Chapter 9
Rage burns through my body, my beast rearing up inside of me at the thought of Kinley being in danger.
If I find anyone out there I’m going to make them pay for scaring her.
I hear every panicked breath over the phone, every tiny sob that escapes her.
I have an uncontrollable urge to lay the corpse of her tormentor at her feet.
This woman who has captivated both me and my beast will fear no one if I have anything to do with it.
My body vibrates with the need to change, but I hold it together so I can bring her comfort.
“Ok, Kinley, I’m going to hang up the phone. We are just about to pull up in the driveway. Remember, don’t come out until I call you.”
I quickly hang up the phone, leaping from the still moving truck. Brent curses me for not waiting for him to put the truck in park. I bark orders, and the four of us spread out and scan the area surrounding the house. We are going on a hunt.
I’m not sure what is going on, but something is setting off all of my senses, and looking over at the others I can tell they are feeling something similar.
A sense of wrongness permeates the area.
Negativity and desperation vibrate in the air, and as I draw in deep breaths I scent hints of sulfur.
I take in another deep inhale and motion for the guys to fan out.
If anyone is still here, we will find the fucker and make them regret scaring my girl.
Everything in me wants to rush into the house and get to Kinley, but the stronger urge is to eliminate the threat to make sure whoever has been trying to get in isn’t still lurking around.
I can’t explain why I feel so strongly towards her this quickly; it’s enough to almost distract me entirely.
But not even my driving need to protect her is enough to dampen my heightened senses or my years of training as I sweep the area, making my way to the back of the cabin.
I don’t find any evidence that the perp is still around, but I definitely find proof that someone has trekked all around the house looking for an easy way to get in.
My lip curls in a snarl as I note the footprints at every window and exterior door.
I’m careful not to step in any of them, but the more I find, the angrier I get.
Several times I have to pause and take deep calming breaths because I know that if my beast gets loose, I will surely trample all of the evidence and break down doors to get to Kinley. Goddess, that will definitely get her running if she sees me like that.
I catch a glimpse of Brent and Camden as I get to the backyard by the deck, a second later, Aiden shows up.
“Did you guys find anything?” Aiden inquires.
When they all nod yes, my stomach drops and I can’t contain the low furious growl. Brent shines his flashlight on the ground, right on a pair of fresh footprints.
“I don’t know what you guys found, but these are all over the place out here and I followed them around most of the house.”
My eyebrows furrow, and a frown tugs at the corners of my lips at the grim looks on our faces.
“If I find that creepy mother fucker, they are going to regret it,” Brent growls.
We all grunt in agreement. I want to let loose and rage.
The urge to storm inside, pick her up in my arms, and take her back to my house is monumental.
I want to stake my claim on her so no man dares to try to take her from me.
Somewhere within the short time I have known her, I have begun to think of Kinley as mine.
Even though she’s human, I have an innate need to protect her.
I’m beyond fighting it, and I don’t think any of my Clan brothers would object.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Aiden’s body twitch, his nostrils flaring as he takes in a deep breath. I turn to him fully.
“What is it, Aiden?”
His eyes narrow as he inhales deeply again.
“I think there is a ward around the house.”
“What kind of ward?” I ask warily.
“I’m not sure. It’s not any magic I’m familiar with and it definitely wasn’t present when we were here before.”
“Could it be in response to a potential intruder?” Camden asks.
“That is possible, but isn’t this Megan’s house?” Aiden ponders.
“It is,” I reply slowly, thinking of what that means. Does that mean Kinley isn’t actually human, or does that just apply to Megan?
“We don’t really interact with other magical communities, and not all magical beings give off strong enough scents to detect them. It’s not like we all go advertising that we are Clan. Maybe Megan and Kinley aren’t human after all,” Brent offers.
“If Kinley had any magical gifts, I don’t think she would have called, nor would she have been as scared as she was,” I add.
They all nod, milling over the possibilities.
“Well, none of that matters. Someone tried to break into the house, and it doesn’t really matter who is magical because I’m pretty sure that ward is the only thing that prevented the intruder from gaining entry into the house.
The three of you collect some evidence; there are footprints at every window and door along the side of the house.
Cam, you might be a little rusty working a scene, so if you need help call out to Brent or Aiden.
We have enough connections between all of us that we can run the evidence and see if we can get some answers.
I’m going to call Kinley to get her to let me in.
I’m going to see how she is before I decide if I will be coming with you all or not. ”
“We will call you if we find anything else,” Aiden tells me. “Hey Don, we could all stay. That is, if Kinley is ok with that.”
I pause as I think for a minute. “I’ll ask Kinley if she is ok with that, but the cabin has some of our work equipment there, and it would be easier to process everything we can get from the evidence.”
Brent nods in agreement, “You’re right, my computer and everything is in the cabin. I doubt anyone is going to come back tonight, especially after us all trudging around out here. We will see if we can collect anything and then head back. You know, you could just get her to come back to our place.“
He pauses, thinking about something and then continues.
“Oh, hey, ask Kinley if there is any type of surveillance equipment on the property. I might be able to tap into it and see if I can get any evidence of the perp being on the property.”
I nod, and start dialing Kinley’s number as I walk back up towards the house. She answers on the first ring, her voice still trembling. “Don, did you find them?”
“We found some footprints; the guys are going to see where they lead. I wanted to make sure you were ok. Could you let me in?”
“I will be right there.”
Kinley hangs up the phone, and I watch from the back porch, seeing her open a door on the first floor and rush over to unlock the deadbolt.
I have to reach down to catch Beretta from going out the door.
I definitely don’t need her trekking through the mud and potentially contaminating evidence.
Pushing a bristling Beretta back in before I can walk through, I notice the smudge marks from someone banging on the glass. Thank the Goddess they didn’t break in.
I have barely stepped into the room when Kinley launches herself into my arms, causing me to almost lose my balance.
I adjust quickly, holding her soft body close to mine.
I can feel her body trembling, and instead of putting her down, I swing her legs up and carry her to the couch.
Her whole body sinks into me, and she clutches my shirt tightly, her pretty blue eyes are swimming with unshed tears.
Seeing the panic and fear still etched on her face, I silently vow to myself and my beast that we will do everything in our power to prevent her from feeling this way again.
I cup her cheek, brushing my thumb lightly against her soft skin as she quietly asks, “So, you only found footprints?”
“Unfortunately, yes. There were a lot of them, but as far as I saw that was all that was left behind. The guys are still looking though, so they might find something else.”
“Should I call the cops?”
I’m honestly surprised that she didn’t call the police instead of me. Maybe she’s having the same reaction as I’m having for her.
“I think we’ve got it handled. I’m glad you called me, though. Here, let me make you a drink to relax you. That sound ok?”
The last thing we need is human cops involved. We learned a long time ago that when it comes to matters of the slightly magical, human cops just muddy the water. Even if Kinley is human herself, the fact that she’s connected to me would be enough to impair their senses.
I usually use that to my advantage when I’m at work.
I’m damn good at my job and have the records to prove it.
Aiden and I have an innate sense for the subtle links in a case.
Maybe it’s a hidden gift of ours, maybe it’s just a part of our Clan nature; we never questioned it.
I’m not even really sure that what happened tonight is supernatural, but there’s something off—especially now that we know about the ward.
I’m not going to take the risk and lose any potential lead because a human police officer got involved.
We have learned to work around it when we are at work, but I’m not willing to do that when Kinley could suffer the consequences. She’s too important.
Kinley nods, and my heart softens for her even more with the level of trust she’s giving me. My lips brush her forehead, my beast finally beginning to calm as her body loses some of the tension and fear.
“Will you be ok while I go make you a drink?”