I pulled into our neighborhood. My spirit leapt from my chest and did a cartwheel when I spotted Koda’s Yukon parked behind Aric’s Escalade.
Shayna threw her fists in the air. “Woo-hoo. Puppy’s home!”
I swerved into the garage. I’d barely set the car in park before Shayna flung open the door and raced up the backstairs. Taran followed behind her, trying not to appear too eager, but her steps were almost as quick. “Go on, Emme.” Allowing her ahead of me seemed more polite than knocking the lot of them down and barreling into the house. What can I say? Class is my middle name.
Emme stopped at the top of the landing, her smile faded as she took in what waited inside. “Paul’s dead,” Koda said from the kitchen. My hand gripped the wooden railing. Paul. Leader of the raccoon gaze was . . .
Oh my God.
Emme passed through the doorway and into the laundry room slowly. I somehow followed, my feet growing heavier with each movement. We entered the kitchen. Koda, Gemini, and Liam stood with their backs against our polished black and tan granite counter. Silence fell with the weight of an anvil around them. I didn’t think any of the wolves were particularly close to Paul. But they’d known him, probably for years. And now he was gone.
Koda’s body curled against Shayna’s. The way he held her told me more than a friend’s death had occurred. I barely spit the words out. “Where’s Aric?”
Gemini’s strong arms fastened around Taran’s back, except instead of directing his attention on her, he focused on me. “He’s in your room.”
His quiet, troubled tone returned the apprehension Tahoe had lifted from my shoulders. “Is he all right?”
“He’ll want you with him,” was Gemini’s only response.
Aric’s muffled voice boomed from the second floor. “I don’t know how the hell it happened. Or why he and Talia were alone—” He snarled with frustration. “We’d been tracking in groups of five minimum.”
I hurried up the thickly carpet steps.
“Goddamn it, this is not my fault! Paul led his raccoon gaze as he saw fit—I know the kid’s dead. The beta. Paul’s beta is reaching out to the student’s family.”
I opened the door, my hand shaking as I turned the handle. Aric glanced up at me. “Just be sure they get a proper burial. I’ll take care of the rest.” He disconnected and tossed his cell phone on the bed.
I shut the door behind me. Aric waited like a knight behind a fortress of rancor and vengeance. My psyche training told me to give him space, that his ire needed to peak before it could begin its descent and allow the comfort of my presence and touch. Except Aric wasn’t some volatile stranger, seconds from attacking. He was my love. And he needed me.
I rushed into arms that gripped me as if the fate of the world depended on our union . My voice shook with grief. Not just for Paul, but for my lover’s pain and the implications the weres’ deaths had brought. “Oh God, Aric. I’m so sorry. How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better. This demon shit is out of hand. We’re getting nowhere fast, and now we’re losing our own.”
My hands slipped from his neck to his shoulders. “I want to help. I can’t stand that you’re out there fighting this thing without me.”
Aric didn’t hesitate, his response firm and unyielding. “Celia, no. It’s bad enough you got hurt the first time. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
My head fell against his chest. “I always worry about you, wolf.” I held him, wanting so much to erase the day and bring him the serenity my beast insisted would only be obtained through the blood of his enemies. “What happened to Paul?”
Aric rubbed his face against mine. “He picked up a fresh scent and located a body floating in Lower Echo Lake. When he called, we were at the northern end of Fallen Leaf uncovering four corpses. Paul was supposed to wait for us. He didn’t. His tracks indicate he chased something westward.” Aric paused. “Or something lured him there.”
Death’s cold hands inched their way up my spine and sliced like slivers across my shoulder blades. It took a lot to kill a were, especially a pureblood like Paul. Aric clutched me tighter, sensing my alarm. Jesus, what were they hunting?
“We were about six miles away and arrived less than ten minutes later.” Aric swore. “We didn’t even have to track them. A trail of blood led us to their bodies. The student accompanying him and Paul’s current girlfriend, Talia, had their hearts ripped from their chests. Talia was one of our toughest pure females, and the student solid beyond his years. Neither appeared to have put up much of a fight. And Paul? Shit. Whatever got him ripped him to pieces. It took us an hour to locate his fractured skull.”