Page 12 of A Wolf's Wound
I turn back to the torn body, unsure what to do next.All I can think is,What could the councilman have possibly done to inspire such rage?
Who would have done this?Why?
Chapter 6
Ryder
Imaynothavethe answers as to why the councilman’s corpse is lying outside Hannah’s apartment building.But I know there’s no way I’m leaving Hannah alone right now.
I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and call one of the pack’s enforcers.“You need to get a group over here right now,” I tell him in lieu of hello.I relay Hannah’s address and hang up before he can ask anything else.
While I wait, I pace back and forth in front of the building.The smell has dissipated, as has my sense that Hannah’s in danger.I don’t think whoever did this is still here.Despite that, after the enforcers arrive, I send them off with the body and stay behind.
Once everyone is gone, I quickly head to Hannah’s apartment.I don’t knock on her door.I don’t even try the knob to make sure she locked it behind me.I just lean my head against the door, close my eyes, and try to bring my racing heart under control.I inhale Hannah’s scent, and it calms me.
Somehow, I know now that she’ll be safe tonight.And then I finally leave.
By the time I get home, the sun is just beginning to lighten the sky.I hope everyone will still be asleep, but when I let myself in, all of my brothers except Gavin are in the kitchen eating breakfast.
“Look who’s doing the walk of shame!”Evan jeers.
“Nice.”Lucas whistles as he raises his coffee mug to me in a sardonic toast.
“So, who was it this time?”Thomas asks.“A new girl, or did you call on an old favorite?”
I sit down at the table, not in the mood for this.My words leave my mouth with a growl.“I wasn’t with a girl.”
Evan and Lucas look at each other and burst out laughing.“Yeah, right!”Evan hoots.“That’s hilarious.”
“Bro, we know you,” Thomas chimes in.“You’re wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday, you haven’t slept, and…” He sniffs the air around me.“Is that Scotch I smell?You were definitely with a woman.”
I think about the glass of Scotch I shattered on my date with April.Was that really just last night?
“Enough!”I snap.“I told you.I wasn’t with anyone.”
“Whoa, touchy,” Lucas hisses.I ignore him and look at Michael.Next to Gavin, he’s the most serious of all of my brothers.Maybe that’s because he’s an enforcer.
“Do you know where Gavin is?”I ask Michael.
“He’s upstairs in his study,” Michael tells me.“Do you want me to get him?”
I shake my head as I stand up.“I’ll find him.Thanks.”
The room is silent as I leave, but I have no doubt that before I’m halfway up the stairs my brothers will be talking about my bad mood.I don’t care, though.Instead, I take the steps two at a time, eager to talk to Gavin.
My oldest brother is in the study at the end of the hall.Like me, he doesn’t appear to have slept at all.His eyes are shadowed and his clothes are wrinkled.
“Ryder,” Gavin says as I come into the room.
“I need to talk to you,” I say and close the door behind me.I sit down in one of the worn, dark-brown leather chairs on the other side of Gavin’s desk.The top of the desk is bare, and I wonder if Gavin was in here to work or just have a quiet place to think.
“About what?”he asks, leaning back in his own chair, a twin to mine.
“Earlier tonight, I interrupted one of your wolves while he was attacking a woman.”
“What woman?”he asks, his eyes alight with interest.
“Her name is Hannah Kelly.I’d never seen her before.”
