Ryan gave a small snort of scorn. “Yes, she is.”
“Then go back already,” Shawn said irritably. “Go tattle. Or be quiet and help me. We need to see if they’ve come back.”
“There.” Ryan pointed ahead, his hand shaking.
More sheep, with their throats torn out. Right on the property line between their land and Mitch’s land. And there was more.
Shreds of cloth, scattered around the bodies. And wolf pawprints and human footprints. Like before.
He had to erase them, quick, before the police got there.
“Go back, Ryan,” he said urgently. “Go get help. Now.”
For once, to his enormous relief, Ryan did what he was told. He turned and ran back towards the house.
Shawn bent down to snatch up the shreds of cloth, and stuffed them in his pocket.
As he turned to go, he heard the click of a rifle.
It was pointed right at his head. “I knew it was you little bastards.”
He heard bushes rustling and then Ryan, the little fool, came flying out, screaming “Get away from my brother!”
Chapter Fourteen
Zeke lay next to Holly, stroking her arm and staring down at her. She was beautiful, with bee-stung lips and high cheekbones, and silky black hair that fanned out on the bed like an ebony waterfall.
They were in the cabin that Holly was renting, on the edge of Silver Peak. When the paper mill closed, the young man who had been living there had moved on. Holly had come to town a few weeks ago, looking to start a new life after the death of her husband.
“I can’t wait for you to meet the pack,” Zeke said. “I’m just warning you that since you’re gorgeous, they’re all going to hit on you.”
“Jealous?” Holly said, looking amused.
“A little,” Zeke said. “Just let me know if any of them gets fresh, and I’ll knock them on their ass.”
“But what if I like it?” Holly said, her full lips curving in a teasing smile.
“Very funny,” Zeke said, trying to disguise that he felt faintly hurt. He and Holly had talked about getting exclusive. Once shifters got to that point, they were expected to forsake all others and definitely dial back on the flirting.
Hell, Holly should know that. She was a young widow. Her husband had been killed in a challenge. She still bore his Mate Mark on her neck.
“Just kidding,” Holly said. “Don’t be so sensitive.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that I’m crazy about you.”
“Well, you should be. I’m amazing. Tell me more about your Alpha,” Holly said. “Are you sure he’ll be okay with me joining your pack?”
Zeke started to relax. She wouldn’t be talking about joining their pack if she wasn’t interested in moving on to the next level in their relationship. They hadn’t gotten quite that far, but Zeke’s plan was to someday place a Mate Mark on top of her old one.
“He’ll be fine with it,” he said. “Like I told you, he’s generally too busy chasing tail and working ’til he drops to pay much attention to anything else.” He paused. “Although that might change soon—the part about him chasing tail, I mean.”
He felt her tense up beside him.
“What do you mean? What’s going to change?”
Zeke kissed the top of her head. “Nothing that will affect you. He just met some woman that he seems interested in. The local sheriff, actually. It’s funny as hell, because she keeps trying to arrest him. But I can tell there’s something there. When he’s with her, when he talks about her, he acts different than I’ve ever seen.”
“Maybe she won’t like me. Maybe she won’t want another female in the pack. She’s probably the jealous type.”
Zeke wrapped his arms around her. “Sweetheart, if it comes down to it, you and I could just stay here together,” he said.
She sighed and relaxed in his arms. “That’s sweet of you to say. And now, it’s been ten minutes since you last made me come, you lazy bastard. Why are you talking so much? I want you to fuck me now, big boy.”
* * * * *
Chelsea had an odd feeling as she pulled up in front of Joyce’s house, but she couldn’t have said why. Something had been bothering Joyce the night before at work, but Joyce had brushed off all Chelsea’s attempts to find out what was wrong.
She’d also been downright curt to Paul, who’d looked crestfallen and finally left.
Did that mean Roman’s pack was somehow behind the sheep thefts? Was that what was bothering her? Either way, it was obvious she didn’t want to talk about it at work, but maybe she’d feel more comfortable discussing it at home.