Page 40 of Midlife Shifter Unexpected

Sheriff Ted scratched his head. “Somehow the murderer knows Mae, the new Hayes? So, we’ll look into it.”

“I think we need to find out who the victims knew and what they were trying to do. What were they doing out in the woods? They weren’t dressed for hiking. They looked like they were just out for a regular walk.”

“Did you find their van anywhere nearby? I know they had a van, Mae mentioned it when I questioned her.”

“No, there were no vehicles in the vicinity.”

The less questions he had for me the better. One thing that was abundantly clear: the sheriff was never going to find the killer. He was basically looking for a normal man of unusual strength. He was way off on the wrong track. He had the brute strength part right, but this thing or things that killed the harpies and used their bodies as a sacrifice to something hidden in a crypt was nowhere near a “normal man.”

No. My guess was The Estate had an enemy that somehow had it in their head to destroy the cemetery from the inside out.

Chapter 28

It wasn’t until two in the afternoon that I finally heard from Matheus.

“cu soon”

That’s all the text said.

Still, I thought I was going to jump through the phone and hug him, I was so grateful to receive a text from him.

I didn’t mind texting, but I was a little too excited to hear his voice. I immediately dialed him, but he didn’t answer. I frowned. How could he text someone and not answer the phone? Unless there was somebody else with him. I closed my eyes. The last thing in the world I needed was feelings of jealousy. That type of thing was so far in my past, I never wanted it to rear its ugly head. I had spent all day at the police station, supporting Sheriff Ted as he had tried to fend off the feds and defend his own interest in the case. I mean, it was a local story. The last thing in the world he needed was for other people to solve a case that took place on his patch. When there was a weird murder, the weird murder specialists were brought in from the federal government. This would definitely be considered a weird murder. Our goal was solving the murder before the feds got called.

While we had been going over the paperwork, I’d scoured it, looking for any traces human or animal attack. The preliminary report had come back saying that it was an animal attack.

I couldn’t stop the feeling something terrible had happened to Matheus, but I couldn’t say anything; it wouldn’t be appropriate. I had to stay focused on being the Sheriff’s deputy, that’s what happened in small towns. We all had to fill in as needed.

“Any sign of Matheus?” I texted Mae.

“We’ve got some feelers out in the satyr community, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Satyrs are known for roaming. Maybe it was all just too much for him and he took off. I’m sorry, but sometimes it happens.”

My gut wrenched and my heart sank just thinking about the fact that he could’ve walked away from me. I mean, I knew it was a one night and we aren’t kids, so we didn’t need to pretend it was something more than that, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was something more between us. Something intimate and sexy and close and divine, something that I wanted to do again. Maybe he’d left before I turned into a werewolf. Maybe he had just run away.

I lifted my head back and rubbed my tired eyes. I’d been staring at paperwork since I’d gotten to the office, and I hadn’t had any sleep in what felt like days. There was so much going on and I was so stressed. It was dragging on my mind.

The door to the police station opened and a loud noise caught my attention. I looked up. Matheus stumbled through the door, looking like he’d been mauled.

“What happened?” I cried, jumping up and running forward to help him to a chair. His arm looked like it was broken.

“What are you doing here? You should be at the hospital,” I said.

“I had to see you,” he said. “They are coming for you. You must go to The Estate It’s the only place you’ll be safe. Now let’s go.” He growled as he stood up from the chair.

“No way. There is no way we’re going anywhere until you go to the hospital.”

“They’re right behind me. Let’s go.” There was something in his tone that scared me enough to take action. There was an intensity and a need. He wasn’t joking around. The ultra-masculine satyr was afraid, but I knew he wasn’t afraid for himself. He was afraid for me.

With his good arm he threw me on the back of the bike, tearing out of the parking lot. I clenched my arms around his waist. I’d never seen him drive so fast. As much as I loved it, this was terrifying. Clearly, he knew how to drive the beast, but when he angled it to within a couple of inches off my knee on the ground, I couldn’t help but let out a scream. It would normally take me a decent five minutes to get to The Estate from the police station, but he had me to the bottom of the porch steps in three minutes.

As soon as I dismounted the bike, he jumped off with put a protective arm around me as he rushed me up the stairs to The Estate. He didn’t even bother to knock on the door. He just pushed it open and brought me to the coven, who were gathered in a room that was overwhelmingly red. It had a large fireplace against one wall and each of the coven members seemed to have their own spot. They looked startled to see him.

Mae stood up from where she sat in front of the roaring fire. “Is everything alright?” She stared from me to Matheus.

“No, everything is definitely not alright,” Matheus said. “She’s a freaking werewolf.”

My back arched. “There’s nothing wrong with being a werewolf. You have goat legs.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” he said. “You don’t understand. You guys live out here in your little coven and you don’t get any information. I mean, I know about you, but did you even know about me?”

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