Shifting Hearts

Chapter 15 - Eli's No-Good, Really Bad Day

I sat there sullenly for a few minutes as the ranch continued to work around me.

Werewolves and their secrets. I hated it.

Not that I didn't have my own secrets...

But that was beside the point.

I assumed that Katie and Sean would preoccupy each other for a while, so I wandered away to find a way to entertain myself. The ranch was unusually calm, the usual hustle and bustle of wolves wandering around doing jobs was markedly absent. Apparently since Katie and I came along, none of the work has gotten done so Cooper had whipped the pack into shape, pushing them twice as hard to make up for the slack.

Horse whinnies echoed across the ranch with an intermittent growl or bark of a wolf.

I slid under the top rail of the fence and dropped onto my feet in the pasture. The older horses here, other than Rosie and Skipper, were not interested in me and tended to be rather rude when I tried to talk to them.

I followed my friend's smell in my human form. I learned that the longer I remained as a human, the stronger my senses grew as I adapted to the weaker physical form.

Rosie and Skipper weren't in their usual pasture, and their scents were faded so they hadn't been here since early this morning. Considering it was only noon, I wondered where they were.

I followed the scent back to the buildings but as soon as the scent crossed the fence, it disappeared into an overpowering smell of gasoline and car exhaust. Where were they taken? I frowned as the possibilities rushed through my head, becoming more implausible with each passing one.

Soon, I had convinced myself that my friends had been shipped off to some sale where they'd be sold to some tortuous humans to be abused.

With a sharp whine, I turned for the house and rushed to where the Mate smell was strongest, hidden inside the ranch house.

The Colorado summer breeze tugged at my hair and pulled it back from my face as I crossed the driveway to the porch. The steps creaked as I bounded up two at a time and followed the smell to Cooper's office.

The large wooden door was closed and when I tried to turn the handle it was locked. The door shuddered as I shook the knob frantically with a small grunt.

A chair scratched the hardwood floor as it was pushed back, and footsteps approached the door. The lock unclicked and Cooper pulled the door open, his eyebrows jumping at his surprise seeing me. He didn't move though, filling the doorway with his bulk. He leaned against the frame and his eyes raked me from top to bottom, in a way that would usually make me blush and make a break for it, but I was distracted at the moment.

"What's up? I thought I'd catch you at dinner. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and I'd rather get it over with in one go so it isn't just sitting... around," his voice faltered as he registered my face and distress. His handsome face scrunched up in confusion and concern.

I was pulled into his arms and held in a tight embrace, surrounded by warmth and peace and safety. Cooper buried his face in my hair, and he hummed to calm me down.

"Tell me what's wrong." The tone was soft yet commanding, compelling an answer out of me.

"Nothing yet, but I can't find Rosie or Skipper anywhere; their scent disappears into a trailer," I mumbled into the muscled chest I was currently squished against. "Where are they, Cooper?"

"Is that all this is about? They're fine," he promised, stepping forward and pushing us both into the hallway. The door was shut behind us and my mind immediately wondered what he was hiding from me. I would have to ask him about it later.