The Winter Moon's Wolf Part 11

Cade poured the mixture into a dish, ready to bake. "There has to be some reason somebody would do that. It was deliberate."

Dean nodded. "I agree." His gaze went unfocused, his thoughts clearly his own. "But what part of it hasn't been deliberate?"

"I know," Cade replied, disheartened. "Have you had any problems?"

He glanced upward. "Like what?"

"I don't know. People following you?" Dean shook his head. "Have you been back by Gemini's?" Another negative. "And no problems at your house?"

"Other than being bored out of my mind, no."

Cade grinned. "I imagine you would be." He placed things in the oven to cook. "That'll take a little while."

Dean's phone buzzed again. He rolled his eyes. "At least it's not Mom." He turned to retrieve the phone.

Cade heard him answer then Dean reappeared.

"So you think they may be connected? To which? The fire or the collapse? I see." His brow furrowed. "When will you talk to them? Okay. Let me know. It's being handled by the insurance company, but if there's any way to tie anyone to the roof collapse... No, I understand. No..." Dean sighed with mild exasperation. "Why would I do something like that? I'm not going to chase someone down. That's not my job." Cade could tell his patience was growing short with the other person on the line. "Glad to know we can agree on that. I want the investigation closed so I can move forward to rebuild. I can't do jack waiting for the insurance to sign off on it. In the meantime, I'm not making any income."

Figuring Dean would be ready for it after that particular phone call, he withdrew a fresh beer and popped the top on it.

"Okay, thanks. Yes, Detective Gentry is working up the final report to send out to everyone. Early next week at the latest was the last I'd heard. Fine." He tapped the phone and groaned. "Jesus H. Christ."

"Who was that?"

"The crime scene investigator. The roof collapse created another can of worms and Kelly turned it. Someone went out not too long after we left to take more photos, and confirmed the foot prints and tire welts. I guess they saw the same things we did."

Cade handed over the bottle. Dean accepted with a grunt of thanks, drawing a couple deep slugs before licking his lips and sighing in aggravation. "They think they have a lead on both and warned me not to go hunting for them." He shook his head. "Like I would."

"Who?"

"They didn't say. All he said was they have a couple of suspects to talk to. I've given so many reports in the last week, I swear I could write a book. Where I've been, who I've talked to. A ton of names, people I could vouch for being at Gemini's New Year's Eve. They've gone back through those names and gathered more. They've probably found every body that was there that night, drunk or sober. Between them, the insurance, and the alarm company, I'm about to punch something." He closed his eyes and growled. "I can't tell you how many times and ways they phrased the question to try to get me to admit to doing it. It might not have been much to look at, but it was ours, mine. Whatever." He drained the bottle and slumped to his spine against the kitchen doorway frame. He gazed at Cade with tired eyes. "I just want it over."

Cade reached for the bottle and tossed it, then walked over to Dean to stand in front of him. "It will be." He straddled the other man's legs, tugging him by the shoulders to wrap him close. "Why did they think you'd try to find this person on your own?"

"Apparently, there's some connection to the guy who shot Daniel. I don't know what. He wouldn't say." He bent, curling to rest against Cade's shoulder.

Someone from Dean's past. Someone who knew about Daniel. Someone who knew how to find Dean. Revenge? Mistaken ident.i.ty? Cade repressed the shudder of apprehension. "And they think this person is what? Coming for you?"

"I don't know. The roof might have been coincidence and opportunity. Or the person who'd started the fire may have been watching, waiting for someone to return, and when it was me..." He sighed, slumping more. Cade knew this was wearing on the man. Simply not knowing was stressful. He remembered very well the ha.s.sle and stress Chris had been under when the vet clinic storage shed had burned down, and that had only been a loss of property, not an entire world gone up in flames.

"Did the detective think you were in danger?"

"No. Just said not to hang around the bar until this is solved."

"So someone is watching for you?" That's what it sounded like to Cade. Why else would he be warned to stay away from his own property?

"I don't know."

Cade kneaded the nape of Dean's neck, feeling the tension in his body and shoulders. Gradually, it released under his fingertips' ministrations. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" he offered. At least Cade could keep him close for a few hours. He really didn't like the insinuation that someone from Daniel's past was shadowing Dean, possibly even hunting for him.

His wolf growled quietly in answer to the thoughts. Someone was out to harm its mate. It pushed at Cade's soul, demanding he do something, anything, to keep Dean safe.

"I think I'd like that," he murmured sounding, at the least, a little more relaxed than ten minutes ago.

"What are you doing during the day while this is going on?"

"Not much. Watching TV, staying by the phone."

He didn't doubt that was boring as h.e.l.l. Cade wasn't really good with waiting, either.

"Well, let's get through this week and see what Detective Gentry's final report has to say. If nothing else, with being removed from suspicion the insurance should release the policy funds and you can focus on that."

"That's what I'm hoping for. Just something to not have to think about the roof and what happened." Solid arms wrapped around Cade's waist. "You were the one they almost took out."

Cade nuzzled Dean's temple. He didn't gloat, but it was nice to hear Dean's worry for him. "It'll work out." Eventually.

Chapter Nine.

After spending the night in the same bed, the rest of the week felt more hollow and empty to Cade than ever before. Dean had gone home to wait for any word about the investigation or the arson report, and Cade had continued his week at the animal clinic. It was one of the most drawn out weeks Cade could remember.

Disappointingly, Dean didn't come back to Silo for another sleepover, either. The nights were cold and seemed endless, even when he managed sleep. His wolf was already forming bonds to Dean, whether Cade was ready or not.

He tried to be congenial to patients.

Brothers didn't fare as well. Even Jamie was giving him a wide berth, which wasn't all that easy considering the size of the veterinary clinic. It made him feel that much worse that he was making life miserable for his brother-in-law because he couldn't be with Dean.

And if it was like this now, what was life going to be like later? If they completed the bonding? If he introduced him to the pack?

No, not if, when. He knew that was inevitable. He knew that was inevitable.

Unless he lost Dean.

The howl he heard rocked his ears.

d.a.m.n. The day could not end soon enough.

He barely took the time to change when his shift was finally over, layering clothes to be out in the cold. He needed his bike, and there was only one direction he was going to take.

The roads were still clear, thankfully. Tucking his hair under his helmet and jacket, he roared out of Silo on his ride. He'd even remembered gloves this time. He needed the rush, the wind, and focus. Needed to get this...l.u.s.t under control. There was a under control. There was a need need he didn't understand. A need to be with Dean. A need to be close to him. A hunger he hadn't ever tasted. It went deep, like he'd been infiltrated at his innermost marrow. he didn't understand. A need to be with Dean. A need to be close to him. A hunger he hadn't ever tasted. It went deep, like he'd been infiltrated at his innermost marrow.

It had been steadily growing since the weekend. Since those kisses. The weight of the man held in his arms as they'd slept was a lingering memory. A sensation he'd hunted for every night that week. He snorted. That That certainly hadn't helped his sleeping any. certainly hadn't helped his sleeping any.

Restless, needy, hungry. Was it any wonder Jamie had been giving him room? He understood what Cade was going through, probably better than Cade himself did. He grunted, his jaw tight with frustration. The crisp wind stole away each breath.

Maybe he should talk to Chris or Quade. Cade knew Chris had gone to get advice once from their alpha, Roman. He didn't know why he'd a.s.sumed finding his mate would be easy. It really should have been.

He'd never antic.i.p.ated the curveball life had thrown at his head. In that, Chris had the advantage. He'd known what he'd liked since he was a kid. Cade... He sighed, the cloud of steam gone in a flash. Had he been hiding or was this simply something he was going to have to learn to live with and appreciate that he'd found his mate at all?

He spotted the burned out hulk of Gemini's not too far in the distance. On impulse, he slowed and rolled to the rear of the building, out of sight from pa.s.sing vehicles or curious eyes. Unlatching his helmet, he rested it on the seat, taking a slow look around. The tape was still up, but sagging because of ice buildup. The hole in the outer wall was still there, as was all the debris the collapse had caused. A pattern of dull footprints wandered in and out of the entrance. Likely the investigators'. The smell of burnt wood had faded some.

Tilting his head, he listened, but only heard the quiet sounds of nature amid the creaks and shudders of the damaged building.

Being on the lookout for ice on the ground, he did a slow search around the rear, and then back up the side where the truck had sat before it had ripped out the support beam. More footprints cut swaths through the muck that had firmed under the cold. If there was any way to distinguish them by age, or person, it was lost on him. He hoped the investigators had found what they'd needed.

Returning to the motorcycle, he leaned on it and crossed his arms, looking at the building. What was he not seeing? What would bring this kind of anger to a man? Why would someone want to harm, and possibly kill, Dean? Once more the night before Christmas popped up in his memory. But who of those could be tied to Daniel's death? The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that anyone with a grudge and history would visit a place with a bad memory, especially for what they were doing that night.

Letting his gaze roam and wander, he saw the building, the parking lot, the dumpster, rough ground, and mounds of filthy snow and ice. He guessed that anyone digging for clues had searched the area.

But what a human might miss, a lupine nose certainly wouldn't. He dug his phone out of his pocket to silence it. No sense in letting it be obvious someone was hanging out around back. He stripped his jacket and laid it on the seat next to his helmet, doing the same with his sweater and undershirt. Bared to the waist, he walked behind the utility storage building and finished undressing, stuffing his socks in his boots to fold his jeans once they were off. He rested them neatly on the boots to keep them off the ground.

Crisp gra.s.s crackled under bare feet. The bite of the sharp chill was a shock to nerves. Listening to the silent world surrounding him, he let the wolf free, merging as their blood, their bones, their souls became one.

A hard huff of crystallized breath was followed by a fierce shake as the animal adjusted to the chill. He didn't let the wolf out often outside of pack runs, and Cade felt its wary confusion.

The animal scented the air. Char and mud, people and ash. Keeping a strong connection to the animal, he let it cautiously emerge from behind the shed. Alert and patient.

Time to do a little snooping.

Dean put the car in park and shut the engine off. Staring at the burned out sh.e.l.l of Gemini's made something inside his chest ache. The sign that had hung near the door was dangling off a support, the electric cables limply draped to disappear somewhere on the ground. There hadn't been any windows. An old, rustic, wood building that had been through quite a few owners before he and Daniel had taken it over. He knew he had no reason to be there, but sitting at home waiting for people to dot their Is and cross their Ts was killing him. The longer he had to wait, the more it felt like the last memories he had of his brother were slipping through his fingers.

"I don't know what happened, Daniel," he whispered into the silence. The hole in the side felt like a punch to his gut. More caution tape had been hung, for all the good it did.

There was so much left unsaid, unanswered in what had happened here. Wrapped in his jacket, he wasn't ready to get out of the car. That gaping hole in the wall intimidated him. Someone had taken time, had made the conscious decision to cause that.

He snorted.

Like the fire hadn't been?

Only... He'd been feet from where the ceiling had fallen, Cade even closer.

Sheriff Archer had asked who he'd p.i.s.sed off.

Dean wished he knew.

Sighing, he opened the car door and let it quietly click shut. The air was still, cold, any sunlight already fading. Wispy clouds were thinning, allowing the high moon to glow down on the world. It felt wrong to create a sharp interruption. There was almost a sense of calm to the air. Like nature was waiting to draw its next breath.

With his hands fisted inside his pockets to keep warm, he strolled along a wide path around the building, watching the ground, letting his vision skip every now and then to his surroundings.

His feet froze to the ground when he turned the corner.

A motorcycle sat in the graying dimness. The helmet and a few articles of clothing waited on it.

Dean frowned. He could swear that was Cade's bike. Walking closer, he spotted the black leather jacket. He didn't doubt it now.

Glancing around in confusion, he looked for the other man. A man who was obviously half-naked if all the clothes were his.

"Cade?" A chilled shiver strolled down his spine. What was Cade doing there? Where was he?

A sc.r.a.ped sound whipped him around to the darkened opening of the rear entrance.

Dean hopped back a step, startled to find himself not alone. And it wasn't Cade.

Gazing up at him were a pair of gray eyes surrounded by dark fur. Eyes and a muzzle then very slowly, a body materialized.

The dog whined.

"Hey, buddy," he tried calmly. He had no idea if the big thing was wild or not. It wasn't acting aggressive, just cautious.

It took a small step forward. Dean held his ground.

"Staying out of the cold? Not sure this is a good choice," he said. He wasn't sure how long they stood staring at each other before the dog inched through the doorway and darted out into the fields behind the property. Dean lost it pretty quickly in the thickening darkness.

"Cade?" Still no answer.

Dean frowned. Why was he here? His bike was hidden behind the building, and if he hadn't come to this side of it, Dean would have never known he'd been there. So why was he there and not wanting that to be known?

Dean leaned on a mostly unmarred spot of the storage shed.

Cade had better have a few answers ready when he decided to show his face.

Cade waited and listened.

Dean didn't try to follow. He didn't hear the car start up again either, and after a few minutes, he realized why. The other man was waiting for Cade.

s.h.i.t!

He paced in slow circles in the tall weeds and frozen, dried gra.s.ses. This was not not how he wanted Dean to find out about the wolf. He was grateful the man had thought he'd really only been a homeless dog, but f.u.c.k and h.e.l.l. how he wanted Dean to find out about the wolf. He was grateful the man had thought he'd really only been a homeless dog, but f.u.c.k and h.e.l.l.

How was he going to get to his clothes? How was he going to explain this to Dean? He'd hidden when he'd heard the car pull up. With the angle Dean had parked at, he could see right inside through the demolished hole in the side wall, so Cade had hunkered down and hoped he'd drive away again.