Page 65 of A Cock and Bull Story
“Why do you have a pair of Belle’s knickers in your pockets, mate?”
Theo clears his throat awkwardly.
“I forgot she stuffed them in there. . .”
He trails off sheepishly, flushing when the girls snicker. I just roll my eyes.
Of course, he blames our lovely sex addict, but it’s more likely that Belle put them there than Theo stealing the lacy scrap of fabric—he’s a timid bloke.
Jep takes another deep inhale before putting his snout to the ground. He gives a brisk bark and starts running off. We all chase after him. The hound makes it to the tree line that borders the property of the university before ducking behind a tree. He comes back out as a man shielding his privates and motions for us to come over.
“Definitely smells like a Tertiary took her through these woods. I can track their scents, but you all are going to have to follow me in a vehicle.”
I take a big whiff and wrinkle my nose.
Around me, Jude, Theo, Arthur, Elise, and Sian are doing the same—and I can read their confusion because it mirrors mine.
“What Tertiary?” I ask Jep.
He scratches his head.
“Smells like a wolf, maybe. Something’s off, as if someone’s tried to mask it, but it’s still there.”
“Fuck,” Jude curses. “No wonder we didn’t smell anything on campus. Those bastards have been here the entire time—Belle’s been in danger all along!”
“Stop,” I order Jude, knowing exactly where his thoughts are going. “This isn’t your fault. It’s not my fault—it’s not any of our faults. Let’s just go and save our girl.”
Elise steps forward and takes off her collar necklace that is just a simple ribbon with the choker.
“Here, take this in case we get separated,” she tells Jep as he shifts back into a dog.
Sweeping her long dark hair out of her face, she kneels before the hound and rigs the string so that it wraps around her phone and ties around his neck at the same time.
“Call ‘Tittie’ so we can follow you better or when you find something.”
Jep barks once in agreement before disappearing into the woods.
“Come on, everyone! Jude’s vehicle is parked over there. We need to get in and circle around,” Arthur directs.
We race over and all squeeze in like it’s a clown car for shifters. Suddenly, Sian’s phone begins to ring.
“What’d you find?” she asks Jep, putting him on speaker.
“The Tershes met a 2015 Volkswagen Amarok here at the edge of the woods. I can’t smell your girl’s scent anymore, but I can track their truck.”
“You can smell the make and model?!” I ask incredulously.
“Right down to the paint color—even that has a unique scent.”
I look at Jude, who looks damn impressed.
Hell—I'm damned impressed.
“Which way?” Arthur wants to know.
“They went north on the tarmac1. Let me meet you. I can get in and track while riding if you roll down the windows. If I bark three times, that means stop. I’m going to shift now. Tell your pretty friend that I can’t retie the necklace, but I’ll carry it and her phone back in my mouth.”
“Thank you!” Elise says.
