Page 42 of Shrouded in the Dark

Everyone was laughing again as they watched me wiggle out of Cody’s reach. Hands around my waist lifted me off the stool and into Jasper’s lap. Stiffening, I looked up at him. His eyes were crinkled as he grinned.

“Want some help keeping your phone away from the scavenger?”

“I am not a scavenger, you beast!” Cody’s outraged howl had me doubling over at the ridiculousness of this situation.

“Yes, you are.” Jasper sounded bored, causing Cody to get even more agitated. Jasper curled himself around me so it felt like we were cocooned together. “I have the fair maiden now, Cody!” He laughed in a mock evil voice.

“Dear Lord.” Seth’s exasperated tone made both of the two men freeze in their antics. “Let her finish her breakfast. Cody, leave her phone alone. Jasper, pass her to me with her food.”

“Wait. What?”

Jasper didn’t even hesitate to move me to Seth’s lap, who sat next to him in the chair.

These men picked me up so easily, it was insane!

Seth’s left arm wrapped around me, pulling me up against his chest as I sat sideways on his lap. Jasper pushed my food next to Seth’s.

“Eat,” Seth mumbled softly as I felt his chin brush the back of my hair.

“Right.” It came out as a squeak. I could eat while sitting in one of the hottest guy's lap as he held me like I was something precious.

No, I couldn’t. My focus was lost at the feeling of where our bodies touched. As I tried to eat, my spoon kept missing the bowl altogether.

“You alright there? Need some help?” Seth had moved so he could whisper that in my right ear. His lips touched my sensitive outer skin.

My body visibly shuddered, which just made me blush harder because I knew he felt it. I was coming undone by these guys and it just wasn’t fair.

I liked it, though. I wouldn’t say it out loud. There was no way they were serious with their teasing.

“I’m good.”

With effort, I finished my food, except I didn’t taste it. My mind was going everywhere as I contemplated why Seth was holding me when he could have just switched seats. That would have just as easily stopped Cody from trying to take my phone. Did he want me in his lap? Maybe he did like me?

Nah, there was no way.

* * *

Axel

I’d found the body before anyone else in the early morning just as the hint of the sun began to lighten the sky. I’d been tracking this rogue's scent all over the mountain for a good portion of the night. I’d been just about to turn around to go home in defeat when the wind had shifted just so with the scent of fresh blood.

The body was torn to pieces. The head was missing, as well as the lower stomach. My bear had snarled silently as we canvassed the forest around us. It was a small clearing. I’d sniffed just enough to know that the man had been alive as this sicko had dragged him here before eating him alive. It looked messy, except it wasn’t. The body parts had been arranged in such a way that the rogue would have had to do it, probably when the human had still been alive before his head was ripped clear off. It wasn’t any way that I would wish on anyone to die.

I backed away after sniffing out all the scents around the body. I moved to a large tree about a hundred feet from the scene before climbing it to a tall branch that would hold our weight. I transformed back, ignoring the rough bark under my ass. We’d all put our cellphones around our necks in a little bag so that we could stay in contact for long distances once we’d realized the situation was more dire than we’d first thought.

Seth was guarding Becca tonight, but he would be in his human form since his senses were twice as powerful as ours in human form. The benefits of being an alpha, he shared some of our powers that boosted his.

“Yeah?” he answered before the first ring even finished.

“I found a body.”

“How close?”

I tipped my nose back so that I could take a deep breath in.

“I can vaguely smell you. Possibly fifteen miles from your location. I’ll send you the coordinates after we hang up. What do you want me to do?”

“This asshole is getting bolder. First, the dead animals he’s been shredding around the forest for us to find, marking everywhere as if this were his territory, that hiker, and now this.” Seth was perfectly controlled, which meant he was ready to shift and destroy something. “This is too close to home. I can’t figure out what this asshole’s goal is. Come home.”