Chapter Fourteen
When Rin arrived back at The Cedars, her emotions were in a jumble of disappointment at having her plans for the evening so thoroughly squashed, mixed with determination to solve this puzzle involving Mike. She had every intention of going straight up to her room and Googling Mike’s name. Of course she’d have to sift through all the references to the Saturday Night Live alumnus as well as the Halloween franchise, but hopefully she’d findsomething. She almost didn’t notice Tarvahl Pierce and his mate Sherry were waiting to speak with her. In fact, she would have walked right past them if the male hadn’t stepped forward to greet her. Tarvahl was pretty much the pack alpha, though from what she had heard, they long ago did away with that distinction in favor of a governing council. He was a nice male, firm but fair. His wife on the other hand was a bitch – no pun intended.
Sherry Pierce had not been thrilled with Rin’s decision to stay on pack lands, was probably even now checking in to see if Rin had changed her mind and was ready to leave. Rin was positive that the older female would happily help Rin pack her bags, maybe even give her a ride. Sherry’s comment when they first met, “wolves, bears, felines – why not add a fox to the mix?” had been dripping with sarcasm. It was more than obvious that if Sherry Pierce had her way, Malsum Pass would once again be exclusively wolf territory.
“Rin, how are you settling in?” Tarvahl asked with a kind smile.
She wasn’t really in the mood to socialize, not after the day she had had coupled with so many questions rattling around in her brain, but Rin didn’t want to offend the male whose opinion held such weight in this town. She pasted on a bright smile she wasn’t feeling and hoped he didn’t notice. “Very well, thank you.”
“And the new job?” He continued. “Are you and Ginny getting along?”
This time Rin’s smile was genuine. “She’s wonderful.”
Sherry Pierce cleared her throat. “If we’re done with the chit-chat, I’d like to get home and have dinner some time tonight.”
Tarvahl looked at Rin and rolled his eyes which nearly set her sputtering with a giggle. Luckily, she was able to get it under control before Sherry noticed – that was one female Rin didnotwant to piss off. The older male bowed slightly, gestured to Rin and said, “By all means, my love.”
Sherry sniffed, then eyed Rin with pursed lips. “The council has received inquiries about you from someone by the name of Makoto Nakamura. Do you recognize the name?”
Rin just stood there with her mouth hanging open. “Oji,” she breathed and then cleared her throat. “He’s my uncle.”
He must have found out where she was from Mrs. DeMarco, but why the sudden interest? He’d never been interested in her or the family. He hadn’t even bothered to come to the funeral for either of her parents, his own sister and brother-in-law, and she never would have considered contacting him to help her out after their deaths. They may be blood relations, but Makoto Nakamura was far from family. She hadn’t even seen him since she was a child.
“The male is kin?” Sherry perked up, cutting through Rin’s confusion. “Shall we tell him to come fetch you home, then?”
The words should have stung, or at least struck a nerve, but Rin felt numb. She only vaguely heard Tarvahl say his mate’s name with a growl of warning. More questions that needed answers. Shaking herself, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and addressed Sherry Pierce. “Did he leave a number?”
Sherry handed her a piece of paper and Rin glanced down without actually seeing what was written. With a nod and a small, raspy “Thank you,” Rin stuffed the piece of paper in her pocket and walked out of the bed and breakfast without another word. She couldn’t care less right now about manners. Her skin felt too tight, her vision had gone amber, and her gums ached. Too many questions, too many doubts, too much stress – She was feeling overwhelmed and needed to shift. For now, the Google search could wait, the call to her uncle could wait. She needed to run. Right now.
Rin barely felt the cold, and as soon as she hit the tree line of the woods behind the bed and breakfast, she made quick work of stripping off her clothes and shifting to fur. Relief was near instantaneous. Every muscle in her body seemed to relax as she bounded through the snow.
Full dark was nearly upon her, but with her excellent night vision Rin had no problem navigating through the dense trees and underbrush. With a happy bark, she gave chase to a startled rabbit. Luckily for the rabbit, she was in the mood to play rather than eat, but the fluffy little guy gave her quite an exciting run.
Rin had run for at least a mile when she scented the feline and slowed to get a better sense of her surroundings. The cat, however, wasn’t at all wary of Rin and jumped down from the branch on which it had been perched. The large cougar let out a roar that was eerily similar to a scream. Rin froze, not wanting to incite the cat to give chase, but the large feline sat back on its haunches and merely stared at Rin with those golden eyes, a rumbling purr rising up from its chest.
That’s when Rin spotted the diagonal scars marring one side of the cat’s face. Claw marks. The same scars that Lily Oremun, a Florida panther as well as a waitress who worked at the diner, bore. Relieved, Rin let out a bark of greeting and then continued on her run. It took only a moment to realize that Lily had decided to join her, and a mere second after that for her to initiate a race.
Rin lost the race, no surprise there, but it had been great fun, and when they reached the cabin where Lily lived, Rin, feeling so much more relaxed, happily followed the other female inside.
