58. Juniper #2
“When he had his first shift,” Levi explained, “he wasn’t anywhere near family or friends.
He enjoyed it so much that he stayed in his wolf form too long.
Pretty sure it was a couple days. You can do that later on, once your bond with your inner wolf is well-established.
Doing what he did made it hard for his human mind to cope once he finally came out of it.
“The rest of his life he was prone to violent outbursts. That was when he began to say he had the sight, as well. He could never quite fully control his inner wolf. It probably didn’t make his son’s life very easy. Dealing with that would have been hard.”
“It was,” Gran agreed, a sad note in her voice.
“Winston always said his gift showed him that I didn’t kill Naphele, but maybe his inner wolf went mad.
Hell, it’s possible he could have killed her,” he said, then pointed at the other picture.
“For that matter, Rafe was the first on the scene after I found Naphele. He lived nearby, but he got there fast.” He sighed, and there was so much heartache in that sound. “It could have been him too.”
“Is there anyone else who might have had a motive to kill Naphele?” I said, trying to gently pull him from his intense inspection of the photos.
“Uh, yeah, actually. I just remembered something. Back when I was alpha, there were two other guys who were not fans of me.” He glanced up at Gran. “Do you have any newspapers from around April nineteen-nineteen?”
Gran blinked. “I think I have some from that year. Hang on.”
She hurried over to the stack of papers Levi had been perusing when I came in, returning quickly with seven sets all yellowed with age. When she handed them to Levi, he quickly scanned the dates, and on the fourth one, a humorless grin spread across his lips.
“Here it is.” He tapped the picture on the front page.
A hairy bull of a man stood, arms crossed, glaring at the camera. Above him a headline read: New Alpha, Hugo Boucher, Takes Over Neighboring Fallbrook Pack.
“As soon as Hugo took over his pack, he tried to expand their territory, using every bit of influence and intimidation he had. I was the main guiding force that pushed back against that. I formed a council with several other alphas in the area and put an end to his plans. He definitely had reason to want to hurt me. In fact, if it was him, there’s a chance he or one of his men came to kill me but found Naphele instead.
” As Levi spoke, I could see that fiery anger come to life in his eyes.
“Other than Hugo, the only other person I can think of who had a grudge against me was Elmer Meyer.”
Gran gasped. “Elmer?”
“You know him?” Levi asked.
She flipped through, scanning faces as she did. “Elmer was quite the ladies man, but for younger ladies, if you catch my drift. He was nearly sixty, and I was fifteen when he came sniffing around once. Papa beat him half to death in the front yard, I recall. That put a stop to that. Here we go.”
Gran held the album open and pointed at a man who appeared close to seventy years old, his arm around a woman who couldn’t have been older than twenty.
“Ew,” I said, scrunching my face up. “They weren’t really mates, were they?”
“This was Elmer’s third wife. She ended up running off with some panther shifter who came through town. He never could keep a woman around. Every single one left him, since none were his fated mate.”
“That’s part of why I think it could have been him,” Levi said.
“When I was alpha, he tried his damnedest to get me to organize a mating match with a girl named Brionny McMasters. She was only fourteen, and he was old enough to be her father. Nasty old prick. I threatened to have him banished from the pack for even suggesting that shit. He took it hard and may well have sent one of his sons to do harm to me and mine.”
The three of us stood there, transfixed by the pictures.
Four men, each with either a motive or opportunity to have killed Naphele.
At the back of my mind, I’d hoped seeing their faces would stir something within me; perhaps the sight might have sprung to life and pinpointed the correct suspect. Instead, I felt nothing.
Levi leaned close, trying to get a better look at Hugo Boucher.
As he did, his arm brushed mine, and a surge of emotion swept over me.
His warm skin, his smell, the way he moved, all of it brought back memories.
More than that, it brought unwelcome thoughts.
I couldn’t help but think of the times our skin had pressed together, sliding and grinding against one another—
The bell above the door chimed, and a voice rang out, tight with anger. “Well, ain’t this a happy little picture.”
All of us flinched and whirled around. Anders stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, glaring at Levi.
“Anders, what are you doing here?” I said, and as I spoke, I surreptitiously covered the photo of his great-grandfather.
Anders ignored me and Gran, keeping his eyes locked on Levi as he strode forward, a pink flush visible along his collarbones and neck.
“Is there a reason,” Anders said, leaning on the counter, “you’re here, Demon Wolf?”
“My name is Levi, not Demon Wolf,” Levi said, and though he tried to stay calm, I could sense his anger flaring.
“Whatever,” Anders scoffed. “I’m just asking why you’re buddy-buddy with my mate, when you’re supposed to be out finding your own. Want to answer that?”
“Anders, he stopped by to browse,” Gran said, doing her best to deescalate the situation. “While he was looking around, June came in. Nothing untoward was happening, son.”
He glanced at her, then sighed. “I’ll believe that. I trust you, Mrs. Hollis.” By his tone, and the way he looked at him, he gave the unspoken signal that he did not trust Levi.
“Come on, babe,” he said, taking my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
“See you guys later,” I said as I allowed Anders to lead me out.
After moving a few yards from sight of the store windows, Anders stopped and turned to me. “I want you to stay away from that guy. Understood?”
“Stay away from Levi?” I said, frowning at him. “Why? There’s nothing going on, Anders.”
“I don’t fucking care,” he said, slicing his hand through the air between us like a knife. “He’s here because I say he can be here. If I think for a minute he’s trying to pull something, I’ll kick his fucking ass and toss him out.
“You’re my mate, June. Don’t forget that if he comes sniffing around your pretty face. Got it? I’d hate for a stupid mistake to ruin what we’re going to have together. It wouldn’t go well.”
His words rang loud and clear. We were betrothed, but until that became official at the mating ceremony, he could still banish me at any time.
I’d grown comfortable being able to see my family and Beatrice any time I wanted, being able to having a normal life.
I couldn’t allow any of that to be taken from me.
The mere thought of it sent a shudder of horror and fear through me.
“Okay,” I said. “I understand.”
“Good,” Anders said, and appeared to calm down, a smile reappearing on his face. “Maybe I’ll invite Levi to have dinner with us. Really hammer home that you’re mine. Come on. Let’s get some lunch.”
He led me down the street, his hand in mine, and for probably the dozenth time that day, I wished like hell that Levi was the alpha of Idlewild. Had I made a mistake in leaving him for Anders?.
As quickly as that thought slithered into my mind, I pushed it away. Forcing a smile on my face, I tried to look like I was truly happy, like I was with the man I wanted to be rather than thinking about one who was obsessed with a dead woman.