Chapter

Thirty-One

K NOX

Two days after the evening when Danny and I exchanged secrets and I’d confessed that I wanted nothing more than to forge a future here with him, I pulled my motorcycle up outside my cabin.

I removed my helmet, and glanced up as a fat drop of rain splattered on my forehead. It was cold and about to pour at any second, but that wasn’t the reason I froze, instantly on alert. It was the sickly sweet stench of blood and decay that stopped me in my tracks.

I breathed in quietly. The scent that filled my nostrils was at least a day or so old. My wolf rumbled beneath the surface of my skin; his ears pricked for the sound of heartbeats or the rustle of clothes, but there was nothing. Almost complete silence. It was eerie.

Of course, if someone was still here, they’d have heard me roar up on my Harley. They were probably frozen, just as I was, in the hopes I wouldn’t notice them. It was more likely that they’d been and gone while I was staying with Danny.

I cocked my head, debating my next steps. My instincts told me not to approach the front entrance, so I took off my shoes to muffle my footfalls and tiptoed around to the back door. A large, dark lump was splayed on the doorstep.

I retched, my stomach trying to turn itself inside out. Acid burned up the inside of my throat and the awful sour-bitter taste of bile hit my tongue. I spat, but the unpleasantness lingered.

Slowly, reluctantly, I raised my head again.

I approached the huddled form with trepidation. A fly buzzed, and I smacked it away from the dead wolf. Its eyes were glazed, its throat a bloody pulp. Maggots crawled in its flesh, and my stomach rolled again. I swallowed, suppressing the urge to throw up.

Who the hell had done this?

I dropped to my knees beside the wolf. It must have been beautiful once, with lush gray fur and a strong body.

Grief latched its claws into me.

I shifted, shook off my clothes, and then laid myself alongside the wolf.

I howled.

I cried out to alert the whole of Grizzly Ridge that something terrible had been done, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at the wolf again.

It wasn’t a shifter. Perhaps that would bring some people relief, but in my shifted form, it made the situation worse. This animal hadn’t hurt anyone. It had just been living its life when someone had snuffed it out in an attempt to threaten and intimidate me.

What a fucking tragedy.

I howled again, letting loose the full force of my emotions.

Zander arrived first.

I recognized his scent as he rounded the corner and bowled toward me. Instantly I was on my feet, snarling and ready to defend the fallen wolf. To protect its dignity in death.

Zander shifted back, standing a few yards from me.

“Whoa. It’s okay, Knox. I don’t want to hurt him. I just need to take a look. What happened?”

I crouched over the wolf, reluctant to step aside.

“I’ll treat him respectfully,” he promised, getting low to avoid towering over me. “Will you change out of your fur and let me know what’s going on here?”

I hesitated. Zander didn’t mean the fallen wolf any harm. He wanted to help. Logically, I knew that’s exactly what I needed, but fighting my instincts proved difficult.

Someone had killed this beautiful creature because of me—I had absolutely no doubt of that—which meant that caring for it was my responsibility.

“I won’t even touch him.” Zander edged forward. “All right?”

Finally, I shifted. Tears stung my eyes.

“I just got home.” My voice sounded distant, as if I were listening to myself through a layer of molasses. “It’s the first time I’ve been here since Wednesday. I found him like that.”

Zander’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. It looks like he’s been here since yesterday, at least. Possibly earlier.”

I nodded. “Agreed. This is”—I swallowed my emotions—“intended to be a threat, I think.”

Walking closer now that I wasn’t growling to keep him at a distance, Zander examined the fatal wound to the wolf’s throat.

“Do you think it was Rex?” he asked, reaching toward the wolf but stopping before he touched it, clearly remembering his promise not to lay his hands on it. “This could have been done not long after you chased him out of town.”

“It’s possible.” I sniffed, sifting through the layers of scent, but then growled, frustrated. “The smell of decay is too strong. I can’t tell if Rex’s scent is there too, hiding beneath it.”

Zander’s nostrils flared, and I assumed he was testing whether his own nose could pick up anything useful. “You’re right. We’ll pay him a visit anyway.”

“Damn right, we will.” I straightened and balled my fists at my sides. “That asshole has a lot to answer for. If he—”

“Not you.” Zander cut me off. “My team. This is a police matter.”

“The fuck it is. This is a threat from a coward who’s too scared to face me head-on.”

“Knox.” He laid his hand on my shoulder and I glared at him until he removed it. “I can’t condone you dealing with this personally. We don’t even know for sure it was Rex. You’ve made no secret of the fact you’re investigating the rogue wolf pack. It could have been them.”

I clenched my jaw, mentally preparing a list of the reasons that Rex deserved my fist in his face, but before I got the chance to voice them, I heard flat shoes slapping against the pavement and then Melinda Blackwood rounded the corner.

Her gaze went straight to the wolf and she made a pained sound in the back of her throat. She raised her eyes to me, the gold of her bear shining through. I turned stiff as she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.