Bart was investigating the scent as best as he could in this form. No point in terrifying the innocent, mundane people around here. With the hunter-types and the guys he worked with around, he was more likely to get shot. It’s not like the provincial park where a wolf or wolf-dog could be explained away. So, there he was sniffing around when he hears a voice behind him. “What are you doing?” A familiar feminine voice asked. He would swear later that he could hear her raise a questioning eyebrow in the very tone of her voice. Crap. His stomach and heart nearly fell out of his body when he heard it. Grace was standing right behind him. What did she notice? Would she say something? How did he explain this? He felt like a guy who’d been caught by his girlfriend kissing another woman. “Hey, uh… you’ll not believe me if I told you.” All that ran through his head was ‘Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask.’ “Try me slugger.” Ohhh…he knew without turning around to loo
Paul thought his job would be to look in on the search, but leave it to the experts. His pack mates, really. They trained these wolves to human standards to be forest rangers. Little did the humans know they knew more about the forests on a bad day than any human could teach them. Dog and human were wolf shifters. Smarter, faster, and stronger. They knew the territory and how to find a person better than anyone. So, what was holding them back? That’s why Paul was here. To find out what they knew, they couldn’t tell a human cop. “We’re in luck with this missing persons’ case. The trail hasn’t ended at the edge of the park, like the others. Which means they’re missing hikers, not missing persons. We’re closing in on them. Hopefully, we’ll have them before nightfall.” Alex looked up from the satellite radio he’d just received a check in on from one team of searchers. “Not missing like the others. Well, I guess that’s better than adding numbers to the list. No s
“Rob, we need to do something. If the hunters didn’t set those fires, then it’s the rogues. We’re running out of guilty parties. When you found Old Man Jacobs, there wasn’t any fire around him, so he’s ruled out.” Jon washed the floors as Rob organized the bar. “The door to the backstairs wasn’t locked, but the door to the shop was forced open. My guess, he left the backdoor unlocked, and locked the shop door. Hiding the break-in to witnesses. We know about the recent appearances of the rogues. The supposed hunters spending a lot of time in town.” The old building had two back doors. One door led to stairs going to the apartment and a second door leading into the store. “Yeah, for hunting on the off-season, they’re very conspicuous. The rogues, there’s been another seven sightings, two were physical. One may explain the break-in at the clinic. They were looking for medical supplies and medicines that work on wolf shifters.” Jon now finished with the floors,
“What happened to your neck?! That looks painful.” Becky couldn’t believe Jane Ann walking around with a huge bandage on her neck. “Nah, but it was a long time coming. I should have known hormones would rule us. Like a couple of randy teens, we got into it, and you know what I mean by into it. Well, instinct and nature got the better of us. I knew it would happen. I didn’t think to tell you about it. Sorry, for worrying you.” “You still haven’t told me what happened.” Becky looked at Jane Ann askance. How could she be so calm about this? “Okay, this is typical of wolf shifters. Each group has a way of marking their mates. Wolves, it’s bites. Bears leave claw marks. Cats… Well, don’t get me started on cats. They’re just plain weird.” “You’ve still not explained anything beyond there’s a zoo out there of animals pretending to be human.” “It’s a mating thing. This is like a permanent ring. Seal the deal for all time. Becky, these guys
The two wolves, as Becky, thought of Rob and Jon. So human, yet so not. They came in looking exhausted. It was almost four-thirty in the morning. Why were they all still awake? She didn’t know. “The bar is ready for tomorrow. Bart and Paul are tracking some scent Jon found in your clinic, Becky. So, all is not lost. They will see what they can find. We suspect the rogues used the fire as a diversion to get into the clinic for medical supplies and medications. There was a physical altercation, and we know at least one rogue was injured.” “So, what you’re saying is that I was lucky I wasn’t there for them to kidnap.” Becky couldn’t believe it. This is what Rob was protecting her from. Jon grunted as he nodded, along with Rob. “Or they could have mistaken Janie as the vet and taken her, thinking she could help the injured fool.” Jane Ann gave him a look of alarm, before she turned her round eyes on Becky, looking for some kind of assurance or support.
Bart and Paul left there through the back way and headed down through the alley to the clinic. This was easy for them to walk it. They could dodge around the dumpsters and overgrown bushes that vehicles couldn’t. “This is where Grace interrupted my tracking.” “Is she really your mate?” “If I was a cat, she would be catnip.” “Okay, enough said. Forget I asked. That’s an image I don’t want to see.” Paul waved Bart off from further discussing this subject, and got back into searching for the scent. “When you find the scent, you’ll know. It’s a chemical trail that vaguely smells like lemons or citrus. I think it’s a cologne or shampoo they’re wearing, but there’s nothing natural about it.” “Oh, geez. I got it. It smells like that old spray furniture polish, but a knock down cheap version made in a lab.” Paul’s voice trailed off and he looked at Bart for confirmation. “How did I miss that connection?” Bart pulled out h
Bart returned to the motel where he left Grace to her own means after he got off work. She was oddly unhappy about that. But she told Bart she wanted to take the information she now knew and do a little research. Grace thought she might have something, but it was in her notes. She’d also warned Bart that her investigative instincts told her that his new workplace was having issues, and he needed to watch what he said or did. Little did Grace know that was something Bart always needed to do. Edit what and how he said things, make sure he could explain how he figured out something that wouldn’t raise suspicion. That was the life of a shifter who worked with humans. You couldn’t actually tell them you were following a scent trail. Humans didn’t do things like that. But no matter how much he wanted to explain that to her now, it was far too early. If he could tell her at all. He let that go, claiming he wanted to go home, do a few things and change. Which was su
Rob woke to a strange cellphone ringing and cracked an eye open to see Becky struggling to answer it. “Yeah, hello, Mr. Kyle. Gertie’s acting restless and her flanks are soft. Yes, that is a good sign if she were a couple of weeks later in her pregnancy, but it’s not a bad sign. Yes, yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can get the vet mobile going. You just keep Gertie as comfortable as you can, and don’t let her sense your unease. Or she’ll panic and we can’t have that.” Becky disconnected the call and looked. “I’m sorry. We’ve only slept a few hours. I need to check in on the cow. This is probably her last calf and Mr. Kyle is counting on the money from the calf's sales to stay afloat. He’ll have to replace her before the next breeding season.” “Well, that’s tough. Does he really need to keep his anxiety hidden from the cow?” “You’d be surprised how responsive animals are to emotion, but no. She’s an old pro at this, it’s more for Mr. Kyle’s benefit I