Now, Hadley was even more confused. “I have zero idea what you’re trying to say.”
“I’m saying that werewolves have soul mates. As in The One person in the world they’re supposed to end up with. Werewolves are drawn to these people and vice versa.”
Hadley blinked. Her friend couldn’t be serious. She was making all of this up to mess with her, right?
“I know what you’re thinking before you say it,” Karissa said, holding up her hand. “Soul mates aren’t real. But considering that you live in a world with werewolves, witches, paladins, and skinwalkers, maybe you should reconsider what’s real and what isn’t.”
Hadley’s head spun. She had a hard time believing in the whole soul mate thing, regardless of how reasonable Karissa sounded. But as her friend sat there regarding her, she let herself consider the possibility.
“Do you honestly think the reason I’m so comfortable around Carter is because he’s my soul mate?” Hadley asked softly, a little voice in the back of her mind suggesting that it would explain a few things.
“Based on everything you’ve told me, about how you and Carter are with each other, you have to consider that it’s a distinct possibility,” Karissa said.
Hadley chewed the inside of her lip as she thought about that. “But doesn’t that mean what I’m feeling for Carter isn’t real?”
“Of course, it doesn’t mean that,” Karissa said impatiently. “All the soul mate call does is let you know who you’re supposed to be with. You have more than enough free will to screw it up if you want.”
Hadley wasn’t sure what to say to that and before she could even try, Carter and Hale came inside with two platters overloaded with the cheeseburgers and steaks still sizzling from the grill. While the door was open, she heard another boom of thunder and realized the storm was getting worse.
Carter flashed her a grin, making her pulse skip a beat. Returning his smile, Hadley put a pin in the soul mate conversation swimming through her head then grabbed the tray of hamburger buns from the counter while Karissa took the potato wedges out of the oven.
“Sorry for offering such a werewolf-centric meal, but it’s Hale’s favorite thing to cook and I always let him have his way with the dinner menu when he comes home bruised or bloody,” Karissa said as they all sat down at the table a few moments later.
Hadley helped herself to a bun, then one of the cheeseburgers. “Does that happen often?”
“Not really,” Karissa said, grabbing a burger of her own. “No more than twice a week.”
Her friend said the words so casually that Hadley stopped in the middle of adding salad to her bowl to stare at Karissa.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Hale said quickly, obviously seeing the alarmed expression on Hadley’s face. “A lot of those bumps and bruises happen during training or our morning workouts. We get a little intense sometimes.”
When Carter nodded in agreement, Hadley looked at her friend, who shrugged and went back to fixing her burger before spooning up a few potato wedges.
As they ate, they talked about everything from their favorite movies and TV shows to some of Hadley’s more interesting cases—no names, of course! Hale was as easy to talk to as Karissa, which made her wonder if it was because she and Carter were soul mates. Was there some kind of magic involved that she’d be comfortable around his pack mates so she’d be more likely to want to be with him?
It seemed ludicrous, but was it any more outlandish than everything else that was happening in her life right now?
Hadley was so wrapped up in those thoughts that she almost missed when the conversation turned to the two escapees who’d been captured earlier and the fact that Strickland had been there, too. Carter had already told her about everything that’d happened, but she was still interested in hearing more.
“Have you found out whether either of those two men have said anything yet?” Hale asked. “When I texted Mike about a couple hours ago, they weren’t talking.”
“And they still haven’t,” Carter said, picking up a potato wedge and dunking it in ketchup. “I talked to Mike on the way over here and he doubts we’ll get anything out of them, no matter how long they question them. They were both looking at life in prison before the break-out and the multiple assaults. There’s nothing the DA or the feds can offer that would give them enough incentive to say a word.”
Karissa picked up her glass of iced tea. “Hale mentioned that everyone assumes Strickland and those other guys tried to kidnap homeless people so they could—you know—eat them. If that’s true, how is it possible for Strickland to turn these guys into cannibals that fast? I mean, following his lead in order to get out of prison is one thing, but to actually eat another human is a whole other level.”
Carter looked at Hadley, as did Karissa and Hale, like they thought she had all the answers.
She speared a cherry tomato with her fork. “Well, I can tell you all kinds of stories about charismatic men throughout history who convinced people to do horrendous things, but nothing I’ve ever read or experienced from talking to Strickland can explain how he was able to convince those men to eat another person. I’ll admit he has one hell of a presence about him, but getting someone to do something this extreme in such a short period of time shouldn’t be possible without psychotropic drugs and a well-staffed psychiatric facility.”
Carter helped himself to another burger and more potato wedges. “Am I the only one thinking there’s a supernatural angle here? Those guys we fought today were stronger than they should have been. Which begs the question, did Strickland stumble across seven powerful supernatural creatures in his cell block and convince them to escape or did he somehow turn them into supernaturals?”
Hale’s brow drew together as he considered that. “I agree the odds of that many supernaturals being in one place are pretty low, but you might be onto something about Strickland turning them. Remember that guy we dealt with back in the summer who could make people do anything he wanted simply by putting his blood on them? What if we’re dealing with someone else who can do that? What if the entire prison escape, the increased strength, even the cannibalism is some kind of compulsion put on them?”
Hadley had no idea who Hale was talking about, but the idea of a person being able to do something so sinister was terrifying. But it might explain the man’s ability to sway people to his way of thinking.
“You honestly think Strickland is capable of something like that?” she asked, sipping her iced tea.
“Maybe.” Carter shrugged. “Or maybe someone is controlling him, too. Strickland was a rich playboy and yet now he’s this charismatic force of nature and a killer of the most twisted variety capable of organizing a major prison break, gaining the loyalty of ruthless, vicious men, turning them into cannibals in the process? Maybe someone’s making him do all this stuff.”
