think Koi was the killer, how do they explain him doing it right next to a hiking trail? Wouldn’t he have wanted to commit the murder somewhere more private? Anyone could have walked up on them.”
Lakota glowered as he stared at the path and then back at the patch of grass. “I think we have enough evidence that Koi wasn’t the killer. The pack looked him over and said he died from deep wounds to the jugular. Why would she shift and engage in a struggle only to shift back and put on her clothes? I bet Koi knew her and they were meeting here. Like you said, he wouldn’t have run off the territory in wolf form. I bet his attacker stole his clothes.”
“Why would he do that?”
He shrugged. “All the cops found was a dead girl and a wolf. Leaving clothes behind would open up a manhunt, and maybe he didn’t want the local police to initiate a search.”
Tak shifted to human form and strode toward us, completely naked and his long hair unbound. “There’s blood everywhere, but it’s not the girl’s. She didn’t run or fight. It looks like her death was quick. But someone else was here. I can’t find any tracks, but I found a few drops of blood that weren’t Koi’s.”
“You’re sure?” Lakota asked.
Tak lifted his chin. “Koi died protecting that girl. His wolf had blood in his mouth, and I guarantee it wasn’t hers.”
Lakota handed the cigarette to Tak and let him look at it. “At least we can confirm his innocence with Shikoba. The packs won’t believe it, but Koi’s mother will have peace of mind. Did you recognize any scents?”
Tak rubbed his nose. “Too many ingredients in the stew. It all smells the same. I tasted Koi’s blood and the victim’s, but there’s another flavor on my tongue I picked up near the spatter by the trees.”
“You can’t pick up the scent?”
Tak narrowed his eyes. “If I taste his blood again, I’ll know. But his scent is long gone.”
Lakota glanced up at the sky. “We should go before a nosy reporter decides to send a chopper out here.”
Tak snorted. “They don’t have the budget for gas. They’ll recycle the chopper footage since the station is too far and there are other stories in the city to report. Nobody cares what happens out here in the wild.” Tak turned to gather his clothes. “My father will be pleased. He respected Koi, even though he sometimes hung his shoes on the clothesline.”
I froze when savage growls erupted from the bush to my left. My eyes widened as four wolves emerged from a thicket of trees. Based on Tak and Lakota’s reactions, they didn’t belong to the tribe.
Lakota glanced at the horses, but they were at least thirty feet away. “You need to get out of here,” he ordered me. “We’re off the territory.”
In a fluid movement, Tak shifted to wolf form and stalked toward them, his gait heavy because of his size and power. He was trying to get them to submit—something less dominant wolves sometimes did around an alpha. Of the four wolves, not one of them appeared to be the leader. Perhaps the alpha was hiding.
“We’re not trespassing on private property, are we?” I asked.
“This isn’t Shifter land. They don’t have a right to be here any more than we do. Stay behind me.” Lakota curved his arm around my body and herded me out of their sight.
My mind scrambled. Oh my God, am I going to have to shift? I swallowed hard, mentally counting the steps to the horses and wondering how fast I could mount. I spotted Tak’s quiver and bow leaning against a tree. More terrifying than death was not knowing how vicious those wolves were. They might shift to human form and force me to do things that… I gripped Lakota’s shirt, my heart pounding.
Lakota slowly turned his head and locked eyes with me. “Look submissive.”
I felt a flush of insult at those words.
Submissive?
Before I could argue, I blinked and found myself holding his T-shirt. Lakota had shifted into a gorgeous silver wolf, every bit as large as Tak’s. He had the most exquisite coat—pale silver that was a rarity among Shifters because of the uniformity of coloring. His only marking was the black liner around his blue eyes.
He communicated to me with those eyes. Stay close but not too close.
The four wolves advanced, and Tak gave a warning growl. Unless defending territory or a packmate, most