Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace 1)

“I can smell the blood,” he said. “But there’s not enough of it on either the ground or in her hair to be the cause of death.”

“That’s because the man she was with drained her—”

“There are no vampires on this reservation,” he cut in.

“I didn’t say he was a vampire, but are you really sure of that?”

“Yes.”

He glanced around as a woman stepped into the clearing. She was tall and rangy, with blonde hair and a sharp but pretty face. His sister, instinct whispered.

“It’s about fucking time, Ciara.”

“It’s my night off, remember. You’re damn lucky I got here as quickly as I did.” Her gaze scanned me, judged me. Whatever conclusion she came to wasn’t showing in her expression. “This our killer?”

“She was leaning over the body when I got here.”

“I didn’t kill her.” I was beginning to feel like a CD stuck on replay.

“There’s no other scents in the clearing,” Ciara said. Whether to me or to her brother, I had no idea. She swung the pack from her shoulder and unzipped it. “Tala’s on her way.”

“Good. She can take over control of the crime scene while I escort our witch to the station for questioning.”

“I’m not a witch,” I said. “And I do have a name.”

“Most of us do.” He wasn’t even looking at me when he said that. His attention was on his sister. “Be careful out here. And give me the autopsy results as soon as possible.”

“I will, but just don’t expect miracles when it comes to DNA.” She hesitated. “You’re going to have to call the IIT.”

“Just as long as we have something to go on before they get here, I’ll be happy.”

“But I’m betting they won’t be if you start interfering with their investigations again,” she replied. “Not after last time.”

“That last time is the reason we will continue investigating,” he snapped. Then he thrust a hand through his short hair. “Sorry.”

Ciara shrugged. “I understand, Aiden, but we need to step lightly on this one.”

“I know.”

His gaze came to mine, and a chill ran through me. He might have been warned to step lightly, but I had a feeling that didn’t exactly apply when it came to me.

“Move,” he said. “Back to town.”

“Here,” Ciara said, and handed him a flashlight. “I wouldn’t want her falling over and breaking something. That might just raise IIT’s ire.”

His expression suggested he really didn’t care what the IIT might think, but he nevertheless flicked on the flashlight and motioned me on ahead of him.

I went without comment, but I couldn’t help wondering what had happened in this wolf’s past. If the darkness that almost consumed his aura was anything to go by, it had been something bad. Something that had plunged this normally vital and creative man—if the golden orange of his remaining aura was anything to go by—into deep and unending sorrow.

That something had obviously involved a witch. All his words and actions practically screamed that point. Given what Marjorie had said about the elders banning witches, it wasn’t such a huge jump to figure his sorrow and that banning were connected.

Karen’s murder had obviously dredged up those bad memories, and I just had to hope he’d treat me reasonably—professionally—and not mix past hurt with the current investigation.

The ranger station was located near the corner of Hargraves and Templeton Streets. It was a beautiful two-story stone building that had obviously been built during the gold rush days, as it possessed that old colonial look that many of the buildings from that era had.

The ranger unlocked the front door, switched on the lights, and then guided me past the reception and through a secure door into the main office area. Though his grip on my arm was light, the heat of it radiated through my body and had the threads of unquenched—and unwanted—desire flicking through my veins. Which wasn’t good when he was a werewolf and well able pick up the scent of arousal. I frowned and tried to concentrate on my surroundings rather than the man walking by my side.

There were half a dozen desks in the rather large room, but only three seemed to be in use. There was also a huge whiteboard along one wall and, beside it, a roster, which currently held only four names—which was surprising given the size of the reservation.