The Wolf's Call (Two-Natured London) by Susanna Shore

it’s the scenery and the atmosphere of the place,” he said
affably. “Are you sure you couldn’t find out?” As he spoke, he handed a note to
the landlord, presumably to pay for the drinks, but he made a small gesture to
indicate that the man could keep the rest. Expensive lager, if she saw the
denomination correctly.
    The
landlord took the money swiftly. “I think there’s someone who knows. But he
won’t be here until in the afternoon. You should come back then.”
    They
thanked him, took their drinks to a table nearest to the window overlooking the
road, and spent a few futile minutes trying to engage locals into a
conversation. Apparently, the jolly old countryside didn’t exist anymore.
Frustrated, they didn’t finish their drinks and left, telling the landlord they
would definitely be back that afternoon after checking the creek again.
    “That
didn’t go well,” Charly sighed once they were back in the car. Bob hadn’t woken
up the whole time they were away and was still in the car, even though they had
left the back flap open for it. They contemplated taking it for a walk and
engaging locals in conversation over its cuddly form, but they didn’t want to
wake it up.
    Rafe
turned to smile at her, the amusement he had felt for her little act clear on
his face. “I wouldn’t say that. There might actually be someone meeting us when
we return. In the meanwhile, we might as well go to see the place ourselves.”
    As
they wove through narrow country lanes to their destination, Rafe told her
about his clan. “Greenwood clan is the largest wolf clan and one of the most
important shifter clans in the greater London area. Only a leopard clan in
Greenwich is more important than us.”
    Charly
listened, fascinated. She visited the beautiful Greenwich often, but it had
never occurred to her that shifters lived there. She was a typical human.
Two-natureds simply weren’t something she even considered in her circles.
    “There
are smaller predatory clans in London that are influential too, but they tend
to squabble with each other, which prevents them from rising to true
greatness.”
    The
fight from the previous night rose vividly to her mind and she turned to look
at him. “Is it always so violent among shifters?”
    His
face turned grim. “Surprisingly seldom. There are rules governing the
interaction between individual shifters and clans that keep things civilised.
No … yesterday was a hired hit.”
    Charly
felt queasy. “Because of my investigation?” She tried to remember who she had
talked to, but they had all been nameless clerks.
    He
reached out a hand and squeezed her arm reassuringly. “No, it was for buying
the land in the first place.”
    “So
there are shifters in that village who don’t want you there?” Until the night
before, she had only considered human operators, but now a whole variety of
possibilities was opening up for her investigation.
    “That’s
just it. There aren’t.” He sounded frustrated.
    Charly
mulled over this new information for a few moments. “Is it widely known that
your company is owned by shifters?”
    “What
do you mean?”
    “Well,
humans are, in general, prejudiced against your kind, but most of the time we
simply ignore you. But with the debates going on in the Parliament, your
existence has been brought to the fore again. Perhaps the villagers fear that
there will be shifters moving into the new houses and they don’t want that.”
    Rafe
nodded. “That’s a very good possibility, and would explain the timing of the
attack too. But would they hire shifters to do their dirty work if they dislike
us so much?”
    “Who
else? Humans definitely wouldn’t be able to take you down.” Not without a
weapon of some kind, anyway. The thought made shivers run down her spine.
    Rafe
acknowledged it with a smug grin. He pulled over by the road next to an old
meadow that had been left to grow wild. They were in the middle of nowhere, the
nearest farmhouses only