His older brother looked about as weary as Seth felt. "What is it?"
"You're my brother, Seth; I came to see how you were feeling. After all, it's been months since I've heard from you."
"I emailed you."
"To tell me I was an idiot for trying to tell our story to the world," Giddeon chuckled before his expression turned more serious. "I'd like to talk about what happened on Kodiak Island."
"That's not up for discussion."
"I think it should be."
Seth folded his hands in his lap. "I was tortured by our father's enemies. When they tried to get me to talk, I bit my own tongue off...over and over each time it healed. I was put in a dark hole underground and starved until there was barely anything left of me. None of this is new to you, Giddeon. What more do you wish to hear? Or do you enjoy forcing me to relive the memories as I repeat the words to you?"
"You know it isn't like that! I just…" Giddeon lowered his voice. "You may seem healed on the outside, but I know that not all wounds are visible."
"No, brother, not all wounds are visible. Nothing could hurt worse than knowing that while I was in that forsaken place...you and Caleb were falling in love. You were getting everything I ever wanted handed to you on a silver platter, as always. I never wanted to be king or alpha, but a husband and a father? I never wanted anything more." A thrill of satisfaction coursed through his veins as guilt entered his brother's gaze. Seth opened the drawer of his desk and tossed a Polaroid picture at his brother. Giddeon caught it between his fingers and scowled.
"Haven't you heard of a digital camera?"
"You live in a castle," Seth retorted dryly. "Any jokes about me being too old-fashioned are invalidated by that fact alone. Besides, digital can be traced...this isn't something humans should ever set their sights on."
"Want to tell me what I'm looking at, then?"
"I'm not entirely certain, but I think it's a demon."
The temperature in the room dropped with the manifestation of Giddeon's anger. "No one in the Sleuth would dare to summon something like that—”
"Not in the Sleuth. I think the Reckoning—Madeu and Octavius, to be exact—might have been looking into more desperate measures in case their plan with me failed," he supposed. "Science failed them when it turned their shifters into abominations and we denied them our power."
"You think Octavius might have summoned a demon to give himself magic?"
Seth flinched and clenched his hands into tight fists. "You and the others are so quick to believe that Madeu is innocent even after everything he did to me."
"He's our brother."
"He's the bastard child of a spineless coward who pretended to be a righteous king!" His voice rang through the office, and Deputy Harris burst through the door a second later.
"Everything all right, Sh
eriff?" she sputtered nervously. Giddeon shouldered past the young woman and stormed out of the sheriff's station. Seth adjusted his collar and gestured for Deputy Harris to shut the door.
"Have a seat."
"Yes, sir."
"You've only been in Destiny for a few weeks," he began with a smile he hoped was friendly. "How are you liking it so far?"
"Well, I wasn't expecting to work a serial killer case so soon. I mean...I sort of moved here to get away from all of the violence and mayhem." Harris tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. The gesture seemed so innocuous that it took Seth a moment to smell the pheromones wafting off of the human female. She was...attracted to him?
Seth cleared his throat as the anger and frustration from Giddeon's visit was replaced with genuine surprise. While many of the women in town hadn't been shy about voicing their opinions where his looks were concerned, Seth knew most of them were disappointed when they learned that a more romantic heart beat beneath his rugged charms. But he wasn't interested in one-night stands or affairs with married women. Seth was a true-love guy, and he was determined to settle for nothing less than the real thing. He was flattered by Harris's interest, but mixing business with pleasure never ended well for anyone.
"How long have you been a cop, Deputy?"
"Four years."
"And you've seen a lot of things that changed how you view the world. Things that scar the soul more than the skin."
She nodded sadly.
"So have I," Seth said sympathetically. "I read in your file that you were abducted by a very dangerous man while working a case in Florida. You escaped and used your experience to fuel your work. I'm sure you must have heard that I had a similar experience not too long ago."
"I-I heard."
"If at any time you feel the need to step away from this case, let me know," Seth replied. "But I need people like us working this case—people who know what it feels like to face impossible odds."
"Is there something about this case you're not telling me, Sheriff?"
"Just be careful, Deputy, and help me keep the people of this town safe so they never have to go through what we've faced." Seth saw realization dawn in the young deputy's eyes. He knew her secret. He knew the man who took her had cursed her with a form of lycanthropy. She was still a young werewolf, but her instincts were sharp, and he needed her help in catching the creature killing women who resembled Diana Kelly.
Chapter Two
Destiny Falls
Alaska
The lock slid free. Diana hobbled into her apartment with a bag of groceries in one hand and her purse in the other. The strap had broken in the store, and she still wasn't sure if she had located the embarrassing number of items that skittered across the linoleum before running away like the coward she was. Diana dropped the bag of groceries on the counter with an irritable groan. She turned around to lock the door only to scream at the top of her lungs when Seth Black stood in the doorway.
He held his hands up with a devastatingly handsome grin on his face. "I didn't mean to frighten you," he chuckled. "I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop in to see how you were doing."
Diana thought about the articles pinned up on her bedroom wall that were strung together by various colors of string. "I'm fine. Thanks for checking up on me."
"I have a knack for telling when people are lying, Miss Kelly." Seth stepped into her apartment and closed the door behind him. "I'm here if you want to talk about the other night."
"If you're referring to the woman that was killed outside of this building, then...maybe I'm not okay." Diana plopped her broken purse into the recliner that was situated diagonally from the bookshelf. She leaned against the wall and removed her waterlogged jacket. "I feel like everywhere I go, there's a killer watching me."
"You witnessed something traumatic."
"I saw a lot of traumatic shit when I was growing up in the Midwest, trust me," Diana scoffed. "But seeing the way that woman's face had been torn up...she wasn't even recognizable."
Seth moved away from the door and took her jacket from her hands before hanging it up for her. "Was that the first time you ever saw a dead body?"
"No. Just the first time seeing one that looked like me." She watched him carefully. The way Seth stiffened confirmed Diana's suspicions. "You think he's after me, don't you? That's why you keep stopping by on your break or on your days off...the killer is after me."
"There are three victims so far," he admitted. "Most serial killers don't stop until they're caught or—”
"Or until they fulfill their sick vendetta." Diana didn't know whether to scream in frustration or feel relieved that she finally knew the truth. "Should I be afraid, Sheriff?"
"Until we know what this person wants...everyone should be cautious. Being afraid and paranoid won't help anything," he replied. "Stay cautious and informed."
Diana opened the door to her bedroom and turned on the lamp beside the bed. Pale light illuminated the wall of pictures, articles, and top-secret case files. Seth's jaw dropped as he approached the wall. "So, as you can see, I stay informed."
"How did you get your hands on all of this?"
"Damien helped some, but I have my own connections. I worked as an investigative journalist before I took my first screenwriting gig," Diana confessed. "Now, are you going to tell me whether this is a human problem or a shifter problem?"
"Magic of some sort is involved. I felt tendrils of power in the alley where we found the first victim." Seth tapped the map of the city where Diana had marked the locations pertinent to the murders. "I have my own theories, but nothing is certain right now."
Diana laughed. "Men like you despise uncertainties."
"Men like me?"
She smiled and nodded as she brushed her finger along the fold of his collar. Diana could tell he fussed with his clothing when he was nervous or in deep thought. "You're like Superman without a cape."
"I...don't feel like Superman."
Diana sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at Seth. "I've never seen a stronger man."
He glanced over his shoulder, gaze locking with hers. "I have never been weaker." Seth turned back towards the bedroom door. "It isn't safe to keep digging into the murders when we have reason to believe you might be a target."
"Giddeon already tried to convince me to stay at the castle, but I'm not sure being there would be any safer now that Madeu isn't in chains." Diana thought she saw a glimmer of approval in Seth's eyes. Her heart bled for the part of him that had been left behind on that island. She felt no sympathy for Madeu.
"Is there someone who can stay here with you? A boyfriend, maybe?"
A blush crept across her cheeks. "I'm not dating anyone at the moment. And I haven't made very many friends since I moved here."
"I'll have one of my deputies here by morning. She'll stay with you until we have more information." Seth pulled a pin from the spread along the wall and tacked it up beside one of the crime scene photos. "I'll stay here tonight."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."
"It's no problem. Your place is closer to the station than where I'm staying, anyway." He pointed to a woman Diana had yet to identify. "She's the only shifter he's killed. I recognize her from a different Sleuth."
"Another bear?"
"I think she was a servant in a manor we visited a few years ago when Giddeon first became king," he said with a nod. "The only thing these women have in common is that they resemble you."
A shiver raced down Diana's spine and she pulled her sweater tighter around her body. "Why is he after me?"
~*~
Seth scratched at his freshly shaven jaw and yawned. He wasn't sure why he had showered and shaved before he came over to check on Diana. She was a witness in an ongoing investigation, not a woman he should be trying to impress. Seth shifted from side to side and pretended as if he was engrossed in the photos tacked up in her information web. In truth, he couldn't take his mind off of the way her sl
ightly damp jeans hugged her curves or the way she smelled like crisp autumn winds and mountain snow.
Diana watched him carefully. Her eyes rarely strayed away from his face. It was as if she was lying in wait for some sort of glimpse into his soul. Seth sighed and turned towards the bedroom door. He walked into the small kitchen space and unpacked the groceries she had abandoned on the counter. He couldn't help but notice just how sparse her refrigerator was. Takeout containers and half-empty water bottles littered the top shelf while the rest remained bare. His concern worsened as he removed packages of microwaveable meals and cans of spaghetti hoops. "Please tell me you don't actually eat like a frat boy?"
"I forget to eat unless there's something quick to just grab and go," she replied with a shrug. "I doubt you eat three nutritional meals a day."
"No, I don't. But I'm a bear shifter with four hundred years of life under my belt, and I've learned how to survive off of my own energy reserve."
"Four hundred years?"
"Is that all you heard?" he grumbled, feeling embarrassed about his advanced years in a way he had never experienced before. "Let's get back to the part where you're consuming enough sodium to stun a wild animal." Seth set the last box of frozen pizza in the freezer and looked around her apartment for something else to do.
"Let's talk about the case."
"There's nothing else to talk about," he grumbled. "I have Giddeon looking into things."
"So, the two of you are actually talking now?"
"We talk...sort of."
