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Her kitchen slider opened onto a sunny deck and patio complete with a grill, fire pit, pool, and several pieces of outdoor furniture. A stone walkway led to a distant shed. From there, the trail diverged under the apple blossoms.
Apart from Aiden banging his truck along a deck rail, nine wolves lounged in their human skin. According to Cal, the rest of the pack was either running errands for the impending public memorial or searching the orchard for missed clues.
The new alpha tapped her glass, not that she needed to: every head had turned as our feet hit the warm deck. “This is our neighbor and friend, Marcy Davins. She’s the human who glimpsed Stephen as he fled for his life and reported it to the sheriff.”
Not a single person spoke.
Flush with nervousness, I raised my glass in one sweaty hand. “Hi. I’m sorry we’re meeting this way and sorry for your loss. From all I’ve seen, heard and experienced over the years, Stephen was loved and will be dearly missed.”
Cal leaned against me. “Great,” she whispered, then waved at the group and announced a round of introductions. “Marcy, my cousin Jazeel and his wife Mina. That bump she’s sporting will be the newest addition to the pack. What’d you say his name is, Jaz?”
“Good try,” the man said, and for my benefit added, “It’s a surprise.”
Jazeel carried himself with a quiet dignity unbelittled by a ketchup-smeared band tee (Aiden’s finger-painting) and a platter full of uncooked burgers. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, a buzzcut and expressive hazel eyes. His wife tossed a patty on the grill. Silver wouldn’t have been my first choice of hair color, but she worked it. Her skin held the faint, creamy translucency of moonlight with a shadowing underneath her blue eyes. She was a waifish woman, dressed in a floral maxi dress. The apron tied over her ensemble accentuated a sizable baby bump.
Maybe my thoughts were driven by her name, but I wondered if she had fangs. I’d never heard of a pregnant vampire, let alone one married to a werewolf and standing in broad daylight.
The moment I set my glass on the patio table and moved to greet them, Mina’s lips thinned to a scowl.
“Congratulations. When’s your due date?” I asked, offering my hand.
“Pack matters don’t concern humans,” she hissed, setting her clean hand on her belly instead of into my palm.
Notwithstanding a fair bit of side eye from his wife, Jazeel welcomed my hand. “End of May.”
The chill of Mina's stare made me feel as though I was turning my back on an avalanche to greet the other members of Talon pack. From the youngest, a distant teenager who couldn't bother to take his headphones off to say hello, to the oldest, the mood across the patio was guarded. Last in the line was Cal's sister-in-law, Evita. Stephen’s wife was a beautiful brunette with particularly striking brown eyes and warm beige skin.
Stephen had met Evita backpacking through Basque Country in northern Spain and learned after a wolfish romp under the moonlight that they both lived on the East Coast.
“Stephen was so excited he called the next day, not to check in, ask how I was or detail the wonders of a seaside metropolis. No, he blurted without care or concern I’d mercilessly tease him: sis, I’ve met my wife.” Setting her glass beside mine, Cal reached for a tissue box on the table. “Never seen his smile so big as the day he brought Evie home, ‘cept at the altar the following November.”
Evita collapsed sobbing into her chair. Aiden crawled onto her lap. Passing grill duties to her husband, Mina moved to comfort her. As she passed, she tripped on one of Aiden’s toys and hit the ground.
On instinct, closest to her, I grabbed her arm and helped her up.
Mina wrenched herself free with a growl and a hard shove. “How dare you touch me, pelt-thief!”
I stumbled over a chair, but under no circumstances was I about to shove the pregnant werewolf back. “Sorry.”
The woman stood around my height but seemed to tower over me. Her fist clenched with a perceptive crack. She was panting, chest heaving, skin glossy. Wet with tears, her eyes took on a wild look. “Suppose you want to steal Evie’s dress, too?”
A unified front, the pack crowded closer. Even Evita had risen.
I righted the chair. “I’ll have this dry-cleaned. And if I had his pelt I would have handed it over when I gave Cal my grandmother’s dolls.”
Mina’s head snapped around. “She did what?”
“Caught me same as Gen but offered a gift instead of an ass-whooping.” Cal slipped between us, all silk and smiles. "Play nice with the sheriff’s toy, Mina. We can’t be returning her chewed and slobbered. Marcy’s a witness, not the enemy.” Sorrow lingered in her eyes as she regarded the recent widow. “One of Stephen’s killers came for her.”
I lifted my dress and made a show of the stitches.
Evita gasped. “Oh, you poor child! All alone to fend off a wolf?”
Point proven, I let the hem swish. “I shot him. Sheriff Harlowe finished the job.”
Jazeel with Evita clutching his arm leaned forward. “Who was it? Which pack?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know.”
