Page 12 of Bewitched by the Werewolf (The Bewitching Hour #5)

That prickle up my spine is back again. This time even more than before.

There is definitely something happening that I am not aware of that I need to be.

Looks like I’m going to have to do what I dislike most and chat up townsfolk.

Someone had to see something. A strange light, an odd scent, weird behavior, shadows in the woods, anything.

Since Dottie and Donna place more importance on gossip involving who’s dating who, than strange shadows, I’ll have to start somewhere else.

I know a particular shifter who’s more than happy to oblige my inquiries.

Luca has had a thing for Ginger for years now.

Sadly, the poor sap gets turned down every time he asks, if he even gets that far.

It’s like Ginger has a radar that goes off every time Luca gets anywhere close to her, and she avoids him.

I’m not sure why and she won’t tell us. But that doesn’t seem to deter him.

Anyway he can get closer to Ginger he will, and talking to her older brother is one of those ways.

Driving from city hall to the auto shop where Luca works only takes a few minutes, like everywhere else in town.

I like it that way. Makes keeping everyone safe easier.

I pull into the station and park next to the small shop attached to the garage where they do repair work on cars.

Luca comes bounding out of the garage wiping his hands on an oil-stained rag as soon as he spots my pickup.

He’s already halfway to me before I can even get out of my truck.

“Hey there Ryder. What brings you here?”

He’s only asking because asking after Ginger first thing would seem too eager, but I know it’s coming.

“Hi Luca. I was wondering if you could tell me about anyone new entering town, and if anything seemed off about anyone?”

Luca furrows his brow and plants his hands on his coverall covered hips.

He’s younger than me but I still outweigh him and stand taller than him.

He’s a good kid though, with a good head on his shoulders, works hard and is respectful and friendly.

Probably why Ginger doesn’t like him. She’s a wild one and a bit thick headed.

It’s hard to imagine her with someone as down to earth and mild mannered as Luca.

But it also wouldn’t be a bad thing. He could be good for her if she only gave him a chance.

“Let’s see there was the elderly shifter couple in their RV, Doreen and Bernard, they’ve been here a few times before.

The elf of course, who you know about. Had one guy that was lost but turned right around and headed back towards the interstate.

” He rubs at his neck and smears a black smudge of grease across it.

Maybe that’s why my sister doesn’t like him.

She’s polished and put together while he’s covered in grease stains.

She probably avoids him to avoid secondhand stains. Poor kid.

He thinks for a moment then perks up in excitement. “Oh yeah, there was this one girl, human female from what I could tell. Came into town with an airstream trailer. I gave her directions to the lake to park in the campgrounds.”

I frown down at him. “What do you mean you think she was a human? Couldn’t you tell?”

“Not really. She didn’t smell like anything.”

“What do you mean she didn’t smell like anything? Everyone smells like something. Especially humans,” I growl in patient frustration.

“I mean, she had no discernible scent. Couldn’t scent shifter or mere on her and she wasn’t wearing a glamour. Honestly, she didn’t smell at all. Like she had no scent. It was kind of weird. I’ve definitely never seen her before though and she even said this was her first time in town.”

So, there’s a female in town that doesn’t smell like anything but isn’t wearing a glamour.

She has to be human. We can scent our own immediately.

It’s a biological recognition of kin. We don’t even need to see them, just as long as we can smell them, we can identify them.

But then Luca should have also been able to scent her as human.

They have their own significant scent as well.

It doesn’t smell like anything in particular just human, a little tangy and metallic.

“What did she look like?” I ask. If I’m going to hunt down this female I need a description.

“Tall with long red hair, wears a lot of black. Kinda pretty.” He shrugs. I know he has no interest in this mystery female, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to tease him about his obsession with Ginger.

“Finally moved on from pining after Ginger huh? Good for you.”

“What? No. I don’t pine . I don’t even know if this new girl is a shifter. I have absolutely no interest in her whatsoever. Not even my type. Too…intimidating. Like she could easily kick my ass without breaking a sweat.”

“And Ginger isn’t intimidating?” Maybe he could handle my sister if he isn’t intimidated by her like most males are.

“Not in the least. She’s just playing hard to get is all. One day she’ll say yes to me.” He pauses and looks up at me with hopeful eyes. “So…how is your sister? She’s not seeing anyone, is she?”

“No, Ginger is not seeing anyone. She is how she always is, stubborn, smart mouthed, and glued to a computer.”

Luca sighs in relief and runs a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up from the remnants of grease on his fingers.

“Maybe next time you attempt to ask her out, make sure there’s no grease on you. Anywhere.” I give his dirty coveralls and messy hair a pointed look and he blushes sheepishly.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll make sure I do that. Anything else I can help you with? I’m glad to be of assistance.”

This boy is a little too eager, but maybe Ginger will like that. “When did this female arrive?”

“Maybe two days ago.”

“And you said she’s got an airstream?”

“Yeah, and a black pickup towing it.”

Alright seems like it might be time to seek out this mystery female.

“I think I saw her in town yesterday at Larken’s shop and Dottie’s. I bet they have more information on who she is.”

Dottie did indeed know more about this mystery female.

Her name is Tess and apparently, she’s friends with Georgia’s lawyer nephew Sam, but she’s not a lawyer.

They don’t know what her job is only that she’s in town to view the blood moon.

She gave me the same strange explanation of her scent as Luca did.

She doesn’t smell like anything or anyone in particular and they have no idea if she’s a shifter or not.

As it is, she could be a shifter, mere or more likely, a human.

But with her scent unknown I won’t know till I see her in person and scent her for myself.

It’s not that I don’t believe Dottie or Luca, I just…

don’t believe them. How can a person not have a scent at all?

After leaving Dottie’s I head straight for Blue Agate Lake. There’s a campground area along the northern side of the lake where people can set up RV’s, campers, and tents. That’s where I’ll find this Tess and her trailer, and maybe then I can get some answers.

The prickle across my skin tells me this might be the source of my unease.

If this female is trouble, I need to get her out of town before too many more shifters show up.

Some of them get a little too excited and shift recklessly.

Not that she’d be in any danger—from them—but they could be in danger from her seeing them.

Since there aren’t a lot of visitors in town yet, it’s easy to pick out Tess’s truck and trailer parked in the farthest spot away, nearest to the forest line.

Unlike the few other campers here, her trailer isn’t pointed at the lake with lounge chairs and canopies.

No, the front of her trailer is facing the forest beyond.

There are plenty of open spaces where she could have had better access to the lake or facilities, but she chose to be all the way in the back in the least popular spot.

Most people coming here for vacation don’t like that spot because it doesn’t get good sunlight and is the farthest from the sandy part of the beach where others like to swim and play.

I don’t think this female is here on vacation or to view the blood moon like she told Dottie and Donna. There’s just something about everything I’ve heard about her so far that has my hackles up and I just know she’s going to be trouble.

I park in the regular parking lot near the public bathrooms and picnic area, walking through the campground towards her site. It’s a much friendlier and less aggressive approach so I won’t freak her out. I adjust my gun on my hip and my badge on my belt so they’re easily visible.

The area is quiet with the lack of campers, and the crunch of my boots on the fallen leaves is louder than it should be.

I circle the back of the trailer and check if I can see or hear anyone inside.

There’s no sound coming from within the silver trailer but that doesn’t mean she isn’t in there.

Rounding to the front facing the woods there is still no sign of folding chairs, a bar- be-cue or campfire.

No canopy or table. It’s as if she rolled up, parked, unhooked and that was it. Highly unusual.

There are no lights on inside that I can see but it’s still light out and the windows are darkly tinted. I knock, loudly, and wait. Nothing. I knock again, same as before. Still no answer.

“Hello? Is anyone in there?”

Silence.

“Tess?” I try, hoping if she hears her name she may come out.

Still nothing. Huh. Where could she be? I look closer around the trailer for any sign she was here.

I spot small boot prints in the sandy dirt pointed in the direction of the forest. Maybe she’s one of those hiker types.

Doesn’t like lounging around and gets enjoyment out of long hikes in the woods.

Should I wait for her to return, or go after her?

I contemplate this for a moment. The polite thing to do would be to wait or return later.

However, there’s just something about this female and her unexplained presence in town that has me on alert.

I think I want to know what she’s doing out in the forest.

Making sure no one’s around, I lean in towards the trailer and take a long deep inhale trying to find her scent.

There’s practically nothing. I have to inhale a few more times but all I get is the tiniest scent of apples.

Nothing concrete I can follow. I’ll have to rely on my other senses to track her then.

Shouldn’t be too hard. Humans are notoriously loud and clumsy, shouldn’t be too hard to track her.

I turn and inspect the footprints again then set off into the woods in the direction I believe she went. I’m going to find this Tess female now and get rid of this feeling that won’t go away. I just know she has something to do with it, and I’m going to find out why.

Her trail of impressively light footprints leads me directly into the woods.

There is barely any disturbance to the foliage on her path, no broken branches or flattened bushes to create a path.

As a matter of fact, if I wasn’t looking for it, I probably wouldn’t even see it.

Which only makes me that much more suspicious of this female.

The average person wouldn’t care if they left a trail.

Only someone trying to remain unseen would conceal their presence so well.

She may be good, but I’m better. I can hear soft sounds of fabric rustling against leaves and rubber soled boots scuffing on bark.

It sounds like she’s climbing. Maybe she is a shifter.

I still can’t smell her, or anything else beyond the scents of the forest. Leaves, grass, moss, water, a little decay from the fallen leaves slowly decomposing on the ground in the moist dirt.

I continue following the slight impressions from her steps and the sounds of movement I’m assuming are her.

I don’t immediately see her, which surprises me, but her movements draw my eyes upward to where she sits straddling a large tree branch at least ten feet off the ground.

I take a little consolation in the fact she doesn’t immediately spot me either.

At least I was being as stealthy as her.

Planting my feet in a wide stance I put my hands on my hips, near my gun and badge, and look up at the female dressed in tight black pants and matching leather jacket.

She’s definitely not dressed for hiking.

Shockingly vibrant red hair flows over her shoulders and down her back, a striking spot of color in the middle of the green forest. She’s pretty, and obviously capable since she got herself up that tree.

But that doesn’t take away the fact she’s a stranger in town and when I get that strange awareness again in the back of my mind, I just know I’ve found the source.

“Whatcha doin up there?” I call out to her. She finally notices me and whips her wild red hair around to look at me.

I expect to see shock, surprise, guilt, or embarrassment at being caught in the tree, but she just smiles at me, not in the least bit concerned with my sudden appearance.

“Hi there. I was just bird watching. Thought I saw a yellow beaked long feathered horn bill. Very rare.” She looks up into the tree and peers around the branches. “I think I scared it off.”

Shrugging, Tess swings one leg over the branch so they’re both on the same side and effortlessly jumps, landing flat on her feet on the forest floor.

Her balance is impeccable for a jump from that high, especially for a human.

Because that’s what she has to be. Even from this far away I should be able to scent her but when all I smell is old dirt, I know she’s not a shifter.

Her scent must just be odd for a human. A very pretty and unnerving human.