Chapter Ten
Dax
The woods behind my house are peaceful—towering pines, thick underbrush that smells like sap and moss, and a narrow deer trail. But there’s a predator out there, a threat to my mate.
I will find out what his plans are, and then I will end him. I will not describe what I do to him to Violet, though, because it would upset her.
My packmates and I move quickly through the forest — silent, fast, practiced. I draw in the scents of the forest - dirt, pine sap, squirrels, distant water… and there, wandering through the underbrush near my cabin: unfamiliar wolf.
A male. He reeks of fear. He’s alone.
We fan out automatically. Two flank left, two right, the rest closing in a wide circle.
The stranger wolf freezes the moment he hears us. His ears flatten. He tries bolting left—only to find Connor there, all massive shoulders and gleaming teeth. He tries right—Nero blocks him with a growl.
The stranger skids to a stop, chest heaving, tail tucked. Then he shifts.
A skinny, wide-eyed young man stands trembling and naked in the ferns, hands raised over his head. He has mousy brown hair and pale brown eyes that are huge as saucers, staring at us in fright.
“I surrender!” he blurts. “I’m just hiking! I’ll leave immediately! Please – just point me in the direction you want me to go!”
Nero snorts behind me. I shift back to human form, the rest of the pack doing the same in a rustle of fur and cracking bones.
The stranger stares at us, eyes saucer-wide.
“Name,” I order, voice clipped.
“Uh—Rory. Rory Delaney.”
“You are on Moonstone Pack land.”
“I swear I didn’t mean to trespass! I was hiking. I got lost. I thought this was, like, national forest or something.”
I fold my arms. “This is clearly not national forest. There are no signs for national forests saying ‘trespassers will be eaten.’”
“There are no signs like that here either!” Rory protests.
I shrug. “We assume it is implied.”
I step closer, giving Rory my best “I will eat you and spit out your bones” stare. Usually it produces immediate confessions, along with spontaneous urination.
Rory just trembles harder.
“Which pack are you from?” I growl.
“I’m not affiliated,” he says quickly. “I’m a lone wolf. I’m a free spirit. I like to commune with nature, go where the wind leads me. But I’m harmless. Seriously. I’ve never even been in a fight. I’d like to leave now?” His voice raises, high and shaky.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Where are you from originally?”
“Northern Wisconsin. I grew up with the Green Hills pack, but I left when I was a teenager. Wanted to travel. Find myself. Be my own wolf. See the world. Make my own - ” No, I can not listen to any more of this.
“Who sent you?” I interrupt.
“Nobody! I’m not lying. Really!” His voice rises high in panic.
I study him. My instincts are good. He does not feel like an assassin.
To want to kill the people who are closest to Jasper Carmichael rather than target him directly, and to do it from a distance – poison, an arrow - the assassin must be someone who is filled with hate and malice and cowardice.
This small, weak specimen only seems to possess one out of three of those qualities.
I glance at Nero. He subtly shakes his head. And I suspect he’s right.
Still. We cannot assume. Perhaps he is a very, very good actor, although I’m not sure how an actor could pretend to have that scent of fear reeking from him.
“Rory Delaney,” I say, “you will answer our questions at headquarters.”
“Yes, absolutely, sir,” he says, nodding vigorously. “I love answering questions. Big fan of honesty. Huge fan.”
Nero rolls his eyes. Not our guy, he mouths. I nod in agreement.
But we escort him anyway.
Back at headquarters, we put Rory in our interrogation room. He sits naked in a hard chair. I’m wearing jeans and a t-shirt now.
I glare at him, because that is what an Alpha does in these situations.
But in my head…This makes no sense.
He’s got no confidence. No stealth. He looks like he’d cry if he got a thorn in his paw.
Then again, whoever tried to assassinate Violet and her stepmother was clearly, incredibly inept.
So…maybe? Right now, we’re running his information through the shifter database system, where all registered shifters’ information is stored.
We’ll talk to the Green Hills pack, find out if he has had any known interactions with Violet’s pack.
He swallows. “So—uh—what happens now?”
Before I can answer, Gavin bursts through the door.
“Dax. Outside. Now.”
My stomach tightens.
I rise immediately and follow him into the hallway. “Report.”
Gavin runs a hand through his hair, grimacing. “It’s Violet.”
Everything in me goes still.
“What about her?”
“She’s gone.”
A cold spike drives straight through my chest.
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
“She slipped out. Nobody saw her leave. She’s off pack property—and we have no idea where.”
The world tilts.
My mate is gone. She’s left me. I have failed her, and she is unprotected and alone.