I rose to my feet. “Tell me, Daggett, how many werewolves do you know that take a tiny bite out of someone and then walk away? Their body is usually pretty destroyed, wouldn’t you say?”
“Not necessarily. I’ve seen people get killed with injuries this minor.”
“Sure, but those were during attacks, right? People are running around like crazy and the wolves are just picking people off. As far as we know, this guy was alone. There’s no one else in the store, so why not finish him off?”
His brow lowered. “Where are you going with this?”
“Attacking someone in werewolf form comes with very little control. You’re like a rabid animal. Does this guy look like a rabid animal got to him?”
“What, you think a person did this?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t see how a rabid werewolf came through the front door of the gas station, made no mess, took a few small bites out of the guy and then put him in a bathroom for no one to find.”
What I said must have clicked for Daggett because his eyes went big. “Dang, you’re right. A person did do this, didn’t they?”
I was still unsure. “We have to be on the lookout, regardless. Whoever did this is obviously fucked in the head.”
Priscilla was standing by the entrance swaying back and forth, her hand flat on the door and ready to escape any second. “Can we please get out of here before we end up like that poor fucker?” she asked. Daggett and I both looked at her. Her eyebrow raised, an epiphany hitting her. “Hey, where’s werewolf girl?”
.
Chapter Ten
DANA
Whenever I go tracking, the scent of the subject I’m searching for is usually present and vibrant. With one deep inhale, it glides through my nose canal and, in a way, feels like it’s coursing through my entire body until me and the scent feel indistinguishable. Cora’s scent, however, felt like a tickle at the rim of my nostrils, coming and going whenever it pleased. When I breathed in deep, I could smell it again, but if I wasn’t constantly doing that, it disappeared altogether. And with how cold it was outside, the entire process became miserable.
I took a step to the right, breathed in, and smelled nothing.
I took two steps to the left, breathed in again, but was once more met with nothing.
Five steps forward, and I caught something. It was faint, but it was at least an aroma. I let myself stand in place for a minute, inhaling and exhaling over and over again, my brain trying to map out the direction she could have gone. I closed my eyes and let my nose guide me, which took me in a forward motion. The smell was pitiful, but it was getting stronger.
I stood in the thick cluster of smells when I heard a ping beneath my feet. I stepped on something. I carefully opened my eyes and lifted my shoe, and beneath it was a shiny, silver item. I reached down and retrieved the object that was half-buried in the wet soil, and laid it flat in my palm so I could inspect it. It was a crescent moon necklace, and it reeked of Cora. She was here.
I smiled because I knew I was onto something. Not even the church smelled this strong of her.
The necklace was cold as ice as I placed it around my neck for safekeeping, and the closer I held it to myself, the more accustomed I’d get with her scent. I also wanted to show Max when he got back, and I knew he’d come back for me.
It was then that I realized the sun was completely gone. We weren’t even close to the evening hours, yet daylight had died.
Two twigs snapped in the distance, and I turned around to see if it was Max. The idea that he came back after being gone a few minutes would have surprised me, because no way did he resolve whatever was going on with Priscilla and Daggett that quick.
I waited for whoever was sneaking around to come closer to me, but no one showed. I wasn’t crazy; I knew someone was approaching. I sniffed, but I didn’t smell Max. I smelled no werewolf either. In fact, I didn’t even smell a human. But there was an aroma drawing near, and it was…peculiar. It sounds strange, but the scent reminded me of the flower displays at a funeral—it smells good, but all it does is remind you of death and sadness.
“Is somebody there?” I called out.
The wind howled, and I thought I heard my name in it.
I told Max I could take care of myself, but I was still nervous. I was never one for haunted houses or scary tales. Any bravery I had was protecting myself when I absolutely needed to. Things that go bump in the night was not my area.
I thought of calling out once more, but my growing fear took over and I remained silent. I didn’t want whatever was creeping around to know I was here. I just wanted to be left alone.
The flowery smell grew stronger and stronger until Cora’s scent practically vanished. Confusion didn’t cover how I was feeling. How was Cora’s scent being taken over yet again, even with the necklace around my neck, and why was I smelling anything floral outside in the dead of winter?
“Dana,” a voice hissed.
I jerked my body around expecting to see someone, but no one was there. All I could see were tall, thin, trees with their long, bare branches reaching out, and the layers of snow on the surrounding ground. Was I going crazy? Was I hearing voices?
“Dana,” a voice said again, this time breathing directly into my ear. Startled, I jumped,
