Unknown Touch: Werewolf Series, 1

Chapter 15 Regroup

The cold rain fizzled to an occasional drop. We were chilled to the bone, damp and tired. Only Daniel seemed unaffected by the weather. Within an hour, the sun would set, and we'd be in the dark.

Daniel suggested we inspect the ground for any telltale signs that there had been a fight and a resulting death, and to try our best to destroy any evidence of it. Daniel and Zac carried Cassius's body a distance from the restroom facility. They found a fire pit, placed his body in it and proceeded to ignite him... which wasn't an easy task to complete. The flames kept going out.

Tessa swept the ground with a large tree branch, raking over where the blood had pooled and splattered. Since Cassius had been shot in the head, it was a rather disgusting mess. Several times I withheld the urge to throw up. I reminded myself to be strong and get through this so we could leave and go back to the comfort of Daniel's resort. Hopefully, very soon.

The immediate threat from Stephen had passed. None of us thought he'd return or try anything else today. We won this battle. Stephen knew he'd been defeated, but that didn't mean he would give up his reckless behavior. I worried about how the loss of Cassius could actually fuel the fire, the loneliness and rage he felt.

Thankfully, there wasn't anyone around who witnessed this nightmare. I'm not sure how we'd explain what happened. Eli kept a watchful eye out for any approaching vehicles but no one drove through the campground.

Finally, we completed our cover-up. Burning the body took the longest...

We scurried to the truck and climbed into the nice, dry, warmer interior. Daniel started the engine and I cranked up the heater, waiting impatiently for the air flow to become hot on my hands. Daniel couldn't decide whether he should change from his bloody, torn shirt into a new one or just forget about it for now.

I said, "Why don't you wait until we're back at the resort. Then you can take a shower, take care of your injury and put on a new shirt. There's no point in putting on a clean shirt over your filthy body. That's silly."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," Daniel gave me a crooked smile. "You're right. We'll be back soon enough and I'll take care of everything then. I'm sure Abigail is wondering why we haven't returned yet. Knowing her, she's got supper ready and is trying to keep it warm for us. She's a great niece, more like a sister to me. I don't know what I would do without her."

All of us chimed in with similar compliments for her: "She's so sweet." "Man, she can cook up a storm. Great food." "Such a darling personality." "She's so relaxed with us." "Love her sense of humor."

Our honest, positive remarks made Daniel smile. After what we went through that day, especially Daniel getting into TWO fights, we needed a change of subject. At least for a little while.

"Speaking of food, I'm starving," Zac groaned, hungry as usual.

Tessa shook her head at him and said, "How can you possibly be hungry after what we just went through? Ugh!"

He said, "All that action burns up calories, my dear. And it's time for supper anyway."

The drive to the resort didn't take long. The ground temperature was too warm for anything to stick or be icy, so the roads were in good shape. We pulled into the resort and Abigail stood at the main door. Her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pinched tightly with worry. One of us should have called her to tell her we were fine and to give her an estimated time of arrival.

She saw Daniel's ripped shirt, the blood nearly dried by then. It was a dead giveaway we'd encountered a problem with our day.

Abigail exclaimed, "Oh my Lord, Daniel. Are you okay? You've been gone so long. I just knew something bad happened. Let's go inside and you can give me all the gory details."