The Soldier and The Wolf

Chapter 5

Liam pulled his truck up the dirt path into the Bosch's ranch. From a passer-byer view, nothing was out of the ordinary. The house had its lights on, and the smoke chimney was sending its morning signals of warming up the house.

Liam didn't see any of the deputy's vehicles, which was good. The more he could keep this under control and not raise suspicion, the better. As he drove closer, he began to smell it, the rotting, stale, putrid stench of death. He also picked up the copper scent in the air, and there was a lot of it.

He parked his truck as Rory was walking up. Liam got out, looking at Rory for a detailed report.

"It's Sam Bosch, he's torn to shreds, half-eaten, claw marks deeper than they should, and there are bite marks. Liam, it's confirmed," Rory reported.

Liam walked with her to the back of the house and saw the body covered in a white sheet stained in blood. He squatted over the body and pulled the sheet off part way just to see the face. There wasn't a face but bone and one eye. Liam investigated further seeing that half of the body was eaten away. The rib cage had a hole in them, the boned bent inward.

"It took the heart and lungs," Liam spoke.

"So, it's feeding," Rory stated.

Liam nodded his head.

"Making this a calculated attack," Liam added.

He covered the body and stood up.

He saw the forest line was no less than a hundred yards. A beast could close the distance in a matter of seconds. Liam looked down at Sam's body.

The poor man didn't stand a chance.

"Where's Marry Bosch?" Liam suddenly asked.

"Don't know. I searched the house, she wasn't there. I have Jorden checking the fields, and Ricker doing a half-mile perimeter search," Rory said.

Liam saw the neatly folded deputy's uniforms, then heard some rustling in the wood line. Ricker had returned and soon, Jorden followed up behind him. Both men were stark naked, lean, and had a snarling wolf tattoo on their chest. Liam approached them.

Without saying words, the duo exchanged information that neither one of them picked up anything nor found Marry Bosch.

"How in the hell can't you two pick up anything?" Liam snapped.

Both Ricker and Jorden lowered their heads.

"Tracks are leading into the forest, but I lost them at the river, sir," Ricker reported.

Liam waved his hand to have them get dressed. He began to carefully study the ground looking for anything else to help him. After getting dressed, Ricker showed Liam where the track started. He studied the footprint. It held the familiar shape of a human's foot as if standing on the balls of the feet and toes. The toes, however, were accompanied by four-inch-long claws.

Liam got on all fours and put his nose to the ground and inhaled deeply. He stood up with silver glowing eyes looking and glancing into the forest. He could pick up the same trace scent that Ricker had.

Next, he heard a vehicle pulling up. He turned to see Skyler's white jeep. Liam's eyes change back to their green color, and he placed a smile on his face. He was happy to see his daughter, and he even held out his arms for an embrace when she got out.

"Don't," she snipped,

Skyler brushed past his arms. Immediately she stopped and sniffed the air then covered her nose with her vest.

"What is it?" Liam asked, alarmed.

"You can't smell it, can you?" Skyler asked through her vest.

"What?"

"Someone has placed wolf's-bane on that body."

She pointed to the white and bloodied hump.

"Not a lot but enough that it would hinder someone's ability to smell or track for some time."

"How are you able to smell it and not be affected?" Liam asked.

"Mother," she replied.

Riona had an extraordinary ability to resist most species of wolf's-bane, a rarity only found in her and now her daughter.

Skyler went straight to work sniffing the body, with a crinkled nose, and then she sniffed the air. She looked down at the ground and was confused.

"There're no footprints around the body, just the deputy's boots," Skyler pointed out.

"I found prints over at the wood line," Ricker said, pointing at the trees.

Skyler looked over from the body to the wood line and made her way to the wood line. She inhaled deeply, retrieving several aromas of the forest: dirt, bark, leafy greens, and the coppery scent of blood, specifically human. She had picked up a scent trail and smiled.

"We haven't found Marry Bosch either," Liam said, as he approached her with a pink blouse.

"Knowing now that we can't track for the time being because of the wolf's-bane, you're our only hope in trying to find the culprit and Marry," Liam spoke, handing the shirt to Skyler.

She took two sharp whiffs and sneezed. Marry wore too much perfume, but there was a clear scent line leading into the forest. Skyler nodded to her father indicating that she had gotten it.

"Alright, good girl. I can only give you thirty minutes of tracking before you must come back. Ricker said that he was able to follow the footprints to the river before he lost them. I need you to first find Marry if you can, then track this beast, you got it?" Liam asked.

Skyler acknowledged as she went behind a tree and disrobed, neatly folding, and stacking her clothes. Rory came over and grabbed the clothes from her. Skyler involuntarily began to stretch and twitch. It had been a while since she last transformed, but it was like riding a bicycle.

Liam heard the ripping of flesh and the snarl for the hunt, then in an instant, Skyler was gone. He checked his watch, starting her timer. He moved back to the crime scene.

"Alright, Ricker, Jorden," he called out. "Jorden, I want you to go grab our M.E. and tell her the situation. We are saying that it's a rogue wolf got Sam. Ricker, go grab a wolf for me to kill. Rory, stay here until Skyler comes back and report to me anything that she finds."

"Where are you heading?" Rory asked.

"I have got to make a phone call," Liam grumbled.