Chapter 2
Istorm ahead, my boots pounding the damp earth as I make a beeline for the Pack Meeting Hall. The forest blurs around me, but I don”t need to see it to know where I”m going. This land is as much a part of me as my own skin, and I can navigate it blindfolded if I have to. Ava can find her way there, too; she has always been resourceful. But that”s not why I”m pushing ahead.
No, I need the distance, the space. Ava”s scent, a mix of vanilla and lavender, clings to me like a ghost, stirring up memories I”ve spent years trying to bury. It”s not just her scent though, it”s everything about her. The way her eyes flash with determination, the curve of her jaw as she sets it in that stubborn way she has. It all brings back a time when things were simpler before I let her slip through my fingers.
I shake my head, trying to dislodge the memories. Now”s not the time for a trip down memory lane. We”ve got not one but two murders to solve, and I can”t afford to be distracted. I quicken my pace, the Meeting Hall coming into view. It”s a simple building, made of rough-hewn logs and filled with tables and benches. It”s where we gather for meals, for meetings, for anything that involves the whole Pack.
As I push open the heavy wooden door, the familiar scent of pine and smoke greets me. It”s a comforting smell, one that usually brings me peace. But today, it”s tainted with the bitter coppery tang of blood and unease. I stride over to the head of the table, my usual spot, and wait. I don”t have to wait long before the door creaks open again and Ava steps in.
She looks around, her green eyes taking in the room before settling on me. There”s a flicker of something in her gaze, something I can”t quite read. But then it”s gone, replaced by her usual determined look. She strides over to me, all business. ”Alright, Zane,” she says, her voice steady. ”What”s this lead you”ve got?”
I push down the surge of emotions that come from having her close. I need to focus, to keep my mind on the task at hand. ”The human isn”t the only victim tonight,” I say quietly.
Shock crosses Ava”s face for the briefest moment. I nod for Erik and Rowan, who bring in Aiden”s body and set him on the table in front of me.
”What are you doing? You moved the body without calling the police?” Ava”s anger is almost palpable.
”Blackwoods never call the human police. You know that.” I say angrily.
”I”m not really sure why we are telling the human police now,” Rowan says as he inclines his head toward Ava.
Her face blanches for just a second before her composure returns. She looks over the body with the studied air of someone who has seen their fair share and isn”t bothered by the horrors any longer. I almost miss the innocence she had when she left Blackwood. ”Because Zane thinks Aiden was killed by a human.” She looked me in the eye for confirmation. ”Those look like wounds caused by a hunter”s rifle. Where did you find him?”
”In the Protected Zone,” Erik says in a voice thick with emotion. He found Aiden. Erik went to look for Aiden when he didn”t return from Cascade Falls when he said he would. Erik found the shifter he treated like his little brother shot up like a game animal. The hunter must have realized he killed a shifter because Aiden immediately shifted back to his human form when his heart stopped.
”I”m sorry, Erik,” Ava says quietly. She walks closer. ”Was there anything left around the scene?”
”Not that I saw,” Erik says, ”but I”m not an investigator. My first thought had been to get him back here. Back here maybe the healers could—” Erik can”t even continue. I know he recognizes the futility of that hope, but I understand it.
”I need you to take me to where you found him,” Ava said quietly. ”And I”d recommend sending his body to our coroner.”
”You really think we want another human cutting into him?” Rowan practically spits out.
”We can ask her not to cut anymore if it isn”t needed, but she can help us identify more information about the weapon used—”
”You can take Aiden. Only if you promise he will not be cut up more. And that we can get the body back to fulfill Blackwood Pack”s traditions,” I interrupt. I contemplated the options. If we don”t send the body with Ava, then the chances are good that the Cascade Falls Police Department will come back out here tomorrow.
Ava nods.
”Rowan. Erik. Go get her vehicle from the road by the clearing and bring it here so she can transport Aiden.” The two men nod as they leave the room.
”Erik will meet you at the Old Mill at first light to show you where he found Aiden.”
”That isn”t everything, Zane.”
”What else?”
”Where have you kept Devin”s old pendant?” She pulls a clear plastic bag out of her pocket. A part of me wants the pendant to look different in the brighter lights of the Pack Meeting Hall. It”s not. It”s the same etched symbol on the silver pendant. The power of that symbol calls to me as the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.
”It was in a drawer in my office. The same place it”s been since I won the Alpha”s challenge.” The words feel thick in my throat.
”Who else has access to your office?”
”No one has access to my office. I have meetings in there, so other people are in there often. But it isn”t like I let anyone else work in there when I am not around.” Anger rises in my throat.
”Where were you just before the rain started this afternoon?”
”Not tearing out the throat of a worthless human too stupid to stay out of Shifter Territory.” I finish the sentence with a growl.
”I am not sure you are helping yourself there, Zane,” Erik says from the doorway. ”Ava, your truck is here. Maybe you should wait until you have more evidence before accusing the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack of murder?”
”I didn”t accuse Zane of anything.”
”Sure. You tell yourself that.” Erik says as he gently lifts Aiden”s body and heads to my truck.
As Ava walks out the door, Rowan stops her, ”Don”t come back here without an invitation. You gave up your right to be on our land when you scurried to Cascade Falls.”
”Rowan. That”s enough,” I say from behind Ava. ”Forbidding the police from investigating these crimes will not help us.”
”How about they send someone who isn”t a turncoat?”
Ava raises her chin slightly and looks him straight in the eye. ”Rowan, you have no idea what happened eight years ago. So I”ll thank you for keeping your tactless commentary to yourself. If I need to come back out here to investigate, I will. And I can bring the whole division if you”d rather?”
”That isn”t necessary, Ava. Bring your partner if you need to. You don”t need to bring everyone in your department. You”re in no danger from the Blackwood Pack while investigating these crimes. Is that clear, Rowan?”
”Crystal,” Rowan growls.
Ava takes her keys from Erik”s outstretched hands and leaves without a backward glance. I don”t know if that hurts more or less, but it is all I should”ve expected. She never looked back when she left the Pack. Of course, I never gave her a reason to.