Page 14 of Squatch Out!
“Actually, I’d like to ask you more about the recording.” Owen steps up to him and drops his voice.
The blond man narrows icy blue eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t,” I warn him. “We already know about it. I’d like to get your side of the story.”
Darren’s lips are pinched as he looks over at me and then at the other two men.
“He said it was a bigfoot mating call,” Tony speaks up, and I don’t miss the nasty look Darren shoots at him.
“And where did you get that?” Owen steps closer so he’s crowding him with his much larger frame.
Darren’s nostrils flare under his blade-thin nose, but he stays silent.
It becomes obvious he won’t be giving us any useful information, not that it matters since the recording is nothing but noise anyway. It would be nice to be able to put some pressure on whoever might be spreading this ridiculousness.
Owen turns to Tony and hands him a business card from his wallet. “If you need anything, or think of anything that might be helpful, reach out.”
Tony takes the card with a nod, and I don’t miss his wary glance at Darren.
Owen and I exchange looks and head back to his truck.
“You’re sure the recording wasn’t legit?” he asks me as he turns the engine over.
“Yeah. It’s probably something like a lion or maybe a bunch of different animals that have been meshed together and auto-tuned.”
“Thank god,” Owen sighs. “Although, I’m a little curious what a bigfoot mating call might actually sound like.”
I bark out a laugh. So my big brother has a sense of humor after all.
The hikeup to the cave is much slower in our human bodies, which gives us plenty of time to talk.
“What do you think about the Darren guy?” I ask.
Owen is quiet for a long time as he thinks. No one will ever accuse my older brother of being rash in a situation.
“He knows more than he should,” he finally says. “I’m not sure how much of what he knows is accurate, though.”
We keep heading up the mountain, letting the silence surround us. The sun is just starting to lighten the horizon when Owen suddenly looks over at me. “So why did you come barreling out of the forest with a hard-on?”
Heat floods my cheeks, but before I can think of an explanation, because I’m still wondering how any of that happened myself, the wind shifts. As if I called it to me, I’m hit with Olivia’s honey and wildflower scent. It’s like a slap to my face, and my skin starts crawling, signaling my shift. Only, I haven’t called it.
When I don’t answer him, Owen glances back at me just as my steps falter. “Are you alright?”
I open my mouth to growl at him thatI’m fine, when another burst of wind brings more of her sweet scent. Ripe peaches and thick cream. My mouth waters, and my heart starts to race. Without any other warning, I squatch out, leaving Owen’s clothes in shreds around me.
“Dude! What the fuck?” Owen jumps back from me, his eyes going to the pile of ruined clothing he let me borrow.
I’m not sure how this happened. I can’t think of a time when I’ve ever shifted unexpectedly like this. Even when I was a kid learning how to control my squatch, he never just rushed forward like this. I usually had to coax him. And now it’s happened twice without being called.
I whine my apology.
“Alright, just… just go home. Get your shit together, and I’ll stop by your place after I bring the woman down the mountain.”
With a low growl, I let him know I am not a fan of being ordered away like an unruly cub… but also, I obviously can’t let Olivia see me like this.Again.
“I don’t understand what the hell is going on with you, but let me handle this, okay? You go get some rest or something.”
Hanging my head with a defeated huff, I turn around and start dragging my large feet back down the way we just came, being careful not to leave prints.
