Chapter Three
Danny passed out before they’d left the cabin, his body limp in Chris’ arms.
“We need to get him out of here and get this straightened out,” he said.
“But we’re not going to be able to walk him past those cops out there,” Will pointed out.
He was right. They believed Danny was responsible for his family’s death and wanted him dead. They weren’t going to accept an argument of semantics over his scent and what that meant.
“Fine. I’ll stay with Danny while you go back to the car. Tell them I’m following his trail and you’re going to catch up me with on the other side. Drive about five miles around to that bridge we passed. I’ll get Danny there and we’ll shelter under it until you reach us.”
“Got it,” Will said, shifting and loping off into the forest. The bridge was closer than the car, but between being in human form and carrying Daniel’s added weight, he’d probably arrive there after Will.
Daniel didn’t stir, his body lax in Chris’ arms. Will was right about the smoke, he didn’t smell strongly of it, and there was no hint of the gasoline that had been present at both the house and the car. Which meant Daniel wasn’t their arsonist. The lack of the scent of wolf fur, which every mature shifter carried to some degree, said that Daniel wasn’t the wolf that murdered his family either. Yet he had freely admitted to Chris that it was his fault. And he had recent behavior changes and illness, all suggestive of recent infection. When they got to the bridge, Chris would have to check under his clothes for bite marks, though he suspected he wouldn’t find any.
They beat Will to the bridge by only a few minutes, Chris having just set Daniel down when the car slowed to a stop above them. Will jumped out and between the two of them, they carried Daniel up the embankment and into the car. Chris hurriedly dressed, then got into the back with him.
Pulling out his phone, he put a call into Sheriff Banes, not looking forward to the conversation.
“Sheriff, this is Chris Ferris. I called to update you. We have apprehended Daniel Adams.”
“Good work. Apprehended? I take it he’s dead.”
“There have been some developments. A complication of sorts.”
“What kind of complication?” The sheriff’s reply was quiet, his voice cold.
“There’s evidence to suggest he wasn’t responsible for his family’s murder.”
“He’s not a shifter?”
“It’s not that clear-cut.”
“So he is a shifter?”
“His scent would seem to suggest that.”
“Then that’s plenty evidence for us. Put him down.”
“Like I said, even if he is a shifter, we have evidence that suggests he wasn’t the one to kill his family. There was another shifter in the forest, chasing him.”
“And you killed them?”
“No, we didn’t. We followed him but he escaped.”
“Let me get this straight. You’ve got the wolf we’ve all been searching for, but you haven’t killed him. You found a second wolf who you let go. And now you’re saying it was this second wolf and not Daniel, who killed the family.”
“We don’t know anything for certain right now.”
“I want Daniel Adams turned over to my custody immediately.”
Chris knew what would happen then. There’d be no investigation, no attempt to confirm or deny his innocence. He’d end up dead. Even if they did agree to allow testing of Daniel’s blood first, Chris suspected he’d probably come up positive for lycanthropy.
“I’m sorry, we are not at liberty to do that. We need to get to the bottom of this. The shifter responsible for the deaths of the Adams’ has some kind of connection to Daniel. He may be our only lead to track this wolf down before anyone else gets hurt.”
He hung up the phone, knowing there wasn’t anything more constructive to be said.
“We need to get out of this jurisdiction and fast. And we need to get him somewhere safe before this all kicks off,” he added, nodding to Danny.
“Well, he’s an Omega. Right now, he qualifies for a room at the safest place in all of Eden.” Will didn’t sound happy about it but Chris was grateful he was willing to let Danny stay there. There was one problem though.
“I’m not comfortable leaving him alone around the Omega and their babies. We don’t know who he is or what he’s capable of.”
“There’s a room at the back. It’s not strictly within the Haven, so it doesn’t fall under the no Alpha rule. Windows and door are reinforced. We’ll keep him there for now. Need to run it by Mitch first. I’ll call and see if we can swing by on the way to the hotel.”
Mitch was kind enough to come and meet them at the car, Daniel’s unconscious form sprawled across the backseat. Chris explained the circumstances and Mitch looked less than happy.
“We’re skirting a fine line around the human laws. There’s going to be some kickback from this.”
Opening the door, he leaned in and scented Daniel, shaking his head as he stepped back.
“His scent is puzzling. Almost like an Omega who hasn’t reached puberty. The scent is there, but it hasn’t matured. And you’re right, he hasn’t shifted yet. Though how we prove that to anyone who’s not a shifter, I don’t know. I don’t see any judge taking our noses at face value.”
He contemplated Daniel through the window for a few moments.
“Okay. I’ll grant limited permission for him to enter Eden. On condition he is at all times in the custody of a member of Shifter Crimes. I don’t have to tell you that since the human law is involved, we’re already on a clock. I expect they’ll be petitioning for his custody to be returned to Dale County in the next few hours. I’ll talk to our attorney, see what they can do to stall. You need to find that Alpha. If he is responsible for those deaths, then give him, or his body, to Dale County, preferably with an admission or some proof that he’s the killer.”
They’d only had Daniel in the room in the Haven for a little under an hour when he jerked awake, wild eyes scanning the room. Catching sight of Chris, he curled himself into a corner and stared.
“Hello,” Chris said, keeping his voice even. “It’s Daniel, isn’t it?”
“You’re… you’re one of them, aren’t you?” Daniel’s hoarse voice shook as he spoke, watching Chris with wide eyes.
“One of them? I’m not sure what you mean?”
“You’re like the other one. The wolf.”
“If you mean I’m a shifter, then yeah, that’s right.” Chris was puzzled. Daniel sounded like he wasn’t sure of that, which was strange given how his own scent betrayed him.
“And something else, too.”
“That’s right, I’m an Alpha.” An attribute which he also shared with the other wolf.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“That depends. Did you kill your family?”
Daniel flinched at the words, breaking eye contact.
“It was my fault,” he murmured.
“That’s not what I asked. Were you the one who killed them, ripped their throats out, tore at them with your teeth.”
Daniel shuddered and went pale, curling up tighter, his eyes closing. He didn’t answer, but his reaction told Chris all he needed to know.
“Why was it your fault?”
“I… I knew that he was watching, that he was there.”
“Who was?”
“The monster. The wolf in the woods. I should have done something, told someone. But I thought… I thought they’d blame me. I thought they’d think I was doing it.”
“I’m not sure I understand. The wolf in the woods, the Alpha, you think he was watching you?”
Daniel nodded, his voice faint. “He’s been there for weeks now. Every time I’d go for a walk, I’d feel his presence nearby. Every time I left the house, he’d be lurking somewhere. I didn’t see him often, but I still knew. I could… I could smell him. Sometimes I’d hear him. It had happened before but they always went away after a day or two. He didn’t. Day after day. I should have done something, I should have told someone. But I was scared they’d think I was crazy.”
The Alpha had been stalking him. And he wasn’t the first to do so.
“There were others?”
Daniel nodded jerkily. “Since I was a kid. Every few years. Sometimes they looked human, like normal people, but they’d look at me funny and I knew they were different. Sometimes they were wolves, like him. Once or twice they came right up to me, sniffed me, and then just left.”
“Do you know why they’d do that?”
“Not really. I mean, I guess it had to do with what happened when I was a baby.”
“And what was that?”
“I was infected. With lycanthropy. But they treated me, I was cured.”
Chris had met people who’d been bitten and treated with the anti-lycan serum. None of them had smelled like Daniel did.
“How old were you?”
“I told you, just a baby. My parents were young and troubled, they couldn’t be there for me. So Cindy took me in, took care of me.” His eyes filled with tears as he said her name. “It’s all my fault.”