Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,61
this relationship was going…if anyplace. He had a feeling it was, but he wasn’t entirely certain, yet.
Some wolves knew the moment they scented their mates, he knew. Some took a bit longer to figure it out. Jim suspected he was going to be one of the latter, much to his annoyance, but being with Helen felt really, really right. If that’s how it felt when you found your mate, well, then, he was already there.
“I should be around for dinner,” he told her, putting one arm around her shoulders as casually as he could. His inner wolf was adamant in wanting to touch her. He couldn’t be close to her without wanting to stroke and pet and kiss. “There’s a diner and another fancier American bistro type place. There’s also a bakery that serves sandwiches where we could get lunch tomorrow, if we’re both free.” He was planning even farther ahead than just dinner. He wanted to be with her as much as he could.
“That sounds nice,” she answered, seemingly content to walk down the street tucked close to his side.
They lingered over lunch. Helen got her desired pulled pork sandwich while Jim had two and a side of ribs. He liked how daintily she ate, even when the food was inherently messy. She had class, did Helen, and he found himself enchanted by her manner.
He was so enraptured by his lunch companion that he almost didn’t notice when Joe walked into the dining area and did a quick scan. Jim looked up and met Joe’s gaze as the Alpha headed straight for their table. Jim went on high alert. The Alpha looked concerned, and Jim figured there was some kind of trouble.
Joe nodded to them both as he joined them at their table. It was a square table set for four, and they were only using two of the chairs. Joe pulled out one of the spare chairs and sat, his expression troubled.
“I hate to bother you at lunch, but we have a little situation that you need to be aware of,” he began. Jim put down his fork and gave the Alpha his full attention. “We’ve got a missing teenager,” Joe told them, getting straight to the point. “Calum Ingles is a good kid. Maybe a little wild but basically clean. He’s at that age where they like to go exploring and sometimes get into trouble.” Joe sighed, shaking his head. “Thing is, they usually go off in groups. The teens stick together, generally speaking, but Calum went off on his own two days ago, and nobody’s seen him since.”
“Two days ago?” Helen asked, concern clear in her tone. “How did nobody notice until now?”
“Miscommunication,” Joe told her. “His grandmother thought he was staying over at a friend’s. Apparently, that fell through when the friend’s mother put the kibosh on the sleepover, but Calum didn’t go back home. Nobody knows where he went, but I’m half afraid he might’ve gone to the old feed mill. The friend lives out near there, and the teens sometimes prowl the outskirts of town in that area because they know nobody has been at the mill for years.”
“I scented a lot of teenage wolf scents on my prowl out that way,” Jim admitted. “I discarded those as of no interest, so I can’t be sure if one was stronger than the others. They were all pretty recent, though. Within the past week, or so.”
“That makes sense. Like I said, that area is popular with the teens who are learning their skills. They know nobody really goes out that way, except those of us running perimeter checks. They’re out from under watchful eyes and able to test their boundaries a bit. We all did it, as young pups,” Joe said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his worry. “What concerns me,” he finally admitted, “is that bear child that was kidnapped in Pennsylvania. You found her in West Virginia, right? Which is where you were following this target of yours from?”
“Yes, Alpha. And I can understand why you’d be concerned about that. The sorceress that was killed in the West Virginia op had stockpiled a bunch of bodies in her warehouse. The man we followed from there was overseeing the body storage area, in fact. They were keeping them in chest freezers.”
“So, if he’s familiar with the technique of draining magic from one being and taking it for himself…” Joe let the sentence drift.
“Or if whoever laid the black ward can do the same,” Helen