8
Ness
Ryder wasn’t anywhereto be found that morning. Without him around, I didn’t want to stay long. There were other things I had to do anyway.
Outside, I found my keys right where I’d dropped them the night before. I said a prayer of thanks that nothing had happened to them because I didn’t have a way to get a replacement. They jingled in my hand as I opened the car door and threw myself into the seat.
I checked the back seat and slapped the lock button when the coast was clear. I hated how nervous I’d become, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Inside the car, I rested my head against the steering wheel and prepared myself for what I had to do.
Ryder had been right about the body. Alvin might catch my scent soon. I should have been worried about that from the beginning, but I’d been overwhelmed with everything that’d been going on. I didn’t need Alvin catching on to what I’d done, so I had to come up with a plan to cover my tracks.
While I’d hoped a storm would come through and wash away my scent, the local weather radar showed nothing on the horizon. If I shifted and brought about my own storm, then that might be too suspicious. What I needed was human intervention.
So, I drove out to the edge of the pack territory, near where Addie and I had found the body. I noted the streets before moving on. I didn’t need anyone to find me here when the authorities arrived.
My hand shook as I called 911. I had to make this quick.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
My breath left me. No words came to mind, only a string of curses that I couldn’t exactly say out loud right now.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
I shook myself. “Yes. I, uh, I want to report a dead body.”
There was a beat of silence. I wasted no time in rattling off the address and the general whereabouts of the body we’d found, then hung up before the person on the other end could ask too many questions.
This could not be traced back to me. I couldn’t afford that right now.
Still, I parked a bit away from the field and waited for the sound of sirens. While no sirens filled the air, I heard the distant rumble of cars and trucks and new that it was time to shift. I stepped into the woods and dropped to all fours so I could let my hound out.
At first, she balked. She didn’t want to go back and see that thing that had crawled out of the earth. It had sucked the life out of everything nearby. The hound didn’t want to be near that ever again.
I had to make sure that the authorities found the body, though. If they couldn’t find it, then this might not work. My determination gave the hound the confidence she needed. The world changed before my eyes as my vision changed to that of the hound’s.
The smell of ozone drifted past me, as if I brought it with me when I changed forms. Perhaps, I did. I’d never paid much attention to it before. The smell made me think of Ryder. Where had he gone so early? Why had he left me alone again?
I knew that he hadn’t meant to leave last night, but that didn’t make me any happier. Relying on Ryder wasn’t going to save me when Alvin finally tired of me. The dragon shifter had to leave. He had his own reasons. I needed to be strong on my own.
I didn’t feel strong anymore. I felt like a strong breeze might blow me over. I was hanging on by a thread. Maybe I needed to eat more. Maybe I needed a night of good sleep. Maybe I needed to do away with my piece of shit Alpha once and for all.
All three things were probably true, but I had to handle them one at a time and without anyone’s help. At least, not yet. If I played my cards right, then my pack would finally see Alvin for what he was. They were afraid to help me. I understood that no one wanted to trade places with me.
However, I hoped that they would come together if they knew that Alvin wouldn’t go back to being a good person once I was gone. Alvin had portrayed a perfect imitation of a good man before the witch’s prophecy made him drop that image. The pack believed that lie he’d shown them. They thought that time would bring that man back.
No amount of time would bring back the women that Alvin had killed. While our Alpha had been playing the role of a doting leader and benefactor, he’d been hunting human women with no chance to save themselves.
If I could expose Alvin’s wrongdoings, then maybe the pack would help me cast him out. I doubted the police would ever be able to pin this murder on Alvin. They would likely call it an animal kill. The pack would see the evidence that the police gathered. The pack would be able to see how all signs pointed to Alvin.
I shook myself out and settled into the hound form before turning in the direction of the creek. The smell of freshwater and wet earth led me back to the woods that Addie and I had marched through. My stomach churned. I was glad that I hadn’t eaten anything again.
Ryder would have chastised me and dragged me home to eat. I chuckled at the thought. It was so soft and protective, a feeling that I didn’t get to experience that often. I didn’t allow myself to think about what life would be like if he could stay. Letting myself sink into those kinds of thoughts would only lead to grief later.
Right now, I reminded myself what was most important. The police stomped through the woods without a care for stealth or grace. I watched a few of them trip over fallen logs or rocks half-buried in the ground. It would have brought a smile to my face had they not been here to unearth a corpse.
I followed them to the creek. The sky grew gray and bleak overhead as the storm started to gather. I hoped that the clouds wouldn’t open up just yet. I needed them to hold onto the rain for after, once the police gathered what they needed.
“What kind of fucking joke is this?” a man grumbled.