Bart was investigating the scent as best as he could in this form. No point in terrifying the innocent, mundane people around here. With the hunter-types and the guys he worked with around, he was more likely to get shot. It’s not like the provincial park where a wolf or wolf-dog could be explained away. So, there he was sniffing around when he hears a voice behind him. “What are you doing?” A familiar feminine voice asked. He would swear later that he could hear her raise a questioning eyebrow in the very tone of her voice. Crap. His stomach and heart nearly fell out of his body when he heard it. Grace was standing right behind him. What did she notice? Would she say something? How did he explain this? He felt like a guy who’d been caught by his girlfriend kissing another woman. “Hey, uh… you’ll not believe me if I told you.” All that ran through his head was ‘Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask.’ “Try me slugger.” Ohhh…he knew without turning around to loo
Paul thought his job would be to look in on the search, but leave it to the experts. His pack mates, really. They trained these wolves to human standards to be forest rangers. Little did the humans know they knew more about the forests on a bad day than any human could teach them. Dog and human were wolf shifters. Smarter, faster, and stronger. They knew the territory and how to find a person better than anyone. So, what was holding them back? That’s why Paul was here. To find out what they knew, they couldn’t tell a human cop. “We’re in luck with this missing persons’ case. The trail hasn’t ended at the edge of the park, like the others. Which means they’re missing hikers, not missing persons. We’re closing in on them. Hopefully, we’ll have them before nightfall.” Alex looked up from the satellite radio he’d just received a check in on from one team of searchers. “Not missing like the others. Well, I guess that’s better than adding numbers to the list. No s
“Rob, we need to do something. If the hunters didn’t set those fires, then it’s the rogues. We’re running out of guilty parties. When you found Old Man Jacobs, there wasn’t any fire around him, so he’s ruled out.” Jon washed the floors as Rob organized the bar. “The door to the backstairs wasn’t locked, but the door to the shop was forced open. My guess, he left the backdoor unlocked, and locked the shop door. Hiding the break-in to witnesses. We know about the recent appearances of the rogues. The supposed hunters spending a lot of time in town.” The old building had two back doors. One door led to stairs going to the apartment and a second door leading into the store. “Yeah, for hunting on the off-season, they’re very conspicuous. The rogues, there’s been another seven sightings, two were physical. One may explain the break-in at the clinic. They were looking for medical supplies and medicines that work on wolf shifters.” Jon now finished with the floors,
“What happened to your neck?! That looks painful.” Becky couldn’t believe Jane Ann walking around with a huge bandage on her neck. “Nah, but it was a long time coming. I should have known hormones would rule us. Like a couple of randy teens, we got into it, and you know what I mean by into it. Well, instinct and nature got the better of us. I knew it would happen. I didn’t think to tell you about it. Sorry, for worrying you.” “You still haven’t told me what happened.” Becky looked at Jane Ann askance. How could she be so calm about this? “Okay, this is typical of wolf shifters. Each group has a way of marking their mates. Wolves, it’s bites. Bears leave claw marks. Cats… Well, don’t get me started on cats. They’re just plain weird.” “You’ve still not explained anything beyond there’s a zoo out there of animals pretending to be human.” “It’s a mating thing. This is like a permanent ring. Seal the deal for all time. Becky, these guys
The two wolves, as Becky, thought of Rob and Jon. So human, yet so not. They came in looking exhausted. It was almost four-thirty in the morning. Why were they all still awake? She didn’t know. “The bar is ready for tomorrow. Bart and Paul are tracking some scent Jon found in your clinic, Becky. So, all is not lost. They will see what they can find. We suspect the rogues used the fire as a diversion to get into the clinic for medical supplies and medications. There was a physical altercation, and we know at least one rogue was injured.” “So, what you’re saying is that I was lucky I wasn’t there for them to kidnap.” Becky couldn’t believe it. This is what Rob was protecting her from. Jon grunted as he nodded, along with Rob. “Or they could have mistaken Janie as the vet and taken her, thinking she could help the injured fool.” Jane Ann gave him a look of alarm, before she turned her round eyes on Becky, looking for some kind of assurance or support.
Bart and Paul left there through the back way and headed down through the alley to the clinic. This was easy for them to walk it. They could dodge around the dumpsters and overgrown bushes that vehicles couldn’t. “This is where Grace interrupted my tracking.” “Is she really your mate?” “If I was a cat, she would be catnip.” “Okay, enough said. Forget I asked. That’s an image I don’t want to see.” Paul waved Bart off from further discussing this subject, and got back into searching for the scent. “When you find the scent, you’ll know. It’s a chemical trail that vaguely smells like lemons or citrus. I think it’s a cologne or shampoo they’re wearing, but there’s nothing natural about it.” “Oh, geez. I got it. It smells like that old spray furniture polish, but a knock down cheap version made in a lab.” Paul’s voice trailed off and he looked at Bart for confirmation. “How did I miss that connection?” Bart pulled out h
Bart returned to the motel where he left Grace to her own means after he got off work. She was oddly unhappy about that. But she told Bart she wanted to take the information she now knew and do a little research. Grace thought she might have something, but it was in her notes. She’d also warned Bart that her investigative instincts told her that his new workplace was having issues, and he needed to watch what he said or did. Little did Grace know that was something Bart always needed to do. Edit what and how he said things, make sure he could explain how he figured out something that wouldn’t raise suspicion. That was the life of a shifter who worked with humans. You couldn’t actually tell them you were following a scent trail. Humans didn’t do things like that. But no matter how much he wanted to explain that to her now, it was far too early. If he could tell her at all. He let that go, claiming he wanted to go home, do a few things and change. Which was su
Rob woke to a strange cellphone ringing and cracked an eye open to see Becky struggling to answer it. “Yeah, hello, Mr. Kyle. Gertie’s acting restless and her flanks are soft. Yes, that is a good sign if she were a couple of weeks later in her pregnancy, but it’s not a bad sign. Yes, yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can get the vet mobile going. You just keep Gertie as comfortable as you can, and don’t let her sense your unease. Or she’ll panic and we can’t have that.” Becky disconnected the call and looked. “I’m sorry. We’ve only slept a few hours. I need to check in on the cow. This is probably her last calf and Mr. Kyle is counting on the money from the calf's sales to stay afloat. He’ll have to replace her before the next breeding season.” “Well, that’s tough. Does he really need to keep his anxiety hidden from the cow?” “You’d be surprised how responsive animals are to emotion, but no. She’s an old pro at this, it’s more for Mr. Kyle’s benefit I
Becky stopped in at the new broadcasting centre in town to have lunch with Grace. Jane Ann was back in the pack, claiming she couldn’t get away because her twins didn’t let them sleep last night. She’d had two males in offspring. Becky still thought it was odd to say that, but they could be lynx, wolf, or human. It was anyone’s guess right now. No one would know for another seven to ten years. Grace sadly lost a pregnancy. The healers claimed it was because she was doing too much, and the stress was too much for her. They would continue trying to have pups once Grace’s schedule settled down and became more manageable. Becky and Rob were still trying after a few false positives. But today was the day they’d first gathered as the mate’s self-help group and explained everything to Grace. How did the pack take the news that their Beta’s mate wasn’t human but a lynx shifter? It was mixed, but nothing like the reaction of the elders who were remo
3 Months later- First Lycan Pack The seer entered the new territory and felt the rush of the past and present mingling there. Sadly, she may feel it. She wasn’t strong enough to see it. Thankfully, she couldn’t see it either. The headache she received to some time to get rid of. The land had a lot of traumas associated with it; the druids did their job and tried to wash it away. The issue was that only a god or time could purify a land fully, and no one had time like that to wait. She settled into the seat the pack provided for her as she waited for the time she’d be needed. Many spoke carefully with her, and it was all quite sombre and different from the last one she’d presided over. Someone pushed her right shoulder forward and when she looked behind her, there was no one there. Well, no one with a physical body. She’d told no one that she had a physical connection to the dream realm. She’d encountered no one with this curse? Ability? Whatever people
“Jon, wait. Uh, we need to talk. I want to know when we’re breaking the news to everyone. I mean, what’s one more scandal? One more controversial mating fact? I hate sitting here lying to everyone.” Jane Ann held onto Jon’s forearm and looking into his eyes. Her guilt and frustration were written all over her face. Only Jon knew their family’s secret, the reason they were one of the few families that kept the pack’s secrets over the years. Only the alpha’s knew about them, except no one told Rob directly and since Rob didn’t correct anyone about assuming Jane Ann’s species, she’d struggled with telling him. Jon though kept begging her not to say anything to him, because it was all too much at the time. Her big secret? Her mother and she were lynx shifters. One of the few shifters that didn’t have a pack or community. They lived usually in family groupings only. Jane Ann’s father followed her momma here and kept her secret and that of the pack this entire tim
Becky couldn’t believe how quickly the pack pulled off the preparations for the mating ceremonies. Two for the price of one. It seemed this was offending the case where there would be a spree of matings at the same time. She’d been given several reasons for this, but it all came down to people finding the one that fate made perfect for them. The wolf shifters don’t believe that people complete each other. Rather that they complement each other. No one is lesser in a pairing. Where one goes, the other will surely follow. The drive for family and community or pack was a driving force for the wolf shifters Becky was somehow now intertwined with. Rogues were an exception to the rule she found out, and it often harmed them mentally and eventually they would see physically it. That’s why the Ruling Council and Rob were so keen on convincing the young rogues and their pups to settle for the pack life. They didn’t show the signed of the mental of physical decay yet;
Everyone in the First Lycan Pack territory was trying their best to adjust to the changes. Even Bart found he had difficulty adjusting to the new routines. Half his problem, he found, was that he needed to write the routines so he could refer to them again and again. The week went by far too fast. Bart learned quickly that the rules and routines he introduced were a strong suggestion. Those rules and routines right now needed to be written in wet cement rather than be set in stone. Grace’s day was insanely busy with her forced to travel between the packs for her job with the Ruling Council. Once the rest of the pack was here, they’d find people to train for the jobs she’d need help with, and then they’d move everything over to their territory. Rob right now was being nice to them and more than generous to let them use the space they were using. Today, the plan to bring the rest of the pack here was in full swing. There was an excitement in
The seer sat last, and she smiled nervously between her guests. “Now, let me guess. You’re here because you want your lives to go on as the Moon Goddess planned them, but you’re encountering obstacles. Am I right?” She looked expectantly at Rob and Becky as if they had the answer she sought. They looked among themselves to see who would be the first to say anything, but the seer carried on as if there wasn’t an awkward silence. Her friendly voice prattled on as she tried to entertain her guests. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything mystical or magical that gave me that information. My phone and messages have been lighting up like a Christmas tree mid season with calls from many people who are angry one way or the other. Heck, one elder called me to find out if I, a seer, could put a curse on you, like I was a mage, druid, or witch. When I told him I couldn’t and wouldn’t he threatened to harm me. You really must get those old wolves under control, Alpha Northgate.”
The next day, Rob took his brother and their mates to see the local seer. She wouldn’t accept membership within his pack, but she didn’t have to. All she needed to do was provide guidance when some came looking for it. They well paid the seer for that. They hoped she wouldn’t respond like the Council of Elders had. If she did, they’d have to delay the mating ceremony until he would repopulate the Council of Elders with a better representation of the pack. This wasn’t something Rod discussed with anyone else. It was a silent worry that nagged on his mind as they travelled the distance to get to the Seer’s small home, which she’d built in a quiet corner of the county district. “How are we going to approach this one? A little more information would go down more nicely this time, because what you did yesterday, Rob, was a shocking revelation, and it doesn’t look good when the people backing you up have to pick up their jaws off the floor. We should k
“Okay, now I have a list of all your names here, and packages with the information you’ll need to know to settle in here. These packages contain everything from what room you’ll have here for now to the house that will be yours. Contact numbers are pre-programmed into the phone inside each package, so when you get your package, don’t drop it. Yes, your new position is within the package, along with a list of your duties. There are several maps, so you can get around here on your own. Your phones have an app that, if you get close to one of the current borders, it will beep. No one is coming to get you if this happens. But if you’re lost, please call. I’ve seen the land out there and it’s a mess. The humans messed with the terrain extensively. So try going for a run in pairs or small groups until you are familiar with the location. Or at least tell someone you’re going and about when you’ll be back. One of the lynx stone masons found a rather steep hillside one evening and wen
Becky and Rob were both pleasantly surprised by the response his speech received from the pack. Rob learned quickly that he’d been wrong. His pack was with him, and not the Council of Elders. He couldn’t believe the support he received with people volunteering to help set up the mating ceremonies for both couples. “Yes, I’ll let everyone know when we have a planning meeting, and we can make all the decisions then.” Rob assured them over and over until he had to stop the crowd forming. “I’d like to thank everyone who’s offering or offered to help right now. I’ll set up a meeting for everyone who’s interested in offering their services or volunteering. We’ll take a few hours and decide, organize who’s doing what. Just set things up so we don’t miss anything, or have too many people doing one thing. We’ll make this a success.” A murmur of approval went through the small crowd of people, and they talked among themselves. “Look, I’ll put a clipboard out tonight in the pac