Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

"I didn't say that - "

"You implied it," I countered. "So explain."

He hesitated. "It's not a gift that runs in the pack. Telepathy, yes, but not this whole soul-seeing thing."

Clairvoyance runs in the pack, the internal voice said, Soul seeing was just a twisted version of that.

"Telepathy? We're telepathic as a pack?"

"Mostly. Not everyone gets the skill, of course. Some flip the other way and are mind-blind." He shrugged.

"Our siblings are mind-blind, and so are you."

I was? Again, that statement just felt wrong. And yet, I'd been picking up nothing telepathically from anyone in this town, and surely if I was telepathic, I should have been able to. Of course, there was the whole daggers-inthe-brain factor. Maybe I wouldn't be able to do anything until that eased off.

So why could I see that soul? Why would the pain affect one talent and not the other?

Maybe they didn't know about the other talents, that perceptive little voice inside me whispered.

Of course, I had no fucking clue just who "they" were. Or whether they were nothing more than an overstressed imagination.

But I was really doubting that imagination had anything to do with all this. It was real, and it was happening, and I needed to find out why.

"Well," I said lightly, "that sucks big hairy ones, doesn't it?"

He laughed and dragged a croissant out of the bag. Blueberry, if the color of the juices that oozed out of it were any indication. "So, what are we going to do today?"

I shrugged. I knew what I wanted to do - a little more crime scene investigation - but I wouldn't be able to if Evin was going to stick like glue to my side. "I don't know. Maybe a little swimming, a little sunning, and a whole lot of eating."

"Sounds like a plan. It's already getting warm out there."

"Then I'd best go change into a suit." I grabbed another croissant - this time blueberry - and munched on it happily as I headed into my bedroom to change.

The rest of the morning passed peacefully enough. I swam, I sat on the sand and soaked up the sunshine - or at least I did until my skin began showing signs of severe sunburn again. Why was it suddenly so damn sensitive?

I shifted to the shade of the trees, drank coffee, and read the newspaper. There was no mention of Landsbury's murder anywhere, although the paper catered to Western Australia as a whole, not just this town. And given the vastness of WA, maybe the murder of a rapist wasn't considered newsworthy enough.

Or maybe an embargo had been placed on it.

Lunch came and went, and it was midafternoon when Evin decided he was going to have a little siesta. I glanced at my watch and waited fifteen minutes to insure he was well asleep, then wrote him a note telling him I was going to buy some decent coffee. I slathered on some sunscreen, then grabbed my wallet, hat, and sunglasses, and headed out.

The air was unbearably hot and the sun beat down almost relentlessly. I could feel its heat caressing my skin, but this time, it didn't feel like it was burning as deep. Obviously, sunscreen and I were going to become firm friends while I was in this part of the world.

There were plenty of people out and about in the caravan park, though most of them were sticking to the shade of the big old gum trees. There were a few kids splashing about in the crystal blue water, but most were - like me - slathered with sunscreen and wearing hats. All of them smelled human. It wasn't until I reached the main town that the scent of wolf became stronger.

I headed down the side street again and walked toward the stand of trees. There was a young, bored-looking uniformed officer standing under the shade of one of them, and I smiled. Harris had obviously taken my jibe about protecting the crime scene seriously.

Of course, this also meant that I couldn't nose around like I wanted to. I gave the young officer another smile as I walked by the trees, and continued on until the grass gave way to the tufted wild grass. I turned around and studied the houses surrounding the paddock. I couldn't imagine Landsbury living in the immediate area - not with the police station and Harris's house so close, but he'd have to live somewhere near the paddock because otherwise someone would have noticed him being carried. Although for all I knew, someone had. Harris wasn't about to tell me stuff like that.

The houses behind Harris's - the ones closer to the pub - were all pretty, well-looked-after places. Which didn't seem the sort of place someone like Landsbury would be living in, so that left the area to the left of the park. It was more isolated, more rundown. The perfect area for a criminal wanting to get away from his past.

I spun on my heel and headed left. The cop was still watching me but, even from this distance, it didn't "feel"

suspicious. More an "I'm bored and there's a leggy redhead wondering around in a bathing suit" type of feel.

Interested, but not aroused.

It struck me then that since I'd woken up in the desert, nothing remotely resembling desire or lust had hit me. Which was odd, because I was a werewolf and sex was an important part of our makeup. But the urge just wasn't there.