Chapter 8: Silver

Mara

Kieran had been gone for exactly four minutes when Tessa said the words that ruined what little peace I had left.

"We called wildlife."

I stopped wiping down the treatment table. Slowly, I looked at her. "No."

"And animal control."

"No."

"They said someone was coming."

"Tessa."

"You told me to call them!"

"I KNOW."

I dropped the towel onto the counter. At the time, calling wildlife about a gunshot wolf had been responsible medicine. At the time, my patient had also possessed four legs and a tail. Things had changed. Significantly.

"What the fuck do we tell them?" Tessa asked.

I stared at her. "I don't know."

"The wolf escaped?"

"From a locked reinforced kennel?"

"Maybe he's talented."

"He turned into a man, Tessa. Obviously he's fucking talented."

She bit her lip. I started pacing. Wildlife enforcement couldn't come here looking for an injured wolf. There was blood. Records. X-rays. And absolutely no wolf. More importantly, there were three additional werewolves who had just walked through my front door like supernatural linebackers.

No. I was not explaining any of that.

"Give me the phone."

Tessa handed it over. "What are you doing?"

"Lying."

"You're bad at lying."

"Then pray."

Thankfully, the officer hadn't left yet. I told him the situation had been a misunderstanding involving teenagers, an injured privately owned canine, and an extremely panicked man who had assumed he'd found a wild wolf.

Was it perfect? No. Was Gary anywhere close to being a teenager? Also no. But after several painfully awkward questions, the officer accepted that there was no wildlife case requiring an immediate response.

When I hung up, Tessa stared at me. "That was terrible."

"I know."

"You said 'teenagers' like four times."

"I panicked."

"Gary is fifty."

"Gary isn't here to defend himself."

I sank into the desk chair. For approximately ten seconds, everything was quiet. Then my gaze landed on the specimen cabinet. The bullet.

"Oh."

Tessa followed my stare. "What?"

"The bullet."

I had completely forgotten about it. Again, understandable. The bullet had been removed from a wolf. Then the wolf grew a penis. Priorities shifted.

I opened the cabinet and took out the evidence bag. The projectile rested inside, pale beneath the fluorescent lights. The smaller fragment sat in a second bag. I turned them over.

"What do you think it is?" Tessa asked.

"No idea."

"Looks weird."

"It is weird."

I should've given it to Kieran. Instead, I'd been distracted by the revelation that apparently supernatural hierarchies existed and my patient was sitting somewhere near the top of one.

"I'll get it back to him."

"How?"

I looked at her. She looked at me. Neither of us had Kieran's number.

"Shit."

By the next afternoon, curiosity had become an itch beneath my skin. A really fucking annoying one. I knew Kieran's name. I knew he could become a wolf. I knew he was an Alpha. And apparently that was enough information for my brain to decide sleep was optional until I learned literally everything else.

So I started small. At the coffee shop. "Do you know a Kieran? Tall, dark hair, built like a brick wall, permanently looks mildly pissed off?"

The barista stared at me. "Kieran Vale?"

I paused. "Vale?"

"Yeah."

Well. Look at that. I had a last name now.

The barista shrugged, "I know of him."

"What does that mean?"

"The Vales own a lot of land."

"Where?"

"North."

Very descriptive.

At the diner, the waitress was slightly more helpful. "Old family," she said while refilling my coffee. "Been around forever."

"Kieran?"

Her eyes flicked toward me. "You friends?"

"No." Technically. "I treated an animal of his." Also technically.

She nodded slowly. "Vale family mostly keeps to themselves."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Probably because they do."

Then she walked away. Apparently the Vale family motto was mind your fucking business. Naturally, that made me more curious.

Over the next two days, I asked maybe six people. That was it. Six. Apparently six was enough.

Because on Thursday afternoon, the front bell chimed and Cassian walked into my clinic. Alone. No smile. No jokes. That was immediately concerning.

I looked up from the chart in front of me. "Did Kieran chew his stitches?"

Cassian blinked. "What?"

"Is something wrong with him?"

"No."

"Then why do you look like you're here to arrest me?"

His gaze shifted toward the waiting room. Two people sat with a beagle between them. "Can we talk privately?"

That was never ominous. "Sure."

I led him into an empty exam room and closed the door.

Cassian folded his arms. "You need to stop."

I leaned against the counter. "Great talk."

"Mara."

"Stop what?"

"Asking about Kieran."

Oh. That.

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know I've been asking about Kieran?"

"People talk."

"I asked six people."

"Exactly."

My eyebrows shot up. "Six is a problem?"

"When you're asking about an Alpha? Yes."

I laughed. "Cassian, I didn't exactly grow up with the handbook."

"This isn't funny." That wiped some amusement from my face. He stepped closer. "Do you understand what happens when someone starts asking questions about Kieran? About his family? Their land?"

"No."

"People notice."

"I gathered that."

"Not just our people."

That made me pause.

Cassian's expression softened slightly. "You don't know who you're talking to. You don't know who knows about us, who hates us, or who might decide you know something useful."

My stomach tightened. "I was just asking questions."

"I know."

"Then stop talking to me like I intentionally wandered into a fucking minefield."

"You did wander into one."

"Well, nobody put up a sign."

He exhaled and rubbed a hand over his face. "Mara, I'm not trying to threaten you."

"Could've fooled me."

"I'm trying to keep you from putting yourself in danger."

That sounded genuine. Which irritated me less. Slightly.

"If I want to know something about Kieran?"

"Ask Kieran."

"I don't have his number."

Cassian paused. "Seriously?"

"He left before we exchanged friendship bracelets."

That finally got the smallest smile. "Then ask me."

"Fine."

"Fine."

He turned toward the door.

"Wait."

Cassian looked back.

"I actually have something for Kieran."

His expression changed. "What?"

I crossed to my desk, opened the drawer, and removed both evidence bags. "I forgot to give these to him before he left."

Cassian stared. "What is that?"

"The bullet."

He went completely still. "This came out of Kieran?"

"Yes." I held up the smaller bag. "And this fragment."

Cassian took them from me. The color drained from his face. Every trace of humor disappeared. He brought the larger bag closer. Then whispered one word.

"Silver."

I froze. "What?"

His eyes snapped to mine. I stared at the bullet. Then at him. "Did you just say silver?"

Cassian shoved both bags into his jacket. "This was inside him?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

"That's what I recovered."

"Fuck."

He moved toward the door. I followed.

"Cassian."

"I need to go."

"No."

He kept walking. "You cannot walk into my clinic, tell me I'm putting myself in danger, whisper the word silver like we're in a fucking fairy tale, and then leave."

He reached reception. "Mara—"

"You people are terrible at explaining things."

"I'll explain later."

"You all keep saying that!"

He opened the front door. "Stay here."

I stopped dead. "Oh, fuck you." His mouth opened. "Do not tell the veterinarian who accidentally muzzled your Alpha to stay."

Despite everything, something almost resembling amusement crossed his face. Then it disappeared.

"Please."

That scared me more than the order had.

Cassian walked out. I watched him hurry toward his vehicle. Tessa came up beside me. "What happened?"

I stared at the SUV peeling out of the parking lot. Then down at my now-empty hands. Werewolves. Silver bullets. Someone had shot Kieran and left him bleeding on the side of the road. Suddenly Gary's mysterious gunshot didn't feel random at all.

I slowly turned toward Tessa. "Apparently I removed a fucking silver bullet from a werewolf."