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  "Save your energy." Kai put an arm out, pushing Kane back as well. "He’s going to get away."

  "What?"

  Kai shrugged. "It’s not his time."

  "Did the wind tell you that, too?" Kane squinted, trying to follow the action.

  Kai didn’t answer because Tao and Leo began shouting and yowling. The sound was sudden and full of pain. Something bad had happened. Kane started forward and then stopped short as he realized why the two brothers were screaming.

  The shooter had stabbed them with knives. He’d nailed them right above their knee-caps with inhuman precision, causing both men to drop to the ground.

  Kai darted past Kane then, heading for the shooter, a growl springing from his lips. There was a split second where Kane had a shot, and then Kai was in the way, launching himself on the shooter.

  "Damn it," Kane muttered to himself. Kai was shifter strong, but not as strong as his brothers and nowhere near a match for the shooter. Kane tucked his gun into its holster and rushed over to help however he could.

  Tao and Leo had already removed the blades from their knees and cast them aside. Even though they couldn’t stand, they did their best to have Kai’s back. Kane jumped into the mix, swinging his fists with a speed that surprised him. It was the first fight he’d been in since turning into a werewolf, and he found himself miscalculating speed versus target. His blows only hit air until he corrected for his new super speed.

  Realizing he was out-numbered, the shooter began edging back, one step at a time. He threw Kai to the ground and moved away. Tao and Leo kept after him, dragging their bad legs behind them. Just then, Kane was the only one who could keep up. He managed to land a punch in the shooter’s stomach and a glancing blow to his face, but the full force of his strength couldn’t keep up with the shooter’s retreat. Every time his fist connected, the shooter was already on his way out.

  "You’re under arrest," Kane said.

  The shooter shook his head. "This isn’t about human law, wolf."

  Kane pulled his gun and steadied it over his other arm, wanting to be sure his shot would find its target. "Stop now or I’ll shoot." He never wanted to hurt anyone, but this asshole was begging for it. Plus, the paperwork would be easier than the testimony.

  "Then do it," roared the shooter. He charged Kane, and before the sheriff could react, he was too close. The man grabbed Kane’s shirt and then rammed him with a head-butt that left him reeling. He staggered back and fell, clutching his head as he went down. Kane had never experienced such brute force, not even when he’d had to tackle a guy strung out on PCP back in his rookie days.

  This was the kind of strength that could kill without a weapon, and it carried a fury that Kane couldn’t fathom. When his vision cleared, Kane staggered to his feet, intent on finding the shooter and finishing this, but he was gone, as if he’d never been there.

  "Where the hell did he go?" Kane asked as he turned in a slow circle. "And how did one guy take all four of us on and win?" He went to shake his head, but stopped when his brain started sloshing around in his skull like an overfilled Slurpee cup.

  Kai slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Hunters are stronger than I realized."

  "Faster, too," Leo said, groaning as he put weight on his injured leg for the first time.

  "You think?" Tao growled more than spoke as he examined his knee. "He got his knife right under my patella. I couldn’t even bend my leg."

  "Yeah, these were calculated strikes, not just to injure, but to incapacitate." Leo picked up one of the knives in question and examined it. "Smells like silver, too."

  "What’s the deal with silver? Is it like the myths?" Kane asked. "Does it kill us?"

  "No, silver won’t kill us. It’s a hunter tradition," Leo said. "At least I think that's how it works. Or maybe silver just doesn’t hurt us since we’re wolf born. We've never tested it. It's not like we do experiments on ourselves or anything to find out exactly how different we are from other shifters."

  "Well, he got away. What’s the plan now?" Kane headed for his cruiser, wanting something to lean on. The head-butt had been a bell ringer, leaving him unsteady. Although, being a werewolf kept it from being worse than it could be. If he’d been human, he’d probably be in a coma.

  Staring into the now empty back-seat, his stomach sank and then clenched into a hard knot. Two men had died. For no reason other than he was a werewolf.

  It's all my fault.

  He felt a tremble shake its way through him. Anger quaked inside him and his blood felt hot as lava. Nick had done this. The damn wolf had bitten him and changed him forever. It was Nick's fault.

  And yet those men had died on his watch.

  I will not let that happen again. He gritted his teeth, full of determination. I won't let being a werewolf ruin everything in my life.

  "You go back to the station and do whatever paperwork you need to do. We’ll handle the rest," Tao said, the alpha's deep voice intruded on Kane's thoughts and brought him back to the task at hand. "I want to set up patrols looking for this guy ASAP. Find him before he comes back for us."

  "I’ll take Andrew and go through the woods here," offered Leo. "I’ll have him meet me here and we'll track this guy's scent." He pulled out his phone and quickly typed out a text.

  "Come to my house after you’re done at work, Sheriff. We’ll gather the pack and pow-wow the next step," Tao said. When Kane didn’t respond right away, he asked, "You okay?"

  His head injury somewhat improved, Kane nodded. "Yeah. Are you sure this is the right way to deal with it? You don’t want me to put out an APB and bring this guy in?"

  "That puts him in the human system and you saw him fight. He’s more like us than anything else." Tao said with an abrupt shake of his head. "The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves and for other packs to find out about us. I know you weren’t there the day my pack alpha tried to kill us, but believe me when I say the other packs will come at us if they find out we exist. Werewolves are supposed to be born, not bitten. Our pack breaks a lot of rules. Somehow we stood out to this hunter. He knew what we were when no one else did. We’ll deal with him quietly and keep humans out of it so they not only stay safe, but don’t cause anyone to look at us twice."

  "It’s the moon’s law," Kai said. "Pack protects pack, no matter what."

  "It’s really for everyone’s protection," Leo added. "Humans and ours."

  "Wolves don’t mess around," Kane said, rubbing his head which throbbed like there were rows of tiny little hammers trying to bang their way free. For once, he couldn't wait for his super fast werewolf healing to kick in. It was the one good thing so far about the whole humans-turned-wolves fiasco.

  "No, we don’t. We kill anything that threatens us. That has always been our way." Tao’s expression became even more serious.

  "Sounds violent," Kane said. "Are you saying you’re going to kill this guy? Is that what wolves do? Murder people?"

  Tao shook his head. "We aren't killers. We don’t bother humans, and they don’t know about us. Other shifters stay away from packs they don’t know well because they know we won’t hesitate to defend ourselves. The problems come from hunters or..." He trailed off.

  "Your brother," Kane finished for him.

  Tao gave a curt nod. "Or Nick and shifters like him. We aren’t perfect. There have been other shifters who preyed on humans, but we dealt with them."

  "You didn't answer my question, though," Kane pressed. "Are you planning to kill this hunter guy?"

  Tao fell silent for a moment, his mouth a grim line. "I don't want to kill anyone, but it's not about what you or I want. It's about what keeps the pack safe."

  "How often does murder keep a pack safe?" Kane asked, unable to keep his voice from going sour. He knew it wasn't Tao's fault, but that didn't take away the fact they were discussing murder as if it were an everyday thing.

  Tao shrugged, his expression guarded. "Maybe twice in my lifetime."

  "And the h
unters? How often do they pop up?" Charlotte asked, looking just as repulsed by the whole thing as Kane felt.

  "That’s harder to say. I’ve heard rumors, but haven’t seen one before. If I add up all the rumors, I come up with five total." Tao flashed his hand to emphasize the count.

  "So how do you know this was a hunter?" Charlotte nodded in the direction the man had disappeared.

  "The silver bullets and knives." Kai twirled one of the small daggers used to attack his brothers in his hand. "That’s their hallmark."

  "And now what do we do?" Charlotte crossed her arms, hugging her body.

  "We get him before he gets us." Tao headed toward his truck, Leo following right behind him. Kai went for the human’s truck. "Go make your report and then meet at my house. We’ll have food, and after we eat, we’ll compare notes and figure out our strategy. Then, we'll make this hunter the hunted." With that, the brothers drove off, leaving just Kane and Charlotte to deal with the aftermath that remained.

  Chapter Eleven

  Charlotte rubbed her arms, trying to quell the goose bumps. Feeling vulnerable, she went over to where Kane stood. "Are we safe out here?"

  "Apparently not," Kane said, his voice flat. "You ready to go back to town and get your car?"

  She nodded. "Yeah."

  "Then let’s go." He waved her toward the passenger seat of his cruiser.

  As Kane drove, Charlotte’s mind processed a jumble of thoughts. Hunters? Seriously? Weren’t wolves supposed to be apex predators? As in, top of the food chain? Now she had to worry about even more people shooting at her pack?

  What kind of weirdo hunts werewolves anyway?

  Maybe she should leave town, go somewhere no one knew her. If the word was out about Glen Vine, how many more hunters would come for them? And what if there were things worse than hunters? What other weird, twisted magic was out there waiting for her?

  She shivered. As a kid, she’d never been able to handle scary movies. Edgar Allen Poe had given her nightmares when she’d been required to read The Telltale Heart for school. Hell, she still slept with the light on in her closet. And now she was being stalked by her own, personal horror movie villain. Great. Just great.

  And then there was Kane. He still smelled amazing to her, and she could tell her wolf liked him, too because she had strong urges to yip and show him her belly. So dumb, and not what she was looking for.

  I was dumped like garbage, remember? Not looking for a repeat. She crossed her arms and turned her head until she couldn’t see Kane. No, she needed to get her life back on track, which meant controlling her wolf and going back to school. That was it. No dating. No love. No fun extras.

  "We’re here," Kane said as he pulled his cruiser into a parking spot. A couple patrol officers were outside having a smoke and did a double-take as they caught sight of the broken windows on his cruiser.

  "So I’ll see you later tonight, right? And then tomorrow for dinner at your parents' house?" Charlotte grabbed her purse and opened her door. The patrol officers were coming toward them, curiosity shining in their eyes, and she talked fast so they wouldn’t overhear anything.

  "Yeah, I guess."

  Charlotte looked back at him, taking in his guarded expression. This confused her a bit. He should be happy; she was fixing his problem. "You don’t sound too excited. I thought you’d be thrilled to get your mom off your back."

  Kane shrugged. "It depends on how you define 'girlfriend from Hell.' Are my parents going to need therapy by the time you're done with them? I don't want to make things worse."

  "Don’t worry. I won’t take it too far. Promise." She walked off just as one of the patrol officers started to talk to the sheriff. She wasn’t sure how Kane was going to handle things with his job, and she didn’t want anyone asking her questions.

  Charlotte hustled out of sight, her purse slung over her shoulder, and headed toward Java Jump to retrieve her car, but Kane’s presence stayed with her. She could smell him, as if part of his essence had transferred to her, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how tall and strapping he looked in his sheriff’s uniform. An image flashed in her mind of sliding her hands up his shirt and feeling those hard pecs for herself.

  She slapped a hand to her cheek. "Get a grip," she growled to herself. But damned if it wasn’t difficult to keep Kane out of her mind and nose.

  ***

  Close to dinnertime, Charlotte pulled into the driveway of Audrey’s house. Like her, Audrey had been bitten , but somehow it had worked out better for her than anyone else. She'd become Tao's mate and radiated a palpable happiness. Since Tao now lived there, too, the ranch house served as the meeting center for all the people Nick had bitten. They'd been gathering almost weekly since being bitten. Sometimes to run and other times to discuss pack business.

  Charlotte stepped out of her car, her stomach uneasy. She'd spent the day reading romance novels and trying not to panic or jump at every little sound she heard outside the house. Driving alone made her realize how vulnerable she was. Anyone could take a shot at her at any time. She’d ended up slouching down in her seat and then feeling silly about doing it. Except she wasn’t being paranoid.

  Shaking her head, she shut her car door and clicked the button on her remote that would lock the vehicle. She would feel better once she got inside. Four walls offered more safety than a car, and she wouldn’t be alone.

  Walking up the driveway to the front door, she scanned all around her, looking for danger. Audrey’s modest ranch was quiet and far from its neighbors. An array of bird feeders and water baths dotted the lawn. In the summer, there’d been wildflowers for the birds, bees, and butterflies, but with winter coming, nothing bloomed save a few lonely marigolds.

  She hadn’t known Audrey until she became a werewolf. Charlotte had gone off to college right around the time Audrey moved into town. However, they had quickly become confidantes. Despite the grim circumstances pulling them together, Charlotte was excited to see her friend. She always understood what Charlotte was going through.

  Audrey opened the door with a wide smile. "Hey, Char!"

  The two women hugged. "You look great," Charlotte said, taking in her friend’s dark indigo jeans topped with a soft grey sweater shot through with something silver and sparkly. Charlotte felt underdressed, having opted to wear her most comfortable jeans, the original blue faded with age, and a cozy fleece hoodie from her college. The only thing she’d bothered with was her hair. She’d plaited it away from her face and then into a single braid down her back. Her ex-boyfriend had called it the 'Elsa braid' and would yank on it until she got annoyed enough to smack his hand away. At that memory, she spared a dark thought for her ex, hoping he was miserable without her.

  "Oh, thanks." Audrey smoothed her dark hair away from her face self-consciously. "I never know what to wear to these pack pow-wows, but since I did some early Christmas shopping today, I decided to get into the holiday spirit. Besides, Tao is announcing our engagement tonight." She raised her hand, flashing the diamond ring on her finger. "I figured I should dress up."

  "Yay! Congrats again." Charlotte hugged Audrey. She'd been one of the first to know about the engagement, but nothing had been said to the rest of the pack yet. It had been killing her to keep the news mum and not give it away before Audrey and Tao could tell people.

  "Thanks," Audrey said with a laugh. "I was hoping you would be one of my bridesmaids?"

  "Of course," Charlotte said as a pang went through her. Save for the fact her ex had been an asshole in disguise, she would've been making wedding plans now, too. She was happy for Audrey and Tao, genuinely happy, but it was the kind of happiness that stabbed her in the heart.

  Audrey gave Charlotte a squeeze, happiness bubbling through her scent. "Great. We'll go dress shopping in Traverse City. I want to get a hotel and make a weekend of it." Stepping back, she assessed her friend. "You look pretty good, considering the day you’ve had." If she noticed Charlotte's mixed emotions, she was tactful enough not to
say anything.

  Charlotte shrugged and followed Audrey into the eat-in kitchen, where something yummy simmered on the stove, scenting the air with a homey spiciness that made her mouth water. "I’m just glad to be in one piece. It’s been a hell of a day." She settled on a bar stool at the kitchen island. "All I want is a job and to get to a point where I can go back to school." She gestured to the Great Lakes College logo on her hoodie. "Instead I get shot at like I’m a rabid dog."

  Audrey gave her a sympathetic look. "Being a werewolf isn't all fun and fur, is it?"

  "At least you're not alone. You have a mate." Charlotte glanced at Audrey's engagement ring, feeling especially sorry for herself. Sure, she wasn’t looking for a relationship, but doing all this werewolf stuff on her own wasn’t easy. She didn’t know the rest of the pack well enough to feel like she could rely on them. Audrey was the only one she really trusted, but they didn’t get much one-on-one time. Audrey worked crazy hours, so Charlotte’s only chance to see her alone was to come to the pow-wows early.

  "Yeah, well that’s not exactly easy street. Half the time, I feel like I’m trying to teach a wild animal manners." Audrey laughed and took some bowls out of a cupboard. "Are you hungry? I’ve got chili and cornbread."

  "Tofu chili?" Charlotte asked, wary. While she knew from firsthand experience that Audrey was a fantastic cook, the idea of tofu as a food group always gave her pause.

  "I’m still a vegetarian, so yep, tofu and bean chili. It’s delish, I promise." Audrey spooned some into a bowl and, topping it with some hot cornbread that she pulled from the oven, she set it all down in front of Charlotte.

  "It smells great." Charlotte blew on her spoon, her stomach clamoring for her to hurry up.

  "Good chili relies on spices, not meat." Audrey smiled at her. "So Tao told me what went down today. Are you okay?"