First Moon (New Moon Wolves) BBW Werewolf Romance (18 page)

Everything was coming to a head; Audrey, Nick and Dan would soon collide. In less than a week, Nick’s bite would bring a whole new breed of werewolves into being. Tao only hoped the right people were left standing in the end.

Chapter Eighteen

Audrey pulled her truck into the police station lot and worried her bottom lip. She’d called ahead to make sure the sheriff was there, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave the house. Tao had insisted though, promising to watch over Nick. He wanted her to track down the bite victims and get their information.

They wouldn’t be told about being a werewolf, not yet, but Tao said he needed to know what he was working with. Eight people, nine including Audrey, about to go furry was something of a daunting prospect.

Before she’d left, she asked him, “What’s it like to shift? Does it hurt?”

He’d pursed his lips and thought for a second. “No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s more like a full body stretch after you’ve been sitting for a long time. Sometimes it tickles.”

“What about my hand?” She held up the bandaged hand in question.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to say something about that.” He took her damaged hand in his, cradling it gently. “You’ve got pins from the surgery, right?”

She nodded.

“They’re going to pop out when you shift.”

Audrey’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? Oh my God, I’m going to break my hand again.” Great. Just great. Tears burned her eyes at the idea of going through that pain again.

Tao shook his head. “No. The bones will heal. You won’t need the pins anymore.”

That had left her speechless.

Tao continued, “We aren’t super wolves. We can’t instantly heal any wound. I mean, you’ve seen that with me,” he gestured to his chest, “and Nick. But we do heal faster than humans. In this case, your bones will knit when you shift and you’ll be like new.”

“Wow.” She paused, a thought striking her. “What about my pinkie? Will it grow back?” She hadn’t even looked at her hand yet, still too chicken to unwrap it and confront the loss of a finger.

Tao’s eyes filled with regret. “No. I’m afraid that’s not part of how werewolves work. I’m sorry, Audrey.” He’d hugged her then, and she’d sniffed into his shoulder, ashamed of her feelings. It wasn’t just that she’d lost her pinkie, but that Nick had literally eaten a piece of her. That freaked her out more than anything. It was a violation, like being robbed of something that should only belong to her.

“It’s okay,” she’d murmured into his shoulder.

And then he’d told her to leave. To find out how Nick’s victims were doing. Were they local? From out-of-town? Did they have families? What kind of work did they do? Were they good people? Could they be trusted?

“We have to find a way to manage this somehow,” Tao had explained to her. “My pack will never take them in. They’re not just wolf made, they’re tainted by Nick’s bite.”

“Are there other packs? Maybe they would help.”

“Yes, there are other packs, but they’re just as insular. Werewolves survive by being quiet and keeping secrets, which means new members are not on their to-do lists.”

“So what do we do?”

The big man heaved a sigh. “We make our own pack. That’s what we do. Somehow.”

Which was how she ended up asking the sheriff for a meeting. Not only had he been bitten, he would have a list of all the other victims too. The plan was to interview everyone under the guise of making an official report to the national park service. Thanks to her job, she had some official capacity in the situation and Tao wanted her to use it to their advantage.

Taking a deep breath, she left her truck and headed into the police station, a squat brick building with very small windows. Inside, a female officer with a buzz hair cut sat at the front desk.

“Can I help you?” she barked.

“I’m here to see S
heriff Martin.”

“Sign in here and I’ll take you back.” The officer pointed to a form on her desk. Once Audrey had scrawled her name and arrival time on the appropriate line, the officer escorted her through the station to the
sheriff’s office.

“Have a seat, he’ll be right with you,” said the officer before disappearing, ostensibly to return to her post.

Audrey perched on the hard wooden chair in front of the sheriff’s desk. Going by the appearance of his office, Sheriff Martin was a neat man and something of a minimalist. Only a day planner and a computer occupied his desk. The walls were just as bare. A calendar featuring a blue race car hung all by its lonesome, serving as the only decoration in the room.

“Ranger Levine,” came the
sheriff’s smooth, baritone voice as he stepped into his office. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He settled behind his desk and looked at her, his dark brown eyes scanning her like he was hunting for clues. “How’s your hand?”

“Fine thanks. How are you? I heard you were attacked, too.” Sheriff Martin looked just as handsome as ever, but with Tao in her life, Audrey didn’t react with immediate lust like she had the last time she saw him. She didn’t even glance at his pecs.

“I’m good.” He held up his arm and pointed to a large band-aid on his forearm. “It was a superficial bite.”

“But he broke the skin, right?” she pressed. It was important to be sure he was well and truly bitten.

“Oh yeah. I have exactly two stitches. Nothing compared to what you went through.” He cleared his throat. “So what can I do for you? If you have a ticket you want fixed, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Audrey waved her hand. “No, nothing like that. I’d like to get a list of everyone who was attacked by the wolf.”

He frowned at her. “What for?”

She straightened in her chair. “I need to put a report together. As you can imagine, this kind of animal attack requires a certain amount of paperwork.” She rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed by the bureaucracy. “You know how government agencies are.”

“Yeah, but I thought you were on medical leave for a while.” At her shocked expression he said, “I talked to Jay at the hospital.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. Well, yes, I am on leave, but the paperwork still has to be done and,” she shrugged, “truth be told, I’m kind of bored at home so I thought I could at least work on this.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” He tapped on the keyboard of his computer and then a printer on a small credenza behind him whirred to life. When it was done, he handed her the paper.

Audrey squinted at the names, quickly noticing they were evenly split between men and women. Like Nick had been making mating pairs. She recognized almost all of the names:

Richard Smith, a young doctor who ran a small walk-in clinic in town.

Annie Timmins was with the fire department.

Danielle Stevens was a cop she’d met a few times.

Christine Hiltz ran the local (and only) bookstore.

Andrew Marksman owned a few restaurants along the Lake Michigan shore and lived in Glen Vine. From what she’d heard, he was quite wealthy.

Mike Gable, who Audrey knew only because he was president of her bank and had set up her checking account himself.

There was Sheriff Martin, too, of course.

The last name on the list, Charlotte Wills, she didn’t know and hadn’t even heard the name before. Odd, given the insular nature of Glen Vine. The town regulars all knew each other.

Audrey considered all the people whose lives were about to change. What struck her was they were all between the ages of twenty and forty, mostly successful or at least independent and many held a position of authority in the small Glen Vine community. Was Nick trying to shore up a human power base too? He had to have deliberately targeted people, had to know who they were because they didn’t work together, which meant he’d sought them out.

“Miss Levine?” The sheriff’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

She jumped slightly as she came back to the present. “Yes?”

“Was there anything else?”

“Yes, who is Charlotte Wills? Is she a tourist?”

The sheriff shook his head. “No. All the vics were local. We got lucky, the tourists barely knew anything had happened.”

“Thank God for small favors,” she said. Northern Michigan’s main industry was tourism. If word got out that it wasn’t safe, the region’s economy would plummet.

“Yeah. At least there’s that much.” He sighed. “To answer your question, Charlotte is Mickey and Jean’s kid.”

She gave him a blank look. Mickey and Jean who? “I don’t think I’ve met them.”

“They’re probably before your time. Mickey used to be mayor back in the early nineties. He’s retired now.”

She filed away that bit of information for future reference. “Thanks. I think I have everything I need.”

He tapped the space bar on his computer, waking it up from sleep mode and flipped through his day planner, his focus moving from her to other work. “Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck with your report.”

“Thanks,
Sheriff. I hope your bite heals soon.”

“Same goes for you, Ranger Levine.” He gave her a little salute.

She stood up and waved as she left his office, but he didn’t see her, already absorbed in the next thing on his to-do list.

***

Since Charlotte Wills was the only person she hadn’t recognized on the victim list, Audrey started with her. Charlotte’s address put her a few miles out of town, and, after stopping for a cup of coffee, Audrey headed out.

Charlotte lived in a sprawling cabin on one of the small inland lakes that dotted the area. Everyone knew of the Great Lakes surrounding the mitten shape of Michigan, but what tourists didn’t know was the state also had little lakes all over the place. With such a plethora of
waterfront property, you’d think it would drive down the price, but no, not so much. The house in front of Audrey was easily worth a million dollars. In a landlocked lot it would probably go for less than three hundred thousand. On the shore of Lake Michigan, it would be worth well over a million.

A young woman opened the door and greeted Audrey with a suspicious look. A yellow lab poked its head into the crack of the door and woofed at Audrey. “Midas,” chided the young woman. “Go to your bed.” The dog pouted for a fraction of a second, his ears up and eyes wide, but he obeyed his mistress and disappeared into the house. Returning her attention to Audrey, she said, “Can I help you? If you’re selling something, we’re not interested.”

Audrey flashed her park ranger badge. It wasn’t as cool as a cop badge, but it at least gave her some form of official identification. “Hi. I’m not a salesperson. My name is Audrey. I work with the park service and I’m following up with everyone who was attacked by the wolf. Is Charlotte home?”

“That’s me.” Charlotte opened the door wider, revealing a full figure in denim cutoffs and a pale yellow tank top that complemented her tan. Her dark hair was pulled back in a pony
tail. Gesturing to a large bandage that almost completely covered her thigh, she said, “He got me good.”

Audrey’s eyes went wide at the size of the bandage. “Wow. That’s a big wound. Are you okay?”

Charlotte lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I guess. It feels funny though. Like it’s buzzing and the rabies shots were awful.” She rotated her other shoulder, “I’m still so sore I can’t lift my arm.”

Audrey nodded sympathetically. “Well, I’m supposed to do paperwork on all the people who’ve been attacked. Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions?”

“I guess,” the young woman said ambivalently. “Come on in.”

They settled at an oak table in the modern kitchen. The appliances were steel, the counters a beautiful black granite and the floors were some kind of fancy tile Audrey knew was expensive even if she couldn’t name it.

Audrey scrolled through her phone, looking for the app she’d downloaded that would record their conversation. “I hope you don’t mind if I record our interview.” She held up her bandaged hand. “I can’t write with this injury.”

“Sure, no problem,” Charlotte said.

Audrey hit record and leaned back in her chair. Thinking Charlotte looked a little young for such a perfect house, she asked, “So, this is your place?’

Charlotte shook her head. “No, my parents. I’m home for summer break.”

“You’re in college then?”

Charlotte nodded. “I’m a senior at Michigan State. You want something to drink?”

“No thanks.”

The young woman grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, hobbling slowly on her injured leg. Returning to the table, she said, “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Tell me how you were bit.” Audrey checked to make sure the app was working, confirming the red record button was on.

“I went out for a hike with my boyfriend.” Her expression soured. “My ex-boyfriend. I thought he wanted to meet my parents, turns out he wanted to dump me.”

Audrey winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. Suckage. He drove me to Inlet Beach, made me hike all the way down to the shore and then he broke the news.” Charlotte squeezed her water bottle until the plastic crackled from the pressure. “He left after that.”