Chapter 11
Ava”s grip tightens on the steering wheel as she navigates the winding roads back to the police headquarters. The tension in the car is thick enough to choke on. Rowan”s presence only adds to the strain.
The implications of the revelations from the clearing race through my mind. Aiden wanted to bring the Pack and humans together. Rowan wanted to escape his family”s legacy within the Pack. I was all set to challenge his insolence and Ava stopped me. Only one member of the Pack can stop an Alpha like that. But does she even know what that means?
The haunted look on Ava”s face takes me back to the day I sent her away. My father”s words so clearly narrate the memory. The contents of her father’s letter were read to the Pack just after she shared them with me on the porch. It’s Pack tradition. But this time, the letter disclosed that Ava’s mom had been a human he’d met while traveling. A human he’d loved more than anyone in the world except for Ava. He went on to say how this human had saved him when after a savage beating and accepted him after he revealed his true nature. He’d claimed her as his mate.
The only reason I returned to Blackwood Pack was because I lost her. She died giving birth to our daughter. And I knew if my daughter couldn’t grow up with her mom, the next best thing I could give her was a Pack. This Pack. Because this Pack has always taken care of its own.
Until that day. The lines between friends and foes blurred the moment that the meeting adjourned. My father told me to let Ava go because of her human blood. A human couldn”t be trusted, only shifters could. He”d insisted that Ava had tricked me because humans had tricked the Packs into signing the Pact that kept us impoverished and hidden deep in the forest. I naively followed him. As Alpha I failed; I listened to my father more than my instincts and sent my mate away.
My thoughts return to the present as Ava parks in front of police headquarters. Ava”s partner, Nora, walks toward us with a grave expression. She leans into Ava”s open window, her voice low and urgent. ”Zane, you can”t come in. Dr. Patel used a shifter database to match the blood samples. If you enter the building, they”ll arrest you.”
Ava”s eyes widen, and she turns to me, her voice laced with disbelief. ”A shifter database? I”ve never heard of this.”
Nora nods, her gaze flicking between us. ”Nathan”s announced that he”s been collecting volunteers” samples to eliminate shifters from crimes. It seems your blood was in there, Zane.”
My jaw tightens. ”I never agreed to be a part of any database.” I look back at Rowan whose horrified expression mirrors my own.
Ava”s eyes narrow as she returns her focus to Nora. ”Is this legal?”
Nora hesitates, then shakes her head. ”That”s not clear. Right now, the chief believes the samples were voluntarily given. But for this case, it”s already done. We need to figure out our next move.”
Ava pulls out her phone and starts typing. ”We must meet Sebastian somewhere else, away from the headquarters.”
Nora nods, then turns her attention to Rowan. ”What”s the story with him?”
”Can you take him in for his formal statement?” Ava asks. Nora smiles and nods.
As Nora leads Rowan away, Ava”s gaze lingers on me, her expression unreadable. ”If I take you with me, you must let me lead. Sebastian will not appreciate you going all Alpha.”
”Someone is setting me up for a murder charge. You can”t expect me—”
”To let me do my job. I absolutely can.”
I swallow my retort. I feel like Ava could be my only true ally right now. Someone in my Pack turned over my blood sample to the police.
Ava”s phone dings. She reads quickly and then says, ”Sebastian wants us to meet him at his cabin. Probably best. They have a warrant for your arrest.”
Ava and I make our way to Sebastian”s cabin. As we enter, Sebastian hangs up a call, his expression thunderous. He turns to us, his eyes blazing with anger.
”What the hell is going on with this shifter database?” Ava demands.
Sebastian doesn”t even try to hide his anger. ”A detective outside our unit started it without our knowledge or consent.” Then he turns toward me, ”And your blood just happened to be in it?”
My frustration boils over. ”I never gave my consent for my blood to be in any database.”
Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. ”This is a mess. The chief sees this match as proof of what a great idea this was.”
Ava”s eyes flash with determination. ”The database may not be a bad idea, but if Zane didn”t volunteer, how do we even know that the sample was his?”
Sebastian nods, his expression grim. ”I”ve put in a request to see the records. If we can figure out how they obtained the sample, then we question whether it”s connected to the correct shifter. Is there a way they could have gotten a sample of your blood?”
”I haven”t been to town in years. I”ve had challenges and fights in my territory, just like any other Alpha I suspect. But I have no idea how any blood from the middle of my Pack”s territory would end up in that database.”
”The cleanup after your challenge with Zach. Rowan said he put it in a community burn barrel—”
”But he wasn”t there to see if it got burned at the next community event. We use the same barrel. Everyone puts in their burnable trash. Once a week or so, some of our older members have a tradition of sitting around the fire until it burns out. In most cases, they aren”t able to hunt or fish or cook, so it is their way to contribute to the Pack.”
Sebastian growls. ”Okay. If that barrel”s already burned, then I don”t know how we will determine that. Another thing. Dr. Chang finished her autopsy of Tony Bianchi. The wounds were meant to look like an animal attack, but they aren”t consistent with animal teeth. Someone is setting shifters up—”
”And putting our blood into a database without our permission,” I interrupt.
”You think it”s the same person?” Ava asks.
Sebastian pauses before responding, ”That”s a big allegation.”
”But it has a ring of truth, doesn”t it? A murder of a human way out in the middle of Shifter Territory. That”s weird enough. How did we even find out about that body?”
”What do you mean?” I asked.
”You came to the clearing after we arrived. Meaning a shifter didn”t find that body. Any shifter would have called an Alpha first, not the police in Cascade Falls. So, how did I get there first? A human had to have found that body. But humans are not welcome that far into Shifter Territory, so the only reason a human would find that body first is because the human left it there.”
My hackles rise at her words. I”d sent her away because humans were not welcome in Shifter Territory. My father told me she belonged with the rest of the humans. As we drove in, I decided I wanted to convince her to give us another chance. But if a human tries to make shifters look like criminals, my Pack will fight against Ava returning.
But Ava could shift into a beautiful wolf. She doesn”t belong in the human city alone. Why hadn”t I recognized that? Why hadn”t I fought for her then?
Sebastian stopped pacing. ”Ava, you have to come with me. In the meantime, Zane, you need to lay low. If the chief finds you, you”ll be arrested on the spot.”