“That’s my job. The caring part. The friends part…me too.” I give her wound a sniff. No sour odor, which means the dark magic is gone. I hate to think what would happen if that wound festered.
“What about you and the sheriff?” Maddy asks.
I’m starting to wish I’d given her a little less pain medication. It doesn’t function as a truth serum for most people.
“You should rest now. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“Admit it,” Maddy presses. “You like him. And I know he likes you. I’ve never seen that man care for someone like he does you.”
Thank God I’ve got more self-respect as a vampire than to hang on every last word from Maddy like a lovesick teenager.
“Really?”
She nods.
“Life is complicated, Maddy,” I say before I am tempted to ask for more details about his past lovers.
“No shit. This medicine is awesome, by the way. Any chance you can leave me some for later?”
I pat her hand. “None at all.”
Chapter3
JAX
Ihead back outside. Being near Riyah and seeing Maddy injured, my wolf spirit paces inside me, eager to fight whatever is attacking innocent Sleepy Briar residents.
Activity is the only thing that will calm my wolf. Behind the cabin, I find a bloody trail leading from the woodshed to the back door, a mix of human and fox tracks. Luckily, Brody freed Maddy when he did, or the outcome would have been deadly.
I’m surprised Brody hasn’t shown up yet. He disappeared almost at the same time Riyah stepped outside of her cabin. Maybe he’s following up on a lead. I’ll ask him later. He’s hung around Maddy ever since he arrived in Sleepy Briar.
I find the trap near the generator, as he said I would. Whoever set it was serious about catching a fox, and they didn’t care how they did it. I close my eyes, reaching for my wolf spirit. I sift through the smells of humans, foxes, birds, and other small mammals. Something else too. Musky. Familiar, but I can’t place it. Unease stirs within me.
I dig around using a downed branch, hoping to trigger any other traps. I come up empty. Whoever set the trap picked the perfect spot. Not only would the trap maim, but the distance from her cabin meant she could have frozen to death. I wonder if the sick fuck watched the whole thing.
With the trap sprung, I hang it up against the cabin as I did at my place. To work off a little more steam, I stack wood by the back door. Maddy can easily grab it here when she feels better.
Seems like as good a time as any to split more wood, blizzard or no. I retrieve the ax from the woodshed, the handle feeling solid in my hand. Stacking a log on an old tree stump, I split that sucker into two perfect halves. Now if I could only have the culprit’s head, I’d be making progress.
Set. Swing. Split.
Set. Swing. Split.
I move into the motions, losing myself in the activity.
“What did that log ever do to you?” Riyah pops her head out the kitchen window. “She’s sleeping now. Brody will be by later, she said.” She shakes her head at my nudity, although her eye lingers on my cock a little too long.
“You crazy wolf. Aren’t you freezing?”
“Nah.” I swing again, putting my relief that Maddy will be all right into my strike. “Let’s get back.”
“Am I getting another wolfie ride?”
I smirk at the hit of flintiness in her tone. “Meet me around front in twenty minutes.” I finish stacking a few more logs. Maybe my scent will be a warning to future prowlers. At the very least, it will agitate Brody. That makes me grin.
Judging from how strongly Brody scented the area, he takes his courtship of the resident fox seriously. Maddy’s a fine girl, but Brody doesn’t need to complicate his life any more than it is. He’s in Sleepy Briar for a reason.
Riyah will be waiting for me soon. Having her straddle me in my wolf form on the trip here was startling. I loped less gracefully than usual just to feel the squeeze of her knees against me and her fingers in my fur.