Alex had three theories about what might have happened to Tawny’s brother. One was that someone had injured or killed Zach, second was that Tawny’s brother had fallen and been trapped by some kind of rock slide, and third, Zach knew he was being chased and decided to lie low for a while.
“Tawny, are there a lot of caves around here?” Alex asked.
“Some, but I can’t say I know them all. This is a big forest. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just trying to figure out where Zach could be.”
“You think he’s hiding in a cave?”
“We want to consider all of the possibilities,” Liam said.
“I appreciate it, but why would he hide in a cave if he could come here?” she asked.
Alex had to tell her another possible theory, though it was an ugly one. “I haven’t mentioned this idea before, because it’s a remote chance of happening.”
“What? That my twin is dead?” She shook her head. “I’d know it if we were true.”
“You can telepath with each other?”
“No, only men can do that. This is different. I feel him in my body. It’s impossible to explain. It might only be between werewolf twins. I never have asked Benson’s brothers and sisters if they feel the same draw. They have two sets of twins in his family, but I don’t think Malia and Will are connected like that. Those two are quite different.”
“How so?” Alex wanted to learn as much about Tawny and her family as possible.
“Malia’s a nurse. She’s practical and focused, yet kind and sympathetic. As for Will, it’s not that he doesn’t work hard, but he owns the Double G Bar. He’d rather chat with all of the customers than work on his books, though he somehow manages to have a very successful business. The other two you’ve met. They are Trevor and Seth.”
“Yes, the cowboys. The ones who are quite good at fighting.”
“I imagine they’ve had a lot of practice, since they have to fight off real wolves sometimes.”
“I bet you’re right.”
“Now that you’ve tried to distract me, tell me more about your idea,” she said.
He looked over at Liam.
“She’ll find out eventually,”Liam telepathed.
“When Liam and I worked for Rider Scott in Canada, we learned about a group of human vigilantes. They believed that werewolves should be eliminated.”
She sucked in a breath. “On TV, they have shows about vampire hunters, but that’s fiction, mostly because there is no such thing as vampires.”
“Are you sure?” Liam asked.
“Pretty sure. They don’t exist, do they?”
“Why can’t they? Werewolves exist.” Liam waved a hand. “That’s beside the point. What Alex is saying is that it’s possible, though slim, that more hunters have found their way down to Montana. In a town near where we used to live, this group of humans targeted a prominent family who were werewolves.”
Tawny’s face paled. “Like us, but why target the Grangers? We don’t rob, steal, or murder. I know that Paul Franklin and his group do, but we don’t.”
“Hate comes in a lot of different forms for a lot of different reasons,” Alex said. “It’s wrong, but let’s not focus on that now. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”
She sipped her tea. “No, I’m glad you did. It’s all the more reason to come up with a plan.”
He thought they had a plan. “What do you propose? And please don’t say we should head out in this weather. We might get lost. Even you took a wrong turn a few times to find this place.”
She pressed her lips together. “Fine. What do you suggest? You don’t know your way around these woods.”
“That’s the problem,” Alex said. “How about you make a list of what you think might have happened to Zach. With each suggestion, we’ll come up with a plan of action.”