Page 18 of Squirrel Hunt
How the hell did they get from Farris’ cabin to central Doson? “You lost Dahy in the park?”
“Who?”
“The guy who was borrowing your cabin?” Poor thing must’ve been terrified when Farris came home in the middle of the night, growling and snarling. Or he assumed he’d been growling and snarling when he’d found a stranger in his bed. Heat washed through him as he pictured Dahy in bed, and he growled. What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t do humans.
“The guy I followed! But why the fuck was there a squirrel in my bed, Konrad? I can’t go into the cabin. It stinks of perfume. He smashed a bottle on the bedroom floor. I’m gonna kill him. As soon as my nose starts working properly, I’m gonna fucking kill him.”
“Stay where you are! I’m coming.” Squirrel? What the hell was he talking about? “I’m on my way.”
“Good. Your nose works better than mine at the moment. Fucking rodent.”
“Ah…eh…yeah. I allowed him to stay there. He’s a friend of Myka’s who’s running from an abusive ex…” The word died on his tongue. Squirrel. Hadn’t Roan said Myka smelled of squirrel? A low growl built in his chest. The nasty perfume. Myka had played him, had gotten him to agree to hide a squirrel in a wolf’s cabin. “I didn’t believe you’d be back for several weeks to come.”
Farris snorted only to sneeze and then snarl. “My nose is burning.”
Konrad winced. “Sorry.” He’d been near the perfume, it was terrible, and he could only imagine what it would be like if Dahy had smashed the bottle. Tricky little shit. “Stay where you are. I’m coming.”
He hung up, got dressed, and hopped in the car. What the fuck would they do now? They needed to find Dahy, but he couldn’t let Farris kill him. They didn’t kill squirrels. Maybe he should contact Gideon and Jyran. If Dahy realized they had a squirrel in the pack, he might not feel the need to run.
Several minutes later, he turned in on the gravel road leading to Farris’ cabin. He was sitting on the doorstep, rubbing his nose only to sneeze when the headlights reached him. Konrad allowed himself a low chuckle. Farris’ massive shoulders were slumped, and his nose was red. Hadn’t Myka known him already, Konrad might have suspected it’d been him who’d come to the coffee shop. He was big, mean-looking, and could look predatory should he want to. He did now as he straightened and looked in Konrad’s direction.
“Boss.” Farris nodded at him when he exited the car. “He ran that way.” He gestured into the woods. “The stench of perfume is there, but it’s everywhere, so I couldn’t tell much more than him going up in the tree.”
“Walk me through what happened.”
“We need to find him.” He shot to his feet.
“We will. But first tell me what happened.”
Farris shrugged. “I followed the guy from Ordbury to the park here in Doson, but lost him there. I figured I’d look for him again tomorrow, but since I was here, I headed to my cabin. I could tell the scents were wrong as soon as I got here. It smelled of perfume and squirrel. I rushed up the stairs, and there, in a fucking nest, was a guy. Sleeping. I growled. He woke, dove for a bottle, and sprayed me. Then he smashed it against the floor and shifted into squirrel. He ran down the stairs and out through a window in the kitchen. Or it was what I believed he did. I followed him to the kitchen, and the window was open. I jumped out to get him but couldn’t see him anywhere. Then when I got back, the front door was open, so…” He grimaced.
Konrad nodded. Smart. Make him believe he’d gone out the window and then exit the cabin on the other side. Squirrels were tricky. He smiled.
“What are you grinning about.”
Fuck. “Nothing. The guy—”
“We need to find the fucking squirrel. I’m gonna skin him alive.”
“Eh, no, you’re not. We don’t anymore, remember?” Konrad never had. He’d always been…fascinated by squirrel shifters. What did they do all day? They didn’t have a pack, they didn’t hunt, they didn’t fight for dominance, they simply existed. And gathered nuts. He guessed it was what they did all day. He hadn’t been around Jyran a lot, but there were always nuts in the most unlikely places. He smiled again, and Farris glared at him.
“He’s gonna pay!”
“I’ll take care of him. Don’t worry.”
Farris growled. “He was in my house.”
“Because I’d told him he could.” Close enough. “If you have a problem with it, you take it up with me.”
Farris flashed teeth at him, and Konrad straightened. Farris wasn’t Roan. He was a dominant wolf all on his own, strong enough to challenge Konrad, should he want to.
“You rented out my house without informing me?”
“No.” He sighed. “He’s only been here two days. Myka called me and begged me for help. She said she had a human friend who was on the run from an abusive ex and was there anywhere we could hide them? I assumed it was a human woman. In retrospect, I realize she never said. She said friend. She didn’t say woman, and she didn’t say human, but I assumed. Then I came here yesterday to make sure everything was in order, and I was met by a guy who stank of perfume.”
Farris made a displeased sound.
“I kept as much distance as I could and told him to get in touch should he need anything.”