“Right,” JC said. “I remember. When the rumors started, that’s when I made contact with Ollie. We were worried it might be a feral, and he asked permission to call a friend to help. You.”
“Yes. He called me in to track the guy down. One thing led to another, and we figured out the guy was likely hired by Rick Masters to seek out Cameron Torres to bite her on purpose. My theory? When this Lenny asshole attacked a woman he thought was her and realized he’d grabbed the wrong chick, he killed them. The fact that he had trouble finding Cameron tells me he and Rick had very minimal communication during his hunt.”
“You realize this is ahugeallegation, right?” JC said, his voice grave and solemn, almost a whisper. He glanced around to see if anyone had been listening in. “The Masters family has a lot of clout in the pack.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the Masters family,” I hissed, but I kept my voice low out of respect. “That asshole went out of his way to ruin Cameron’s life. He deserves to burn.”
JC put his hand on my shoulder, a calming gesture rather than an aggressive one. I allowed it and sat back, taking a breath.
“I get it,” JC said. “We’ll figure that out later. Tell me how her first shift went. Any trauma there? I’m trying to get a mental picture of this woman.”
“No,” I replied. “It went pretty well. Happened really fast yesterday morning.” God, had it only been yesterday? It seemed like an entire lifetime ago. “I talked her through it and did my best to keep her calm and grounded. I tried to tell her to open herself up to connect with her wolf, stuff like that. Then, a few seconds later, it was over. Norealtrauma, just what we always go through. She had someone there to help her through it.”
Unlike me.
“Sounds like you did a good job.” JC nodded in approval, and despite myself, a twinge of self-satisfied happiness trickled through me. I didn’t often get compliments, and this was coming from the most powerful alpha in Canada. That counted for something.
“Let’s look at things logically,” JC said. “If Ollie couldn’t track her scent, then we have to assume Rick couldn’t, either. No idea how she managed that, but we can figure that out later. Do you know if Cameron has any experience in the wilderness? Camping, hiking, anything?”
I dug through my memories of our conversations. Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t think so. She and her family didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and they were always working. I doubt it. We did a lot of exploring when she first shifted. We went far out into the woods. Between that and her home being in Toronto, we might be able to narrow down where she might have gone. She’ll most likely have tried to back someplace familiar.” I thought for a moment. “I’d say somewhere near the campground, or one of the wilderness corridors between there and the city.”
The whole time I was speaking, my wolf urged me to go. He wanted to run off and search her out. There was also an undercurrent of anger toward me, which I’d never experienced from him before. He was pissed that we’d left her alone and allowed this to happen when we should have protected her.
Another reason I was itching to get away was the looks of distrust I saw on the other men’s faces. Every few seconds, someone glanced at me, and I could almost feel the animosity of their glares. A lone wolf in their midst, elbow to elbow with their alpha? They weren’t taking that well.
One older man kept shooting looks in my direction, but instead of anger, he frowned as though thinking of something. He glanced around at a few of the other men who were whispering about me. Intrigued, I crossed my arms and watched him stand.
“Hey, boss?” the man said.
“What’s up?” JC asked, turning in his chair.
“I know this guy.” He pointed at me. “Alec brought him in a few years ago for a problem he was having. He’s a good wolf.” He looked around at the others. “Say what you want about lone wolves, buthe’sdependable. I’ll help you search wherever he says to start.”
Some of the other men looked surprised by the older man’s assertion. In fact, some of them turned their gazes back at me, and there was a little less distrust and more acceptance in their faces.
“Good to know, Mike. I appreciate that,” JC said slowly, and turned to give me an appreciative nod.
Alec Dupont had been the interim alpha of Toronto-Ottawa until a few years ago. He’d been the last guy I’d dealt with before leaving Canada for a while. It would have been nice to see that familiar face, but JC was doing a good job earning my trust. So far, anyway.
“I say we go now,” JC said as he stood. “Men, let’s head outside and get into groups. Someone find me a map of the area.”
The men in the waiting room leapt to their feet and dispersed. Whatever JC had done in the few years he’d been alpha, he’d done it well. Everyone took his orders as gospel from the looks of it.
“Walk with me,” JC said.
I rose and followed him outside. The pack members in the parking lot were scrambling to get ready to go out and search for Cameron.
“How about you ride with me?” JC said to me as we stepped to the side, away from prying eyes and ears.
“Really?” I asked, incredulous.
He pointed to a big F-250 sitting at the edge of the parking lot. “Absolutely. We can start looking as soon as we’ve assigned locations.”
“Okay.” I narrowed my eyes warily, unsure why he was taking such an interest in me.
“Here’s that map for you, Alpha,” a man said, handing over a folded map.
“Bring it in!” JC shouted, and everyone hustled over as JC spread the map out on a car hood.
