Page 50 of New Blood

He’d guessed as much. “Well, there’s nothing we can do for the poor animal now. But we’re not gonna let it rot. Call Chase, and have him help you transport the deer to the house. Do you know how to butcher a deer?”

“Chase is good at that.”

“Good. Tell your sister to roast the meat for dinner tonight. Have her freeze the rest.”

“Will do.”

Jude marched back to the ATV and got on it. He glanced at Heath, who was already talking on the phone, giving Chase instructions. Jude followed the same path back to the garage, parked the ATV behind it, and switched off the engine. He walked back to the house and entered via the back door near the kitchen. It was only mid-morning, but the place was already buzzing with activity. As he walked along the corridor, he noticed an open door and looked into the room. It was a storage room with boxes stacked high.

Flora was rifling through one of them.

“Flora?”

She shrieked and whirled around. Letting out a breath, she pressed her hand to her bosom. “You startled me.”

“I didn’t mean to. I apologize.”

She forced a smile. “Good morning.” Then her gaze drifted to his boots. “I see you were already out in the woods today.”

He followed her eyes and noticed that his boots were caked with wet dirt. Lifting his gaze, he stated, “Yeah. Heath alerted me about a deer that was killed in the woods.”

“A deer? Are you saying somebody shot a deer on our grounds? Those damn poachers! I told William to get more cameras out there.”

Jude lifted his hand, stopping her rant. “The deer wasn’t shot. Somebody tore its throat out.”

Flora gasped.

“And then they ripped the deer’s heart out.” He didn’t need to tell her what this meant.

“Are you saying a werewolf took down the deer?” She scoffed. “Nobody from the pack would have dared kill a deer on this land when William was still alpha.”

The dig hit. But he wasn’t going to take it lying down. “But he was okay with Cameron killing two hikers in the same woods?”

Flora glared at him, her chest expanding with her next breath. “If William had known back then about Cameron killing those hikers, he would have stopped him. But there were no signs that Cameron would do that. It came out of the blue.”

He doubted that very much. Killers like Cameron didn’t start with killing humans. They started with animals. There would have been signs that Cameron was disturbed and couldn’t keep his bloodlust under control. Living in close quarters like the extended Gallagher family would have made it evident to everybody that Cameron was a threat.

Besides, he knew for a fact that William had covered up Cameron’s murders. Striker, the vampire who’d made the Werewolf Alliance aware of what was happening with the Gallagher pack, had confirmed it. It was a fact. But there was nothing to be gained by correcting Flora. Now that he knew that she’d dated William before he’d married Clarice, he had to assume that she didn’t want anybody to think badly of the deposed alpha. Maybe she still had feelings for him after all these years.

“Well, what’s done is done,” Jude said with a shrug. “I’m having Chase and Heath transport the deer back here, so they can butcher it. We’ll have it for dinner tonight.”

Flora nodded. “At least it won’t go to waste. I’ll make sure Priscilla and Danielle prepare a nice roast for tonight.”

“Thank you.”

30

In the laundry room on the first floor, Danielle folded the remaining towels and put them back into the laundry basket. With so many more people living on the estate now, several loads of laundry had to be done daily. She didn’t mind the work because it allowed her to let her mind wander back to the previous night.

Her body was still humming with pleasure, and her skin tingled whenever she thought of Jude. She’d never felt like this before. Of course, she’d had boyfriends, or rather one-night-stands with strangers she would never see again, but those sexual adventures had been few and far between. Since she’d come to live with the Gallagher pack, she’d rarely gone out to bars to hook up with somebody.

In bars, she’d always felt comfortable, because she’d worked in one when her mother was still alive. She’d always dressed in a way that accentuated her physical attributes, her slim waist and ample breasts. She knew that the male customers liked looking at her, because it had increased the tips she earned. And it had given her a boost in confidence. Besides, she’d loved flirting with men. She’d loved having fun, being carefree—until one night she’d found Carl beating her mother. Everything had changed that night.

When they’d found a pack that took them in, she’d thought that she could resume her normal life. But when they’d planned to force her to mate with one of their vilest members, she’d realized that she had to change. She had to make sure that men weren’t attracted to her, so she wouldn’t become prey to them. Out of necessity, she’d become more introverted. And she’d used this shy, introverted persona as a protective shield so nobody would take any notice of her and leave her alone, rather than try to find a mate for her. It had worked. Until now. Jude had noticed her anyway.

Now they belonged to each other, and that thought was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. In his arms, she’d felt safe for the first time in many years, but the thought of having to confront the Gallagher family with a fait accompli sent a shiver down her spine. Knowing Eve, she would accuse her of stealing Jude away from her, and even Flora, who’d often been kind to her, would feel betrayed. She felt like a usurper, even though she knew that Jude would protect her, and the Gallaghers would have to accept her as the alpha female of the pack. However, no matter how long she thought about this, one problem remained: by having taken her as his mate, Jude couldn’t unite the pack through a union between him and Eve. The Gallaghers had no reason to accept him. He was an outsider who’d mated with another outsider. It would fracture the pack even more.

“Hey…”