Page 2 of Protected By Her Mate

“Our suspect is a male?” I ask sharply. “You’re certain? You’ve seen him?”

“No woman could’ve taken out a Ranger,” he growls.

I turn to dismiss the Ranger whose value was lost when he couldn’t describe our suspect.

A woman steps past a group of men, clearing her throat. “No one has seen the suspect. They attack quickly leaving no witnesses.” She glances scathingly at the Ranger. “And a female shifter could absolutely have killed a Texas Ranger.”

“Correct,” I say, surprised to see a woman in the room. Allan introduces her as Detective Edith Thornton. “She’ll be accompanying you, along with the Rangers and Allan Junior.” He points at a map, tracing a line across the American Midwest. “You’ll take the train from New York to Dallas where you’ll switch to horseback and ride out to the location of the suspect’s last known sighting.”

I won’t need a horse, but I don’t tell the surrounding detectives that. Maybe give them a few days to get used to my presence before I go full shifter in front of them.

“When do we leave?” I ask.

“Now,” he says, nodding toward the door. “I’ve boxed up the information you haven’t seen and sent it ahead to your rail car.”

“Thank you, Allan,” I tell him, heading for the door. “You should have positive confirmation of our suspect’s death within a few weeks.”

“Wait just a minute!” the loudmouth Ranger calls after me. “Who put him in charge of this investigation? Texas is my jurisdiction!”

I don’t hear the rest of his tirade as I leave the building, stepping onto the New York street and looking around. I follow my nose, my belly growling as I head for my favourite street vendor whose wares I’ve been salivating over since the last time I visited New York.

“A dozen oysters,” I order, stepping up to the delicious smell of a bed of ice in a wagon layered with oysters and clams.

I purchase hot corn at the next cart and lime-flavoured ice at the one after. Juggling my purchases, I toss a few American coins at the vendor and head to Central Park to devour my haul.

“Mind if I join you?”

I glance at Edith Thornton as she steps toward me reaching for my flavoured ice. I hand it over thinking she’s trying to help, but she takes a bite of it and wanders into the park.

Bemused, I follow her. She leads me to the lake and settles on a bench. I follow suit, leaving a couple feet of space between us. “Figured you’d want to talk to me,” she says, taking another bite of my ice. I guess it’s hers now.

“Does Pinkerton know about you?”

She nods, but adds, “Only him though. He has a soft spot for shifters.” She tosses a smile my way.

“He has a soft spot for our abilities and how they can help his organization,” I counter.

“He’s an intelligent man.”

We maintain our silence, then she sighs heavily and says, “There’s something I should tell you.” I give her my attention as she continues, “I moved here a while back, close to 50 years. I came with my mate. Many shifters were coming here at that time. They saw the wild, barren land as an opportunity to get out from under the shackles of… well…” She drifts off, glancing at me from beneath her lashes.

So, she definitely caught on to my surname back in the office. “My brother, King Fallon,” I growl, finishing her sentence.

“Yes,” she agrees.

“And this is why you came? To escape the fall of Wolf-Haven?”

“No,” she says softly, her eyes on the dirt at her feet.

I give her a moment, and when she doesn’t speak, I urge her, “Tell me.”

Her shoulders droop and to my discomfort, a tear glitters at the corner of her eye, but she quickly composes herself and her voice is strong when she tells me, “The shifter we’re looking for is my mate.”

A cold chill slithers through me. “Shit.”

“It’s why we came here. He was having trouble fighting his instincts, giving into his urges. He killed… he killed a human child.” Words rush from her as she explains, “I decided we couldn’t stay in or near Wolf-Haven. We would have to flee to a less crowded continent, but I should have known the New World couldn’t hold him. When we arrived, it didn’t take him long to start hunting again. He killed human after human. He didn’t care who. I tried to stop him, but he was too far gone in his rage. The last I saw of him was four years ago. I intervened with one of his kills.” Her eyes dim as she remembers. “He nearly killed me, then left me to die.” She clears her throat. “When I was fully recovered, I joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency.”

“You needed their resources to track him down,” I say.

---