Mia forced herself to smile. “Seriously? What people?”
Kurt shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
She reared back. “What do you mean you can’t tell me?”
He sighed. “You just told me you’re dating Seth, and it’s serious. Obviously, you can’t be involved in that case.”
She held up her hand. “Wait a minute. Just because you deem Seth a suspect doesn’t mean he is one. Pete was my mentor, too, and I worked here with him. I am involved in this case whether you like it or not.”
How would she do this? She wasn’t that good of a liar, and the truth was that Sethhadkilled Pete, but he was a serial killer. If she told Kurt the truth, she’d have to admit there were wolf shifters among them. Frankly, the guy would have her admitted to the Lost Asylum and then arrest Seth. “Kurt, I wish you would believe me.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand you—much less believe you. You were the best investigator I’d ever met. How could you just blindly accept that Pete was killed in a hunting accident? His body is nowhere to be found.”
She chewed on her lip. She should have had a funeral or cremated him or something. Not the real Pete because wolves had eaten his body. But she hadn’t thought Kurt would come to town trying to solve Pete’s disappearance. Not in a million years.
“We had two witnesses,” she reminded him. “They saw Pete. They watched him on Howler’s Ridge. They were watching birds, remember?”
Kurt shook his head. “I think that’s bullshit. How do they know it was a hunting accident?”
“I have their reports,” she said. “They saw Pete trip and go over the cliff to the river below. By the time they got there, after being miles away, his body was gone. We guessed a bear, wolves, or scavengers took it, but it could have gone downriver. I believe them.”
Kurt shook his head. “Well, I don’t. I want the witness statements, and I want to speak with them both. Then I want to dredge that river.”
“You can’t dredge the whole river.”
“Watch me,” Kurt argued.
The door opened, and Seth loped inside, followed by his lawyer. “I’m here to answer your questions.” His gaze landed on Mia, and his nostrils flared. “You’re not feeling well. What’s wrong?”
Seth tookin the scene in the conference room at a glance. A murder board had already been set up with the three recent victims and details below them, next to an older corkboard of what appeared to be the now deceased Delaney’s first kills.
Colbey vibrated with an energy that felt both ambitious and determined while Mia sat at the table looking too pale. Seth had to figure out what was wrong with her. The next full moon was in a week, and she should gain some strength then.
The old myths about werewolves and moons contained a little bit of truth. Much like the moon affected the tides with its gravitational pull, it also affected the circadian rhythms of wolf shifters. It didn’t control them in any manner, and they could shift whenever they wanted, but they did gain extra strength during the full moon.
He hoped that would help Mia in a week. For now, he had to do something. “Come on, Mia. Let’s grab breakfast.”
“We’re in the middle of something,” Colbey grumbled, pivoting as if to square off with Seth.
Seth flashed his teeth. He understood the guy because it must hurt like hell to lose Mia, but Seth wasn’t stupid enough to let that happen, unlike the agent. “She’s fighting something, Colbey, and she needs protein.”
“She needs to stay here and work the case,” Colbey returned.
Mia stood. “You know what?Shecan decide what she wants to do, you morons.”
Seth chuckled as Colbey frowned. Man, he loved her spunk.
Once she gained the strength she should have gotten after mating him, she’d be hell on wheels. He couldn’t wait to see it. For now, he needed to protect her.
Movement sounded, and Seth recognized his brother’s scent before he walked in behind him. “Hey, I guess I’m the new sheriff.”
Mia shook her head, but Colbey smiled.
Seth didn’t like that smile. “You have something helpful to say?” Seth asked.
“On the way here today,” Colbey said. “I dropped by the city hall, and a very, very nice woman named Mildred let me go through the town records. Guess what?”
“What?” Mia asked.
