Page 6

Chapter Five

M arric heard strange voices downstairs. They didn’t belong to the witch and pack member from a couple of nights ago.

When Marric came down the stairs and entered the living room, he saw one of the cops from this morning’s break-in.

He wanted to turn right back around and head upstairs again.

He tried to keep his heart rate normal. Fortune Falls Sheriff’s deputy was a wolf shifter. He could tell if Marric panicked.

Thank the gods the scent suppressant had worn off hours ago. Not having a scent would be as much an admittance of guilt as if they’d caught him breaking into a house. But he smelled a little too much like the forest behind the house he entered.

He’d crouched in the bushes, watching the sheriff until he left. Marric couldn’t stop thinking about the hot, silver fox. He’d been too far away to catch his scent.

He couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but the Fortune Falls sheriff might be his mate.

If it had been the sheriff who showed up at his house and not the deputy, Marric would have considered confessing everything so long as the sheriff handcuffed him.

If he cuffed him to a bed, that would be even better.

The person who sat on the couch next to the deputy was a big man with auburn hair and dark eyes. He was also a wolf. He had a vibe like the one Cass gave off. He might have been a first responder.

It was the big guy who spoke. “My name is Vince McKenzie. And this is Cass Huber. We’re from the Fortune Falls pack.”

“My sense of smell works great,” His dad said. Fortune Falls pack smelled different, more like mountain pine than their pack did because Fortune Falls was further up the mountain than Timeston was.

Vince had enough sense to blush.

Dad sat in the chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Marric knew him well enough to know he was tense.

He knew why. If Marric went to jail, Dad had to save Emery on his own and protect her, which would be difficult considering one of them had to go out and find the cure.

The cure was unlikely to walk onto the farm after all.

He also needed to keep Regan’s presence a secret, especially from the cops who may have a missing person’s report on him.

Marric had wanted to call and find out, but he didn’t want to draw attention to them and the farm.

Marric walked into the room, ignoring the wolves. Marric leaned down, whispering in his dad’s ear. “Regan?”

“Barn.” If Marric hadn’t been so close, he wouldn’t have heard the one-word response.

Marric walked out of the room. All he had to do was keep Regan out of sight.

The men continue their conversation when he left. “I assume you know what happened with our former alpha.”

“Saw something coming with that dickhead from a mile away. You were all idiots to vote him in.”

“I can see why you have a reputation, and I can’t fucking believe I’m about to ask for your help because you are a grade A asshole.” That was Cass, the deputy.

Marric stood outside on the porch next to the door and listened to their conversation. He put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

Dad wouldn’t take offense to anything Cass Huber said, especially being called an asshole. It didn’t bother him unless Marric said it to him.

“My help, huh?”

“With the pack. Stand in as alpha until we can find the right alpha.”

His dad sighed. “Must be pretty bad if you’re coming to me.”

“It’s not good.”

“I wish I could, but I’ve got a lot going on here.” His dad was sincere. He would have helped if not for the illness and Regan being with them. Both needed to stay a secret. Because most likely they were connected. Telling one secret opened the other one too.

Marric watched the barn door, making sure Regan didn’t come out.

“Can I send you the date and place to our next pack meeting? Just in case you change your mind.”

“I’ll attend if things change around here.” And by change, he meant finding a cure.

“We appreciate any help you could give us.” There was a pause, as if the deputy and Vince McKenzie stood to leave. Cass Huber spoke again. “We’d like to be allies. That means help goes both ways.”

Sensing the men would leave soon, Marric left the porch and headed toward the barn.

He was halfway there when they came out of the house.

Marric didn’t stop walking until Cass Huber said, “Hey, kid.”

Marric turned, meeting his gaze. He raised his eyebrows. “Deputy.”

He wasn’t in his uniform. “You’re Ransome’s kid, right?”

“So he says.”

He heard his dad say his name, followed by, “Smartass kid.”

Marric grinned.

Dad might have acted as though Marric annoyed him, but if Marric was as smartass, it meant he felt better and that came as a relief for his dad.

They both knew the illness would come back in a few days.

Marric liked to let his dad know how he felt.

He figured he might as well shake his dad’s tree a little while he was at it. Life was a little more fun that way.

“Your smell is unique.” Cass sniffed the air.

Marric smirked and turned toward the barn. “Tell the sheriff I said hi.”

Marric sent a silent thank you to the gods for scent suppressant. If he hadn’t sprayed himself before burglaring they might have caught him. No one but Emery had a scent similar to his and Cass Huber would have known in that moment who the perpetrator was.

Marric had to remember to be careful in the future.

Regan stood at Sparks’ stall, petting his nose. “Is Grandpa done talking to those strange wolves?”

Marric nodded. “Do you want to go back inside, or do you want to go for a ride?”

Regan snapped his gaze to Marric. “Really? You’ll take me?”

“Emery’s a better rider. If she felt well enough, she would take you. You’ll have to settle for me as a teacher.”

“Can we go see Emery first? I bet she’s lonely in her room all the time.” As if they didn’t spend hours with her. And Dad carried her down the stairs all the time.

Marric wrapped an arm around Regan and hugged him close as they left the barn. “You know I love you, right? We’re hiding you because we want to keep you safe. Not for any other reason.”

Marric didn’t like to think about Regan having to leave them.

They would give him up so long as he stayed safe.

It might break Marric’s heart, but he would do it.

Marric’s gut told him to keep Regan close and to keep him hidden.

But he didn’t know enough about where Regan came from to know if that was the right thing to do.

“Grandpa loves me too, right?”

Dad stood in the doorway. “I love you more than life itself, Regan. Come here and give me a hug.”

Regan smiled and ran to Dad. “Love you, too.”

Dad lifted Regan into his arms. “Let’s go see if Emery feels well enough to watch Marric make a mess of your riding lesson.”

“Harsh.”

“But accurate.” Dad winked at Regan and carried him out of the barn. “I’ll help, and maybe Emery will feel well enough to give you pointers.”

Marric followed them into the house. “He’s too old to be carried all the time, Dad.”

“Do you want me to put you down, Regan?”

Instead of answering, Regan grinned and met Marric’s gaze. “You’re just jealous.”

Marric shrugged. “Well, yeah. I mean, who wouldn’t like to be carried around like a prince all the time.”

Dad chuckled. “Are you a prince?”

Regan shook his head, taking the question seriously. “They kept me in the dungeon. They don’t put princes down there.”

That sobered them. “How long did they keep you in the dungeon? Who kept you there?”

Regan shrugged and wiggled around until Dad set him on his feet.

Emery came down the stairs. She wrapped herself in blankets but walked without stumbling. “Don’t make him talk about it, Marric.”

Her cheeks were rosy from the fever and her ponytail was askew, but she seemed better than she had in several days.

“I won’t.” It was beyond time they found out about how and why Regan stumbled into their barn, though. Regan’s silence couldn’t last very much longer.