I watched Daniel in confusion as he got close to the tree, inhaling deeply, then moved to the side of the road, still clearly scenting the area.
After having a good sniff over there, he came back to the truck and stripped, throwing his clothes and shoes on the hood. I had one second to admire his naked form before he shifted into his bear. His sniffing became even more obvious as he prowled the fallen tree and then went deeper into the woods.
Minutes ticked by as he went deeper into the woods. I lost sight of him for a while. My heart raced, and I tapped my fingers on my legs and wiped my sweaty hands onto my pant legs. Did he suspect someone had pushed the tree over? It didn't seem possible. The tree was massive, far too large for anyone to push, even someone as strong as Daniel or one of the wolf shifters.
Maybe with magic, but even that seemed unlikely.
Eventually, Daniel returned, shifted into himself, and dressed. I unlocked the car and let him in. He sat in his spot, then turned to me. “The tree didn’t fall. It was cut.”
“Cut?” My anxiety leaped. “Here? Why? Why would anyone...?” My brain went into overload.
“I don’t know,” he said, answering all my questions at once. “It was strange. The person’s scent was unfamiliar. Different from any scent I’d smelled before. I followed it for a little while, then it vanished. What was stranger, it was like my memory of the scent faded too. A bear never forgets a scent, except now I can't bring it to mind."
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know exactly, but someone wanted to hurt us. Someone we don’t know. Someone powerful.”
I shivered. “Are we safe right now?”
In answer, he got out of the car and used those ridiculously huge muscles of his, to roll the tree out of the road.
Well, crap. If he could push this ginormous tree, maybe there was someone out there strong enough to knock it over. Except he'd said cut.
When he finished, he was sweating and panting. He didn’t stop to rest. He got into the car, buckled up, and floored it out of there.
Me? I sat there wondering if the strange, mysterious scent belonged to a powerful older woman who wanted her powers back. A woman who was willing to do anything to get them.
Without much conversation, Daniel and I went straight to Private Psych to meet Beth. We had a quick bite to eat while she told us about handling the narwhal. When she finished, we told her about the dwarves and the tree. With every word, her expression grew more and more serious until there was nothing left to say. We sat in silence, waiting for Beth's thoughts.
Which didn't take long. "This is a problem."
I laughed. "Yeah, a crazy Karma trying to kill me and steal my powers is definitely a problem."
Daniel kissed my cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."
I appreciated his sweet words, but even my big bear shifter wouldn't be able to protect me from the woman. Not if she was out to get me. Heck, I wasn't sure if all of us combined could stop her.
"Here's the thing," Beth began. "We're going to figure this out. I don't know how yet, but I know we will. Let me put some feelers out with some of my connections. Until then, we'll help the gnomes."
The gnomes, right. I'd forgotten about them in all the chaos. As much as I wanted to obsess about the older woman, Beth and I had a job to do. Commitments to fulfill and all that jazz. At the least keeping busy would do me some good until Beth's connections came through.
"Do you have people who know about Karma?" Daniel asked, his voice unexpectedly gruff.
Beth hesitated, which said more than her words ever could. "You never know."
Daniel looked upset. I reached out and squeezed his hand. "Everything will be fine."
He ran his free hand roughly through his hair. "Actually, I have a connection who could be useful with this."
"A mysterious friend?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood. "You've never mentioned someone with this kind of connection."
"They're not a friend," he said, standing abruptly and clearing our plates.
His reaction was a little off. Five minutes later, Beth hurried us out the door, and I made a mental note to ask him about it when we were alone next.
Outside, Daniel stopped on the porch. "Can I come with you to speak to the gnomes?"
Suspecting that he was trying to keep an eye on me in case of another issue, smiled. "Sure."
