Kade sighed with relief. He needed to examine the building alone because he might have to call on something that most humans wouldn’t appreciate. Humans tended to react violently to what they didn’t understand. Something Cryptids had learned the hard way.
Although Cryptids had walked the Earth among humans for thousands of years, their conduct had only been ruled by a council for the last few hundred. Until then, they’d interacted in the human realm without support or guidance. History has proven how difficult it was to live peacefully among humans. Castigated throughout time as demons and witches, the humanoid versions that attempted to live here endured multiple purges.
Humans had no idea that they were not alone in the universe. While they endeavored to explore their small solar system, most Cryptids used gateways to travel between alternate realms. When they visited, or lived in one that was not their original home, they came under the jurisdiction of the council. It regulated their behavior. The rules, although restrictive, kept them below the human radar and made it safer for all concerned.
Kade’s kind, the Sabre Weres, served as the arms of the council. They were tasked with enforcing the rules here in the human realm. The foremost of which was “reveal your kind to humans and face retribution.”
The most severe punishment was death.
It was a system that had worked well since its inception. But over the last fifty years, everything had changed. Modern technology made staying under the radar more difficult. Kade now spent as much time deliberately discrediting video footage as tracking delinquent Cryptids.
According to Cara, what had happened at this storage facility fell firmly into his realm of influence. Kade now agreed with her. But he needed more confirmation than vanishing criminals and a few divots in the ground.
Like Erica, most of the forensics team knew him. He was a frequent visitor to violent crime scenes. The profiler gig was a good cover because it enabled him to keep a finger on the pulse of any possible Cryptid involvement. The profiles themselves were created by another. Kade simply provided the pertinent details.
It allowed him to move among the humans without a glimmer of suspicion. Or even much awareness, which was perfect for what he needed to do. Because while the humans used their eyes, he used his nose.
Erica appeared suitably deep in conversation with her boss as Kade passed by. He moved away from the team and into the building’s depths. Evidence of forensic sampling was everywhere. Fingerprint dust on the walls, the acrid scent of luminol dissolved in solvent. But they’d finished in this part of the facility.
Kade paused to listen and confirm that no one was nearby. Then he called on the beast. Just enough to lengthen his jaws and enhance his nose. If Erica stumbled on him now, she would be shocked to see an animal muzzle on a human face. He had to be careful that didn’t happen. But he needed the boosted scent receptors of his animal side. It was one hundred times more sensitive than an ordinary human nose.
The transformation was barely complete before he was assailed by the stench of Dires. Kade moved through the building, sniffing. Four. No, five. Only one had spent significant time in the structure. The others were fainter. He followed their scent down the hall and into a large room at the back. All the scents were stronger here, including one that made the small hairs on his neck stand on end.
Was he right? This Dire had been haunting his dreams for weeks. He’d spent so long tracking him that part of Kade doubted the assessment.
Braden.
The Dire was closely linked to his bond brother’s death. Before he’d gone down fighting, Cas had given Braden the nasty scar across his face.
The arrogant Dire was the self-appointed alpha of a vicious gang of Weres. They had ties to drug rings and deaths throughout Manitoba and Ontario. Their numbers were something Kade had been trying to get a handle on. But, until now, they’d been elusive as hell.
Kade stayed long enough to be sure it was, indeed, Braden. And in one of the rooms, he found another scent that made his heart flutter. But it made little sense. He must be wrong. It happened, although not often. Most would consider that thought conceit, but to Kade it was merely fact.
He let the transformation revert back to human and left the building. The young officer hurried to raise the tape for him. Kade strode toward his truck. His contact at the station had a package ready for him to pick up—the files on the case. Few humans knew of Cryptid existence, but the council had influence with law enforcement through mundane channels.
He needed to know if the women had really been bitten. And if they’d seen notwhohad grabbed them, butwhat. His priority was to protect the secret. Only then could he move on to protecting humans from Cryptids.
If he was right about this case, the first objective might be achievable. But as to the second, he was likely already too late.
10
The police officer they sent to take Jessie home was a nice young man. He seemed concerned for her state of well-being as he escorted her from the cruiser to her front door.
It was a lovely, warm spring morning. The sun shone brightly in the sky, revealing that the oak on her lawn was in full, glorious leaf. When she’d last seen it before she’d left for work, it had just been pushing open the first tentative buds.
Oaks were eternal pessimists. But they were also survivors. Jessie appreciated that in a way she never had before.
Jessie punched in the code to unlock the door and deactivated her alarm.
The officer left her in her small foyer, seated on a stool, while he searched the entire house from top to bottom. He included a patrol of the small backyard, the alley beyond, and the narrow passages between the houses.
Face flushed, he arrived back at Jessie.
“Everything appears to be secure, ma’am.”
“Am I a ma’am?” Startled, Jessie eyed him. She didn’t think he was much younger than herself.
“Sorry.” The young man blushed scarlet.
