Page 12 of Howl Me to the Moon
Her eyes widened. “Marcel or Sloane? No.” She shook her head. “I’ve known them too long. They wouldn’t do something like this. Wouldn’t risk their careers. Besides, Sloane was in the art gallery during my presentation.”
“But the others…”
“Well…” She huffed and threw her hand up. “You said yourself that those scents were fainter.”
True. We each were quiet, mulling things over.
“Someone could’ve used a cloaking spell, I suppose,” she added.
I perked up and glanced over. “What kind?”
She snorted. “That, my friend, is the problem. So many supernaturals onboard, so many different types of magic.”
“Hmm.” I exhaled. “Makes it tough.”
“Indeed.”
“So what do we do?”
She glanced around the room. “Keep looking.” She sighed. “Too bad I’m not gifted in scrying. I’m much better at casting protection spells.” She winced and groaned. “Since it didn’t seem to help here, maybe I’m losing my abilities.”
“I’m sure there’s another explanation,” I said, wanting to soothe her distress.
After a few more minutes of us each doing our thing, she asked, “How’s it going over there?”
So far, my attempt to figure out who or what took the painting wasn’t impressing anyone, most of all Piper. Sure, I could have a good sense of smell, but it didn’t mean I’d be solving any mysteries. Since my sleuthing skills wouldn’t impress anyone, I could at least try to make her laugh.
I lowered myself to hands and knees and sniffed with exaggeration. “The wolf is on the case.”
She laughed, a musical tinkle that made acting like a fool all worth it. “Oh, I thought you were pretending to be a giant puppy.”
“Puppies are cute,” I countered with playfulness. “So you must think I’m cute?”
“Cute might be one word for it.” Her smile widened.
“I’ll take it.” My chest swelled with pride. Maybe I’d gotten past my disastrous displays over the last two nights and started worming my way into her good graces.
Once I’d done enough sniffing around and found nothing that would wow her, I offered to help her search beneath the covered paintings. As we moved along the stacks, I grew keenly aware of her closeness. And when her arm accidentally brushed mine, I had to hold back a moan.
“How did you end up joining the Moonlight Siren, Rex?”
As we moved to the next section, our hands briefly touched, and vibrant heat shot through my body. I inhaled sharply, every inch of me hyper-aware of Piper.
Words. Yes, find them. Show her you can carry a conversation.
I exhaled. “I grew up in Colorado.” I gave her a quick overview of pack life there before getting to what drove me to leave. “In recent months, I had some differences with my alpha. He was very handsy with unmated females, but when he got too aggressive with my sister, I had enough.”
She sucked in a breath. “Oh no. What happened?”
“We fought. My sister and I left the pack. It worked out for her since she found her fated mate with another pack and is with them now. Me? I’m starting over with this gig. Seems kind of odd to do so at my age.”
“It’s never too late to try something new,” she said. “It’s courageous.”
Her praise warmed me. I turned to see her watching me with a kind smile. Our gazes locked, and her smile slowly slipped away as her eyes gleamed with… vulnerability? Or was I projecting what I felt?
My throat constricted, and I swallowed. “Thanks,” I managed. “I’m happy to be here and don’t want to screw this up.”
“You won’t,” she assured me. “I’m in the same boat. I need to find this painting or else… You heard what Marcel said.”
