Page 15 of Hellhounds Never Lie

“Testing out?” Van’s hand clenched around his pen. “What does that mean?”

“He didn’t go into details, but I got the sense they’d done a trial run.”

Van and Hayden both growled. Then Van jumped out of his seat and wrenched open the door to the meeting room. “Dot, get over here.”

The same deer shifter trotted over to her boss.

“You finished with that statement?”

She shook her head.

Van frowned. “Get his information so you can take his statement later. I need you to get over to the inn and check on Jake. Make sure he’s okay.”

The police station was small, but I was surprised they didn’t have at least one other officer to help out. There were at least two other people in the office: one alligator shifter at the front desk and a human. Did the human deputy not know about supes? That’d be damn awkward when everyone else in the office was one.

Sensing the gap in the small police force made me want to jump up and get to work. I’d always been drawn to the idea of law enforcement, even becoming a cop for a short while back in the mid-1800s, but I hadn’t committed to a profession like that recently because it would tie me to one location, and I’d never found a place I wanted to stay. I wasn’t sure Willow Lake would be that place either, but I couldn’t help but wonderwhat if?

Dot’s light brown eyes widened. “Did something happen?”

“Just do it, Dot. Call me as soon as you talk to him.”

Before the deer shifter had even turned away, Van had shut the door in her face and returned to his seat at the table. He looked at Hayden, whose face had started to contort into his wolf’s features.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Van clapped his hand on to the wolf’s shoulder. “Robbie wouldn’t want anyone to suspect they’d been there. It’d be too risky to hurt Jake.”

Hayden wiped his hand over his face. Slowly, he got control over his wolf.

“We’ll head over there after this and talk to Jake about what might be missing.”

Hayden nodded at Van, sucking a deep breath. “Jodi is still away?”

“Yes. It’s a pain in the ass that all this is happening while we’re short staffed.”

Hayden grunted, but he seemed calmer now. He turned his eyes back on me. "Anything else?"

"Not much, honestly." I shrugged. "I started asking questions Rob didn't want to answer and he kicked me out." I leaned forward and looked at Van. "How was that for details?"

"Better." Faint praise from the hellhound cop. At least his lips twitched and almost formed a smile.

"Robbie always was a greedy shit." Hayden pushed his fingers through his hair.

"So," I said, "he wouldn't answer, but I still want to know. Is there a pack house here?"

Hayden grimaced. "Not for a long time. Willow Lake doesn't have a pack."

I tilted my head. I had so many questions: like if there wasn't a pack, why did Ash address this wolf as alpha? And how did Hayden ooze alpha energy if he didn’t have a pack? Ash leaned over, distracting me all to hell. A zing of energy whipped up my arm when the little mage in the fuzzy pink sweater patted my hand.

"The old pack house was converted into an inn about a decade or more ago,” Ash whispered to me, as if sensing the direction of my thoughts. “It was before I moved here, so I’m not sure exactly how long ago."

"So, they want to steal from the Willow Lake Inn under the new moon." Van frowned and tapped his pen against his notebook. “As a plan, it isn’t a bad one, I suppose. Most supes are weaker under the new moon. It’d reduce the risk. The new moon would give them a bit of cover. And Ulric’s grandkid wouldn't even know what to do if a bunch of wolves showed up in the middle of the night. Jake's a bit naive, even for a human—or an oracle, I guess—but I'm pretty sure he'd notice a bunch of werewolves ripping through the place."

Hayden's eyes flashed golden, showing his wolf. "I'll get Sally and Alice to figure out a way to get him out of there for a couple of nights. Hopefully one night is all it'll take to stop these guys and make them regret setting their eyes on the inn, but we should plan for more just in case. We need to organize a patrol too."

For not being the alpha of the local pack, Hayden seemed to have just stepped in to take charge. There was a story there, I was sure of it.

"They'll be expecting it," I said. "They’ll know I'm here. They'll know it’s a possibility I'll have told someone."

"Yeah." Van's eyes blazed with his hellhound’s magic for a moment. Then he grinned wickedly, his teeth elongating slightly. "And the bastards still won't be prepared for us."