Chapter Fifty - Mason

My shift at the sawmill passed by like a slow daze. It felt like years since I worked. Even though my wolf missed Jessica, it felt good to get out of the pack house.

There was an unspoken tension between the pack members. No one trusted Jessica as if they should. Why would they? Her wolf attempted to attack me, her mate.

And the strain was hurting Jessica’s mind and body. I could feel the heaviness of her heart and the way she wanted to fit in. The way she wanted to shift and run without the fear of her wolf acting out.

Stan agreed to take her into town to the bookstore to take her mind off the drama. Not that it had done any good.

I could feel her stress through the bond. It was a gnawing feeling at the back of my neck. I hated it. When lunchtime rolled around, I dug out the leftovers from my lunch and sat down at the back table.

The TV bolted into the corner of the room played a news station based in the neighboring town.

“…more and more livestock have gone missing over the last months. No one knows what is causing it but the attacks started in Slade Springs. Several farmers reported seeing giant big foot type creatures on their hunting cameras.”

I lifted both brows. People catching the lycans on camera wouldn’t mean anything to the lycans. I doubted a bullet would stop them at this point. It was left to the pack to stop them, which we knew.

“There are also reports of a potential runaway teen, Melinda James, from Slade Springs. She was last seen leaving her house three days before. We have reason to believe she may have gone to meet a boyfriend.”

I closed my eyes for several seconds. We buried that girl deep in the woods on private property. Stan still held onto the guilt of harming the girl. However, it was one less lycan to change more people in town.

The breakroom door opened and Ethan walked inside. We’d gone to high school together and he was a few years younger than me.

“Dude,” Ethan said, sitting down his drink. “It’s hotter than Satan’s balls out there.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, well, it’s summer in Louisiana.”

Ethan popped a microwaveable dinner into the microwave and reached to grab the ketchup from the fridge. His T-shirt shifted, and I noticed the edge of a scar on his back.

My wolf stirred inside of me as he straightened and pulled out a chair next to me. “Can you believe all of this,” he said.

I blinked, knocking myself out of my trance to follow his line of sight. “All these random animal attacks and now a missing girl. Our farmers are going to lose all their cattle it looks like.”

I took a bite of leftovers, giving myself time to think. “Yeah, well, maybe we’ll catch whatever it is stalking the town.”

The microwave dinged. He got up to grab his meal, so I knocked his silverware off the table. “Sorry,” I said.

He reached down to pick it up and I waggled my fork toward his back. “What happened to your back?”

Ethan gave me a crazy look. “What do you mean?”

He pulled up his T-shirt halfway, looked back over his shoulder and his face turned white. “What in the…I didn’t realize that was there.”

“It’s huge,” I said. “You don’t know what happened?”

Ethan swallowed while sitting down across from me. I watched as the wheels turned in his head. He honestly didn’t know he had a giant scar on his back. “Do you mind looking at it for me?” he asked, standing up again.

Ethan turned away from me and lifted the back of his T-shirt. I immediately knew that a lycan caused it.

The three giant marks were red-rimmed. His skin looked irritated like an infection was spreading.

The infection was lycan blood.

I swallowed, avoiding touching it. “It looks like something clawed you. Maybe one of those monsters that are eating the cattle.”

Ethan dropped his shirt and chuckled halfheartedly. “I haven’t been out at night to get attacked. Bethany would have mentioned if I slept walked. I used to do that in my youth.”

My mind wandered to Bethany. Could she have clawed him and him not known?

“I think I should go to the doctor,” he said, sitting back down. “That’s crazy.”

I watched his confused nature continue throughout lunch. He had no idea. It was obvious on his face. If the lycans had done this to him, and he didn’t know, how many more people in town had they changed?

I finished my lunch quickly, and fished my cell phone from my pocket. The back door led to an area meant for smoking. I made sure no one was out there and called Jacob.

“Is everything ok?” he answered. “My wolf sensed something was off.”

I cleared my throat and braced my elbows against the railing. “I just noticed Ethan had a giant mark on his back. He showed it to me, Jacob, and he had no idea it was there. I think the lycans are marking people without them knowing.”

“How? You were marked. How in the hell would they not know…”

“Because my wolf’s blood rejected it. I don’t know how they are gaining access to these people but at least one of them is marked without their knowledge.

He’s married. Maybe his wife…I don’t know, is in on it? Maybe they got her first?”

Jacob sighed heavily. “It’s all over the news.”

“Yeah, it is,” I said. “They are attacking more places than Slade Springs. Farmer’s cattle are showing up dead further than our city limits. Some caught the lycans on camera. If they start putting up more cameras, they may get us on there. Not to mention, the lycan Stan killed is now considered a missing person.”

Jacob moved around on the other end of the phone. “Yeah, I know. I’m not sure what we can do about that. We need to make sure we don’t shift anywhere but the house, do our tracking, and shift back at home. It’ll ruin everything if they catch us on camera. Who is to say they won’t blame us for everything? Our families worked so hard for privacy over the years. As for the girl, I hate it for her family.”

“I agree,” I sighed.

Jacob cleared his throat. “Stan is still gone with Jessica. I know you’re worried about her. I feel that too, unfortunately.”

I snorted, checking over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone. “She’s worried she’s a lycan.”

“I’m worried about that, too,” Jacob said.

I almost told him about the diary but I didn’t. Jessica asked me not to. Tossing in more family drama would not fix it.

“Maybe it’s a fluke,” I mumbled.

“Maybe it’s not,” Jacob said. “The good thing is that she isn’t raised with lycans. If it’s some sort of hybrid we can keep a tight lease on her.”

I didn’t like the idea of that. A wolf needed some type of freedom to enjoy being a wolf. Jessica didn’t deserve to suppress parts of herself. “I’m hoping it’s not what we think.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I have to get back to work. I’ll see you afterward.”

“See you. Don’t get marked again at work. Every pack needs their Beta.”

I ended the call with the feeling of being watched. Ethan’s spot was empty when I clocked back in. Maybe he went to the doctor. I doubted any doctor would know what caused those marks.

And if they did, we were in trouble.