The Keeping(43)

This brought his thoughts back to Melody Greene. Frowning, he climbed back in his truck and drove towards the house. Which pictures of his had she seen? He didn’t care about the sunsets or the birds or the wildflowers. It was one particular picture featuring his brother Kane in his wolf form that worried him. Anyone studying the picture—at least anyone who knew anything about wolves—would immediately see that the animal in the picture was unique, a brand new species, in fact. Well, technically not a new species—werewolves had existed since the beginning of time—they were just adept at keeping their existence hidden. Of course, there were rumours and supposed sightings, but most of those were attributed to hysteria and folklore.

It wasn’t hysteria, Ryne thought to himself. He did exist. His family and friends, his whole species existed, and flourished, but only due to carefully guarding their secret. It hadn’t always been that way. Long ago, werewolves had been hunted to the very brink of extinction. That was when the Book of the Law had emerged; the product of his people’s desperation. The few remaining packs had gathered and banded together, creating a set of laws, which, if followed, would safeguard their existence. And since that time, it had worked. True, in the beginning there had been terrible sacrifices—complete relocation of every pack in order to make a fresh start, whole packs needing to be destroyed when the careless or defiant actions of a few led to their discovery, actual pack wars erupting when one group refused to bend to the law—but those difficulties had merely created greater determination in those that remained. Eventually, the universal good had outweighed the losses. Their existence had faded from human memory until only a few whispered rumours remained.

For the most part, his people had lived undetected over the past couple of centuries. Alliances between packs had strengthened their common bond, the need to be careful, to avoid excessive attention, became ingrained into their way of life. Peace and prosperity was enjoyed by all; the dangers of the past were now but a distant memory for most. Who would have thought that a simple snapshot might undo centuries of progress?

Ryne recalled the day as clearly as if it were yesterday. He’d been out taking pictures and had come across his brother in his wolf form. On a whim, he’d snapped a picture of Kane, and when he’d seen how well the picture turned out, he’d enlarged it, and had it mounted. It was supposed to be for the family, not publicly shown, but his ex-girlfriend had taken it, and then sold it, and now... Well, the exact severity of the fallout had yet to be determined.

According to Kane’s report, Melody Greene had told Elise that she’d heard of his wolf photograph, but hadn’t actually seen it. But was that the truth? Did she know the significance? Had she realized, or had someone told her, that it was probably the only picture of a real live werewolf in existence today? And if she knew, what did she plan on doing about it? Or was she really just interested in his work for its artistic merit? It was a possibility, but he was too much of a realist to hope for that. The worst case scenario was that she would figure out where the picture was taken and use the information to find Kane and his pack.

Ryne clenched his hands around the steering wheel. He couldn’t allow that to happen. The idea of his entire family entering into a suicide pact in order to preserve the safety of their race was unthinkable. He’d do whatever he had to do in order to save them. If need be, the secret of that location would die here in Stump River.

*****

Mel checked her watch. It was exactly six-thirty. She stood outsideThe Broken Antler and nervously wiped her sweaty palms on the legs of her jeans. Hopefully, what she was wearing was appropriate. Meeting with someone for an interview would usually call for more professional attire, but considering the location Ryne had chosen, that hadn’t seemed too suitable. Instead, she’d settled on dark wash jeans and a pretty T-shirt with some chunky jewellery for accent.

Clothes weren’t really that important to her, but knowing you looked good and were dressed appropriately did provide a boost of confidence. And confidence was what she needed right now. She didn’t usually go into bars—at least not ones as seedy looking as this one—by herself. Hopefully, the interior was in better repair than the exterior. Taking in the faded paint, cracked cement and the burnt out lights in the sign, Mel decided the location matched Ryne’s personality—very rough around the edges.

The man was sarcastic and rude plus she could tell he enjoyed taunting her. How she’d ever survive interviewing him, without doing him bodily harm, she wasn’t sure. If it wasn’t for the large sum of money already in her bank account, and the promise of more to come, she might actually back out. However, she’d made a deal with Aldrich and his client, Greyson, and she wasn’t a quitter. Though, as she eyed a boarded up window and the shards of glass on the ground below it, perhaps now was the time to start? She wondered if the window been broken because someone was thrown through it, and gulped at the very idea.