I’d wait until his wolf calmed before I made my argument. Aric’s reason stood no chance against his riled beast, especially since my injuries remained on the forefront of his mind.
Five SUVs passed us on the way out of town. Aric gave a stiff nod to the first one. I recognized the last truck as Paul’s. “Why did you call Paul here? Is he a homicide cop?”
“He’s actually a forensics specialist, but not a cop. His eyes and sharp nose pick up things even most weres would overlook. I’m hoping he’ll find something we missed.”
I crinkled my nose. “I find it hard to believe you’d miss anything, wolf.”
Aric’s hand released mine to find the nape of my neck. I rubbed my cheek against his arm, seeking more of his touch. He smiled softly. “I didn’t search as hard as I could have, knowing I’d left you alone. But when Koda heard Shayna scream, none of us were sticking around to continue the hunt.”
I straightened, unease and guilt making me think twice. Maybe Aric’s Elders had a point about my presence distracting him from his duties. He stopped the car at the town’s only traffic light and pulled me to him. He kissed me deeply, groaning almost as loudly as I did when an impatient driver and his very loud horn alerted us that the light had turned green. Aric released me, winking before resuming our trek out of town. “Don’t even think it, sweetness. No way in hell was I not going back for you.”
I gripped the edges of the leather seat, panting softly and trying to regain my composure. Aric planted one hell of a smooch, laced with a great deal of sizzle and emotion behind it. I believed his caring for me was genuine, although I still marveled as to why. Regardless, I couldn’t help wondering whether maybe the wolves would have found the couple if they hadn’t abandoned their efforts. A thought I couldn’t bear to contemplate. We didn’t speak again until we passed the exit for the Stampede Reservoir on 89. “Aric, if there are demon children—grown ones, I mean—wouldn’t they have left a royal mess long before this?”
Aric placed his hand over my knee, the knuckles relaxing and tightening as he massaged. Good Lord, so much had happened since we first touched in his car. “Celia, over two thousand people go missing every day in the States. Most are never found. They could very well have been abducted by demons and devoured somewhere obscure. Yet the demon’s rarity should make it impossible. And so should their vile stench. They can’t hide that shit from a human nose, let alone one of my kind.”
Aric had a point. About a lot of what went down. Yet still so much didn’t make sense. The distinct smells. The leeched men. The missing couple. And the mutilated woman. How were they all connected? “Is it possible the couple and the dead bodies are somehow related, you know, as in from the same family?”
Aric let out a long breath. “I doubt it. The men all appeared of different ethnicities and their clothes suggested varying socioeconomic backgrounds. But the weres investigating will look into it just in case.” He glanced out the side window, where the lush forest appeared to be greeting the arrival of spring. “You know, Tahoe is a great area. But when you consider its vastness and that three million people visit the area each year, it makes it hard to police when a new threat arises.”
I took in the sea of green firs and leaves. Every critter, vine, sprout, even the occasional dead tree with crumbling branches had a place among those that thrived. Malevolent dead things with serrated knives for teeth? Not so much. I lived in the northeast section of the lake in a small, mostly quiet and uneventful cul-de-sac. Yet I considered the entire region home, sweet home. I only wished I could keep it to myself and all the malicious bastards out.
Aric’s shoulders dropped and he breathed a small sigh of relief when we entered Dollar Point, probably thankful to reach my hometown with
Five SUVs passed us on the way out of town. Aric gave a stiff nod to the first one. I recognized the last truck as Paul’s. “Why did you call Paul here? Is he a homicide cop?”
“He’s actually a forensics specialist, but not a cop. His eyes and sharp nose pick up things even most weres would overlook. I’m hoping he’ll find something we missed.”
I crinkled my nose. “I find it hard to believe you’d miss anything, wolf.”
Aric’s hand released mine to find the nape of my neck. I rubbed my cheek against his arm, seeking more of his touch. He smiled softly. “I didn’t search as hard as I could have, knowing I’d left you alone. But when Koda heard Shayna scream, none of us were sticking around to continue the hunt.”
I straightened, unease and guilt making me think twice. Maybe Aric’s Elders had a point about my presence distracting him from his duties. He stopped the car at the town’s only traffic light and pulled me to him. He kissed me deeply, groaning almost as loudly as I did when an impatient driver and his very loud horn alerted us that the light had turned green. Aric released me, winking before resuming our trek out of town. “Don’t even think it, sweetness. No way in hell was I not going back for you.”
I gripped the edges of the leather seat, panting softly and trying to regain my composure. Aric planted one hell of a smooch, laced with a great deal of sizzle and emotion behind it. I believed his caring for me was genuine, although I still marveled as to why. Regardless, I couldn’t help wondering whether maybe the wolves would have found the couple if they hadn’t abandoned their efforts. A thought I couldn’t bear to contemplate. We didn’t speak again until we passed the exit for the Stampede Reservoir on 89. “Aric, if there are demon children—grown ones, I mean—wouldn’t they have left a royal mess long before this?”
Aric placed his hand over my knee, the knuckles relaxing and tightening as he massaged. Good Lord, so much had happened since we first touched in his car. “Celia, over two thousand people go missing every day in the States. Most are never found. They could very well have been abducted by demons and devoured somewhere obscure. Yet the demon’s rarity should make it impossible. And so should their vile stench. They can’t hide that shit from a human nose, let alone one of my kind.”
Aric had a point. About a lot of what went down. Yet still so much didn’t make sense. The distinct smells. The leeched men. The missing couple. And the mutilated woman. How were they all connected? “Is it possible the couple and the dead bodies are somehow related, you know, as in from the same family?”
Aric let out a long breath. “I doubt it. The men all appeared of different ethnicities and their clothes suggested varying socioeconomic backgrounds. But the weres investigating will look into it just in case.” He glanced out the side window, where the lush forest appeared to be greeting the arrival of spring. “You know, Tahoe is a great area. But when you consider its vastness and that three million people visit the area each year, it makes it hard to police when a new threat arises.”
I took in the sea of green firs and leaves. Every critter, vine, sprout, even the occasional dead tree with crumbling branches had a place among those that thrived. Malevolent dead things with serrated knives for teeth? Not so much. I lived in the northeast section of the lake in a small, mostly quiet and uneventful cul-de-sac. Yet I considered the entire region home, sweet home. I only wished I could keep it to myself and all the malicious bastards out.
Aric’s shoulders dropped and he breathed a small sigh of relief when we entered Dollar Point, probably thankful to reach my hometown with
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