Read White Wolf 2: The Call of a Soul for Free Online Page B

some.”
    How had it gone? Mike had spent most of the early hours of the morning staring at the ceiling and reliving their kiss. Hard and aching and angry, he, who never vacillated, had jumped from one conclusion to another like a schizoid gambler down to his last dollar, bet the house, fold, or bluff. Melanie’s response to his kiss had his hopes erupting in one breath and vanishing the next. Mike shook his head. No cobwebs or digressions today.
    “Focus. Sheriff Pincer’s assuming Eddie’s tomcatting ways got him killed.”
    “The how?”
    “The news reports will list his death as a result of several blunt blows to the head and skull. And while his head had been bashed in, his limbs had also been torn apart and his skin shredded.” Mike aligned his pencil holder, stapler, and three-hole punch while glaring at a grinning Drake.
    “Spit it out. What’s bugging you?”
    The pup knew him all too well. “I stayed behind after they all left, and went through the whole area. It was really breezy last night, but I caught that black wolf stench, the one from Boyd’s death. Even though the wind had cleared most of it.”
    “And that’s not enough confirmation for you?” Drake picked up a letter opener and twirled it. “Between the stench and the MO, this has to change how we go forward, Mikey.”
    “We stick with the business plan, and go ahead and announce the resort. No deviations—for now. I’m going to have dinner with Doc G. tonight. Pump him for info on the other bear slaughters. Over the next couple of days, you and I are going to examine each site. Then we’ll decide if we need to amend the plan.”
    Drake threw a wadded piece of paper at him. It hit his nose and stung. He rubbed the spot. “What was that for?”
    “That’s not what’s bugging you. Spill, bro.”
    “We’ve been in each other’s company for way too long.” Mike fingered his jaw. “I think Melanie knows something about the slaughters.”
    “Melanie? You think your mate’s a suspect?” Drake went from a sprawled, slouched position to attention.
    “First. She isn’t my mate. Yet. Second—no, I don’t consider her a suspect, but she knows something she’s not telling. She identified the cub’s sex before Doc G. even examined him.” Mike leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. “She stopped breathing when she approached the cub—as if she’d smelled the stench. Only a male wolf can pick up the foulness associated with a ritual kill. And female wolves don’t have the scenting power of a male.”
    “How do we know that for a fact? It’s not as if we’ve ever socialized with or met a female wolf. Couldn’t Melanie have been reacting to the condition of the cub? You said there wasn’t much left of him—any female would feel queasy at that kind of thing.”
    “It wasn’t just at the clinic. At the murder site when she approached the perimeter of the scene, she froze and held her breath. For a second, I could’ve sworn she smelled it too.” Mike let out a long sigh. “I’m probably overreacting. My judgment’s way off when it comes to Melanie.”
    “And don’t I know it? I’ve never seen you this antsy. We don’t know anything about white wolf females. Maybe the Cwaatchii have sensitive noses. Or maybe she inherited something from her father. He was once a revered elder. And what about her grandfather? Wasn’t he supposed to have a whole range of powers?”
    Mike rubbed his aching temples. “I know. I know. I’ve been running possibility odds in my head all night. But how did she know it was a male cub?”
    “Maybe it was the ubiquitous ‘he’ she used.”
    Stifling a groan, he said, “I can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something I haven’t anticipated. Something that’s going to come back and bite me in the ass. We’ve got too many unknowns out there. What I wouldn’t give for a Wolves for Dummies handbook.”
    “Wouldn’t that be awesome? I wish we knew more too, Mikey. It