The Mating(30)

Elise followed him to the place he’d indicated. What did he have to tell her? Whatever it was, it had him looking rather grim. Sitting down beside Kane, she waited for him to speak, studying his profile out of the corner of her eye. His dark hair fell across his forehead, softening what might otherwise have been a stern face; his jaw was set and his brows lowered. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t about Thomas, but about an incident that had happened several months earlier.

“Remember how I told you that Zack had been killed in a car accident? He was coming home, took a curve too fast, and ended up going over the edge of the cliff. The strange thing was that Zack wasn’t a fast driver and had driven that road all of his life. Negotiating the curve was something he should have been able to do in his sleep. When we checked the vehicle afterwards, we found that there were no brakes. There was a hole in the line and the fluid had all leaked out.”

“Were the hoses old and worn out?”

“No. It was a brand new truck. Helen had given it to him on his fifty-fifth birthday, just two months previous.”

“Then...?”

“It could have been a flaw in the material, but we suspect that someone actually tampered with the brakes.”

Elise gasped. “That’s awful! Did you call the police?”

“No. We left it as driver error. The police would have asked too many questions. The risk of being discovered was too great and outweighed the need for a formal investigation. Nothing could bring Zack back.”

“But who would do such a thing? And why? Surely you need to find out.”

“At the time we didn’t really have any leads. John and I have some suspicions, but no proof. Actually, only a few of us even know about the brake line. We didn’t want to upset the whole pack. I’ll expect you to keep this to yourself.” Kane looked at her for acquiescence and Elise nodded.

“Who does know?”

“Myself, John, the Elders and Helen. Not even Carrie is aware of all the facts.”

“This was all recent, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah—two months ago.”

“And then you took over.”

Kane nodded. “Right after Zack’s accident, the Elders met to decide the leadership, but the decision was split and it caused a big controversy, which was unfortunate given that everyone was still upset over losing Zack.”

“You mentioned that both you and the other Beta were up for the job. His name was Ryne, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Kane rubbed his hands over his face, obviously upset by the memory. “We were co-Betas and it should have come down to a pack vote, but for some reason Ryne was adamant that the position be decided by a challenge. Several people tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. It was so unlike him, too. Anyway, as I told you, we fought and it was pretty nasty. Ryne and I are pretty evenly matched but my advantage is that I know how to wait and choose my moment. In the end, I won.”

“Do you have any idea where he is now?”

“Originally, we’d heard that he planned to leave the area, but a few of the pack think they’ve seen him in the distance.”

“Maybe he’s cooled down and wants to come back?”

“If he does he’s never approached any of us, and even if he does ask... Well, let’s just say it’s complicated.” Kane sighed. “You see, we suspect Ryne had something to do with the faulty brakes, though hard proof is missing.”

“And you still let him live?” Elise was shocked.

“We didn’t come to that conclusion until after the fight. That’s when things started to add up.”

“How so?”

“Well, after Zack’s accident, there were a lot of little things going wrong around here. Our electricity was turned off for non-payment, even though the bill had been paid. The Fire Marshall was out, wanting to inspect all of the buildings because of an anonymous tip. We’ve had traps set on the property, hunters spotted on our land, an oil slick near the mouth of the river that killed off some of the wildlife. It feels like someone is trying to undermine us. Now we have Thomas being shot last night.” He shook his head and looked as if the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders. “Once word spreads through the pack about that, there’ll be a lot of questions to answer.”

“But all of the things you mentioned are coincidences, a string of bad luck, right? I mean, I’m sorry Thomas was shot but accidents do happen, especially in the fall when it’s hunting season. The humans aren’t always as careful as they should be.”

Kane looked at her steadily. “Thomas just told me that he scented Ryne immediately before the gun went off.”