River jerked his gaze away from the corpse to look at Wyatt’s back. “From that Albert’s pack?”
“I don’t know. But those marks were created by a wolf.” He pointed to the remains of the man’s throat and across his chest.
“Why is he here? Bel’s property goes on for another quarter mile at the closest edge to here.”
Wyatt turned to look over his shoulder at River, not needing to answer. River knew why the man had been killed here. To frame them.
“Come on. We need to return to the house and tell Bel what we found.”
Part of River wanted to dig his heels in and say no. They’d just close their eyes to it and pretend the shifter hadn’t been brutally murdered as part of some elaborate ploy orchestrated by Albert. He didn’t want this happiness to end. Didn’t want to go back to life on the run. To hiding. He didn’t want to give up his Bel.
But this wonderful dream was already dissolving into the nightmare that had been his life for so very long.
Bel was already grabbing his coat when Wyatt and River strode through the sliding glass door at the rear of the house. He’d been nervous about them going for a run, but Wyatt had promised they’d stay deep in his property. Nothing to worry about.
But they couldn’t have been gone for more than twenty minutes before a spike of horror and fear sliced through Wyatt, echoed just a second later by River. Something was wrong, and he needed to find his wolves.
“What happened?” Bel demanded, stopping in the middle of shoving his arm through the sleeve of the coat.
“We found a body,” River blurted out.
“What?” Bel nearly choked on the word. “A dead body? On my property?”
“Yes,” Wyatt said. “He was killed. Throat torn out.”
Bel stumbled backward a step, his hand rising to his parted lips. He couldn’t speak. Who would do such a thing? Was this a message from the Ministry? A vampire was excellently equipped for such a brutal form of murder, and it would certainly send a clear message to Bel that he was next in their sights.
Dragging in a gasp of air, he caught the first faint hint of blood. And it came from one of the wolves. His heart skipped a beat while his mind raced ahead. Were they somehow involved in the man’s death?
“Did it look like it was done by a vampire?”
Wyatt shook his head. “No. Definitely a wolf.”
“Did you touch the body?”
“No,” Wyatt quickly answered. Bel’s eyes darted to River, but the wolf was already shaking his head.
Fear crawled up his throat, threatening to block the words, but he forced them out. “Did you have something to do with his death?”
“No, of course not!”
Bel took another deep breath, but there was no mistaking it. He could smell blood wafting around them. “I would understand if something happened and you—”
“Bel, I swear to you, we never touched the man!” Wyatt shouted.
“I smell blood.” The words came out hard and flat. Bel knew what he smelled. There was never a doubt when it came to blood.
Wyatt dropped his head forward and looked embarrassed. “It’s from a rabbit. We were running, and I gave in to the urge to chase it down. I…I didn’t want to tell you. I was afraid you’d be upset that I was hunting on your land. Or maybe just disgust—”
Bel stopped his words with a hard kiss. When he broke off the kiss, he pulled Wyatt in for a tight hug and grabbed River as well, holding both men tight against him as a wave of relief washed over him.
“Oh, thank God,” he sighed. He rested his forehead on Wyatt’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “I was afraid something had happened to you or River. I know you’d never hurt anyone in cold blood.”
Wyatt nuzzled the top of Bel’s head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
“It’s okay.” Reluctantly, Bel released them and finished pulling on his coat before smiling at Wyatt and then River. “Just remember. Vampire.” He tapped the side of his nose with one finger. “I’m basically a blood-seeking monster. I can always smell the blood.”
River surprised him by kissing the corner of his mouth. “You’re no monster.”
Bel didn’t argue, but…could he become one? When it came to protecting River and Wyatt, the answer was yes.
“Do you need to grab your clothes first?” Bel wasn’t exactly eager to go look at a dead body, but it would be best if they took care of this before they ran out of night hours.
Wyatt shook his head. “I think we should go as wolves. If there’s trouble, I want to be able to quickly shift.”
Bel nodded and locked up his house while werewolves shifted on the patio. He followed them through the woods, inwardly grumbling once again about his lack of appropriate footwear. When he got back to the house, he would need to put hiking boots on his shopping list. It had been years since he’d last spent this much time tromping through the woods.
As a vampire, there just wasn’t much call for it. There wasn’t a lot of prey to be had out in the middle of a forest at night. And too often, campers were armed. He didn’t want to worry about being shot if he happened upon some poor hikers huddled around a campfire.
He also didn’t offer to accompany Wyatt and River on their romps through the woods. Not only did they need time to themselves, but Bel was sure he would only slow them down. Their long, sleek wolf bodies allowed them to simply flow through the trees and underbrush like the wind. On the other hand, Bel was more akin to a bumbling oaf.
It took less than twenty minutes to cut through the woods to the spot where River and Wyatt had encountered the body, but they weren’t alone. He’d sensed the intruders and gave the wolves a quiet warning that the pack had invaded his land. Not that he was surprised at all.
No, this was a setup. He just hadn’t expected Albert to act already. The alpha had given him a week to get rid of Wyatt and River. Of course, Bel had made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of sending the wolves away. Albert had likely thought it was better to force his hand rather than wait around for the time to expire.
Half a dozen wolves were gathered to one side of the corpse, sniffing and growling. They all backed up a few steps when Bel and his wolves drew close. A soft glow enveloped a light-brown wolf, turning into Albert. Two others shifted into human form. On Bel’s left, Wyatt shifted into human form, while River pressed close to Bel’s right thigh. His body hummed with tension, and Bel couldn’t help reaching over to stroke River’s head, trying to settle him.
“Those perverted bastards killed a member of my pack,” Albert spat, pointing at Wyatt and River.
Bel forced a smile. “Always a pleasure to see you, Albert.” He greeted the alpha through clenched teeth before looking at the dead body.
It was clear that he’d been killed by a large animal. Or rather, several large animals. Wolves were his first guess, but he hadn’t spent a great deal of time studying the marks made by an animal’s teeth and claws. This could have easily been done by a large cat as well.
What he did know was that the kill was relatively fresh. The smell of the blood and decay hanging in the air pointed to a body left in the cold woods for only a few hours. Probably right around sunset. That would have made it impossible for Bel to be present for the kill.