Page 22

The markon my leg seemed to tingle, like it’d been touched with static electricity. I straightened my pants and brushed my thigh with my palm, unsure if it’d only been my imagination. That paw print. His paw print. It couldn’t be real. I was convincing myself of false things because I’d been feeling discontent lately. It was just a coincidence, it had to be. How could it be possible to be marked from birth? That kind of magic might’ve existed a long time ago, but not today. Notanymore.

Iswalloweddown the rest of my whiskey and started to pace the room. Visiting the guilty in person wasn’t required of me, not for something like this. I could make a phone call to the chief inspector and tell him what the Crescent Moon Clan’s decided punishment would be. Almost certainly, the kind of person who went around breaking into houses wouldn’t have the backing of any clan of influence, so there’d be no disputes, noargument.

But I needed to know.Ineededto see him, and hopefully put this stupid thing torest.

Donning my jacket,I passed Stephen in the main hall. He was with two of our house staff, the three of them pushing carts of empty champagneglasses.

“I’m taking the car, Stephen,”Isaid.

“At this hour, sir?”

“I’m going downtown.”

“Yes,sir… Would you like me to driveyou?”

“No.I won’t be long. Oh, andStephen?”

“Sir?”

“Keep this from my parents.”

He nodded. “Certainly.”

Iroared towards downtown Wolfheart,taking the special restricted roads reserved only for high clan officials. The brightly lit tunnels passed through mountainsides and snaked deep underground, bypassing the crowded freeways and packed streets of the city. A short while later I took the exit that put me right at the police compound, and drove up a ramp to an elevator platform which brought the car into the compound’s parking garage. Chief Inspector Burnside himself hurried out to greetme.

“Mr. Luna,I didn’t know to expect youtonight.”

“It’s an unexpected visit,”Isaid.

“I’m guessingyou’re here to see the man who broke into yourmansion?”

“That’s right.”

Ifollowedhim through the compound, which despite the hour still bustled with life as officers worked. I saw a muzzled grey wolf with a scarred face getting hauled away by two officers, one in human form and one in wolf form. He was dragging his paws, doing everything he could to make moving him difficult, and eventually he even lifted a leg and started to urinate on the wall. The officers shouted and yanked the chain connected to a collar around his neck, and he let out a strained yelp. I lookedaway.

“Isthis your first time at the compound, Mr. Luna?” Chief Inspector Burnside asked. “I’ve only ever met with yourfather.”

“It is.”

“Well,welcome to the dog pound. Probably a shock, coming here from your world. You get used to it. By the way, let me thank you for the donations made from your clan. We really appreciate yourassistance.”

“Certainly,”I said, distracted. I didn’t want to schmooze, I wanted to seehim. “So, what do you know about this man? What’s hisname?”

“He didn’t turnup in any of our databases. This is the first time he’s been caught. We don’t know his name, but it’s only a matter of time. Don’tworry.”

“I’ll ask him.”

The Chief laughed.“Be my guest, but I doubt he’ll tell you anything. Right throughhere.”

He placedhis hand on a wall scanner, unlocking a door in front of us with a loud buzz. Inside was a long row of cells closed off with thick glass walls. Unsavory characters paced or sat in them, some in human form, some in animal form. I made eye contact with a huge bear with mangy fur who then stood up off of his comically small cot and towered up to the ceiling. We reached the final cell. In it was a man curled up on his cot with his back to me, a blanket pulled over him. Compared to the people in the other cells, he seemed out of place. Even though I couldn’t see his face, there was just that air about him. He looked small. Vulnerable. I felt a strange tug in my chest. My heart waspounding.

“Wake up in there,”the Chief said, and pressed a button that sounded a loud buzzing noise inside the cell. The man jerked and bolted upright. Slowly, he turned around. He cradled his right hand, which was wrapped up in a white bandage. He stood up, and the blanket slid from his shoulders, revealing that he was naked down to the waist, his small frame carved with muscles. It was no wonder why he was able to outrun me, even with a hurt paw. His powerful physicality wasobvious.

He narrowedhis glowing sapphire eyes at me, and I felt my heart start to race a little faster. He wasgorgeous.

His voice emerged,a low growl from histhroat.

“You.”