“Go . . . are you talking about that stupid Howl movie? They most certainly don’t, not that way!”
“But they can lose themselves in the wolf.”
“That’s called being beast-lost, and it’s rare, and only happens if a lupus spends way too much time as a wolf, or in other highly unusual circumstances. It has not happened to Benedict.”
“You’re sure of that.”
“I’m positive.”
Another glance exchanged around her. “The sheriff’s had some training about this sort of thing, and he thinks Benedict has gone wolf.”
“And you think Sheriff Porter, who never even met a lupus before tonight, knows more about them than I do? When I’ve been living with them for two months and am now part of Nokolai clan?”
Uncle Clay winced. “That’s something I’d like explained.”
“Later.” She waved it away. “If Sheriff Porter has decided Benedict’s beast-lost, does he think he’s dangerous? Is he going to have people hunting the bear, or hunting Benedict?”
Uncle Clay’s frown kept digging deeper into his face. “The bear will be his first priority, but . . . maybe we should call Porter.” That seemed to be directed at Robin.
“I’ll call him,” Arjenie said, and bent to dig out her phone.
“No, let me.” Robin had her phone out already. She gave Arjenie an apologetic smile. “He’ll listen to me better. He still thinks of you as the young girl he met so tragically all those years ago.”
He wasn’t the only one who didn’t seem to notice that Arjenie had grown up. It was distressing. She was thirty-two. Her aunt and uncle had treated her like a responsible adult for years. What was it about her falling in love that made them think she was thirteen?
Maybe because it happened so suddenly. And with someone they’d never met. Someone who turned into a wolf at times, brought her into his clan, caused her to move across the country all of a sudden . . . She sighed. This was why she had to tell them about the mate bond. They’d probably still worry, but they’d be worrying based on fact, not imagination.
Robin had connected with the sheriff and was using her Voice of Authority—the one that combined CEO with Wiccan High Priestess. It worked on almost everyone.
“You’re planning something,” Uncle Clay said suddenly.
“Well, it’s up to me to figure out what Benedict expects me to do, isn’t it? Then do it.”
“Arjenie.” Her uncle spoke firmly. “The only thing he could possibly expect of you is that you’ll go home and wait for him.”
“No, he knows me better than that. Never mind. There’s something I need to tell you, and something we should discuss. I’m going to hit the second one first. I think we’re dealing with a skinwalker.”
Dead silence. Finally Clay said, “You ought to be joking, but you aren’t.”
“Hear me out. I don’t know how many of those bullets actually hit the bear, but some of them must have. The sheriff and both his deputies kept firing. Did you see that they had any effect on it at all?”
“No,” Robin said, “but that doesn’t mean the bullets didn’t hit. That was one huge heaping of bear. And even if you’re right about that, a magically defended bear does not equal a skinwalker.”
“There’s more that does suggest it, however. First, we know that Coyote’s here. He had to have a reason to show up, and it wasn’t to protect me from Benedict, despite whatever Sammy and Seri had in mind. So there’s a connection to Native Powers.”
“Maybe it was Coyote, maybe not. I agree that there may be some connection between this bear and one or more Native Powers, but none of that adds up to skinwalker.”
“Plus there’s the way that cow just happened to show up and draw everyone’s attention, giving the skinwalker a chance to attack. That was planned.”
“That’s a possibility, I guess. But so is coincidence.”
“I think the cow was directed there, but you’re right, it’s possible the bear just took advantage of the distraction the cow provided. Either way, there was conscious planning behind that attack—which was deliberate and seemed to be directed at us. The bear didn’t charge the deputies shooting at it. It came at us.”
“The bear didn’t know who was shooting at it!”
“It came at us, not the deputies,” Arjenie repeated. “Now, bears will guard their kills, but the body was gone, so that’s not what happened. A mother bear will attack to protect her cubs, but there weren’t any cubs. That just wasn’t normal bear behavior.”
Robin was silent longer this time. “It might be rabid.”