Chapter 5-A Possible Lead

Two weeks later

It’s early in the morning when my cell rings, and I race over to the table to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hi Athena, It’s Derek Williams.”

“Yes, hi. Have you found anything?” I ask.

“I think I’m finally on to something concrete,” he says, and Enyo rolls her eyes. “There’s a hunter named Bill Stokes who lives on a ranch about an hour of town.”

At the mention of a hunter, Enyo’s hackles are raised, and I have to hold back a growl. “You want me to speak to a hunter?” I ask.

“He’s been out of the game for years. He’s too old for the hunt now. My sources tell me he might have information on the pack that attacked yours.”

“And why would a hunter help us?”

“He might not help, but we won’t know until you try,” he says.

I sigh and get a pen and paper. “What’s his address?”

I scribble down the address and hang up from Derek.

‘You can’t seriously be thinking about going and speaking to a hunter?’ Enyo asks.

‘If he has information, then we need it. We have to try.’

I grab my jacket, the motel key, car keys, and wallet and head out the door, locking it behind me.

I head over to my truck and get in, start her up and turn on the heater, wishing it was already warm. ‘Goddess, it’s cold today,’ I think as I shiver. While I wait for the truck to warm up, I pull my phone out of my coat pocket and enter the hunter’s address into the GPS.

‘We shouldn’t be doing this. He’s not going to know anything, and even if he does, why would he tell us? If we die today, I’m gonna be furious,’ Enyo says angrily.

‘Stop being dramatic, Enyo. If Derek says he can help, then I’m going.’

‘Derek doesn’t know his ass from his elbow,’ she snorts. ‘How do you know this isn’t a trap?’ She asks.

‘Why would he do that? We pay him for information, and he hasn’t steered us wrong before,’ I say as I hold my hands up in front of the heater vent.

‘We’re not the ones paying him. And he hasn’t “steered” us anywhere,’ she says sarcastically. ‘Every bit of information he’s given us the last two weeks has been a dead end, and we’re no closer to the truth. He has not found a single lead on what happened that day. He’s just taking the Alpha’s money,’ she grumbles.

‘We’ll see,’ I say as I put the truck into drive and pull out of the motel parking lot.

I head north through town, following the GPS towards Bill Stokes ranch. I sigh as I drive along. I really hate the city. I feel claustrophobic not being in the open space of the countryside.

After being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes, we finally get out of the city and onto the open country road, and I feel like I can breathe again. As we drive along, I look out the windshield, admiring the glistening snow that’s covering everything as far as the eye can see. My heart clenches as I think about the last time we shifted and went running in the snow. Maybe Enyo is right. We really need to shift.

#

An hour later, we finally come across the Stokes ranch. Pulling off the road, I stop at the small gate, and I get out and try to open it, but it has a thick chain wrapped around it with a padlock. I glance around to make sure no cars are coming, then I take the padlock and twist it, breaking it in my hand. I pull the chain off and drop it on the ground and open the gate.

I get back in my truck and drive through the gate and down the dirt road. There’s no livestock in the paddock that I can see, and there’s broken, rusted fences along the road. It looks like Bill Stokes has gotten too old to keep up with the maintenance of his property.

After a few minutes, I come upon a clump of enormous trees that shade the road and darken the surrounding area with their dense tangle of branches and foliage. Then, after a few more moments, they open to surround a beautiful modern two-story ranch-style house. With glass windows from floor to ceiling on the left-hand side of the house, you can see a nice sitting area through the windows. I drive around the circular driveway and park near the front door. I look up at the house through the truck windshield. It doesn’t look like anyone’s home.

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and open the truck door. I step out but instantly freeze when I hear someone yell out, “STOP RIGHT THERE!” and the pump of a shotgun.

“Fuck.”

‘Is now a good time to say I told you so?’ Enyo asks, her hackles raised.

‘Not helpful,’ I tell her, my heart hammering in my chest as I turn slowly to face the house, finding an old man standing at the front door with a pump-action shotgun aimed at us.

“Mr Stokes?” I call out, “My name is Athena Argos. I’m just here to talk to you.”

“I know who you are, mutt. And you’re not welcome here,” he says coldly. “How did you even find me?”

“Derek Williams gave me your address,” I say calmly, and the old man looks surprised by that. I raise my hands above my head and step around the front of the truck. “Mr Stokes, if you know who I am, then can you please tell me what you know about what happened to my pack? Derek said that you might be able to help me.” 

He studies me for a moment before responding. “Arrogant, little she-wolf. Just like that alpha of yours,” he says as he spits on the ground. “Niko thought he was above it all. But we showed him,” he says as a cruel grin spreads across his old, weathered face.