“Promise me.”
The edge in his tone was back.
I pushed my faux locs over my shoulder. “Promise what?” My mind felt hazy.
“Promise you’ll call me if you need anything or have more questions about what’s happening at the nursing home.”
“I will.”
He hesitated but then dipped his head. “I’ll see you soon, Reese.”
I damn near whimpered at hearing him say my name.
“O-okay,” trembled from my lips.
Chael took a step back and turned slowly before heading to the parking lot. I watched him walk away, feeling my ability to breathe become easier the farther away he grew. But the coldness around my body increased with the distance.
I peered down at the card in my hand. “Chael Nightwolf,” I read. The name was strange, but it fit him.
CHAPTER4
Chael
“What are we doing here?”my younger brother, Chance, and the strongest beta of our pack asked me without moving his mouth. We could mindspeak with one another as brothers and both alpha and beta.
We positioned ourselves on the side of a cliff, a few yards from where we parked our vehicles. Our spot overlooked the home and property of Dr. Pines. The sun started to disappear behind the horizon, casting shadows over the one-story house.
I glanced over my left shoulder, satisfied to see no incoming traffic from that direction. To our right was a lining of trees and forest that stretched for a few miles, giving us enough cover to shift undetected, once the sun went down.
“That’s the home of Dr. Roger Pines.” I nodded in the direction of the house. “Since we’re in the neighborhood, I thought it would be wise to scope out his home to get to the bottom of whatever is going on at Creekview Nursing Home.”
Chance turned to me. “This is about your mate.”
I cast my eyes in his direction without turning my head. I didn’t like the tone in his voice. “Is there a problem?”
“You haven’t approached her yet.”
I grunted. “We wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t spoken with her.”
“She doesn’t know she’s your mate,”he amended.
Instead of answering, I peered down the cliff again. “There are enough trees and shrubbery to cover us once we shift,” I told him. It was a needless point. Chance was the best hunter in our pack.
“What are we searching for?”
I scrubbed my hand down the side of my face. That was a question I didn’t have an answer to. The limited information Reese shared with me over lunch was enough to cause a stirring in my gut that something was very off at the nursing home. The report that Reese showed me over lunch wasn’t much proof, though. We needed more information.
“I had Christophe do some research on Dr. Roger Pines.”I told Chance, mentioning our youngest brother. Christophe was better with technology. Chance was best when it came to hunting.
I ignored the gnawing guilt in my stomach over involving my brothers in this nursing home situation. The less contact they had with human affairs, the less likelihood of exposure. Very few humans were allowed into the shifter world over the past half century, just the way the Alliance wanted it.
My hands tightened into fists at my sides. The last thing I ever would do was place my brother and my pack in danger. Yet, this situation had to do with my mate. Instinct told me that whatever Reese felt was happening at the nursing home wasn’t all in her head, and it was dangerous.
“We’re here to find out his comings and goings. Or sniff out anything suspicious,”I finally told Chance.“He’s off from the nursing home today, but his car hasn’t been home all day.”
My brother didn’t comment. He keenly observed our surroundings, narrowing his gaze as he looked out into the distance.
“His property is large enough to hide something on it. According to the salary report Christophe sent me, this home is way out of his budget.”Christophe had provided me with some simple background information on the doctor. He didn’t make much at the nursing home, as compared to what a private physician would make. Yet he lived on two acres of land and a five-thousand-square-foot home, all alone.
