Chapter Thirteen

“I have to say that this is the most bizarre thing I’ve seen in a while,” the sheriff was telling them a short time later. “Tell me one more time what happened.”

“I don’t know. It all happened so fast. First, the girl and her mother showed up claiming they had been attacked by wolves. Angus took her mother to the doctor in town to let him examine her while I stayed here with the daughter. Everything was quiet until someone started trying to get into the house. I thought it was wolves and we were scared so we went to the cellar.”

“But it wasn’t wolves?”

“No. I guess not. Perhaps I just had that in my mind because they had attacked her mother. It was men. We could hear them talking about her and her mother and then they were trying to get into the cellar. When they couldn’t, they set the house on fire to burn us out.”

“You have no idea what they wanted?”

“No. I couldn’t make out most of what they were saying. I was really scared and just remember it in bits and pieces.” Margaret replied.“You don’t think it strange that men just came into your home and tried to kill you and this woman you don’t know?” the sheriff asked.

“What? Of course, I think it is strange, but that doesn’t mean I know why they did it!”

“And what about you, Mr. McCord? Your yard is littered with dead wolves and a human being.”

“I have no idea, Sheriff. I came back from taking the young girl’s mother to the doctor. He kept her there and I was going to bring the girl into town to be with her. Instead, I found my house on fire and my wife lying out in the yard, along with that man, those animals and the girl, Angus added.

“So, you have no idea what killed them?”

“Not a clue. I thank God for it, though. I shudder to think what might have happened if someone hadn’t intervened.”

“Your story is just that you found everything this way and have no idea how it all happened then?”

“Other than the portion my wife has told you about, I really couldn’t say.”

“Well, I guess I have no proof otherwise and, even if I did, it would mostly likely only prove to be self-defense. I’ll have these animals removed, along with the body, and let you know if I have any more questions.”

“What about the girl, Sheriff? Has she spoken at all?” Margaret asked.

“Afraid not. She seems to be in a bit of shock still. Perhaps when she’s had time to process all of this, she can shed some light.”

“Maybe so,” Angus remarked.

“Come on, Dad. We’ll take you to our place. You can spend the night in the guest room while you sort out what to do with the house,” Aaron Paul told them from where he had been waiting for the sheriff to finish with his questions.

Angus nodded and helped Margaret up from the chair on which she had been sitting. It had been one of a few that had been sitting beneath a tree in the yard where he had placed them for the coat of paint he had recently placed on them to dry. As it turned out, they were the only pieces of furniture they would have left from the fire. Everything was gone. They’d have to start over.

On the way to Aaron’s house, Margaret looked at him with questioning eyes. He nodded and looked out over the fields as they passed them by along the way. It was obvious that whatever the situation was, he wasn’t keen to discuss it in front of Aaron, but she didn’t know why. Later, in the safety of their son’s spare bedroom, he began to tell her what he had found when he returned.

“Wolf shifters. That’s why you thought it was wolves, but it turned out to be men. That is why they went after the girl’s mother. She had something they wanted and it wasn’t meat.”

“They called the girl a witch,” Margaret told him.

“What?” he asked.

“When we were locked in the cellar and they were walking around upstairs. They made comments about her being a witch. She said she didn’t know why they would say such a thing.”

“Do you think she was telling the truth?”

“I don’t know. She seemed sincere, but she might have just been afraid. We all know what is done to women who are accused of being a witch. She would have had good reason to deny it to anyone that asked if she wasn’t sure how they would react.”

“I think she knows more than she said. This was unusual behavior for wolf shifters. They are usually content to live off the land and only shift to run and howl at the moon. They are much like dragon shifters in that they just want to be free and seize on opportunities to do so. They don’t go around bringing attention to themselves by attacking people on the trail. They know that is something that will only do harm to themselves in the long run.”

“We may never know now.”

“Do you think she saw me? My dragon?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. She seemed to be passed out from all the smoke we had breathed in. If she did see you, she probably would just assume you were a hallucination.”

“Perhaps a mystery that may never be solved.”

“It is possible.”

“I guess we will just have to focus on the bigger problem then,” she told him.

“What is that?”

“The fact that we are homeless and have only the clothes on our backs. Nothing that can’t be replaced with what we have in the bank.

“Right. These aren’t even my best clothes. They are some of the ones I keep stashed in the back shed for when I don’t think ahead or don’t have time to remove what I’m wearing before I shift.”

“I’m just lucky I got dressed when we were awakened or I’d be rumbling around in my night clothes.”

“I wouldn’t have complained.”

“Hardly appropriate.”

“Appropriate doesn’t change the fact that I enjoy seeing you in your night clothes…or out of them.”

“Are you getting fresh with me, Mr. McCord?”

“What if I am?”

“Do you really think this is the time for such a thing?”

“There’s always a time for such a thing, Mrs. McCord.”

She giggled as he nuzzled her neck with his now two-day growth of stubble, tickling her delicate skin. They slipped into the guest bed and cuddled together, enjoying that they were okay, despite what they might have lost in the fire. It was barely afternoon, but they had been up all night and were both exhausted. If there was ever a time for a nap, it was now.