51. Anna

51

Anna

"Someone has already been here," Saul said with a frown as he sniffed the air. "I don't suppose you know anything about that."

Lunessa was not as good at covering her tracks as she needed to be. "Do they smell familiar?"

"No." So none of the other wolves. Just Lunessa. "And is anything amiss?"

Glowering at me, Saul picked up a scalpel. "This may not be one of our pack, but I assumed responsibility of them when they came into my infirmary. I do not like to know that someone else was here."

"If it helps, it was not my idea."

"It does not help. Why, exactly, are you here watching me? Do you have some medical degree that I don't know about?"

"Not exactly. I'm here to report back to Jax," I lied.

"Not only would Jax not send someone to look over my shoulder while I worked, but he would trust me to make my own report. For someone who has lied for most of her life, you did that poorly," Saul admonished. "But I assume your reason for being here is important, so I'll stop questioning it."

"I am sorry. About the lying. I guess I kind of like you." When he raised an eyebrow, I frowned. "What? You've been nice to me, and of everyone here, you are the wolf who should hate me. I know that doesn't make us friends, but it means I feel bad when I try to lie to you."

"I have no reason to hate you, Anna," Saul said gently. "And I like to think we are friends. If you need to tell me a truth, you can trust me."

Suddenly, all I could see was Bridget pointing the gun. I forced a smile. "Maybe we should just focus on the autopsy."

"Wolves are a stubborn breed," he sighed. "Very, well. I'll get started."

Propping myself up on the counter, I focused on the body and held my breath. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't think a spell could just leak out of the body. In any case, I wanted to be there in case I was wrong.

Saul muttered to himself and the clock ticked by. It wasn't until he announced that he was done that I finally relaxed. "Well? What's the verdict?"

"She was killed by a werewolf." Saul stripped off his gloves and ran his hands under the water of the sink. "I took samples of the wound. Other than that, I haven't found anything out of the ordinary. Nothing to indicate that she'd been out in the woods for a long period of time or even to indicate that she'd fought back. Do I need to report that back to Jax, or will you?"

"You can. I'm sorry that I was even here, Saul. I just wanted to be here in case anything unexpected happened."

Hopping off the counter, I headed to the door. "Anna, wait. Your life keeps escalating, and you haven't gotten a chance to catch your breath. You need to speak to a therapist, I recognize that will be difficult for you, especially right now, but you know that you can talk to me.

Anything you want to tell me."

My chest squeezed, and I nodded. "I'll think about it."

No evidence on the body. Our only hope now was that there was something in the witch's home. Hopefully a message written in blood, something along the lines of If I end up dead, this wolf kidnapped and killed me.

Hey, even a wolf like me still had some hope.

Opening the door, I walked headfirst into Finn. He was pale but unmoving as he stared down at me.

"No." I shook my head. "Absolutely not. You still look like hell. Back in bed."

I sidestepped him, but he blocked my path again. I raised my eyebrows. "You do realize that I outrank you as your alpha's mate, right? When I order you back in bed, you're supposed to comply."

"When I am your bodyguard, I outrank you."

"Except you're not my bodyguard. Amelia is, and she doesn't look like she could be knocked over with a feather. Look, I'm all for having you back. Really. Amelia can be mean sometimes, but you should be at full strength. There are a lot of wolves out there who want to see me dead.

It's a hard job guarding me."

He didn't even crack a smile. "Saul says I can leave."

"Leave the infirmary, yes. To go rest in your own bed. Not to go gallivanting about with a magnet for trouble," Saul said mildly as he walked by.

"So your doctor says no to guarding me. Go home, Finn. Get some rest. Next week…"

"There's a dead body in the infirmary, and a certain witch came to visit it last night."

At least Finn had lowered his voice. It hadn't occurred to me that Finn would recognize Lunessa. He still hadn't said how well he knew the witches.

"You almost died, Finn. That's what this job lead to," I said bluntly. "You had the freedom to do whatever you wanted, and now just a few months after you finally bind yourself to a pack, the third in command nearly kills you!"

"That doesn't change the fact that I believe in Jax, and that I believe in you. Something has been happening to the mountain. I can feel it. I think it's time the wolves ban together, even the rogues, to protect our land. What Bridget did doesn't change how I feel about that. Besides, I'm your friend. I care about you."

Bridget. Gun. Shaking my head, I desperately tried to make the mental image go away. Finn was my friend. I trusted him.

"Go home and rest up today. Tomorrow, Jax will check up on you and make the final decision," I said finally. "And you will obey it no matter what it is."

"Fine."

"Amelia is outside if you want to talk to her."

Finn scowled. "Real great place for a bodyguard to be. Outside."

"Right now, the only threat is you, Finn. Now go. Rest up. I'll see you tomorrow."