Page 83 of Bitter Discord

“Do you know him?” I asked, holding the phone out.

She did the same thing I did, zooming in and frowning as she studied him.

“No,” she said softly. “I don’t.” Before giving me back the phone, she did something. “I’m sending it to myself,” she explained to my questioning look. “I’ll ask everyone here. You should call Heath’s werewolf and tell him to keep his distance until we can confirm an identity. Is there any sign of the young werewolf?”

“No. Fenris wouldn’t be texting me so quickly if he knew Arlo was there. He’d be getting Arlo, and everything else would be something for him to deal with later.” I took my phone and walked back out, hitting call for Fenris as Zuri started asking the others if they recognized the male werecat in the photo.

“What?” Fenris growled softly. “I didn’t need you to call. I sent that to you because I figured you would know every face in case Heath didn’t know someone.”

“My sister and I don’t know him. Fenris, I need you to keep your distance and follow from farther back. How long ago was the photo taken?”

“I’m way ahead of you. It was twenty minutes ago. I needed to get distance because of their hearing. It was too quiet around them to pull out my phone and send texts. The button noises, you know. I don’t know how to turn them off.”

“Did you catch his scent? Is that how you verified he’s a werecat?”

“Yeah. The one you got me watching seemed surprised to see him. I think we’re at the dude’s rental place, the one I’m watching, not the new guy’s.”

“Where are you? Was there any sign of Arlo?”

“Down the block, in a backyard. Humans are sleeping. They’ll never know I’m here, the humans or the werecats. I have a vantage point to see if they leave again. I wish I could get in there and smell around the house, but one werecat is enough. Not fighting with two of them, not without the pack. No sign of Arlo. I couldn’t smell him, see him, or hear him. If he’s in that house, he’s really well hidden because I have zero evidence of him being here. I can’t go in that building without Heath’s approval unless I have a sign that Arlo is in it. Not a suspicion, but palpable evidence.”

“What do you think?”

“I think if he’s in there, those werecats will die tonight, and I hope I kill one of them,” Fenris growled. “But there’s no evidence of it. This might be someone who heard about the murder and wanted to convince their buddy to leave. I should do that. Give him the benefit of the doubt or some shit. That’s the stuff you preach, right? Heath is always telling me to do better.”

“Yeah, we’ll… we’ll do that. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, right? You stay quiet and keep watch. Text me any updates as quickly as they happen. Sorry for calling like this. I’ll give Heath the update, alright?”

“You haven’t done any harm, Rebel. I’ll do my boring ass job. Glad to have a job, though. Thanks for recommending me. Heath told me this was your idea.”

He hung up, and I was left pacing in a circle as I called Heath.

“Hey, Jacky. I wish I had a status update, but—”

“I have something,” I said as Zuri walked into the hall, still wearing a deep frown.

“Oh?”

“Fenris texted me. Apparently, Lonan is with another werecat right now. Fenris wanted to see if Zuri and I knew him, but neither of us recognized him. Neither do any of the werecats here in the mansion.” Zuri nodded, confirming I was right. I had heard through the door as well. I hadn’t heard everything because I had been on the phone with Fenris, but I figured Zuri would have come out a bit more excited if we’d been able to put a name to the face.

“There’s an unidentified werecat in Dallas?” I could imagine his nostrils flaring in surprise and probably a bit of anger and frustration.

“Fenris said Lonan seemed surprised to see him, and now Fenris is watching the rental house to make sure they don’t go anywhere. He neither saw nor smelled a sign of Arlo… or heard. He won’t go in unless you give him the order to.”

“Fenris threw out the theory that the werecat might be a friend of his here to convince him to leave,” I said, looking at Zuri. She shook her head. “But Zuri doesn’t like that theory.”

“Pick up a phone,” she said in a mumble. “No need to come here.”

“Yeah, that’s… more logical,” I agreed.

“You two just tell me what you want to do,” Heath said, sighing. “I don’t know the call to make here. I don’t like that there’s a werecat we don’t know in the city, but I can’t send the pack out just for being here. Obviously.”

“I know what we need to do, but it’s… inconveniently dangerous,” Zuri said with a heavy sigh. “While this isn’t Jacky’s territory, she took this city from the pack. To all moon cursed, Dallas is hers, if not through magic, then war. She owns it, and none of the other supernaturals have challenged her claim or bothered her since she kicked the pack out. Your declaration to Callahan ensured people knew she would defend this claim. She now knows there is an uninvited or unreported werecat in her city—”

“She needs to go out and meet him?” Heath growled in question. “Zuri, that isn’t inconvenient. That’s insane. You can’t go with her. I can’t either. That’s a political maneuver that should wait for dawn. I understand what you’re saying, but tonight of all nights? It’s mad.”

“I know,” Zuri agreed, “but by then, this werecat and Lonan might be gone, and they will have gotten away with it, which could lead to trouble for her down the road. It’s Jacky’s choice. There’s also is a large possibility this werecat is our killer, and Lonan is the next target.”

“Then where’s Arlo?” I said, asking the obvious.

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