Chapter 1

Chapter

One

J ohnathan Lui stepped into the Sheriff’s Department and went straight to the counter. Loraine sat behind the plexiglass partition, taking a call, returning to the place they all knew she belong. Of course, so did Aurora, Mackenzie’s mate. Between the two of them, they ran a tight ship. Keeping even the newest of deputies in line. Loraine’s long dark hair had been pulled back into a severe bun, exposing the twin bite marks on her neck. One from her mate Jace and the other from her second mate Blake. Around them, a swirl of intricate tattoos she’d added over the years. Most of them used to cover the scars from the explosion long ago.

Which was why she’d sat behind the plexiglass partition.

So she’d never get hurt again.

All the upgrades to the Sheriff’s Department had been done with safety in mind. No one ever wanted to see the carnage from that day repeated. Even the walls had a layer of reinforced steel between them to keep them from caving in.

As Loraine made notes on a call log while nodding at whatever the caller said, he wondered what happened to make Loraine write so furiously. It would have been easier to use the computer beside her, but she refused to use the computers. She could dispatch and write at the same time and keep track better than a machine could. (Her words. Not his.) Sometimes she caught flack for not using the 9-1-1 system like she should, but at the end of the day, everyone in their little town knew everyone. She could get a deputy to a scene just as quickly by using the radios as she could typing it out on the upgraded system. Loraine left the fancy equipment for the young people. Her statements about technology always made him chuckle. When she hung up the phone, she held up a finger, finishing whatever she’d been transcribing. Then she turned that megawatt smile on him.

“Good morning, Johnathan,” she said. “Sorry about that.”

“Good morning, Loraine. It’s not a problem,” he replied, offering her a genuine smile. “Alpha told me to meet him here this morning.”

“He’s expecting you,” she said as she buzzed him in. “Come on back.”

“Thank you.” As an orphan of the pack, he remembered the day he was brought to Keeley and Danielle after almost dying in the middle of the desert—malnourished and dehydrated. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t try to remember what exactly happened to his parents, but those memories never came. Nor had anyone filled in the holes. Sometimes, orphans were just that, orphans. Maybe the happy life he thought he had with loving parents never existed and he’d always been alone. Yet, the ache in his chest said that wasn’t true. He did have parents, but where they went or how he got to the middle of a desert...

Those memories were gone.

“Johnathan,” Kalkin said, standing at his office door, arms crossed. “Glad you could make it.”

The Alpha was huge. Imposing. He stood almost six and a half feet tall and muscular. His cobalt eyes tracked everything and everyone with such an astuteness, a chill of recognition slithered down Johnathan’s spine. Though he had more greying at his temples and in his beard, Kalkin didn’t look at day over forty. As far as his wolf genetics were concerned, the Alpha was still in his prime. Anyone who thought they could challenge him for his pack was most definitely in for a very rude awakening.

Or maybe their death?

Either way, Johnathan always had a healthy fear and respect for the man who cared for him and the others in the orphanage. If it wasn’t for Kalkin and Keeley—Danielle and Caden too—he wouldn’t have honed his tracking skills to become the very best the pack had.

“Your message sounded urgent,” he said, stepping into the office. The scent of warm peaches and spice, along with the hint of wildness only a wolf could produce in such dense quantities, enveloped Johnathan. “I didn’t want to delay.”

“To be honest,” Kalkin said, following him, then taking a seat behind his desk, “I’m not sure what we have, or if we’re in danger. That’s why I called you.”

He handed Johnathan a stack of yellow slips. Some written in his handwriting. Others penned by different deputies. He studied each one. A theme appeared the deeper into the stack he read. “Screaming? At night?”

“During the day as well,” his Alpha replied. “I thought at first the children were telling tales after our little pre-Halloween countdown social. Or I had frightened them with too heavy of a story. Regrettably, these aren’t from the children. Nor are the missives from any of the adults at the orphanage.”

“Have you heard the noise?” Johnathan tilted his head. Each message was the same. Crying, howling, and screeching, only not a “person” making the sound. Each resident who called described the sound as mournful and broken too. They said it tugged at their soul, which frightened them more. Unfortunately for them, no one saw what animal could have made the noise, nor had anyone captured the culprit on their security cameras.

“No. I’ve asked my family the same question,” Kalkin stated on an exhale. “None of them have either.”

He frowned. “This could be an elaborate hoax since we’re so close to Halloween.”

Kalkin rubbed his chin as he nodded before drumming his fingers on the hardwood surface. “I thought the same. A prank. Just a bunch of kids who have time on their hands. Sadly, that isn’t the case here. The boys are keeping their noses clean because of football season, and I highly doubt any of the girls would cause such a commotion.”

“So, it has to be something injured, or lost, or frightened.”

“Or a combination of all those things,” Kalkin stated. “You’re the best tracker we have. You’ve come in clutch every time we’ve needed you, especially while trying to find Jochi’s parents in China. Can you help us out on this case?”

Like he’d say no. If the Alpha needed him, he was of service to his pack. “Do I have a partner?”

Kalkin shook his head. “Maxine found her mate last month. We’re giving her time to adjust to her new arrangements.”

Johnathan stood then. “Alone is fine. Not like I’m going far. I’ll be in town. I can do this.”

His Alpha frowned. “You’re not alone, Johnathan. You’re never alone.”

He wouldn’t say he was jealous of all those who’d found their mates. Or even the families within their community and their pack/pride. He figured when the time was right, he too would be blessed with a person who’d match him. Until then, he did as his Alpha asked, protecting the pack the only way he knew how. “Understood. I’ll start looking now. Maybe if I catch people off guard someone will cop to starting the rumor.” No way a hurt animal, shifter or not, could make such a racket without the Alpha or others hearing them. Something about the case didn’t sit right with Johnathan, he just didn’t know what part.

“Right,” Kalkin said. “Remember, if you need any help or you get stuck somewhere you shouldn’t be, and need extraction, call me. I’m here for you. Always.”

Johnathan nodded starting for the door. He stopped midway and glanced over his should before he said, “Could you do me a favor?”

“Of course,” Kalkin answered, the squeak of his chair noted he stood.

“Could you tell Maxine I’m happy for her?” Johnathan didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he exited the Alpha’s office and strode toward the exit.

“Have a good day, Johnathan,” Loraine said, gifting him with a smile.

“You too, Loraine. Don’t let the Alpha give you too many issues,” he teased, winking at her.

Stepping out into the tepid mid-day sun, he raised his face to sky and exhaled. He didn’t understand the itch under his skin. Or the aching knot in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t a jealous person by nature, nor would he ever be. Nevertheless, hearing about Maxine finding her mate did something to him, he couldn’t explain.

There was also the fact he like men more than he did women. Still, the ugly craven or perhaps yearning spreading it inky tendrils through his veins, left him off-kilter. His heart was in his stomach. Sadness closed his throat. He wasn’t being abandoned nor had he been rejected. He just... He felt lost.

The day he’d been brought to Danielle, so had Maxine. They’d spent more time together as children than the others did, and they formed a familial bond. He couldn’t say she was his mate, because what they had was stronger than a mating—or at least he thought it was. He hadn’t heard a word about Maxine mating anyone, let alone been told by her. Was that the problem? Did she think he’d get mad if she told him the truth? He snorted. Not even close. He’d have celebrated with her.

“Hey, Johnathan,” Hayden said, pushing the twins in their stroller. Genevieve and Parker just celebrated their second birthday while their big brother Asher was preparing for pre-K, and Emmeline was enjoying second grade. “Having a good day?”

“You could say that,” he replied. “Question...” He closed the distance between them. “Have you heard about the complaints of a wild dog or loud screaming at night?”

Hayden stared at him. The impish expression on her face, drew a smile to his lips. “We are shifters.”

He chuckled. “I agree. Unfortunately, I have fifteen reports of people in town hearing horrible crying/howling noises at night, to the point people can’t sleep.”

Hayden frowned. “Are you sure the kids aren’t playing a prank on the adults? I wouldn’t put it past them, especially after Kalkin’s story hour.”

“Kalkin thought the same thing, however, as far as he’s seen, none of the kids are involved. Plus, those who were there, they aren’t the children or fosters of the residents calling in. They’d have no idea about the Wild Hunt story Kalkin told.” Johnathan frowned. Like every culture, he too heard the stories about the sky devils who took the souls of all those who didn’t hide during the hunt. He looked at the tales as a cautionary parable for kids to not be out when it got cold.

Nothing more.

Hayden screwed her face up. “Weird.” Then sighed. “I haven’t heard anything, but I can put a few feelers out if you want. Plus, mine and Nico’s services are available should you need us.”

Johnathan shook his head. “No. It’s better for me to catch the person by surprise than have them lying in wait. As the offer of help, I’ll let you know.”

“Good thinking,” Hayden agreed. “Well, all the same, if you’d like to spend Halloween with us, we could always use an extra trick or treater this year.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” he said with a soft chuckle.

“You should,” she said. “I know it’s not been easy since your return from China. Everything you did for Winters and Jochi is, and will always be, invaluable. His family is settling in well now and their slowly learning English. They’re thriving because you and Maxine found them.”

Pride warmed him even as that bit of him, he didn’t quite understand, sank. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a lunch date with their daddy at the diner.” Hayden waved then started for the diner, talking to the twins as she walked.

When Johnathan first met her, he’d been a little older than her, she’d been in his English class, but he hadn’t cared about some little girl who was smart as hell. He also hadn’t had a lick of sympathy for her. She’d always been so damn afraid of her shadow. How could someone with Raferty blood be so damn scared? Even her father hadn’t tucked tail like she did. Then Johnathan learned the truth after she’d been kidnapped. Sure, there were rumors abound about her. Most of them nasty, spoken by three little bitches who deserved what they got. The simple truth? Hayden was one badass little wolf who endured and overcame so much before even arriving in Window Rock. He was honored she considered him a friend.

Also helped she was his boss, too. It allowed them to get to know each other on a different level. Hayden’s personal motto was, she wouldn’t allow him or others to do any job she wouldn’t do. She reaffirmed that the day they found Emmitt in that disgusting lab at the wildlife center on a medical table near death. Had Hayden not found the bullet in his leg, Emmitt would have died. According to the report Hayden had written up, days before them freeing Emmitt, he’d been chained to a centrifugal machine caught in a cycle of arousal and orgasming, giving sample after sample. He’d also been injected with some kind of drug that kept him in a euphoric state.

Johnathan shivered at the recollection.

Some memories were best kept chained up at the back of his mind.

The accolades didn’t stop at the wildlife center, however. Hayden then went to Boston and captured her aunt—with the help of her family. She testified in front of congress and court, recounting her story. Hayden fought the beast who sired her—not the man she called father—but the uncle she never knew, Henry Worthington, who’d chased her all her life, thanks to Holly, and won that battle, too. Hayden was the strongest she-wolf Johnathan had ever met, and it appeared, as the Co-Alpha of the St. John/Raferty pack and clan, she was continuing to level up.

He strode across the street to the secondhand shop owned by Annabelle Blackhorn and pushed into the store. Like so many times when he’d been younger, he inhaled the scent of fresh-baked cookies and warm tea. At the jingle of the bells, Annabelle appeared. She smiled at Johnathan as she folded her hands on the glass top counter, just like her grandmother used to do. Hell, seeing her stand there reminded him of Mrs. Martin. Fuck, he missed her something fierce.

“Johnathan,” Annabelle said, “what a surprise. What can I do for you today?”

“Well,” he replied, “I was hoping we could talk for a moment, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” she said, motioning for him to follow her to the backroom. “What’s going on?”

He grinned. The last time he’d been back there, he was sixteen. He’d gotten into a fight with a mountain lion, not on purpose, and Miss Martin had patched up his floppy ear. “Well,” he took a seat at the well-loved table and ran his palms over the old powder-blue flower print tablecloth, “you called the police three nights ago and said you heard a weird noise that didn’t sound like our coyotes or wolves?” Everything about the room had stayed the same. From the old military locker Mrs. Martin used for the supplies to the 1956 Frigidaire refrigerator that was shaped like an upside-down U. The scuffed laminate floors could use a good stripping and waxing, as well. Then again, if he did that to help Annabelle, the last bit of Mrs. Martin’s presence would disappear.

Annabelle joined him at the table with fresh tea and his favor cookies, bringing him out of his morose thoughts. “Yes.”

He took a cookie. “Care to tell me more? Kalkin put me on a special assignment off the books. He’s not sure what’s happening either.”

“If anyone can figure this out,” Annabelle stated, “it’s you.” She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. “It happened about ten at night. Far away at first. It just sounded like a quail whistling. The tones changed octaves occasionally. Deeper to high pitch. Almost like someone was scared. It didn’t sound like any of the wolves, nor was it any of our children. The boys were fast asleep. The others are away at college.”

“How long did the sound last?” He took a bite of his cookie and sighed. Still, the best cookies ever as a wave of nostalgia washed over him.

“A couple of hours. The noise would get closer to the house, then drift away. Jerome was the one who told me to call while he went outside to have a look around. After everything that’s happened in this town...” She shrugged.

“Best thing you could do was call,” Johnathan said, taking notes. “Has it happened again?”

She nodded, frowning as she picked up her teacup. “Once more. Last night. Only not as long and this time we heard rustling. Like someone was weaving in and out of the sage brush. Weird, right?”

Johnathan frowned. “Were there any tracks when you got up?”

Annabelle shook her head. “Either they covered them with as many times as they crisscrossed the path, or it was all in my head. There was nothing out there when Jerome went looking. Not even a peep on our cameras.”

“Odd,” he muttered, drinking the rest of his tea. “Do you mind if I look around your property?” Better to ask before he went out there. Didn’t need Jerome shooting him without asking questions first.

“Sure. I’ll let Jerome know you’re going to be out there.”

“I hate to ask a dumb question, especially since you didn’t see any footprints. What about smells? Anything out of the ordinary?” It was a long shot. Besides their three children, Jerome and Annabelle adopted three more from the orphanage. There was bound to be mixed scents everywhere, but if the animal making the noises was foreign, their scent might be easier to detect and track.

“No,” she replied. “I wish I could tell you how all this was possible, but it’s a mystery to me.”

Johnathan understood. “I had to ask. It was a long shot anyway. With kids and other known animals in the area, getting a bead on something foreign to the area, might’ve been easier to decern as out of the ordinary.”

Annabelle nodded. “Jerome said the same thing. He’s got a good nose. So does Hayden and Kalkin. If neither of them could smell whatever it was...”

“Right.” Johnathan took the last bite of his cookie then grinned when Annabelle handed him a bag. “You wouldn’t be corrupting an investigation by giving me cookies, would you, Miss Blackhorn?”

She laughed swatting at him. “Silly boy. I remember you coming in here all the time for a bag of these. Guess I packed them up out of habit.”

“Well, you can “habit” a bag my way, every day,” he said, winking at her.

“Tease,” she chuckled. “I hope you find what’s out there. It wasn’t fake, Johnathan. Jerome and I both heard the... Whatever it is.”

“That’s why I came to you first. I knew you’d never lie about an occurrence. I’ll keep you posted on what I find. Thanks for the cookies, Mrs. Mar—Annabelle.” His cheeks burned as he turned away. Not from embarrassment, though. Out of grief and missing Mrs. Martin.

“I miss her too, Johnathan. Every day. It’s not the same without her.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You’re welcome here whenever you want to be closer to her.”

He nodded before he exited the shop and went to the next person on his list, Malcolm and Marie. Since he was only a few blocks from the orphanage, he walked the rest of the way to the house not far from the Raferty homestead. Leaving the Past Behind had been his home for many years. He met Marie and Penelope first and became friends with them over the years. That was the one thing about Leaving the Past Behind , no matter whether an orphan was adopted or not, they were still family to everyone who worked there, including the Rafertys.

When he arrived at the house, the kids excitedly moved about out front, decorating for Halloween. Someone, and their name rhymed with Flacolm, had bought one of those giant skeleton-torso/head-combs, and a pumpkin skeleton man that came out of the ground. Jonathan shook his head as one of the little boys chased some of the little girls with the arm and hand, trying to scare them.

“Looks like you have your hands full today,” he said by way of greeting to Marie.

Marie laughed. “I should be scolding the little terrorizers, but they’re having so much fun. Can’t stop that around here.”

No, they couldn’t. “Kalkin put me in charge of this.” He showed her the yellow call slips. “There’s one from you and Malcolm in here, and I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

Marie frowned. “Ah, yeah, that.” She exhaled roughly. “Kept us up all night three days ago.”

“Didn’t get a good look at whatever it was, did you?” he hedged, hopeful, but pragmatic.

“No.”

“Well, damn,” he said, knowing he was still on a wild goose chase. “Can you tell me the noise you heard, if any?”

“Yeah,” she said, hooking her thumb to where the kids put up the decorations. “As long as you don’t mind supervising while we talk.”

“Not at all,” he said, following her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. Seems like yesterday you were welcoming me home.”

Pink tinged her cheeks. “It was my favorite part of my job, welcoming you and them, home. I knew it was the first time most ever heard those words and I wanted to be the one who said them.”

“Made me feel safe,” Johnathan replied.

“Mission accomplished,” she murmured, before clearing her throat. “Anyway, the sound. It was a whistle. High and low pitch. Sometimes at the same time. I thought it was a fox at first but Malcolm, he didn’t think it was. When I heard whatever it was, the creature sounded far away. When he went outside, he said it was closer to the house.”

“Let me guess,” Johnathan added, “no tracks when you checked in the morning? Or where you thought there should be some, the ground was untouched?”

“You already heard the same from someone else,” she said, not accusing him of anything, just stating the facts.

“Yes.” He wouldn’t beat around the bush with family and friends, especially when there was something on the loose in the desert. “I talked with Annabelle about her and Jerome’s encounter with whatever this is.”

“Same story?” Marie tilted her head.

“Right down to the sounds the animal or creature made.”

“Wow,” Marie whispered. “I thought it was all a really weird dream.”

“One you shared with Malcom?” He quirked a brow.

She laughed. “He said the same. I don’t know... I guess I wanted it to be a prank. Like some teens out to start their haunts early. You know how the kids are around here.”

He did. “Kalkin thought it could have been because of the story he told the children the other night.”

Marie chuckled. “Heard that was fun. Couldn’t have been them, though. The teens weren’t there. They stayed with me, and we made special lunch treats for the kids for the rest of the week.”

“Good to know,” Johnathan muttered, writing the information. “Anything else you can think of?”

She shook her head. “Cooper, be nice to Susanne.”

Cooper grinned from ear to ear before running around with the little girl named Susanne. His red hair glittered in the sunlight as he chased after the little girl who tagged him and giggled like a banshee. His twin, however, was content to help breakdown the Styrofoam surrounding the giant limbs of the skeletons. Johnathan snorted. “He’s a Raferty through and through. I don’t think I’ve ever met a bunch of kids or adults who fit a mold so completely.”

“Especially when some didn’t even know they were Raferty.” Marie snickered, elbowing him playfully. “Anyway, the whole time we heard the whistling, it got louder and softer. Like they went far away to make the noise, then came back to the window. Disturbing as well. Like fingernails on a chalkboard.”

He shuddered. “If you could describe the noise, what would you say it sounded like?”

She lifted her shoulder. “Mournful, I guess is the best way to describe it. Scared me half to death.”

“Annabelle said they—whoever sounded scared,” he hedged.

“I can understand that,” Marie replied. “But not the night we heard it.”

“I appreciate your help. I need to head over to Jerome and Annabelle’s home to check it out. Mind if I come by and do the same at yours and Malcolm’s place?”

“We won’t be there until around eight, so knock yourself out. Call if you need anything,” Marie said before she went back to the group of children. “All right guys, let’s see how you did.”

Johnathan chuckled as he walked away. Once the kids finished hanging up all the spooky decorations, the orphanage would be the destination spot for the whole of town. As he walked to the corner of the street, Nico stopped beside him. “Hop in. Kalkin told me what you were up to today.”

He got in beside Hayden’s mate and thanked him for picking him up. “I need to head back to the Sheriff’s Department to get my bike, then drive to the Blackhorn residence.”

“Hayden said she saw you in town earlier, before we had lunch,” Nico said. “Any luck on the whistler?”

He shook his head. “I wish. However, I have two credible witnesses, so far. I don’t think it’s fake. Finding the culprit, however, might be a little more daunting than I expected or maybe even Kalkin figured on.”

“Always is around here,” Nico replied. “The answers continuously lie where we least expect them to be.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Johnathan chuckled. “My only other solution is to shift at night and hang out in the areas where people heard the whistling. See what turns up.” Though, knowing his luck, the one night he did his job, nothing would happen.

“Might work,” Nico said. “You’ll have to keep me posted.”

“You and Hayden haven’t heard anything have you?” he hedged, knowing Hayden had already said no, but Nico... He might have.

“No,” Nico answered. “Can’t say we have. Living in the old Montgomery home, affords us some peace away from the desert. Also helps we have a seven-foot-tall privacy fence around the backyard for the kids’ safety.”

Made sense. After everything Hayden had been through along with Emmeline and Asher, he couldn’t imagine the lengths Nico and she’d go to protect their pups and cubs. “I guess you can count yourself as one of the lucky ones then.”

“I wouldn’t say that, given the circumstances. Whoever’s out there needs our help. I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I hear anything or see anything out of the ordinary, I’ll let you know.”

Nico pulled up to the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Department and stopped next to Johnathan’s motorcycle. He got out, thanked the deputy for the ride, then grabbed his helmet and donned the blacked-out safety device. He loved his bike, because in the dead of night, he could turn off everything on his motorcycle and no one would see him. Plus, he had exceptional sight at night.

He started the beast up, revving the engine a few times before dropping the bike into first gear. Jerome and Annabelle didn’t live far from the duplexes Rapier built the first couple of years he set down roots in Window Rock. He was so good at what he did. Even ten or fifteen years into those buildings being built, they still looked brand new. Then again, maybe he was biased because he too lived in one.

Johnathan followed Main Street to Tully Lane not far from the cul-de-sac he lived on and turned right. Three miles out toward the desert was a lone homestead. The house was a simple ranch-style house with an attached garage. Johnathan slowed as he got closer, doing a cursory look around the property. When he saw nothing, he pulled into the driveway and started his investigation.

If anything, or anyone had been out there, he’d find them.

The easiest way to search was to start away from the property and work back to the house. It might take a few hours, but at least he’d cover all his bases and have a sense of where the animal or person went. As he stepped around the corner of the white privacy fence, he noticed something so small, he didn’t believe anyone else would have caught it. Johnathan couldn’t say whether it was due to the time of day or if he’d been at the right distance to catch the flutter of the object caught on a piece of bramble twenty feet from where he stood. But now that he saw it, he had to grab it. After all, it could be his first clue.

He unlocked the seat of his bike and grabbed an evidence bag and his kit along with his magnified glasses. It wasn’t that hares didn’t have great eyesight, he did. However, he could only lock in on the object when he was less than twenty feet away. Anything beyond his target field of sight, the clarity sometimes faded. So, he had glasses custom-made for his eyes. They came in handy on many occasions, like now.

He stalked toward where he saw the flutter of the article and bent down after putting the glasses on. There undulating in the breeze was a mat of fur. The reddish-russet colored fur was coarse, thicker than his pelt. It didn’t smell like a wolf or any other canine he knew, nor feline either. Vulpes came to mind, but he wasn’t sure even then. They did have foxes in the area, but none of them true foxes. Still, vulpes would explain the whistle noise everyone heard. Sadly, when he processed the smell through his olfactory, the odor of fox didn’t emanate from the fur either.

But as he put the fur to his nose, inhaling for the second time, the hint of a familiar scent hit his senses, reminding him of a time not long ago. He sniffed again. No one with fur that red or that coarse had been with him when he traveled to China. Nor had anyone he saved smelled like the perfume coming off the evidence. Yet, the petrichor of the sounding mountains. The misting rains. The low-clinging clouds and the dirt and mud... He knew that place so well. He’d never forget it. Not after everything he and Maxine endured during that operation.

Instead of trying to figure out what or who the fur belonged to, he bagged the evidence and continued his walk, around the property to see if he could find anything else. When the streetlights in town started to come on, he gave up for the day. He’d bring the evidence back to Kalkin and let Annabelle know they weren’t crazy. Something had been outside their home.

What it was or how it got there...

That was the next question Johnathan would figure out.