Breaking the Moon

4: Blood Trail

.^^ Haven ^^

— Ryan —

My phone rang softly, the volume turned all the way down to 1. I hummed and answered the call. "Yes?"

"I need you to find Jay. He's out of control, and he just ripped up a guests truck while she was inside my store. I sent her home with Avery and Casey, so you're clear." Oliver growled.

I blinked, surprised. "Jay? But he's not supposed to shift until next week!"

"Well he shifted early. It's his scent all over the place, and his magic, too. Kept silent as he ripped solid steel. That takes serious mojo, so he's probably sleeping it off, right now." He sighed.

I frowned. "I'll find him, sir."

"Good. And stay clear of the girl... I can't quite pin it, but she feels dangerous. Not in a bad way, just..." he stopped.

"You mean only if provoked?" I asked.

"Maybe. That sounds right. She feels like she could be dangerous, if you provoked her."

"What's that got to do with me personally, sir?" I asked, curious.

"You have a way of making people angry. It's your skill, Cat. Just steer clear for a bit, let her get her bearings." He sighed.

"Understood, sir... I'll think about it." I smiled.

He sighed louder. "Ungrateful youngins..." he hung up.

I set my phone in my bag, and shook myself, leaping forward into my tiger form.

The run to the shop was always fun. Passing just barely out of the Clan's territory was the closest I could ever get to leaving, and the woods were different, the further from the Tree you got.

Less magic reached the trees further out, and after about two miles, there was none to speak of.

The pressing sentience of the trees lessened slowly, as I made my way to Olly's shop. When I reached, and then circled the shop, I found Jay's scent like a lodestone, blaring itself out with pheromones and hormones galore.

I shifted into my skin, and stood in front of Olly. "I definitely smell Jay... it's like he shifted right over there, then tore up the first thing that didn't smell like Home... the girls truck." I shook my head.

He sighed. "Yeah, I think that's exactly what happened. Or maybe smelling her is what made him shift. He's a Bear, so the scent of a cat he didn't recognize in his territory might have set him off a week early..."

"A cat? You said she was human?"

"She smelled like a cat, and a human, to. Maybe she hasn't shifted yet?" He shrugged.

"How Old is she?" I hummed.

"Looked about 26, 27." He scratched his skull.

"And if she's never been around other shifters... yeah, it's possible. I'll find Jay, you make sure Avery doesn't let her out of her sight, during the Hunt. I don't want to think about what would happen to the human if she shifted in the middle of a Hunting Party..." I shivered.

He nodded and headed inside to make a call.

Once he was gone, I shifted and took a deep breath, sorting through all the scents slowly, and meticulously.

Oil, grease, and tar were easy to ignore, I'd smelled Olly's shop for two decades. Chocolate was harder to ignore, because of its effects on me, but I pushed past it, and found the girl's truck.