The Mating by Nicky Charles Page B

up.

    “It’s all right with me, as long as you keep to the areas we have marked off as safe. After Thomas’ accident, we’ll be patrolling the pathways daily but we can’t do the whole territory. I’ll be giving everyone in the pack the same message. No free roaming for the next little while.”

    His decree brought something else to mind. “Kane, last night Helen and Carrie mentioned something about traps that were being set, but not by humans. They wouldn’t explain and said you’d told them not to tell me.”

    Kane was silent for a moment, possibly considering his answer. Finally, he gave a heavy sigh. “They’re right. It’s a rather complicated situation and I want to make sure that you have all the facts, not just some part truths.” He looked around and spotted a log near the edge of the woods. “Come on. We’ll sit over here and talk. There’s less chance of being interrupted outside than there is at the house.”

    Elise followed him to the place he’d indicated, wondering what he might have to tell her. Whatever it was, it had him looking rather grim. Sitting down beside Kane, she waited for him to speak, studying his profile out of the corner of her eye. His dark hair fell across his forehead, softening what might otherwise have been a stern face; his jaw was set and his brows lowered. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t about Thomas though, but about an incident that had happened several months earlier.

    “Remember how I told you that Zack had been killed in a car accident? He was coming home, took a curve too fast, and ended up going over the edge of the cliff and breaking his neck. The strange thing was that Zack wasn’t a fast driver and had driven that road all of his life. Negotiating the curve was something he should have been able to do in his sleep. When we checked the vehicle afterwards, we found that there were no brakes. There was a hole in the line and the fluid had all leaked out.”

    “Were the hoses just old and worn out?”

    “Nope – it was a brand new truck. Helen had gotten it for him on his fifty-fifth birthday, just two months previous.”

    “Then…?”

    “It could have been a flaw in the material, but we suspect that someone actually tampered with the brakes.”

    Elise gasped. “That’s awful! Did you call the police?”

    “No. We left it as driver error. The police would have asked too many questions. The risk of being discovered was too great and outweighed the need for a formal investigation. Nothing could brink Zack back.”

    “But who would do such a thing? And why? Surely you need to find out.”

    “At the time we didn’t really have any leads. John and I have some suspicions, but no proof. Actually, only a few of us even know about the brake line; we didn’t want to upset the whole pack. I’ll expect you to keep this to yourself.” Kane looked at her for acquiescence and Elise nodded.

    “Who does know?”

    “Myself, John, the Elders and Helen. Not even Carrie is aware of all the facts.”

    “This was just recent, wasn’t it?”

    “Yeah – two months ago.”

    “And then you took over.”

    Kane nodded. “Right after Zack’s accident, the Elders met to decide the leadership, but the decision was split and it caused a big controversy, which was unfortunate given that everyone was still upset over losing Zack. “

    “You mentioned that both you and the other Beta were up for the job. His name was Ryne, wasn’t it?”

    “Yes.” Kane rubbed his hands over his face, obviously upset by the memory. “We were co-Betas and it should have just been a pack vote, but for some reason, Ryne was adamant that the position be decided by a challenge. Several people tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. It was so unlike him, too. Anyway, as I told you, we fought and it was pretty nasty. Ryne and I are pretty evenly matched but my advantage is that I know how to wait and choose my moment. In the end, I won but I wouldn’t kill