There was still an hour or two of dark left, but it felt like morning. Steam billowed up from my snout, and snow on pine branches brushed against my fur as I made my way over a rocky hill.
Down below, I spotted a very phallic set of rocks, and it hit me. Kelly hid this corpse, and she hid it there.
As I jogged down the slope, my paws slid on wet rock. I kept my footing and hurried to see if I was right.
On further inspection, the shaft of the rock had a curve to it, and a vein of a silver mineral running up it. It was too good not to be true. I circled around the unmatching balls, one much larger than the other, and poked at the snow with my nose.
The scent of decay was undeniable.
I clawed at the dirt, and the scent grew stronger. I dug deeper. It took a few feet of vertical digging before I found anything. And then I did. The body’s pale arms were crossed over a half-crushed torso. His fingers were formed into peace symbols, or as I’d learned in my two years with Kelly, the gesture meant fuck off in Kellyish.
After a few more detail checks of the body, I reburied the corpse. I shouldn’t have felt as satisfied as I did. A man was dead. But a smile pulled at my wolf face at finding something so very Kelly.
After a brisk jog back the way I came, I redressed and headed to the tattoo parlor. When I reached the sidewalk out front, the back of my neck pricked with the scent of shifter in the air. Alpha wolf. Not the tattoo client from before. How many shifters hung around this place?
I thrust the door open and found a big guy standing across the room with his arms crossed. His hair was dark, his jaw set. “You’re the wolf intruding on my territory.”
I could say the same about him. And while I was at it, where was Kelly?
“You’re the alpha of Forbidden?” I asked, keeping my tone even and trying not to let my anger flare.
“Declan O’Malley,” he said with a nod. “Who are you, and why are you here?”
“Xavier Breene,” I told him. “I’m with The Stakehouse, Chattanooga.”
Recognition flashed in his eyes, as I’d hoped it would. But instead of apologizing for the cold reception and welcoming me to his town, his neck tensed and the scent of hostility washed over him.
Well, that was unexpected.
“Marla is pack,” he growled.
“I haven’t met Marla,” I told him. If I’d said I didn’t have any interest in killing Marla, it might have put him at ease, but seeing him hanging around here sparked my protective shifter instincts. Part of me wanted a fight.
“No pissing contests allowed in this establishment,” Kelly said, appearing from the stairwell. “I swear men are all such babies. I have one upstairs crying about his flowers wilting, and then there’s you two. Do I see hair sticking up on the back of your necks? And by the way, Declan, thanks for defending Marla but not me.”
“If you’re staying, you’re pack, too,” he said to her, but kept his gaze on me. “This is him. The shifter Joe told me about.”
Of course Joe would’ve told him about me. Declan was his pack alpha, and I was in their town without announcing myself. Usually I wouldn’t do that. First stop would be the alpha, if there was one, to explain why I was there. Often they’d have valuable insight to help me on my mission. But this time, I’d broken with tradition, and I was glad I had, because Kelly was involved.
“Xavier’s...fine,” Kelly told him.
A glowing compliment.
“Really,” she said. “You don’t have to kick his ass. I can do that myself.”
“Thanks,” I said, then turned to Declan. “I’m here to investigate the death of a human. A shifter from your pack, Eric Leffiths, contacted The Stakehouse.”
Declan clenched his jaw.
“I told him it’s dealt with,” Kelly said. “No vampires killing humans in Forbidden. We’re all cuddly friends.”
“You don’t feel threatened by the vampire hunter?” Declan asked her.
She shook her head. “He’s my ex.”
Declan raised his eyebrows. “Gotcha. I’ll have to deal with Leffiths. Strict secrecy orders were given about keeping Forbidden matters in-house. If we’re set here, I’m heading out to do that.” He pointed at me. “No staking. No trouble, and we’re good.”
I raised my hands in defense. “Understood.”
As far as alphas went, he was okay. If I gave him a real chance, he was probably the kind of guy I could be friends with. And maybe I’d be able to give him a real chance, if I stuck around.
Here I was thinking about the long term, about staying, when I wasn’t the guy that stayed anywhere.
And then I looked at Kelly. She pinched her lips together and put her hands on her hips.
I’d stay for her.
The door clicked shut behind me as Declan left.
“What am I going to do with you?” Kelly asked.
Anything you want.
“Really,” she said, “what? You said you were here for a job, right? What’s the status on that, given I already explained his death and eliminated his murderer?”
The air sharpened with her words. But there was heat behind her eyes, like she didn’t entirely mean it.
“About that,” I said, taking a step closer. “I went for a walk this morning.”
“I noticed you leave,” she said. “I had hoped you’d returned to...where did you say? Chattanooga?”
I ignored her obvious lie and continued. “I went to the woods.”
She gave me a sarcastic grin. “Did you see a tree?”
“I saw a rock.”
“Congratulations.”
“A set of rocks, actually. If you stand just right, they’re quite shapely. Penis-esque even.”
“You have quite the imagination.” A grin pulled at her lips, revealing the tip of one of her fangs.
“And I found the message you left below.”
“Did you
