Chapter 37
Chapter 37
The handwriting was illegible, or… nearly so. I squinted and held the paper up to the light. It looked like an old marriage certificate? But the calligraphy was dense and faded. I put it to the side.
The next piece was a receipt for a take-away diner. I put that in a ‘not important’ pile. Then I saw the note in pen at the bottom that circled the restaurant’s name and said “Name change? Married p>
Ah.
This was like genealogical forensics. I sorted a few more pieces, getting a feel for what the contents were.
Some had name updates, or other notes, while most were official notices of obituaries, births, and weddings.
I also found someone’s excellent cocktail recipe. That, I put in my pocket.
This was going to take a while.
I got into a groove, alphabetizing the names I found and matching them to the family records in the filing cabinets.
A few hours later and I had a drafted list of who I thought the major players were. Which families had left the pack due to marriages, or deaths. It was a start.
I had a few questions though.
At least a few of the records had been blacked out, or redacted, with thick black ink. Those, I couldn’t make any sense of.
I wondered who would have bothered to erase someone from the records so thoroughly? There was more than one wolf who had been erased. Were these records of wolves who had been kicked out?
Or maybe wolves who had done something so heinous, their names could no longer be recorded?
I yawned and picked at the remains of my cold supper that had appeared hours ago. Here in the cellar, it was a bit chilly, and there were no windows to look outside.
I decided to go for a short walk, stretch a bit, check the time, then come back and finish.
When I emerged, I was surprised to find it was well into the middle of the night. The waxing crescent moon was already sinking below the trees. I stood for a bit in the chilly spring air, rubbing my arms as they pimpled with gooseflesh.
I sat on a bench next to the wall and leaned back, rubbing my eyes.
My bite was aching a bit. I hated to admit Gideon was correct, but I probably needed to be more careful not to move it too much.
Out here in the night air, by myself, was the first time I’d been able to just sit in nature and enjoy it in a long time.
I listened to the bullfrogs and birds. Not even one day ago, I had been tied up in woods very similar to these. Kidnapped by
rogues.
I wondered what Gideon had learned from them that he wanted so badly to question me about. He was catching on that something was out of place, and I hoped that the continuing rogue incursions would keep his attention away from the flaws in
my story.
I closed my eyes at the memory of him leaning over me, piercing me with his stare. My mark never seemed to intervene when he was around, which was a damn shame. He had manhandled me into the bath pretty effectively.
But if my mark did flare up around him, he would realize I was taken, and there would be hell to pay.
I yawned. It was so late…
1/2
I opened my eyes to the soft tweeting of birds. The horizon was the pale grey and pink of early dawn.
I had fallen asleep!
I guess I had been more tired than I had thought.
I uncurled myself from the bench where I’d nodded off. My body ached, but I did feel better rested.
I headed back to the cellar. I would finish my work and present the finished list to the Old Luna. Maybe she would be pleased that
I was done with it so quickly, and pass along a good word to Gideon.
I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts. Who was I kidding? Gideon didn’t care if I could make a guest list.
I was laughing at my own ridiculousness as I entered the records room.
Then I froze.
The room was trashed.
The papers that I’d stacked into neat piles were scattered across the floor. The desk itself had been overturned.
My mouth hung open as I surveyed the damage.
My careful guest list?
Torn into tiny pieces and placed in the shape of letters on the floor.
The pieces spelled out one word.
“DIE p>
Olivia Harris
Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy novels. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.