Page 68 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“Yeah, it’d be nice if they didn’t, though.” She rolled onto her stomach and looked up at me. “What are the chances the police catch Joey and pin the murders on him?”

I shrugged. “It’d be better if we just focus on what’s going on here instead of wishing for something else. Less disappointment if it doesn’t happen like we hope.”

“Right.” She pushed herself up and went to the sandwich. I could see her hopelessness in the way she sat down on the bed, and it hurt more than running from home or discovering I’d lost two friends.

“Things will get better, Zoe. They have to.”

She nodded, and without any other assurances to offer her, I left her to her solitude. Before I reached the end of the hall, I heard something. A soft click of noise that reminded me of a door shutting.

I paused and looked back. The bedroom door was still open. All of the doors were.

Frowning, I went to the living room and checked the front door. It was closed tightly and locked.

Shaking my head, I nibbled on my lunch and resumed my search for clues regarding our neighbor. I didn’t have enough information to narrow his species down to a reasonable number of possibilities. I felt fairly certain, though, he wasn’t a mermaid. Would it be merman? Whatever. There wasn’t any water nearby, and Ashlyn’s notes said that most of the Uttira mermaids lived in Lake Uttira. It was the “most” that kept me from ruling mermaid out completely, though.

A gasp came from the bedroom.

“Kells? I think I’m seeing things.”

I dropped the book and hurried down the hall to find Zoe staring wide-eyed in the direction of the bed.

“Please tell me you see a puppy,” she said.

I did see one, and the little guy was turning circles on top of the quilt in an effort to catch his tail.

“Where did he come from?” I asked.

“Dunno. I was leaning against the bed, and it whined behind me. I never saw it come in.”

The puppy suddenly gave up on its tail chase and tried to take a few steps forward only to stumble sideways and sit on his rump.

“Aw,” Zoe breathed.

“Don’t,” I warned. “Puppies don’t just appear out of nowhere.”

She looked from me to the puppy.

“I know. That’s why I got away when it licked me.”

“It licked you?”

She nodded. “On the cheek.”

I studied the dog, looking for signs that it was something other than what it appeared to be. However it looked authentically puppy. From its soft, floppy ears to its bare, pink belly to its tan and white fur.

It lifted its head and stood again. I quickly averted my gaze just enough to see it without looking right at it. A playful puppy bark rang out in the room, and it pranced a few steps forward, lowering its front playfully while keeping its butt in the air. Its little puppy tail wagged so hard in its excitement that its whole butt was moving side to side.

“Please, Kells. The house is warded. Creatures can’t enter, right?”

I knew what she was begging for and hated to be the bad guy.

“What are the odds that a random puppy shows up after you think you see our neighbor kicking one?” I asked.

Guilt shifted quickly across her expression.

“It’s the same one, isn’t it?” I pressed.

“Yes, but maybe that means it’s real, and he’s a mean, puppy-kicking neighbor who’s also gorgeous and likes to cut off chunks of your hair.” She gave me a sad, defeated look, like she was already giving up the idea that she could have even a little bit of happiness in her life.

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