have been frozen to the snow.
“Jon, I…” I’m not sure what I should say.
There’s nothing I can say to ease his pain. These half-wolves are his pack. Jon looks up at me, his eyes wet with unshed tears.
“It had to be him,” Jon chokes out. “That bastard must have caught her,” he lowers the dead half-wolf to the ground, “when she was coming back from patrol.”
“I’m so sorry.” The words aren’t enough.
I approach, closer than the wild eyes of the wolf dogs want me to, and drop to my knees next to Jonathan. My arms go around him and I pull him to me in a hard embrace.
I whisper in his ear, “Nothing I can say or do can ease your pain. But I can promise you this—we will kill this son of a bitch.” Jon’s arms come around me and he returns my hug.
“Damn right, we will,” he whispers back.
Rafe moves forward. “Jon, let me take her body back to the shed by the kennel. I’ll wrap her in a tarp and you can decide what you want to do later.”
Jon eases back from my hold. He takes a jagged breath and lets it out slowly, head bowed. “Thanks.” He reaches out, placing a hand on the blood-free fur between her ears, giving her one last pat. “She was a good dog. I’ll bury her this spring when the ground lets me.”
Rafe kneels and takes the stiff form in his arms. Rising, he heads back through the woods in the direction from where I came.
“Asa, go with him,” I direct. “I don’t want him alone with this killer out.”
I heard that, Rafe calls in my mind.
I snap back, Good. Still doesn’t change anything. “Asa, do you have your gun?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Take it out and have it ready. The bullets won’t kill the jerk, but the silver should slow him down long enough—if your aim is good.”
“No worries on that end. I qualified for sniper status in the Army and only got better when I turned.” Asa unholsters his Smith and Wesson 500, following Rafe into the woods.
“Jon,” I coax, “come on. Let’s get you up.” I put my hands under his arms and pull him up with me, giving him little choice in the matter. “You’ve got no coat on.”
“I’d say give me a kiss and that would warm me up, but you’re a damn cold bloodsucker so I don’t see how it would help.”
I smile at his attempt to bait me. I know he’s hurting and this is his way of coping, so I let it slide. “On that note, here…” I remove my coat and hand it to him. “Not like I can’t take a little cold better than you, furball.”
“Yeah,” he agrees while slipping on the arms of my coat, “being an icy bitch does have some advantages.”
“Watch it, bud,” I say with a small smile. I’d rather see him joking with me than wallowing in the pain I know he’s feeling.
I glance at the silent dogs as we head out of the clearing. “What about them? Do we need to get them back in their kennels?”
“I’ll lock the building remotely from the cabin. I don’t want them out again till this guy’s caught.” Jon turns to the six dogs, giving them a hand signal and a firm, “Go home.” The half-wolves race off into the night, sending a chorus of short barks back and forth to each other as they run.
We trudge back through the woods, heading for the light of the cabin. It’s a long, slow walk back. The quiet leaves us alone in our own thoughts, but the dark and what lurks within it draws us closer to one another. I reach out and hold Jon’s hand.
“Man alive! Your hands are like ice,” he says.
“Quit your bitchin’.” I squeeze his hand a little harder. “My gloves are in my coat pockets.”
“You want them?” he asks half-heartedly.
“No.”
After ten minutes, we finally reach the cabin. We come in through the front door, to the rich aroma of fresh coffee brewing. Jon drops my hand to remove my coat, while Rafe pretends not to notice.
Asa clears his throat. “Uh-umn.” He waits until Jon looks up. “I know I’m new and don’t know much about you, Jon, but I just want to say I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks, man.” A shadow of the regular Jonathan rears its head. “She was a good bitch. And she listened well.” He smirks at the last and shoots me a sideways look.
I