Page 15 of Claimed by the Pack

It was a good day, I think I gained back some respect that I'd lost.

They didn't want to grab him up right away however. They wanted to watch him, and the wife for a while longer and see what kind of case we could build against them, a tight one, that their money wouldn't help them out of.

So tonight, Chelsea and Grayson were watching her, and Granite and I, him. We had found out he was staying in a warehouse down near the docks that was owned by his ex-partner, but so far, he went straight to the warehouse after his days at the mansion and never left until the next day when he headed back over and pretended to be a landscaper. At least not until tonight.

“Give me the binoculars, someone's moving over there.”

Granite handed the binoculars to me and I trained them on the figure coming out of the warehouse door. It was McAvoy, in a trench coat. I watched him put a padlock on the warehouse door, and I wondered not for the first time, what he was hiding in there. Before he left, he took a look around him like he was making sure he was alone and then head toward a golf cart that sat near the front of the small parking lot.

“He's getting in the golf cart. You think we should approach on foot or follow him?”

“I say follow him for a bit,” Granite said. “Let's see what he's up to.”

I picked up my phone and text Clay that he was on the move and we were following, handed the binoculars back to Granite and waited for the golf cart to pull out on the narrow frontage road before starting the car. I let him get a good lead and then I began to follow after him.

He drove along the frontage road for a while until he came to a small gravel path that there was no way I'd be able to take the Jeep down. I parked it and as I was getting out, I heard Granite open his door.

“Why don't you stay here?”

“I'm old, boy, not dead.”

I wasn't going to argue with him.

I tucked my gun into my jeans and started up the path when suddenly, I smelled a wolf. I looked behind me and there was Granite, an old brown wolf, trotting up behind me.

I shook my head and kept going.

There were situations that called for shifting but I thought this one called more for carrying a gun. I guess a sharp mouthful of teeth and twenty or so razor claws couldn't hurt as back-up no matter what we encountered out here in the dark.

The taillights on the golf cart had disappeared into the dark countryside but I could see what looked like a storage or guard shack up ahead. I listened closely to the night and stepped lightly on the gravel so as not to make too much noise as we approached. I could see Granite sniffing the air and I knew that although my senses were enhanced even in human form, they were nowhere near as strong as they were when I shifted. I was glad that Granite had, especially as we got closer and I was sure that I could smell more than one human. I looked down at Granite and held up two fingers. The old wolf picked up his front paw and scratched at the ground.

“One, two, three, four…”

Shit.

I slid my phone out of my pocket and trying to hide the light from it underneath my jacket, I sent Clay a text:

“Followed subject from warehouse approximately four miles to another dwelling. Smell multiple humans. Should we go in, or abort?”

I got down on one knee next to Granite to make my shadow less noticeable in case anyone stepped out, and I waited.

A few seconds went by and I got a message from Clay that said,

“On our way. Don't go in until we get there. If subject or anyone else comes out, follow but don't approach.”

The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Something about this was off, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

We were careful, but there was always the possibility that he'd made us, following him. If they came out now, Granite and I were not only outnumbered, but there was no place to really hide. I looked at the back of the little house and motioned to the wolf. He followed me up to the cabin, him stepping lightly and me practically crawling.

Once there, we crouched close to the edge where we could still see any movement from either side, and again, waited. It seemed like an eternity before I smelled Clay and Manny coming up the path behind me. If not for their smell however, he wouldn't have ever known they were there.

When they reached me and Granite, Clay said, “Any movement?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“Do we know if there's an exit on the other side?” Manny asked, sniffing the air.

“No. We stayed put like we were told,” I told him. “I can still smell them though.”

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