Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

Meaning Harris did think it was a revenge killing. "So you think someone in this town might have realized what Landsbury was up to?"

His expression was noncommittal. "If someone had, they would have gone to Remy."

I frowned. "Why not you? You're the cop, not the pack leader."

"I'm here for the benefit of the tourists. State law dictates we have fully trained police officers in charge when a pack town is open to humans."

"Then you have no control over the wolf population? How does that work?"

"In town, I have the say and the power to control pack members when necessary. Beyond town, it falls to pack rule."

Which was the basic setup of most packs. "But this murder happened in Dunedan itself, so why would they go to Remy rather than you?"

His smile was slightly bitter. "Because I am not well liked in this town."

I raised my eyebrows. "But they respect you. I saw that in the pub the other night."

He snorted softly. "They respect my previous achievements. They respect my fairness. They do not respect me."

"Because you're not a full-blood West-pack wolf."

"Yes. Packs tend to be very insular, and outsiders are not welcomed easily."

"That must have made your mother's life hell."

"It did. But my father was pack second, so no one said anything openly. My peers, however, showed no such restraint."

"Then why did you come back here?"

"Because I could no longer stay in Sydney."

"Why not?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you always this up front?"

"I think so. And if people refuse to answer, I find out other ways."

He grunted. "Why does that not surprise me?"

I restrained my grin. "Look, you're obviously a damn good cop with amazing instincts, and Mike said you had a stellar career in Sydney. So why come back here?"

He considered me for a moment, then said, "Two reasons. The first being the fact that my soul mate - who was also a cop - was killed in the line of duty."

And coming here was one hell of a good way to get away from every reminder of her. Part of me understood that, but at the same time, I didn't. Running from a situation never solved anything.

I didn't offer Harris the usual lines of sympathy, nor did I tell him that I was in the same position. His expression suggested neither comment would be welcome. And that I could totally understand. There was nothing - certainly no words - that could ever ease such a pain. It had to come from inside. From the desire to move on.>But as much as I wanted to go after him and confront him about what I'd overheard, I couldn't. There were still too many things that I didn't know - and I doubted he would tell me anything yet. He wasn't really desperate enough - or, rather, the situation itself wasn't desperate enough yet.

But that might change as the full moon drew closer. Evin had let slip that he was moon-sworn - and if he was stuck out here with me, then that obviously meant that he and his partner were separated. A wolf who didn't have sex during the moon heat was heading for trouble - and while the moon bond killed the desire for anyone other than your partner, it didn't actually kill the need for sex. Both Evin and his partner would be forced to take others if they remained separated.

And that was a terrible situation for a moon-sworn wolf to be forced into.

He would get more desperate as the full moon drew closer - and maybe then I could get the information I needed out of him. Especially if his nightly phone calls continued to go as badly as tonight's apparently had.

Of course, I was also in the same boat. I might not feel any real desire at the moment, but if I didn't indulge, then the blood lust would hit me just as surely as it would hit Evin. And I'd been down that path once before -

The bathroom door slammed open and I barely jumped out of the way. "Oh, sorry," a young woman said, giving me a wide and friendly smile.

"No problem," I replied, as I slipped out the door. I grabbed the chair I'd used as a vantage point the previous night and stood up on it. Evin was at the bar, staring down at the pint of beer he was nursing. If his dark and gloomy expression was anything to go by, he was intending to stay there for quite a while.