“Hey, Annie.” Sydney acknowledged a female officer who approached her.
“Is that…Zachery? The kiddo from a few months back?” she asked, a sympathetic expression in her eyes. “Oh God. I’m sorry, Syd. This little fella…well, I know you guys wanted to adopt him…it’s just…the system’s all kinds of fucked up. What’s he doin’ here? Where did you find him?”
“In a trash bin.” Sydney could hardly believe the words as she spoke them. “Hey, can you do me a favor…see that body over there?”
“The one behind that pile of black trash bags?”
Sydney nodded. “Yeah. The one with the purple hair. I might be able to ID her. It’s one less vic you gotta chase down. Would you mind?”
“Sure thing.” Annie bent down toward the corpse and studied it. “No bullet exit wounds or knife wounds here on the back. Skin’s torn up pretty bad. Plenty of blood though, too, huh?”
“Yeah, there is.” Sydney’s lips tensed as Annie rolled the naked body onto its back. Bathed in a pool of dark fluid, the woman’s mottled skin flapped open. Tufts of white and brown fur adhered to the rotting skin.
Annie covered her nose as entrails spilled out of the abdomen. “Jesus, that reeks.”
“Ugh.” Sydney fought back nausea.
“Torn right open.”
“They’ve been mutilated.”
“NOPD was right to call P-CAP. I don’t think a human could’ve done this.” Annie shrugged. “Maybe with a machete? I don’t know, though. With all the fur, my bet is this one’s a wolf. Geez, that slice has gotta be at least 12 inches. Looks like it runs all the way up her sternum. What the hell does something like this?”
“A demon,” Sydney whispered. She shielded Zachery’s view from his dead mother.
“What’s that on her neck there?” The red tattoo still visible on the female’s throat read Larry’s Bitch. “Take her for a wolf, do ya?
“Yeah. Yeah, I do. It’s his, uh…birth mother.” Fucking Trinity. The twenty-five-year-old she-wolf had given birth to Zach in the back of a drug den while her piece-of-shit mate played cards with his friends. Two weeks later, she’d dumped the baby with a human she’d met at a nail salon. After paying her fifty dollars, Trinity took off for Vegas for five months.
When the child showed up in New Orleans, Logan tracked her down. She’d claimed she was forced by her mate to leave the baby behind. After a drug deal gone bad, the mate took a bullet between the eyes. After his untimely death, she’d escaped and took a bus to Ohio.
Sydney never believed her story, but the state of Trinity’s shredded remains confirmed her suspicion that the she-wolf had still been involved in criminal activity, no matter the lies that had spilled from her lips.
“Looks from the sight of all this fur, she tried to shift.” Annie blew out a breath. “Jesus. Whatever did this…something bad is out there in the city.”
Sydney paused and looked up to the yellow tape that cordoned off the scene. Officers continued to clear the area of random strangers hoping to catch a glimpse of the crime. “Annie, I’d stay around to help consult, but they’re not goin’ to let me work this case anyway. Look, I’ve gotta go.”
“But Syd.” Annie hesitated. “I know you want to take the kid. Believe me. I get it. But you can’t just walk outta here with a witness. You need to get him checked out. Social services…”
“He’s a baby, not a witness. I’ll take him to the hospital myself. No more strangers…” Sydney’s words trailed off as his presence rolled through her. His pure strength always took her by surprise, his energy a force unto itself. Kade.
After a brief visit to the children’s hospital, and receiving assurance Zachery was healthy, Sydney and Kade brought the baby home. Sydney had dismissed the call from the social worker with a text, aware her position within P-CAP would delay the inevitable fight. She needed enough time to either convince Logan to grant them custody or take drastic measures.
Sydney glanced to Zachery who lay quietly sleeping in his chestnut crib, his lips curled in a satisfied smile, his belly full. Sydney curled her fingers over the edge of the railing, the scent of baby powder still fresh in the air. Her heart tightened in her chest, as she replayed the evening in her mind.
She and Kade hadn’t spoken a word since the ride home. She didn’t want to argue. Nothing would change the fact that they were vampires not wolves. The Alpha would insist on taking the child, to keep him with pack. But her thoughts of escape ran far darker, knowing in her gut she wouldn’t ever give up her son.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she heard him say, his low voice rumbling from behind her.
“No you don’t.” She quickly slammed down the shields into her mind. Damn bonding connection.
“You can block me all you want, Syd. I know what you’re thinking because I’m thinking the same thing, but you know we can’t. It’s not possible.”
“I hate that you do that.”
“He must be returned. He’s pack.”
“He’s ours,” she whispered.
“Logan will want him raised by wolves.”
“I don’t care what Logan wants.” Sydney brushed her fingers over Zachery’s blanket-covered foot. “I’m his mother. I know we only had him for a few weeks but our bond with this child…he’s ours.” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Her heart tightened in her chest.
“Some things we do not control,” Kade reminded her.
“Some things we should fight for,” she countered. “I don’t care about what Logan thinks. I don’t care that Zach is lupine. Right now he’s just a baby. And he’s ours. I can’t give him back. I won’t.”
“We’ll figure this out.”
“Please,” she begged, turning to face Kade.
“Syd. I’m going to do everything I can, but you have to know.” He sighed, reaching for her. Bringing her into his embrace, he brushed his lips to her hair. “Logan’s got to take the child’s adoption through pack rules. If he gives approval to do this, it’s going to require some kind of a blood oath. The wolves prefer pups are raised within the pack. Tomorrow we should expect Logan and…”
“Don’t say it.” She knew the Alpha would come for him. The air rushed from her lungs. No. “But it’s Christmas? Where is he planning on taking him?”
“He’s going to keep him until the decision is made. He needs the agreement of Jax. Tristan. I know it’s not what we want but Zach will be safe with the Alpha.”
“No.”
“I’ll go talk to Logan again. If there is no one in his pack willing to take him, maybe we can…”
“This isn’t fair. If anyone can keep Zach safe, it’s us. You know what? I don’t care anymore. We don’t have to agree to this. We’ll leave New Orleans. Take him far, far away. Alaska maybe. No. We’ll take him out of the country. We can go to France. We can stay at Leo’s place on the Riviera.”
“Come on now, Syd. Let’s give Logan a chance. He knows we’ll make good parents.”