Perfect Tales of the Were - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,28

Did she howl at the moon, too?

Did werewolves really howl at the moon? Did they lose their minds once a month when the moon was full and run wild, biting people and turning them into werewolves, too? She didn’t think so. Cody’s words about still being himself argued against that old myth. But that scary seven-foot tall version of him was like something out of an old movie. Upright, hairy, with long claws and sharp teeth. Like a monster out of a nightmare.

And the way he’d moved! He was so fast. Those two men hadn’t even had a chance to get off a shot before Cody had them on the ground. He’d moved like lightning, striking fast and so effectively. She’d never been so close to such violence before. It was a bit breathtaking.

“Evening, Cassie.” The mayor of the nearby town walked slowly up onto her porch, both of his hands in his pockets, his stance very non-threatening. Yet, somehow, his presence loomed large. Cassie backed away, despite herself.

Joe Villalobos frowned at her. Then, he looked out over the scene below the porch where the sheriff and deputy were taking the two men into custody. Cody had their guns and was bringing them over to the sheriff’s SUV while the two prisoners were put in the deputy’s van. Joe seemed to be watching the action, for a few minutes, then turned back to Cassie, leaning back against the porch rail as he looked at her. His expression was calm but very serious.

“I guess you got an eyeful tonight, eh?” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “I know it’s a lot to take in. Especially on top of learning who Cody really is.”

“You know about that?” she asked, despite her continued shock.

“I talked to Megan after she got home. I’ve known Cody and Megan since they were pups. I like to look after my Pack,” he said, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

“Pack?” she repeated. Like a wolf pack? Holy shit! He was one of them?

But he was the mayor. How could a town’s mayor be a werewolf? Were they everywhere, and regular people just didn’t know? Cassandra’s eyes widened as that idea took hold in her mind.

“Surely by now, you’re figuring out the town’s big secret,” he chided her gently. “The town of Big Wolf is named for the Pack that settled it. My Pack. The Big Wolf Pack.” He paused, seemingly to let that sink in. “I’m the mayor, but I’m also the Alpha of the wolf Pack, and almost everyone in town is a shapeshifter.”

“Almost everyone?” she asked, her voice a mere breath of sound, her throat was so dry.

“Some of us always end up mating with non-magical folk. Like you. They’re part of the Pack, too. Of course, they can’t shift, but they’re still under my protection. They’re part of our extended family, you might say.” He made it all sound so reasonable.

“What are you going to do with Jones and Pepe?” she asked. Joe’s answer to that question might give her a better indication of what they were planning to do with her, now that she’d seen Cody in action.

“Well, Shane has legal authority to arrest them, which he’s done. We’ll keep them in our town jail for a few days while we question them. I have to apologize for the pretense of sending Cody here to figure out what was going on. Some of your neighbors noticed some weird stuff happening out at the edge of your land, and Cody discovered it was those two hands,” Joe looked out over the porch rail at the sheriff’s vehicles. “They were laying a trap to catch a shifter and cash in on a big bounty. I want to know who’s offering money to kidnap my people.” He paused to look back at her. His gaze was flinty hard. “I also want to know what they intended to do with anyone they managed to capture. I can’t imagine it was anything good.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to her. That put a whole new spin on this situation.

“Do people do that? Hunt uh…shifters…I mean?” she asked, almost dreading the answer.

“Sadly, yes. There are those magic practitioners who see a shifter as a source of great power. It never ends well for the shifter.”

“Magic. You mean like witches and wizards?” She shook her head. She almost didn’t really believe she was having this conversation.

“More like mages and sorcerers,” he corrected gently. “The evil folks are the ones who tend to