Page 14 of Fated Wolf's Destiny

I lean in closer, my voice lowering. “Do you know what he was looking into, Sheriff?”

Barnes’s gaze hardens. “I don’t. He didn’t exactly keep me in the loop.”

“Bullshit,” I say, the word slipping out before I can stop it. “You’re the sheriff. My guess is there’s little that goes on in Shadow Hollow that you don’t know about. If Arthur was looking into something dangerous, you’d know about it.”

The silence stretches between us, thick and heavy. Barnes’s fingers drum against the desk, a slow, deliberate rhythm that only adds to my unease.

“Whatever Arthur was into, let it go. It doesn’t concern you. It’s not worth chasing shadows or things that go bump in the night,” he says, his voice dropping to a near growl.

“Shadows and things that go bump in the night don’t leave notes,” I fire back, straightening.

His expression flickers briefly, but it’s enough to send a chill down my spine. He knows something.

“If you’re done here,” he says, standing and walking toward the door, “I suggest you focus on the clinic and the mill house. Deciding what you’re going to do with them is what should be your concern.”

“I haven’t decided if I’m staying.”

“Doesn’t matter,” says the sheriff. “The area needs a good vet. Either reopen the clinic and run it yourself or sell it to someone who will.”

I follow him to the door, my anger simmering beneath the surface. “I’m not dropping this, Sheriff,” I say, my voice sharp. “Arthur deserves better than that. And if you’re not going to find out what really happened, then I will.”

His hand hovers over the doorknob, his shoulders tense. “Be careful, Bella,” he says without turning around. “Outsiders aren’t always treated kindly.”

The words hang in the air as he opens the door, stepping aside to let me pass.

Outside, the sun filters through the clouds, but it feels colder than it should. I walk back to my Jeep, my mind racing. Barnes knows more than he’s letting on. I’m sure of it. But he’s not going to give me any answers.

As I slide into the driver’s seat, I glance at the station one last time. Barnes is watching from the window, his face unreadable. If he thinks he’s going to scare me off, he’s wrong. I’ll find out what Arthur was looking into, and I’ll find out what’s really going on in Shadow Hollow, regardless of the consequences.

RYDER

The council chamber is as old as the forest, carved into the heart of the mountain like it’s been here longer than any of us. The air inside is heavy, damp, and filled with the faint, earthy scent of moss. Shadows cling to the stone walls, flickering in the dim light of the lanterns hung high overhead. This place has always made my wolf restless—like the council chamber is too small for the enormous egos that collide here.

The Nightshade Elders sit in a semicircle at the far end of the chamber, their expressions as stony as the walls around them. They’re waiting for me to speak, their patience as thin as my tolerance for their judgmental stares.

“She’s not a threat,” I say finally, my voice firm but controlled. “Bella Gordon doesn’t even know what she is, let alone what she’s stumbled into.”

Elder Marlow narrows his eyes at me, his graying eyebrows furrowing. “You can’t possibly believe that,” he says, his tone dripping with disbelief. “Arthur was one of us—well, maybe not wolf, but a shifter. He was sticking his nose into things that didn’t concern him.”

“The Crimson Claw should be of concern to everyone. Whatever they’re up to, I don’t think it just concerns the wolf packs.”

“She’s nosing around in things that don’t concern her.”

“And she’ll find nothing. She inherited a veterinary clinic and a mill house,” I snap, my jaw tightening. “Arthur was a part of this town. He never told her anything. There’s no reason to think Bella will find out anything.”

“You can’t know that. It’s not your call to make,” Elder Tannis cuts in, her voice sharp and unforgiving.

“You overstep, Elder Tannis. It is precisely my call to make.”

She drops her eyes and modulates her speech, “You’re too close. Her presence puts the entire pack at risk. You should never have allowed her to return to Shadow Hollow.”

My wolf bristles at the words, but I keep my voice level. “She has a right to be here. Her grandmother...”

“Her grandmother,” Elder Marlow interrupts, his voice rising, “was banished from this pack for good reason. She betrayed us, and one of her bloodline should never have been allowed to return to these lands.”

Sometimes I forget how out of touch the Elders can be.

“That was decades ago,” I say, forcing the growl out of my voice. “Bella isn’t her grandmother. She’s not her grandfather, either. I understand things were different back then, but Bella is just trying to make sense of what Arthur left her.”

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