Page 51 of Dead Heat

“I can shift anytime I choose, and I only howl as a means of communication with my pack.”

“Your pack,” the chief repeated slowly. The realization hit her as other members of the pack stepped forward.

Anna waved from her position at the snack table. “We’re the pack.”

“Whoa,” Leo said. “Everybody in the whole trailer park?”

“Every single one,” West confirmed.

Chief Garcia looked ready to faint. “Even the kids?”

“Well, we don’t spring fully formed from a wolf’s head,” Anna said.

West glared at her. “Yes, even the kids.”

“Somebody get the chief a glass of water, please,” I said. “And a chair.”

A chair materialized behind her in time to catch her as she fell backward. Bert placed a full glass of water in her hand.

The chief pressed the glass against her forehead. “I’m going to need a minute,” she murmured.

“How about we clear the room for our guests?” West suggested. “Everybody out except Lorelei.”

The werewolves filed out of the building. Bert snagged two beer bottles as he passed the table.

Leo pulled out a chair and sat. “My legs are wobbly. Is that normal?”

“There’s no normal in this situation,” I said.

“How do you feel?” West asked the chief.

She covered her face with her hands. “Like an idiot.”

West pulled over another chair to sit beside her. “I’m sorry, Elena. I know it’s a lot to digest, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

She peered at him between her fingers. “Why now? Because of the flying hounds? Are they a threat?”

“They didn’t come to play fetch,” West said.

“But they didn’t hurt anyone, did they?” she asked. “I would know, right?”

“They didn’t hurt anyone,” I said, “but we think they’ll be back. That’s why West and I decided it was time to loop you in.”

“What do they want?”

“That’s not important right now,” I said. I didn’t want to overwhelm them with details. It would be hard enough for them to absorb what we’d said so far.

The chief glanced at West. “There’ve been other creatures over the years, haven’t there? These Erinyes aren’t the first.”

West nodded. “More than I can count.”

“Oh, God.” The chief grew quiet. I suspected she was reviewing other events in her mind, finally making sense of events that had puzzled her in the past. Leo swapped the glass of water in her hand for the beer bottle. With a blank stare, the chief brought the bottle to her lips and drank.

“I’m sorry,” West said. “I know how difficult this must be.”

The chief’s face paled. “Officer Lindley,” she whispered. “Was she killed by a monster?”

West’s jaw tensed. “Yes.”

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