Page 9 of Midnight Rules
Iven nodded to Cass, letting him know he was okay with the plan. He scanned the area but didn’t see anyone. But a wooded area was the backdrop to her backyard.
The woman’s hand-wringing got worse, and she seemed to tense even more. “Do you think someone is still inside?”
“No ma’am. It’s just a precaution. And Cass will secure any evidence he might find.” While Iven didn’t dismiss the feeling of being watched, he focused on the woman. “Walk me through what happened, ma’am.”
“I just got home from work about thirty minutes ago.” She gestured to the house. “As I drove up, I noticed the screen on that window was off its track. It was noticeable even from a distance.” She pointed to the one at the side of the garage. It was just big enough for a smaller person to fit through. “I went inside to see if anything was missing but doing that terrified me. Nothing was, but I’ll admit to not searching the house very thoroughly. I’m going to stay with my sister for a few days. She lives on the other side of town near the college.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. Her shoulders came up to her ears.
“We’ll hang around while you pack and patrol the area for a week or two.” Iven wasn’t sure if someone actually had broken into her home, but he understood a woman taking precautions. Females needed to be extra careful.
Cass came out the front door and waved them over. “All clear.”
Iven led the woman to the house. “You can go in now. We’re just going to take pictures. If you wouldn’t mind letting us know if someone moved anything. We’ll photograph it. And like I said, if you notice anything missing, just call the station.”
They waited until they were behind closed doors before asking, “Are you a member of the local coven, ma’am?”
She seemed confused when she answered. “Yes. Does that matter?”
“We’re not sure.” Cass met Iven’s gaze and shook his head, which meant there wasn’t a strange scent. It didn’t mean thewoman had imagined it. But it didn’t give them much to go on if a crime had been committed.
They didn’t have much evidence anyway, but he had a difficult time believing three witches were imagining things. Someone had broken into three houses, but why?
Chapter Five
Marric heard strange voices downstairs. They didn’t belong to the witch and pack member from a couple of nights ago.
When Marric came down the stairs and entered the living room, he saw one of the cops from this morning’s break-in. He wanted to turn right back around and head upstairs again. He tried to keep his heart rate normal. Fortune Falls Sheriff’s deputy was a wolf shifter. He could tell if Marric panicked.
Thank the gods the scent suppressant had worn off hours ago. Not having a scent would be as much an admittance of guilt as if they’d caught him breaking into a house. But he smelled a little too much like the forest behind the house he entered.
He’d crouched in the bushes, watching the sheriff until he left. Marric couldn’t stop thinking about the hot, silver fox. He’d been too far away to catch his scent.
He couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but the Fortune Falls sheriff might be his mate. If it had been the sheriff who showed up at his house and not the deputy, Marric would have considered confessing everything so long as the sheriffhandcuffed him. If he cuffed him to a bed, that would be even better.
The person who sat on the couch next to the deputy was a big man with auburn hair and dark eyes. He was also a wolf. He had a vibe like the one Cass gave off. He might have been a first responder.
It was the big guy who spoke. “My name is Vince McKenzie. And this is Cass Huber. We’re from the Fortune Falls pack.”
“My sense of smell works great,” His dad said. Fortune Falls pack smelled different, more like mountain pine than their pack did because Fortune Falls was further up the mountain than Timeston was.
Vince had enough sense to blush.
Dad sat in the chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Marric knew him well enough to know he was tense. He knew why. If Marric went to jail, Dad had to save Emery on his own and protect her, which would be difficult considering one of them had to go out and find the cure. The cure was unlikely to walk onto the farm after all. He also needed to keep Regan’s presence a secret, especially from the cops who may have a missing person’s report on him. Marric had wanted to call and find out, but he didn’t want to draw attention to them and the farm.
Marric walked into the room, ignoring the wolves. Marric leaned down, whispering in his dad’s ear. “Regan?”
“Barn.” If Marric hadn’t been so close, he wouldn’t have heard the one-word response.
Marric walked out of the room. All he had to do was keep Regan out of sight.
The men continue their conversation when he left. “I assume you know what happened with our former alpha.”
“Saw something coming with that dickhead from a mile away. You were all idiots to vote him in.”
“I can see why you have a reputation, and I can’t fucking believe I’m about to ask for your help because you are a grade A asshole.” That was Cass, the deputy.
Marric stood outside on the porch next to the door and listened to their conversation. He put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.
