Chapter 11

There was already a crowd surrounding the body when Amara and Nova sprinted up the path. Jud, the town coroner and resident mortician, knelt beside the corpse. His gloved hands moved swiftly and efficiently, gathering evidence.

Amara searched the scared, familiar faces for the sheriff. Finding him, she made a bee line through the crowd until she stood next to him. “Mac,” she breathed by way of greeting. He let out a startled huff when he saw her.

“Oh, Amara, it’s just you.” Mac sounded tired and weary. Given the circumstances, Amara didn’t blame him.

“What happened?” she asked, her keen eyes probing the scene. There had obviously been a struggle of some sort. And definitely more than this poor boy had been involved. The question though, was had it been wolf or human?

“Looks like a wolf attack,” the sheriff replied. “That’s the fourth one this month, Amara.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. His expression was one of hopelessness. “I don’t know how to fix this. We’ve sent out hunting parties. We’ve instigated a curfew. Thanks to you making the Mayor finally do his job, we now have a nightly neighborhood watch. And still, I’m getting calls in the middle of the night that there’s a body in the woods.”

She felt for him. Mac McDougal had been Strathford’s sheriff for the last fifteen years. He’d also been her father’s best friend. After her dad had died, Mac made it his mission to clear out the wolves in Strathford. For a while, he’d even succeeded. Then Amara and her friends got attacked and the wolf presence in town escalated to one or two attacks per year. Recently, however, things had gotten bad. Sightings or incidents were reported monthly. No one in Strathford felt safe anymore. A few of them had even moved. Most just hid behind their walls, praying no one they knew or cared about was the next victim. Her own mother was one of them. That was no way to live, Amara thought. And if she could, she was going to help put a stop to it.

“Who is he?”

Mac shook his head. “No idea. A hiker maybe. Wrong place, wrong time. Poor bastard.”

Amara frowned. Poor bastard indeed. “Thanks for calling me, Mac,” she said, patting his arm.

He nodded once. “I did have an ulterior motive,” he admitted, glancing sideways at her.

She raised a brow. “Oh?”

“You’re good with people, Mara. Just like your dad was, and your grandfather before him. Technically, that empty seat on the Council is yours.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, not sure she was following. “But what does that have to do with this?”

“I want you to be my deputy.” Surprise lit her face, but she said nothing. “I need you to help me keep the peace,” he continued. “People are antsy, they don’t know what to do. And the Mayor, well, he’s a bloody coward. He would rather plant his head in the sand and pretend nothing was happening than get out here at six in the morning to find out what’s going on. But you, you have your finger on the pulse of this town. You’re everyone’s favorite bartender. I could really use your help keeping the morale of this place up. It’s falling fast, and if it goes, any sense of law and order will go with it.”

Fear threaded its way through her veins. She knew he was right. How could he not be? People were scared. And when people were scared, they did stupid, crazy things. She couldn’t imagine a dead body in the woods would help that any.

She nodded. “Sure. Anything you need.”

“Great. Come by the station later. We’ll get everything set up.” The coroner beckoned him forward and he pulled away from her. After a few steps, he turned back, a grateful smile on his closed lips. “Thanks, Mara.”

“Any time.”

“What was that about?” Nova asked quietly, stepping into Mac’s empty spot.

“He wants to make me a cop.”

“No kidding?”

She frowned up at him. “What? Is that such a crazy idea?”

Nova raised his hands in surrender. “Not at all. It’s a good one, actually. I think you’ll be good at it. The people listen to you.”

“That’s exactly what Mac said.”

“Smart man.”
“Yeah. He is.” She watched silently as the coroner pointed and gestured over the body. Mac watched closely, nodding a few times and jotting notes down on his white notepad. “So, what really happened here?” she asked.

Nova’s features tightened into a tense mask. “Nate and Ian took a group on patrol last night. They were attacked. This one apparently didn’t make it.”

“Attacked? Is he one of yours?” Nova shook his head. Amara took a deep breath. “Is anyone else hurt?”

“Ian’s at the compound in the infirmary.” Though his voice was steady, she knew his control was balancing on the edge of a knife. “They aren’t sure he’s going to make it.”

The ball of dread in the pit of Amara’s stomach had started to form while they were in the woods. It had grown exponentially as Nova had recounted his conversation with Nate that morning on their drive back to the compound. And now, as she followed Nova down the street toward the small building the Pack used as a make-shift hospital, that little ball was a like a gremlin, tossing and turning inside her, just trying to get out.

Of all the people it could have been, Amara thought, why did it have to be sweet, quiet, sensible Ian? She felt a little guilty for thinking that way, but she’d come to adore the boy over the last couple weeks. He wasn’t all that much younger than her, and the two of them had become good friends during her time at the compound. She really didn’t want to see him lying there, hurt, when there was nothing she could do to stop it.

They were keeping Ian in a small room at the back of the house. It was a private room because Nemoy had demanded it, so it was one of the only areas divided by walls instead of curtains. Amara wondered how often they had to use this place for the kinds of injuries Ian had sustained. Often? She didn’t really want to think about it.

Nova placed his hand on the door knob and hesitated a moment or two, readying himself before going inside. She couldn’t imagine he was handling it any better than she was.

Ian lay in the twin-size bed in the center of the room. His face was bruised and, while it had definitely been wiped down, she could still see traces of dirt and dried blood on his skin. Tubes were coming out of his mouth and wrist, hooked into a machine that beeped with the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Well, that was a good sign, at least.

Nate sat by Ian’s side, looking crestfallen. His face brightened somewhat when he caught sight of Nova and Amara.

Nova turned back to her. “Would you mind sitting with Ian for a bit? I need to speak with Nate.”

“Sure.” Taking his place, she squeezed Nate’s hand as she passed. He and Nova disappeared into the hallway. She could just make out their muffled voices. “Don’t worry,” she told Ian’s unconscious form. “We’ll take care of Nate for you.” Reaching out, she took Ian’s hand. “I think he’s a little worried. Nova is too, if you want to know the truth.”

Just then, the door opened again. Amara looked up and her mouth dropped open in surprise. Neveah stood just inside the doorway, looking just as astonished as Amara was. Her long fingers were white-knuckled around the cup of coffee she held. Her other hand brushed nervously down the folds of her long, wool skirt. She looked like she’d been crying.

“Oh. Amara.” Neveah searched for words, leaving Amara a little flustered herself. “I didn’t know you would be here. In fact, this is the last place I expected you to be.”

Amara bit her lip. Of course, Neveah would take a dig at her. She was only human, after all. “Ian is my friend. I wasn’t just going to leave him alone.”

“He isn’t alone.” Then, as if reconsidering, Neveah’s features softened and she looked almost apologetic. Amara thought she must be imagining things. Maybe the stress was getting to her more than she thought. “But, I am glad he has a friend with him.” Neveah eyed Amara strangely. “Where is my son?”

“In the hall with Nate, last I checked.”

“Well he isn’t out there now.”

“Oh.” Amara made a mental note to kill Nova later. Damn him for leaving her alone with his mother. No one had ever made her feel so unwelcome in her life.

Neveah took a seat on the other side of Ian’s bed. The two women stared awkwardly at each other.

“I heard your sister has gotten herself involved with Kal Vann,” Neveah said finally. The words were innocent enough—if a bit insensitive—but her tone had a bite to it.

Amara suppressed a sigh. “He’s not the man I would have chosen for her, that’s for sure.”

“Oh?” Neveah asked, surveying Amara over her mug. “I would think you would like to have someone in on our little secret. Or do you like to feel special by being the only human we have let live with the information?”

Angry now, Amara shook her head. “Sadie doesn’t know anything about this. She thinks Nova is just the man I’m seeing. She doesn’t even know he and Kal know each other. I haven’t said anything.”

Neveah frowned into her coffee. “No?”

“No. And you know what? This needs to stop.” Amara could feel the tension rise from the other woman. She was sure nobody took that sort of a tone with her, even on their worst day—except maybe her sons—but she was getting all worked up and on a roll. She had started this thing. No sense in stopping now. “Look, I know you don’t like me. That much is clear. In fact, I am very well aware that you think I should be dead because I’m human and I know your secrets. But I’m not going to tell. I promised I wouldn’t, and I keep my word.

“You don’t have to like me, Neveah. But I love your son. And I care about the Pack. And I will keep your secret, even if it means that I have to figure out another way to get my little sister away from that bastard, Kal.”

A funny look filled Neveah’s guarded eyes at that moment, and Amara was startled to find that Nova’s mother no longer intimidated her. She was just another woman looking after the people that she loved. She didn’t have to like the fact that she considered Amara a threat, but she could respect it.

Neveah pursed her lips for a few moments. “Perhaps I have misjudged you, human. I thought for sure you would go singing from the rooftops, especially if your sister was involved. But I was wrong. And I do not make that statement lightly.”

Amara’s cheeks flushed with pleasure. That was probably the nicest thing Neveah had ever said to her. Even if she had called her ‘human.’ At least it was progress. “Well, Sadie never would have believed me, anyway. Humans that can turn into wolves? I hardly believed it myself. She’d think I was nuts and try to have me committed.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” Neveah leaned back and just the ghost of a smile played over her lips. “You surprise me, human. And I am rarely surprised.”