Chapter Five
Parker
Well, this plan went to shit fast. Parker had been patting himself on the back the entire way to the rendezvous point and back. He'd been imagining his glorious return, the way his Aunt Hazel's tired face would finally break into a smile and how his pack could finally relax, knowing they were on their way to being healthy. He'd ignored all those odd pangs of sadness that cropped up when he thought about being finished with this mission and what that would mean for Brady. He resolved himself to do his job, but also enjoy the time he had with the vet. With his new plan intact, he'd skipped back from the rendezvous point. Skipped.
That had gone to hell when he'd walked in, so delirious with excitement at seeing Brady that he didn't immediately scent the wolf shifter and three wild wolves. Though, the one on the table didn't look like it would be able to put up much of a fight. Parker wondered what had happened to it, but that thought was pushed to the furthest corner of his mind when Brady repeated his question.
"What are you?"
Parker took a deliberate breath, letting the air go down his throat and fill his lungs. The wolf shifter at Brady's front was standing protectively, which meant that Parker probably didn't need to save the vet. Oddly, Parker felt none of the anger at the shifter being so near to Brady as he had earlier when he'd caught that human in much the same position. Maybe his weird protective feelings were fading.
"What do you mean?" Parker asked, buying time. He could lie and play this whole thing off, but something in him told him he wouldn't be very good at lying to these two men. He wasn't normally great at it anyway.
Coyote shifters were hard to scent, Parker was harder than most. That had been another reason why he'd been chosen for this mission. He'd be able to interact with most shifters without them ever sensing he was something other than a human.
No one had accounted for animal instinct though. Clearly, these wolves had had encounters with coyotes in the past and had most likely learned to detect them not by what they smelled like, but by what they didn't.
"Why are the wolves ready to bite your throat out?" the shifter asked.
"Because they don't like strangers? I'm not sure what you want from me here, buddy. My name is Parker. Brady said I could rent a room from him and offered me a job to help pay for my rent. That's all."
"That's true?" the man asked Brady.
"Yes, that is true," Brady said slowly, still staring at him like he'd sprouted another arm out of his forehead.
"You never answered his question," the shifter said, calming slightly.
Parker lifted his chin stubbornly. "I don't see how it is his business."
"I just want to know why the wolves are snapping at you like that. I learned to trust an animal's instinct a long time ago. Tell me why I shouldn't throw you out, Parker."
Parker loved how authoritative Brady's tone had gotten. It made him want to push him down on a bed and tickle him. What a weird thought. Keep it together!
"Fine, fine!" Parker lifted his hands in surrender as a wolf growled and lunged toward him. "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't think you would know or believe me and because I didn't want you to be prejudiced against me." Again, Parker was surprised by how close to the truth he'd stayed.
"What kind of--?"
"Brady!" a man yelled from the front yard.
Parker growled, recognizing the voice.
"Who is it?" the shifter asked, coming to his side.
Parker sucked in air very quickly. His skin tingled at the man's close proximity.
"Riverside citizen. Brady lost his pig."
"Hey!" Brady said from behind them.
"And he is angry about it?"
"Seems that way."
"Well, let's go answer the door."
Parker walked with the shifter, standing side by side. The human, who was now even more intoxicated than he'd been the first time, stood on the porch. He stumbled back when he saw who answered.
"Where's Brady?"
"Who's asking?" the shifter asked.
"A dis-disgruntled client!"
"In that case, Brady is not here, you'll have to come back tomorrow. Or, next week," the shifter said.
"What? That is--"
"Goodbye," Parker said, shutting the door.
They waited to see if the human was going to knock again, but apparently the sight of two large men blocking the door was enough to crack through his alcohol soaked brain. They went back to the kitchen where Brady was finishing up with the injured wolf. "I cannot believe you two," he said, pushing up his glasses, not bothering to look at them when they came back. "If you hadn't told me before, Parker, I would know now that you are a shifter. Your kind is so bossy!"
Actually, coyote shifters normally weren't bossy in the way Brady meant it. They were sneaky, that was for sure, but not outright bossy like most other shifters.
"I'm Glenn," the other shifter said, though he did not reach out his hand for Parker to shake. Did he feel what Parker was feeling? It wasn't really comfortable per se, but it was un-ignorable. Like the hum of a live wire or the rattle of a rattlesnake. He wasn't sure he liked it but knew he didn't want it to go away, not just yet.
"Parker, but you knew that."
"I did. You're staying here now?"
"Yes."
Glenn turned from him then, purposefully going to Brady's side. "I am too," he said pleasantly, though the way Brady looked up at him with his mouth popped open in an O of surprise told Parker this was brand new information.
"I'm supposed to go up to Asher's to dismantle the booby traps. It will be a while before it is livable up there. Don't want to wake up in the middle of the night to pee and blow myself up."
Parker clenched his teeth. His stupid cousin and his love of traps. If his cousin was given free rein to set up traps in a space up the mountain, then it would be a long while before Glenn got them all disarmed. If he didn't die in the process. "What's that about booby traps?" Parker casually asked.
"Oh nothing, just a problem we've been having with a local coyote population. They've been attacking our people, messing with their homes. They did this," Glenn motioned to the injured wolf who was sleeping soundly, bandages at his feet and middle.
"What?" Parker couldn't stop the growl that came out of him. "The coyotes did this? Are you sure?"
"Positive. I rescued this wolf myself. The coyote alpha was injured in the mission. Could be dead, I don't know. Don't care," Glenn spat. And Parker believed him.
He tried remaining calm on the outside but on the inside his mind was spinning. His uncle was hurt? Maybe dead? They'd almost killed this animal? Parker knew a team of coyotes had gone further up the mountain to scout, they were supposed to be surveying the land, finding possible spots for their new home.
"I should go look for that pig," Parker said abruptly. Things had been so noisy in his head, he'd spoken too loudly. Glenn narrowed his eyes as Brady cleaned up his mess.
"Robert's pig? You don't have to, not right away."
"No," Parker said, backing up from the two men who made him feel strange things. "I want to do my part, while the trail is fresh. I'll be back." He ran away from them. Not his bravest moment. But, he needed to check on his uncle, because if he was dead, Parker was the new alpha of the coyote pack.