us. It hit the passenger side.” I motion to the Jeep’s cracked headlight. “So we stopped and got out to look for it but it ran off. Then we heard the kids screaming for help.”
“And you didn’t think to call 911? You just ran into the woods?”
“I left my phone in the Jeep,” I tell him. “And I went on adrenaline to get to those kids.”
Officer Maxwell nods and writes something down in his notebook. “Did you happen to see the creatures the kids reported?”
“I’m pretty sure I saw the deer running away. It was pretty dark in the woods.”
“The same one you hit?”
I shrug. “Maybe. There are a ton of deer in the area. I live on this street,” I remind him. “I see them all the time.”
“What about coyotes?”
“I hear them from time to time,” I lie. I actually don’t, as they don’t come too close to my house anymore. My familiars scare them away.
“For the sake of my records, can you confirm or deny seeing—and I quote—alien-like creatures in the woods tonight?”
“Deny,” I say, making a face that shows how far-fetched the idea is. Though having these kids going around saying aliens attacked is actually better than them saying demons are running through the woods in Thorne Hill.
“And again, for my records, did you beat anything or anyone up?”
I shake my head. “I’m not very good in physical altercations.” Binx sits in front of me, swishing his tail back and forth. I nervously mess with my headpiece again, which is slipping down my forehead. I reach up, pulling the bobby pins out of my hair.
“How did you get that?” Officer Maxwell grabs a flashlight from his belt and shines it on my arm.
“Oh, I, uh, didn’t even realize I was bleeding.” I swallow hard, looking at the scratch on my arm. It looks like it’s from the scrapper grabbing me, and I honestly don’t remember that happening.
Things really did happen fast.
“I ran through the woods. It’s probably from a tree branch.” I wipe away the drying blood. “How’s the kid?”
“He’s lucky you showed up when you did.” Officer Maxwell clicks off his flashlight and eyes me. Yeah, I know…I happen to show up just in the nick of time and have saved a few people because of it. Can’t people just be fucking grateful? I know things don’t add up and they are far from making sense.
I look at Ruby. “If that deer hadn’t run out when it did then we wouldn’t have stopped.” I twist the headpiece in my hands, desperate to end this questioning so I can get home and make sure my hellhound is still in the house, still looking like a cute little golden retriever puppy.
“The kid has defensive wounds on his hands,” Officer Maxwell goes on, and I make the mistake of looking at Ruby. Officer Maxwell sees and eyes me suspiciously again.
“I’m sure he tried to fight off the coyote.”
“That type of defensive wounds aren’t from coyotes.” Officer Maxwell closes his little notebook. “Is there anything you’re not telling me, Mrs. King?”
“I’ve told you everything. I hit a deer, stopped to see if I could find it, and heard the screams. We went into the woods and found those kids. They were obviously drunk and ranting about a werewolf. So, unless you think werewolves are hiding out somewhere in Thorne Hill, I don’t see what else you’d want to know. Do you think werewolves are in Thorne Hill?”
“Of course not. There are no such things as—”
A car screeches to a halt on the road just feet from us, and in an instant, Lucas is right here in front of me. His blue eyes are full of worry, and he grabs my left arm, looking at the scrape.
“You’re bleeding,” he says, able to smell my blood.
“I’m fine,” I press and take a step back. Officer Maxwell’s hand is on his gun again, and his eyes are wildly darting back and forth between me and Lucas and back again.
“Lucas,” I say calmly, taking his hands in mine “This is Officer Maxwell. And this is Lucas, my husband.”
“He’s a vampire,” Officer Maxwell states the obvious.
“Yes, I am.” Lucas turns, fangs drawn, and surveys the scene. “What the fuck is going on?”
“It’s fine,” I rush out, pulling Lucas to me. Ruby steps over, hands held out to her sides, ready to spell anyone if need be. “We hit a deer.” I look into Lucas’s eyes. “And when we stopped to look for the deer, we