Circle of Desire by Keri Arthur

flicked her wings and swept away, flying across the small town until she was on the opposite side. This section was in the foothills, and streetlights and houses were few and far between. Not an ideal place to be alone in the dark of night—unless you were trawling for the dead. In a town the size of Rogue River, the lonely outskirts were the only place they could hide with any degree of safety. The hearts of such towns were usually too full of gossips who didn’t miss a trick. Even dead ones.
    She spiraled downward, shifting shape as she neared the ground. The minute her feet hit dirt, she felt it.
    Death, headed her way.
    E THAN STARED AT THE EMPTY STREET AND WONDERED IF HIS eyes were playing games. No one could move that fast. Not even him in wolf form.
    High above a bird squawked, the sound oddly reminiscent of a laugh. He glanced up, catching sight of a black form before it flew off. Odd to find a raven this close to the coast—not that he was any sort of expert when it came to birdlife around these parts.
    He let his gaze sweep the street again. She definitely wasn’t here. Her scent stopped at this spot and became something else, something far more ethereal. He walked on, but the night air gave no clue as to where she’d gone. He cursed under his breath, then got his cell phone out and dialed Mark.
    “Hey,” his partner said. “I thought you were supposed to be screwing yourself silly right about now.”
    “I was.” And had it not been for this case and one infuriating woman, he probably still would have been.
    He glanced skyward again. This afternoon’s lovemaking had eased the pressure, but as the moon rose, so, too, did the fever. It worried him. He had no wish to find another partner right now, but if Kat wasn’t accommodating, he just might have to. When the moon ran to fullness, desire gave way to base-level need. He had no wish to test the breaking point of his control.
    “I want you to do me a favor,” he said.
    “Sure. What?”
    “Go check out that body they found in the back of the truck.”
    “They wouldn’t have had time to do an autopsy yet.”
    “I know. Call in some favors if you have to, but get down there tonight and check it out for me.”
    “Why the urgency?”
    “Because there may not be much of a body left in the morning to check out.”
    Mark hesitated. “Have you been drinking?”
    “No.” Though he wouldn’t have minded a beer or two right now, if only to ease the stiffness in his bruised back muscles. “Just trust me on this and do as I ask.”
    Mark grunted. “Anything else?”
    “Yeah. Do another background check on Katherine Tanner. I want to know all there is to know about her.”
    The phone line was silent for several seconds, then Mark said, “Don’t tell me she’s the pretty girl you’re bedding, partner, because the captain will hit the roof.”
    “My sex life has nothing to do with Benton.”
    “It does when the woman you’re involved with is a major player in a case you’ve been warned off.”
    “I started this case, and I have every intention of finishing it. And neither the department nor the captain is going to stop me.”
    “This could get you into very deep trouble, my friend.”
    “If we catch this killer, I don’t really care.”
    Mark grunted. “So where the hell are the three of you now? The captain went off his tree when he discovered they’d left the hotel with no word.”
    “We’re in Rogue River. The killer’s apparently on the move, so I can’t say how long we’ll stay.”
    “You want me to inform the local sheriff you’re there?”
    No, he didn’t, but if things went pear-shaped, itwas better to have their butts covered. “You’d better. I guess you’d better tell the captain, too.”
    “I will. And keep me posted. If you find anything—and I mean
anything
—you report in. I don’t want to be going through the hassle of breaking in a new partner. I just got you trained properly.”
    “Yeah, right,” Ethan said