Page 137 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
Earlier, I’d hovered in the corner of the cottage living room whilst Isla stood in the middle, listening to Rory fill her in. I’d probed gently into her thoughts—which seemed innocent enough. She didn’t try to block me, and I caught nothing that suggested she’d go running straight to Edina with tales of underground operations and shifters being tortured.
She’d been extremely confused—then horrified. Disturbed, even. When Callum’s name was mentioned, she’d visibly flinched. She promised not to tell anyone anything yet, including her father. It wasn’thard to convince her to babysit Dev for us. Until Freddy bit her. Then she was less keen.
Still, the decision to involve her sat wrong in my gut. Every police instinct I possessed screamed that bringing more pack members into this mess was asking for trouble. But I’d relented, not able to bear the thought of Rory believing I didn’t trust his judgement. Not when he’d been so certain involving his cousin was the best idea.
The cousin he hasn’t seen in five years.I pushed the thought from my mind. It was done now. Dev had agreed to go with Isla to go hide at the BnB, where Isla would find a radiator to cuff him to.
Our connection hummed with his contentment as we walked. At least one of us felt confident about our choices.
“How much further?” Rory asked, pausing to untangle himself from another aggressive branch.
I checked the GPS on my phone. “About half a mile northeast. Felix’s coordinates should put us within sight of the building complex.”
He nodded and resumed walking, the tent bouncing against his shoulders with each step. Every so often he’d deliberately rub his arm against mine, reminding me of his behaviour as a wolf. It made me smile each time, and certainly provided a welcome distraction from the thoughts circling my mind like vultures.
Christ, I was glad to be away from Dev.
My teeth ground together as I remembered our earlier conversation. I’d been rearranging my bag when I’d asked if he’d contacted Ezra yet. Purely professional interest, of course. Nothing to do with hoping they might reconcile over the phone and Dev declare that they were back together.
“I will do later. I’m still annoyed at him for jumping to the conclusion that I was cheating on him,” Dev had said. Then he’d sighed, running a hand through his hair, damp from the shower. “It’s sad this happened, but maybe it was for the best. I couldn’t see it lasting between us anyway.”
He’d looked me dead in the eye, and I knew whatever he said next, I was supposed to listen closelyto.
“Shifters date humans all the time, of course. But when it comes to settling down, finding a life partner? It feels more natural for us to be with our own kind. It’s just the way we are.”
The pointed nature of that comment had hit me like a slap across the face. I’d stood there speechless, processing the deliberate sting of it, the casual dismissal.
Maybe it was that, or maybe it was the way he’d been dressed in Rory’s jumper, the one that matched the colour of his eyes. Regardless, the anger surging up inside made me reckless and I let my curiosity get the better of me to ask, “Why did you break up with Rory?”
Dev’s eyes had widened in shock before his expression turned thunderous. “That’s absolutely none of your business,” he’d seethed.
I’d been so embarrassed by my own behaviour that I hadn’t even attempted to read his thoughts.
Rory glanced my way, those sharp blue-green eyes narrowing with concern.
“You alright?” he asked, slowing his pace.
Before he could probe deeper into whatever emotional mess he was picking up from me, he stopped short, sniffing the air.
“Can you smell that?”
I shook my head. “What is it?”
“It smells like…” He trailed off, looking beyond me, then checked our location on his phone. “We’re almost there, but let’s go that way.”
I followed Rory through the dense undergrowth, branches catching at my jacket as we climbed steadily uphill. His pace never faltered, even with that bloody tent strapped to his back. My breathing grew heavier with each step, sweat beading despite the cool Highland air.
The trees began to thin as we reached higher ground, granite outcrops jutting through the soil like broken bones. Finally, we emerged onto a rocky cliff edge that dropped away towards a vast, dark lake below. The water reflected the grey sky like tarnished silver, too still, too quiet. Something about this place felt wrong beyond just the obvious.
“Look over here,” I hissed, spotting something that made my stomach clench.
Rory followed my gaze to where the ground ahead had been scarred black—a wide circle of charred earth that spoke of repeated use. Ash and debris was scattered across the rock in grey drifts, and the skeletal remains of multiple bonfires dotted the area.
“I thought I smelt it,” Rory said, gesturing at the burnt ground. “The smell of… death.”
We moved carefully through the bonfire remnants, me pulling on latex gloves from my jacket pocket. Dread pooling in my gut as ash crunched under my feet—Christ, I tried not to think about what we might be walking through.
“What’s that?” Rory asked, crouching near the edge of one of the burn circles.
