the way.”
Lakota loosened his grip on his Appaloosa’s reins. “He died in wolf form, so it seems logical that his wolf ran out this far.”
“But the murder happened off tribal land. If the tribe marks their territory lines like we do, his wolf shouldn’t have wandered past them. Did anyone find his clothes?”
He turned his head, showing me his handsome profile. “You ask smart questions.”
“Need a partner if this boutique idea doesn’t pan out?”
Tak galloped toward us, and his horse reared. “We’re here. I don’t see any humans, but keep your eyes alert.”
I admired the quiver slung over his left shoulder, a wooden bow secured to it. I missed my bow, and the thought of it lying in pieces in the back of the Jeep made me sick to my stomach. We reached a small clearing where a hiking trail curved around a large rock.
Tak slid off his horse and tied the reins to a tree. “How much time do we have?”
Lakota held out his arm for me to take and dismount. I clutched his hand and grimaced when my feet touched the ground.
“We have until dusk. The Council doesn’t think anyone will try to come out here after dark, but don’t count on it.” Lakota leaned forward and swung his leg over the back of the horse before sliding off. “Some of the tracks belong to cops, so it’s going to be messy.”
Tak handed his weapons to Lakota. When I realized he was going to shift, I clutched Lakota’s arm and pressed myself close.
Tak smiled. “Don’t worry, little flower. I’m an alpha.”
That should have reassured me since it meant he could govern his wolf’s actions when in animal form, but it didn’t. Tak was a stranger to me, and while alphas were stereotypically protective of women, there was always an element of danger in the company of wolves.
In a fluid movement, Tak shifted into a black-and-grey wolf. Half of his face was black and the other half grey, mirroring his tattooed markings. He trotted around the area in search of a scent.
“Where did it happen?” I asked, walking in Lakota’s footsteps.
He scanned the ground, his pace sedate. Lakota’s stepfather was a talented tracker, and combined with the fact that his adoptive father was a Chitah, he had knowledge under his belt that suited him for a job like this. He crouched and plucked a blade of grass, then turned it in his hand. “Blood spatter.”
Tak’s wolf circled around a grassy area by the dirt path.
“Did you find something, Tak?” Lakota headed toward him and knelt down on one knee. “Careful where your wolf walks. I haven’t compared all the tracks yet.”
I stepped onto the dirt path and out of the way, watching them examine a flattened patch of grass.
“This is where she died,” Lakota said, wiping his mouth with one hand.
Since I hadn’t heard any details about the murder, I asked, “How did it happen? Are they saying the wolf attacked her?”
“They’re saying anything they want to imagine. Some are saying his wounds were self-defense, while others suggest a murder-suicide. There’s a lot of blood pooled here… and here. Looks like she had two major wounds.” Lakota’s eyes skated to the right, and he bent down with his face to the ground. He picked up a cigarette butt and smelled it. “It’s fresh.”
“What kind?”
He twisted his mouth. “Can’t tell, but it’s got a weird filter.”
“We’re on a hiking trail,” I pointed out. “The woods are probably littered with them.”
Lakota swung his gaze up at me. “Yesterday’s rain would have ruined the paper. Someone put this out either last night or this morning. It might have been a cop, but the killer could have also returned to the scene. Maybe he left something behind. Dammit, I wish we’d found the body before them. There are too many footprints.”
I wiped my chin and longed for a cool breeze. My jeans were too hot for outdoor recreation. Tak’s wolf sniffed the entire perimeter around the tree line while Lakota scanned the open ground for clues. I wondered if it was possible that the police had missed something. This wasn’t exactly the big city, and I would wager that their police force consisted of a sheriff and two deputies.
The sight of the bloody stains in the grass gave me chills, and whenever a leaf rustled in the woods because of a squirrel scampering up a tree, I jumped.
“Lakota?”
Wielding a stick, he rose to his feet and swaggered toward me. “Yeah?”
“If the outside Shifters