Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,1

Lisa had taken charge, leading Melissa to the bathtub for a long soak. Not long after the girls emerged from the bathroom, smelling of bubble bath and flowers, the others had arrived with bags and bags of take-out food for an impromptu celebration.

They’d taken every chair in the little house out onto the patio in the garden and sat together for a delicious Italian meal. They had talked about general things. The men had compared their military service dates and locations. Martin had been a Recon Marine in Viet Nam. Extended shifter lifespans meant he was still in the prime of life, though he’d been out of the military a long time. Shifters had to move around a bit to conceal the fact that they had much longer lifespans than the average person.

Arch Hanson was a little older than Martin. He’d been a Navy SEAL around the same time and was still considered a legend in Special Forces circles. His nephew, Jim Hanson, had also been a SEAL, though a lot more recently. Both men were werewolves from a reputable Pack in Iowa, and both were friendly with the lone human Special Operator at the table.

Ben Steel was a former Navy SEAL, as well. He was a regular guy who had gotten mixed up with shifters while on an op in South America. Once he’d learned about the secret world of shifters living under the radar, he’d been recruited by an ancient order of watchers known as the Altor Custodis, or AC, for short. He’d worked for them for a few years before realizing that there was something desperately wrong with the organization. Now, he was working to set things right, which was something Martin could respect. Ben had called Arch and Jim for help when he’d realized they were dealing with some seriously bad magic at the paper mill.

Of the others, the three men were all bear shifters, like Martin and his cub. Ace, King, and Jack Bishop had been jokingly referred to as the three little bears sometimes, but seldom where they could hear it. King, in particular, had been known to take offense at the moniker, and a few teeth had been knocked out from other people’s faces as a result.

All three of the bears had found mates recently, which was plenty cause for celebration. Ace had found himself a weather witch named Sabrina, who had a sweet disposition. King had found his mate in a shy werewolf named Marilee, who had originated in a Canadian Pack. Both couples now lived in Grizzly Cove.

That left Jack and his new mate, Kiki of the enchanted cottage, who had apparently only just become mates during the recent crisis at the paper mill. Kiki didn’t have much of a magical gift of her own, but she came from a magical family, and her sister, Helen, was a healer of great ability. Martin knew he owed them all for rescuing and then taking such great care of his daughter. They had all impressed him, and he was trying to come up with a way to pay them back.

The opportunity arose when Melissa fell asleep and the talk turned more serious. The men started discussing what had happened at the paper mill and the loose ends that still needed to be tied up. They had until Monday to clear the site and get it ready for the human workers to go back to work. If they had to take longer than that, their cover story blaming everything on a chemical leak might fall apart, so it was in everyone’s best interest to get things cleaned up as quickly as possible.

“We need to figure out what to do with the freezers,” Sabrina said, looking pointedly at Melissa, asleep on her mother’s lap. They all knew what she meant, though. She didn’t have to spell it out.

Jack had told Martin that, among other things, they’d discovered a few bodies that had been mutilated in various ways, including exsanguination, stored in freezers in the warehouse. Those bodies couldn’t just be turned over to human authorities. For one thing, they still had to identify a few of those poor victims first.

The creature of evil that had kidnapped Melissa had also been abducting adults and killing them. Stealing their power and using their blood and body parts to fuel her sick, twisted, evil potions. If Jack hadn’t already killed her, Martin would have enjoyed ripping her limb from limb and dancing on her entrails.

“Some were employees,” Kiki