Page 23 of Old Secrets

Having seen how far the wolves would go to protect their puppies, with little care for who they hurt outside of their circles, I could believe the pack would handle any interference with excessive violence. Rather than fixate on the past mistakes we’d both made, I asked, “What’s an accidental ritual?”

“A playmate performed the ritual, guided by her wolf. It’s a risk when you have young wolves, and I guess her parents had taken their eyes off the kids for a few minutes. Not a good idea with young puppies around. They’ll end up a mated pair, which works out well for everyone involved. Don’t ask me how it’ll work out; I don’t know. I only followed long enough to find out the girl wouldn’t be punished for being left unsupervised with someone her wolf was invested in. They were both too young to have made those decisions, but it has been made. They’re getting help on the emotional and mental fronts. They’ll be okay. Even after two years, they’re impossible to split at this stage. Everybody’s happy with the situation.”

I decided rather than question the age of the children, I would be happy they were making things work. I could understand how it might.

Childhood sweethearts marrying later down the road fit well with the perceived American dream. I recognized for some that the dream became a nightmare, but I would hope the best for Jacob and the girl who had turned him into a wolf.

In some ways, I envied them. If I’d been a wolf instead of a fox, a lot would have been different.

“We do our best to prevent things like this from happening, but it happens,” Mellisa said. “The girl is so submissive it’s painful, and when her wolf is that desperate, it’s not a surprise to me at all. One of my trips was to have a talk with the kids and make sure they’re doing all right. Jacob is going to roll out dominant, which will partner well with her. We’ve had to get a little creative with disciplining her, but it’s been working out all right. We have her doing the Fenerec equivalent of community service.”

“Do you think the Greenwich operators knew Jacob was a Fenerec?”

“We didn’t know he was one,” Jake informed me. “It’s unlikely. I think the photo album was what they were after—or more accurately, those who took the photos.”

“Were there any leads uncovered we might be able to use?”

“The album was the best hit we had, and another team is working on that. We have exposed, detained, and interrogated some connections in the FBI, however. I suppose you could say your album lead was a huge hit—we busted some interior traitors as a result.”

“But there are more.”

“There are always more. We have some suspicions, but no evidence. Let’s just say those under scrutiny are finding themselves sidelined and gradually being driven out of the FBI. The ones determined to stay are under additional scrutiny—they have motivation to stay.”

That I could believe. “And their motives aren’t like mine.”

Jake nodded. “Correct. Minimizing the damage they can do has been the Inquisition’s first step. Learning who they’re connected to is our second. One thing we have established is that none of the culprits are officially involved with the Inquisition. We don’t actually think they know about the Inquisition. And if they do, they’re misguided on what we do.”

“Your thoughts, Mellisa?”

“I think we’re dealing with one of many different hate groups. I suspect a wild wolf attacked someone higher up in their organization, and they want to kill off anyone who might have been associated with the attack. Fenerec aren’t the most stable of beings, especially when distressed. If the wolf takes over, they will kill without remorse. Those cases almost always lead to the death of the wolf.”

I winced at the thought of something as large as one of the wolves attacking somebody. It wouldn’t end well for their victim. I’d been able to do a hell of a lot of damage even as a smaller fox, and I’d packed on inches and pounds over the past few months, growing to be almost Jake’s match.

Jake had done some growing, too.

“Is Jake at risk of doing this?”

“Not particularly. He’s so focused on you he doesn’t care about anything else, and his wolf is the same way. Now, if something were to happen to you, then he’d be at high risk. Wolves typically find stability with their mate, and the death of their mate is a common reason a wolf will run wild. Packs help stabilize distressed members of the pack, too.” Mellisa shuffled through the papers, located the pictures of the bodies of my first adoptive parents, and frowned. “This is solid evidence the culprits don’t know anything about Fenerec. This is systematic. Meant to look like an animal attack. Fenerec—and foxes, like you—are not nearly this clean with the cuts.”

“You mean what I did to the London group.” It had taken time, but I’d come to terms with having gone on a rampage. “That’s what you mean about wild wolves?”

“Precisely. You painted that entire clearing with their blood and left nothing but pieces of them in your wake. Unlike wolves, you had no problem transitioning from your rather violent state to a calmer one.”

“She never smelled sick,” Jake said, his entire body going tense.

“That’s because she’s not a Fenerec, hadn’t run wild, and wasn’t an uncontrolled demon out to murder everyone. She was out to murder anyone who had hurt you, but she showed no real aggression to anyone she thought wasn’t associated with your attackers. Of course, she wasn’t all there in the head, but she also dealt with denial. She couldn’t possibly be a fox—and you couldn’t possibly be a wolf.”

As I knew it would drive Jake to the edge of his sanity, I looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m still not sold on this whole wolf thing. Remember when it was cold in the winter?”

He raised a brow. “I do, as you kept using me to warm up.”

“You didn’t put on a fur coat for me, not once.”

“My way was better. And anyway, would you have let me stay a wolf long before your insufferably raging hormones—your words, for the record—demanded I be of better use?”

“I am just stating I am suffering from a severe lack of fluffy wolf lately.”

“I’m not that fluffy.”