Chapter 117

Kadeem and Riley trekked along through an open pasture, the heat baking them, radiating off their slick fur. Their paws kicked up little clouds of dust as they padded their way through the dry field.

They reached a mobile home near the edge of the property. Exchanging glances, they transformed back into their human forms just before approaching it.

An old truck was parked out front. The blinds were open in the windows. Mesquite trees lined the back side of the house.

Riley leapt up the steps while Kadeem lingered, scouring every detail around them... but there was no outward sign that the lonely little house was the site of an unsolved - and supernatural - murder.

"Miles said he'd make sure we could get in," Riley said, just before trying the door.

Miles was their werewolf contact in law enforcement and had alerted Riley. He'd arrived late on scene, but caught sight of the tell tale bite marks on the victim's neck just as he was being zipped up into a body bag.

The front door creaked open, letting out the smell of death. Riley coughed, gagging from the stench, and hastily took a step back.

Kadeem cringed and fought against nausea as he climbed up the steps and moved past her. He peered into the house. The lights were off, but sunshine illuminated the space.

Kadeem stepped into the small entryway off the open kitchen and living room. The air conditioner was running, humming and blowing cool air blowing from the vents overhead. A full mug of coffee sat on the kitchen counter with two untouched, Leggo-My-Eggos smothered in gelatinous syrup next to it.

"What do we know," Kadeem asked Riley.

She pulled her shirt over her nose and mouth and stepped inside with a determined, but pained look to her eyes. "No forced entry," she said, her voice muffled behind the fabric. "The man was found dead here in the living room."

She craned her head, then paused. "There," she whispered.

Kadeem walked around the other side of the couch to see splatters of blood stained carpet.

He bent down to examine it. There were drips, a spot where blood had obviously pooled, and some that had sprayed against the TV screen in a light mist, but the scene was neat in comparison to the two they'd found in the spring.

"No one's cleaned this at all, right?"

"Don't think so," Riley said.

Kadeem sniffed the air. "I'm not getting much. Are you?"

Riley shook her head, her brow furrowing. "I'm trying too hard to not smell.”

"Did Miles pick up anything?"

"No," Riley said. "Just, you know, death. The body had been here a few days."

Kadeem stood and sighed. He and Riley toured the rest of the house, but nothing looked amiss.

Riley's face began to look slightly green. "I've gotta get out of here," she said, grimacing.

Kadeem nodded. "Let's check out back."

Riley led him outside into the shadows of the mesquites. An old charcoal grill was stationed a few yards from the door, parked in a small patch of weeds.

Up against the house to Kadeem's right, was a rusty coffee can of cigarette butts. Next to it, a faded, red camping chair sat empty.

Kadeem scoured the area, walking slowly to take in all the sights and smells. Finding nothing, his attention wandered briefly to a vast group of sunflowers which stood just behind the barbed wire fence line.

A single blackbird perched atop the wire before chirping and fluttering away into the sanctuary of the sunflowers.

"Check this out."

Kadeem looked over his shoulder to see that Riley's gaze had landed near the weather-beaten shed to their left. She walked toward a furry lump lying in the grass.

Kadeem strode over after her to investigate, his breath catching when he realized what it was - a dirt-covered, stuffed rabbit. He crouched down and cupped it in his hands.

Kadeem swallowed hard. "He had kids?"

"No," Riley said. "Or much of anyone that we know of."

Kadeem nodded, feeling a slight shred of relief. The thought of finding a child's dead body out here hit a little too close to home.

"Embry knew him - kind of," Riley said. "He was a patient at the health clinic. Pretty grumpy and asocial, in her words."

Kadeem looked down to examine the little rabbit closer. It was soft and gray, stuffed with tiny beans that shifted as he moved it in his hands.

Beneath one of its ears, he noticed a small splotch of dried blood.

"Ah," he said, standing. He held it out for Riley to see.

"Watson," he said solemnly, "How did a blood-stained stuffed animal get out here, when our lonely farmer died inside the house?"

Riley gave him a dubious look. "I think you have us confused. I'm definitely Sherlock."

Kadeem smiled faintly, though his chest weighed heavy with foreboding. "Crack the case and I'll call you anything you like."

Riley considered it for a moment, before her finger flew to her chin. "First possibility - he was attacked here, outside," she said. "He made it inside, but bled out. I don't know where the toy factors in, though. Maybe he just… likes stuffed rabbits?"

Kadeem shook his head. "I'm no blood splatter analyst, but I made it through every season of Dexter - and the reboot. The victim was definitely attacked in the house."

Riley's brow furrowed and she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "So, the vamp dropped it when they fled the scene. But what kind of vampire carries around a stuffed rabbit?"

Kadeem's heart gave an ominous thud as realization dawned on him. "Shit."

Riley peered at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and shut his eyes for a moment before exhaling heavily. "It's a child," he said. The dread washed over him like an icy tide.

Riley's eyebrows went up skeptically. "A vamp kid - carrying around a bunny rabbit - killed this guy?"

Kadeem clenched his jaw, feeling his teeth grind as he muttered, "You bet."

Anger rolled through him like a thunderstorm. He spun back to the house, pacing toward it furiously. With a sharp kick, he sent the unsuspecting pop-up chair crashing. It collapsed inwardly as it collided into the wall of the house.

Riley stayed quiet as she watched. The chair tumbled and rolled across the ground.

She looked up at Kadeem uneasily, but didn't hold back for long - one of the many reasons Kadeem loved her.

"What's with the Alpha temper tantrum," she asked, scowling.

Kadeem shook his head. He knew all too well that he had invited this fate upon them by making the deal with Rayburn's mother. All summer, he'd hoped, somehow, that nothing would come from it.

Yet here were the consequences staring him in the face - innocent people were being killed because of him.

"I let them in," Kadeem said, looking Riley dead in the eye. "To Red Moon. I didn't tell you and Mateo the full story. I made a deal to save Ardal's life. I told Rayburn's mom that she, her daughter, and fucking Rayburn could come to Red Moon and..." Kadeem sighed and shook his head.

"Kill people," Riley burst out, incredulous.

"Not in those words," Kadeem murmured.

Riley crossed her arms.

"You weren't there," he shouted, throwing his hands up angrily. "There was no other way to save Ardal. Tell me you wouldn't do anything to save Greta."

"I wouldn't-" Riley began, before stopping and pursing her lips. Her eyes were lost in thought before she shook her head and met Kadeem's gaze. "Yeah, I don't know - maybe!" she relented. "I get the power of the werewolf mate thing - But this is still fucked up!"

Kadeem inhaled sharply. He stared out through the thick brush of mesquites. A cool breeze blew through the air, bringing with it the promise of autumn days ahead and respite from the scorching heat.

"This is going to cause major backlash if it gets out," he said, throat tight as his eyes fell back to his beta.

"No shit," she barked. "Our Alpha made a deal with vampires and now people are dying!"

"Watch it," he snarled, letting his teeth show.

Riley blanched. "I'm sorry," she said timidly, before tipping up her chin slightly. "But Kadeem, the pack is going to flip. Pack X is taking a hardline against the vamps, and what is Red Moon doing? Welcoming them in?"

"Just three of them - or two, actually," he said, remembering Rayburn was likely just as alive as Ardal. He narrowed his eyes again at Riley. "For the record."

She nervously swept her hair back. "Look, I'm not going to breathe a word. I don't want this blowing up in your - our faces."

Kadeem glowered. "If it comes out, I don't give a shit," he spat. "I'll defend my decision till the day I die, and I'll take great pleasure in crushing any Were who tries to challenge me over the uproar.” In truth, his head already hurt just thinking of it.

Still, heaven help any Were who tried to question his authority.

Riley nodded before bowing her head in agreement. "And I'll have your back."

Another gust of wind swept through the air.

"But I'm still not going to say a goddamned thing to nobody," she added gruffly.

A blackbird swooped out of a nearby tree, its ebony wings stretched against the clear blue sky. Kadeem clenched the rabbit in his hands before letting his finger graze over the splotch of dried blood.

An abrupt feeling of worry clutched his heart as Mateo’s prediction floated back into his mind.

The moment had come - Rayburn had returned to Red Moon, and Ardal was certainly his first target.