Page 6 of Hidden Magic

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Brant bit back a growl when he noticed that two police cars were following them. The destination wasn’t that far away, barely outside of town, in a new development behind the brand-new houses. In fact, it was only a couple of miles through the forest to the small cabin he had rented as their hideaway.

“I thought we were supposed to be keeping this low key.”

Hunter kept his eyes on the road. “Stop making that noise. It doesn’t help.”

He had to work at it not to do exactly that. “Care to explain how two more cop cars are doing things discreetly?

“If it was just the two of us, I would have gotten into trouble. Nobody interrogates a potential suspect in a kidnapping alone. And you’re not a cop. Normal procedure is to get back-up. But don’t worry, I won’t make you stay in the car.”

Hunter turned onto another street where the houses weren’t finished and beyond them was a barren field. The house stood alone, no light, no activity. But the car that was used to take Kat was in the driveway.

“I see it.” Immediately, Hunter called the two patrol cars to inform them.

Brant didn’t wait for the car to fully stop before dashing out.

Hunter called after him, but he didn’t care. As he closed in on the car, a smell caught his attention. It was faint, but familiar. Hope made his heart thump so hard, he almost didn’t feel the other humans around him. His lynx was but seconds from coming out.

“Fucking hell, Brant! Don’t touch anything!”

It was obvious she wasn’t in the car anymore. And hadn’t been for a while as the scent was diluted. Immediately, he turned his focus to the house and was ready to break the door open when Hunter blocked his view.

“Brant!” When the cop grabbed his arm to restrain him, Brant felt a surge of energy, a kind of a zap at the contact, stunning his beast and bringing him back to his senses. Hunter appeared as stupefied as he was, but quickly shook his head as if dismissing the whole event. “I need you to control yourself. And follow my instructions. Otherwise, it won’t work.” His voice was low and concerned. Worried.

With a grip on his worry and fear, Brant nodded. “She was here. I don’t sense anybody in the house.” He looked around, feeling the wind. “The surroundings are undisturbed.”

Hunter looked around. “What do you mean?”

How could he explain the nature of a shifter? How he communicated with his environment, in a silent dialog. Something that could be felt under his feet, in the shivering of the leaves, and the scattering of small prey.

The human cop didn’t wait for him to answer and turned to the four officers waiting at a distance. After talking to them for a moment, asking them to look around the house and knock on a few doors, he came back beside him. “You’ve probably heard everything I’ve said anyway.”

“Aren’t you going to go in?”

Hunter grimaced. “I’m working on getting a warrant. Until I get a judge to cooperate and sign, we’re stuck. Also, if you’re right, and nobody’s in the house, we’re stuck again. We have no other leads.”

Despair clogged his throat, but Brant knew, deep down in his gut, that Kat was still alive, still relying on him to find her. At that instant, he berated himself, wanted to bang his head against the car for not mating her. It was a surprising idea because he’d never thought himself ready to be mated even though Kat meant so much to him. He realized now that he wouldn’t be able to breathe if she disappeared from the face of the earth.

As he moved around, his lynx perked his head up, a new smell coming to him. Blood. He followed his nose, and it only took two seconds for Hunter to run after him after he started circling the house. “Damn, Brant! Don’t act like that in front of the others, how will I explain it?”

Brant didn’t give a fuck about what humans thought of him. And if they knew who he really was, they wouldn’t say anything, and instead scatter like scared mice.

Going through the backyard, the scent was more concentrated when he approached the basement window. The glass looked grimy and smudged, or was it stained with red paint?

Terrified, Brant roared as he crashed through the back door and ran through the empty house. He knew for a fact there wasn’t a living soul inside, and with the smell of blood filling his nostrils, he dreaded what he would find, and the lack of a heartbeat inside meant his worst nightmare was about to come true.

Reaching the basement, he thought he had died when he saw ropes on the floor and two distinct trails of blood. Someone had shed blood on the concrete and bare walls and that someone was Kat.

Hunter entered after him, his gun drawn and cursed when he saw the state of the room. “Shit, shit, shit!” His cell phone was out, calling the other officers outside.

Brant didn’t acknowledge him, and instead focused on his nose. The air had been disturbed by his arrival, but he could still follow a trail ... and it led him to the opposite side of the house, toward the attached garage.

Traces of blood could be barely seen on the jamb, as well as on the door before the trail stopped cold.

“There was a car here, they put her in that car.”

Hunter only nodded, communicating the information and shouting directions as Brant entered the garage. The place looked tidy, not at all like a hideout. From the little he had seen of the house, it looked like a normal suburban family home. At least like the ones he had seen on TV from time to time. He may not have knowledge of human lifestyles like Hunter, but something didn’t make sense. The other humans remained outside, milling around.

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