Chapter 81

Her words end on a broken sob as she covers her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Guilt, I realize. She feels both grief for the loss of her friend and guilt about his death. I walk over and crouch by her side. “You had no way of knowing, Leanna. His death had nothing to do with you.”

She lowers her hands and looks at me, her pretty eyes swimming in tears. “You didn’t see it, did you?”

“See what?” I ask, confused.

“His slit neck,” she moans. “There wasn’t one slice, like from a knife, but five, like a set of claws.”

I go still. “Are you—”

“Five very precise claw marks.” She looks at me, and the devastation in her eyes has my jaw hardening.

“A shifter? But I didn’t smell any—”

“Neither did I.” She wipes her tears, her voice thick. “And we should have, right? I didn’t even smell anyone on him. I don’t know how they hid their scent, but it was definitely a shifter. No one had any reason to hurt him, Cedric. No one from our world, at least.”

“Someone did,” I murmur gloomily. “We must have been followed.”

Leanna rubs a spot on her chest. “But I would’ve—We would’ve sensed it if somebody was tracking us.”

I mull over her words, and my voice is thoughtful. “My senses are sharper than yours. If there had been a shifter in the vicinity of the carnival, I would have caught their scent. I only smelled humans there. The only shifters were the four of us.”

Leanna gets to her feet, shaking her head. “I know what I saw, Cedric. Those marks on his neck were unmistakable.”

I follow suit, standing up and watching her as she paces anxiously. “I’m not denying what you saw, Leanna. It is possible that the shifter who attacked your friend was able to mask his scent.” My mind is racing, and then I have an idea. There is something I need to verify, however. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to that slight discrepancy. But now, I have to be sure. “I’m going to call Edgar over here to help Derrick keep an eye on you and Finn. I need to go check something.”

“What are you going to do?” Leanna steps in my path. “Wherever you’re going, you’re not going by yourself! If the shifters are able to mask their sent, they can ambush you. No. You’re not going anywhere without someone watching your back. I’m coming with you.”

“And leaving Finn at the house alone with Derrick?” I ask incredulously.

Leanna’s eyes are still moist, but I see the fierce glint in them. “You think you’re the only one who can arrange protection for Finn? After the attack on me, I put up security cameras and motion sensors all around the house. I keep them activated via my phone. If somebody so much as steps past a certain border around my home, I get an instant notification, and the palace guards are also alerted. I discussed this with Erik. Help will arrive within three minutes. There’s also a safe room in my basement. Finn and I know the combination, as does Maya. I know how to keep my son safe, Cedric.”

“Our son,” I correct her firmly, admiring her preparedness. I don’t know what a safe room is, or a motion sensor, but Leanna clearly believes in these things as security measures.

“You’re not going by yourself.” She grips my wrist, her eyes flashing. There is fear in them. “I don’t want to lose you tonight, too.”

The words flow from her passionately, and a warmth fills my chest. “Are you concerned about my safety?”

A flush crawls up her face, and she swallows before turning her head to the side. “What if I am? I have every right to worry about you. You’re my mate.”

My lips curve, and I take her hand in mine, pressing my lips to her palm, my eyes on her. “Yes, I am. And you are mine.”

She doesn’t realize it, but she has finally acknowledged my role in her life. Not as Finn’s father, but as her mate.

Her cheeks are a bright red. “Let’s call Edgar and—”

I’m already shifting. Throwing my head back in my wolf form, I let out two short howls. A moment later, they are answered by three short ones.

I then glance at Leanna, who instantly understands what I’ve done. She shifts forms, too, and I take off. She follows close behind.

Our destination is in the city. To be precise, it’s the place where Leanna led her attackers that night. Since the woods are all connected, we can maintain our wolf forms the whole way there.

When we reach the clearing, Leanna pauses, giving me an uncertain look. I rub against her wolf comfortingly before making my way to where the enemy was killed. It’s been a while since the attack, and their bodies did disappear. However, my sense of smell is strong, as is my memory. I still remember where each body dropped.

I sniff each spot, and Leanna watches me. She has shifted back now and is standing with her arms crossed over her chest in a manner similar to my own.

She doesn’t interrupt as I circle the two spots. I can smell the blood, but I cannot make out the scent. It’s not that there is no scent; it’s that the scent of the attackers in these two spots is so muddied that I can’t distinguish between human and shifter. If I weren’t focusing on it, I would not be able to catch it. It fades into the background too much.

I circle around repeatedly, but no matter how many times I check, it is the same. I shift back.

Leanna approaches me now. “What were you searching for?”

“Take a look at these two areas. Two of the attackers died here. Tell me what you smell.”

She crouches to the ground and sniffs the spots. At first, she looks confused, and then a dazed look of understanding forms on her face, and her eyes lift to mine. “There are no wolf scents—if there were humans here, I would not be able to tell. But my attackers were definitely shifters!”

“They were,” I say darkly. “It seems you were right. The enemy has managed to come up with a way to mask their scents. This could be how they are managing to ambush your kidnapped victims.”

Leanna’s lips tremble for a moment. “They must have been following me all this time. They were probably waiting to strike, but they couldn’t find a time because you were always there. And if not you, Derrick.”