Page 21 of Wolf Duty

Inside the house, he found Karim and Ulf playing some sort of driving game on the TV. They were shouting at the screen and didn’t even notice him arriving.

Nora had claimed the kitchen table as her office and was tapping away on her laptop. “Hey,” she said. “How’s our blushing groom?”

He flipped her the middle finger. “Did Ulf bring that gaming console?” He hadn’t seen it the first time he’d been in the house.

Nora rolled her eyes. “It’s supposed to be a present for Karim, but Ulf’s been playing with him ever since they hooked it up.”

Bay chuckled. “I’m going to check on Sonya.” Nora frowned. “What?” he asked. “We’re married. I’m allowed to say hi to my beautiful wife.”

“She’s not here.” Nora pushed the laptop away and stood. “We thought she was with you.”

A chill raced down Bay’s spine. “She was.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “But Karim texted her and said to come right away because he needed help with school stuff.”

Nora stepped into the living room with him hot on her heels. He should have made Sonya wait. He should have gone with her when she left. If anything had happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. Why the fuck had he let her walk by herself?

“Karim,” Nora said, “did you text your sister this morning?”

The boy slanted her a glance before refocusing on the screen. “No, why would I?”

“Are you sure?” Bay insisted. “Sonya said she got a text from you.” His voice must have given away his desperation, because Ulf paused the game, and both he and Karim put down their controllers.

Karim walked over to the low table by the sofa and picked up his phone. “I didn’t,” he insisted. “See?”

Bay grabbed the cell and scanned the screen. He didn’t have to read the actual messages to see that none were from this morning.

“Maybe she has a surprise for you and told you Karim texted so she could organize things,” Ulf tried, but his flat tone made it clear the Viking didn’t believe his own words.

“What’s going on? Did something happen to Sonya?” Karim asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Nora said calmly. “Let’s not panic until we’ve explored all options.” The last sentence was directed at Bay.

He was well beyond panic. Something bad had happened to Sonya, and it was his fault. “I’m going to retrace her steps and see if something delayed her on the way here.” He headed for the front door.

“Good idea,” Ulf said. “We’ll start calling the pack members we have numbers for to see if anyone’s seen her. And ask them to call the other wolves we don’t know how to reach.”

Bay raced to his rental car and cursed when he saw the piece of paper stuck under the windshield wiper. Fuck, he’d gotten a parking ticket. But when he looked more closely, he realized it was simply a note written on lined paper that reeked of floral perfume. He tried to make sense of the text, but as usual, the letters jumped around and wouldn’t stay in place. The word “jerk” stood out, but that was all he could read.

Bringing the note closer to his nose, he sniffed, trying to find the scents masked by the cologne. A bad feeling made his stomach cramp, and he went back into the house.

Karim rushed out into the hallway as soon as Bay stepped through the door. “Did you find her?”

Bay handed him the note. “Who does this smell like?”

The boy sniffed the paper, opening his lips to use the scent glands on the roof of his mouth. “I could tell better if I shifted, but I think it smells like Dale.”

“That’s what I think too.” Fucking Dale. “What does it say?”

Karim stared at him. “What do you mean?”

Bay grimaced and popped the crick in his neck. “The note. What does it say?” He doubted Dale had stopped by to leave him a perfumed note calling him a jerk.

The boy looked down at the paper in his hand. “Is this a trick question? Is there a hidden message I’m supposed to see?”

Bay clenched his jaw. “I can’t read well. Letters bounce around when I look at them. I need you to tell me what the note says.” And of course, Ulf stepped into the hallway right as he admitted how useless he was.

The Viking slapped him on the shoulder and peered at the note. “It says ‘Jerky time.’” He looked back up at Bay. “What does that mean?”

“It means Dale is a dead man,” Bay gritted out. His wolf howled its agreement.

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