Page 16 of Claimed by the Pack

“Something's off,” Manny said, “About the smell.”

I sniffed the air again, and so did Clay.

I smell humans.

Clay frowned and for a second and I was second guessing my own senses, but then he said, “I smell them. What's off about it?”

I was relieved that he smelled them too, and I wasn't dead wrong. I wanted to gain their respect back, and I was on my way to doing that. I still wasn't sure what to do about my feelings for Cheyenne, but at least I could throw myself into work, and do a great job.

“I smell death,” Manny said. “Human death.”

I closed my eyes and smelled the air. I can always pick up decomposition, it's the worst smell in the world. I was disappointed in myself because I still simply smelled humans. I guess they could be dead, but the bodies had to be fresh. The other strange thing was that there was no smell of blood in the air. In the case of dead humans, shot or stabbed or even in a car accident...it was usually strong. Suddenly the smell was forgotten when I heard movement from the direction of the front of the shed. Everyone did, apparently.

Clay and I were on one side, still crouched low, but now with guns ready. Manny was on the other side with Granite at his knee, the brown hair on his back standing straight up all over. He made eye-contact with me and then looked over at Manny and Granite before standing up slowly and waving his arm for them to advance.

Manny slipped around one side with Granite on his heels and Clay slipped around the other while I followed him.

I'd been involved in many of the security jobs we'd taken on, but none with the possibility of a gunfight.

My adrenaline was surging and my heart was pounding. I had my gun out and I was clutching it so tightly that I could feel my hand tingling as the blood tried to make its way through.

We made it around the side, almost to the center of the wall of the shed when a shadow suddenly appeared from around the front of the house.

Before we could even process that, a volley of shots broke the silence of the night.

Clay and I hit the ground, and returned fire.

The man dove back behind the house, but we heard gunfire from that direction. And then suddenly… nothing.

Manny got him, or he got Manny...but that was doubtful. We heard a low whistle and if there was any doubt, that settled it. We made our way the rest of the way around and there was McAvoy...truly dead now, with a hole in the center of his chest.

Manny was already on the porch and ready to open the door of the cabin.

Granite was standing by, but since he was still in wolf form, I went to help.

Manny and I had our weapons ready as he kicked in the door. Clay was covering us from behind as we stepped into the doorway, guns drawn. My heart was racing, but there was no need to worry. Every one inside was already dead.

Four men lay on the floor in the center of the room, one piled on top of the other in a stack. They were all nude, and now that I was close enough to smell, obviously dead. I didn't smell blood and I didn't see any, and their bodies seemed to be intact, at least what I could see. Maybe they'd been strangled, or poisoned, but whatever happened was recent and that's why Clay and I hadn't yet been able to pick up the smell of death.

We searched the rest of the place. It was only one room with a bathroom, so it didn't take any time at all to realize it was clear, save for the bodies. Counting the one outside, we now had five bodies, and I knew that it was going to be a long ass night.

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