Chapter Eight
Cole
The reception area of our pack headquarters smells like lemon polish, coffee, and the faint, comforting undertone of wolf.
Sunlight streams through wide windows that overlook the pine-draped valley, falling across worn leather couches and framed photos of pack events on the walls—everything from formal gatherings to chaotic barbeques.
She’s perched on the edge of an armchair now, cheerfully telling stories from my childhood, hands moving as fast as her mouth. Alexis is laughing—really laughing—and the sound curls low in my chest, warm and dangerous.
“…and when he was six,” my mother continues, eyes sparkling, “his brother Jesse convinced him he could fly. Cole climbed right up onto the barn roof, tied a blanket around his neck, yelled ‘Up, up and away!’ and jumped. Broke his leg. Of course, it healed in half an hour, but still.”
“Mom,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You’re supposed to make me look heroic and irresistible. I’d even settle for competent.”
“What? These stories are adorable.” My mother blinks wide, innocent eyes at me.
Alexis snorts into her coffee, trying and failing to cover it with a cough. I glance sideways at her, and the corner of her mouth twitches as she bites back a grin.
“You think this is funny?” I mutter, leaning closer.
“I think,” she says, eyes bright with amusement, “that the image of you in a makeshift cape is possibly the best thing that’s happened to me all week.” Then she leans in and whispers “Other than last night.”
“So things are progressing well, then?” my mother interjects. “We can hope for another mating ceremony soon?”
Alexis’ face flames bright red. “Damned shifter hearing,” she mutters.
“You’ll get used to it,” my mother says sweetly. “Did Cole tell you we have a wonderful newspaper here, which could always use another reporter? The Cedar Run Pinnacle.”
Before Alexis can retort, the door to the inner offices bangs open. Dax strides in, a storm brewing in his cold blue eyes. He zeroes in on me immediately.
I leap to my feet. “Just some boring pack business,” I tell Alexis. “My mother would love to give you a tour of pack property, wouldn’t you, mother? My mother would also love to shut up about anything that happened before I turned, say, 18.”
I see a gleam of understanding in my mother’s eyes. She’ll keep Alexis distracted while I run into town. “Maybe,” is all she says to me. “So the skinny dipping incident is still on the table?”
“Mother!” I groan, and I spin on my heel and stalk off with Dax.
I know she just said that to keep Alexis distracted. There’s no way Alexis would miss that juicy anecdote. However, as I exit the building, I am mentally reviewing our pack bylaws to recall whether matricide is specifically mentioned or forbidden.
“Sorry, Alpha Regent, I know you’re with your fated mate, but there was yet another incident this morning,” he says.
“And we’ve narrowed it down to three people.
The cook, and two particular servers, were there every single time there was an incident.
We have pack security there now, and they’re keeping watch on them. ”
“Stop calling me Alpha Regent!” I grumble. “This isn’t the year 1400.”
Dax gives me a puzzled look. “Clearly. It’s 2026.” He’s the most literal shifter I’ve ever met. He wouldn’t recognize a joke if it bit him on the ass.
I heave an exasperated sigh and wish for the millionth time that my brother was back here dealing with all this drama.
Well, at least my mother’s keeping Alexis busy.
“Give me the details on the way,” I tell him. I hurry to my SUV, and peel out of the parking lot.
“This time it was a forty year old woman from the Shadowpine pack. She drank her coffee and ate half a slice of pecan pie, spontaneously shifted, and ran around the room in a crazed fashion. A group of Shadowpine pack members, along with some of our pack members, managed to wrestle her into a van and they’re taking her to the clinic where she’ll be sedated until it wears off. ”
I frown in thought. “This time it was coffee and pecan pie. In the past it’s been tea, apple pie, a sandwich, a soda…so there’s no consistency in what they ate.”
He nods gravely, “Correct. The only constants are that it always happens at the coffee shop, and the three people that we’ve narrowed it down to were working there when it happened.”
My jaw tightens as I pull up in front of the coffee shop and I try to shove thoughts of Alexis deep down where they won’t distract me.
Her sharp blue eyes, that mischievous little smile, the way she tilts her head when she’s thinking…
every memory claws at me, pulling me away from the task at hand.
Not now. Not when there’s a potential disaster waiting at Has-Beans.
There are about twenty pack members milling around outside the coffee shop, including Darius Frost, Alpha-asshole of the Frostbane pack, and Kieran Holt, the Alpha of the Shadowpine pack.
They’re shouting at each other, with loud angry gestures.
Kieran’s cousin and pack Sentinel, Bram, is watching them, arms folded, glare intense.
His ears have gone pointy and his claws have curved out.
The A-frame sidewalk sign outside of the coffee shop vibrates violently in warning. Kieran is a mage with telekinesis.
Then Kieran and Darius spot me and their attention snaps over to me.
“Damn it, Cole,” Kieran barks at me. “That was my aunt who just shifted. Why the fuck didn’t you shut down the coffee shop after the first time?”
“Yeah, why the fuck didn’t you?” Darius’ upper lip curls in a sneer.
My fangs itch in my gums, and my fur burns under my skin as my wolf howls for release. I struggle to keep on top of my emotions. If my brother were here, he’d already have gone wolf.
“The first time, we didn’t know the coffee shop was the cause.
” I bite out the words, eyes blazing, as Dax stands next to me, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
“And after the second time, my brother and I made the decision to leave it open because we desperately need to know who’s behind this.
And why. This affects the safety and future of all shifters. ”
“And this is the fourth time, so what the hell?” Darius snarls.
“I’m about to go in and interview the people who were present each time this happened.
I will inform you as soon as I know anything.
” One of the servers, Robert Hayes, is actually a Frostbane pack member, and the other, Milo Thorne, is a member of the Shadowpine pack.
It’s going to be awkward if it turns out to be either one of them.
“We’re going with you.” Darius’ eyes blaze with challenge.
My claws shoot from my fingertips. “We own the coffee shop, so no, you’re not.”
“Hey!” a man yells from the crowd. “This is not the time for a fight.”
“I say when it’s time for a fight.” Darius’ fangs shoot from his gums. Fucking asshole. He always thinks it’s time to fight.
Before it can erupt into a full-on pack battle, my phone gives me a chirping alarm which my mother has set as ‘urgent’.
I grab my phone and answer it. “She’s on the way! I tried to distract her, but she said she wanted to go grab a cup of coffee in town and she just ran out the door,” my mother groans.
“Thanks for the warning,” I sigh.
“Enough!” I yell at the crowd. “The human reporter is on the way, and if we act up in front of her, the Human-Shifter Relations Council will come down on us like a ton of bricks.”
“I heard the human reporter is your fated mate! Can’t you control her?” One of the Shadowpine shifters yells from the crowd.
“Have you met a woman before?” I shoot back at him, which earns me some laughs. “No, I can’t control her! I am handling this, okay? Disperse!” Damned gossipy shifters.
I turn and stalk into the coffee shop as the shifters scatter, muttering among themselves.
The two servers and the chef, Quentin Weaver, are all sitting at a table waiting for us.
At the counter, there are cups and silverware scattered everywhere.
All of the customers are gone. Giselle, another server, is sitting on one of the spinning chairs at the counter, looking exasperated.
She wasn’t there for two of the incidents, so she’s not on my main suspect list.
“Can I clean up yet?” she calls out to me.
I shake my head at her. “Not yet.”
I sit down across from them. “So what in the actual fuck, guys?”
They all shake their heads, looking bewildered. I can hear the thunder of their heartbeats. They’re all stressed. Robert is avoiding my gaze. Is that because of guilt, or just general stress because of what just happened?
Alexis’ car pulls up in front of the coffee shop, and I stifle a groan.
“Talk fast,” I snap at the three of them.
“I have not done anything to the food or drink here to cause this to happen,” Quentin says firmly, meeting my gaze. “I would not ever. Why would I do something like that? What would I have to gain?” Before I can ask any more questions, the door flings open and Alexis strides in.
“Alexis!” I call out, keeping my tone casual. “Hey, the kitchen is closed today. There’s been a vermin incident.” The words taste bitter in my mouth. I hate lying to her.
“Yeah, I might as well go home.” Robert leaps to his feet. His heartbeat speeds up even more. Sweat beads on his forehead. He spins around and hurries out the door, and because Alexis is there, I can’t do anything about it.
I watch him rush outside. Instead of walking across the street to where Darius, the Frostbane Alpha, is standing, he jumps into his car and drives off. Darius turns to stare at the car as it drives away, and then leans in to talk to one of his men. They don’t look happy.
Interesting.
At least now I have a suspect.
I glance at the other two men sitting there. “I will call you later, and we’ll figure out how this vermin problem happened so we can make sure it never happens again,” I say coolly. They both nod in understanding, and stand up to exit.