“Perhaps someone with very poor control of theiranimal.” Shan looked at the cloth in his hand, and a slightly pained expression crossed his face. “If any of these garments have been worn recently, there may still be some scent.”
“Oh, no.” Leonie took a step backward, folding her arms. “Icrawled into the spooky dead tree.Youget to sniff the boxers.”
Shan sighed. He turned his back on her before shifting. His striped wings half-spread, blocking her view. That was understandable. If she’d had to stick her nose in a pile of possibly used underpants, she wouldn’t have wanted anyone watching, either.
The tiger took a few deep huffing breaths. Then Shan was human again, shaking his head.
“No good,” he said. “They’ve been outside for too long. I can only smell wood and leaves.”
“Well, I suppose it’s not like we could go around sniffing people’s butts, anyway. If we even knew where to look.” Leonie picked up a Twinkie. “These can’t have been out for too long. Even with the plastic wrapping, some animal should have smelled them. We’re always having to remind the kids to be careful with food around the camp. A racoon will chew through a cooler to get at a left-over granola bar.”
“And yet these were lying on the ground, barely concealed.” Shan rubbed his chin. “That may indicate whoever left them expected to return shortly.”
“Which would mean they’re still in the area.” Something else occurred to her. “Hey. You know what else isn’t here? Any kind of light source.”
Shan’s eyebrows rose. “Indeed. Interesting.”
“Maybe our ‘ghost’ took it with him.” Leonie nudged a threadbare blanket with her foot. “But if he’s a shifter, why would he be running around at night with a flashlight rather than in his animal form?”
Shan’s jaw tightened. “I am more concerned about what is he doing here at all.”
That had been worrying her as well. By all accounts, the ‘ghost’ had seemed benign. But the thought of an unknown person near the kids had phantom fur prickling all down her spine. If she’d been in lion form, her tail would have been lashing.
“Let’s look around some more,” she suggested. “Maybe we can pick up a trail.”
Shan nodded. “We’ll be more effective if we split up. See what you can smell. I’ll do a sweep, looking for any lights nearby.”
She shifted, padding into the forest. Behind her, she heard the rustle of wings as Shan took to the air.
In her head, her lioness growled.We should be hunting together, side by side. Not him up there and us down here.
Privately, Leonie shared her animal’s opinion. She would have liked to have Shan on the ground with her, sharing the wordless communion of a pride following prey. But she supposed tigers were solitary hunters. And he’d be able to see more from the sky.
But he wouldn’t be able to pick up scents like she could with her nose closer to the ground. Letting instinct take over, she prowled between the trees, every sense on high alert.
Alder-in-Winter had been here. Unicorns were hard to track, light-footed as they were, but she kept picking up the faintest traces of him, almost hidden under the similar smells of leaf and earth. If she hadn’t been actively searching, with his personal scent fresh in her mind, she wouldn’t have detected it at all.
He didn’t seem to have been near the dead tree itself, though. The faded, crisscrossing trails skirted the clearing, never emerging from under the trees. They spread out into the forest like an invisible spiderweb.
Sniffing carefully, she tried to form a mental picture of the unicorn’s movements. He’d repeatedly traveled to this area, that much was clear. But to do what? Stand and stare at a dead tree, and then go away again?
A whisper of sound made her tense—but it was only an owl landing on a nearby branch. The bird swiveled its head, staring directly at her. It hooted, once.
Probably trying to figure out what I am.She relaxed, trying to convey calm indifference.Go away, bird. I’m too big to eat, and I don’t want to eat you. Nothing to see here.
Instead of losing interest, the owl hooted again. A second owl swooped out of the dark, landing on a tree opposite the first one. In unison, both feathered heads turned, pinning her with identical stares.
Okay. That’s not creepy at all.
But that was just letting her imagination run away with her. No doubt the owls were just a breeding pair, unsettled by the presence of a predator near their nest. She’d just back away quietly, and?—
Even as she started to lift a paw, athirdowl joined the first two. Then a fourth, and a fifth. She found herself surrounded by a ring of round orange eyes, all fixed on her with unblinking attention.
Sometimes when I’m out in the woods, it doesn’t feel right.Rufus’s mental voice echoed in her memory.The animals. The birds. They’re not alarmed, but they don’t move like they should. Like something else is there, too. Watching through their eyes.
Fur rose along her spine. With an effort, she kept her breathing slow and measured. She let her animal side take control, trusting predator instinct over human thought. Barely moving, she scanned her surroundings, searching for anything out of place.
There!
