Free o 90a29c48d0ad7f81 by Charisma Knight Page A

her mouth to muffle her sobs.
    When she heard the doorknob jiggle, she thought she would die. Thank God she’d locked both doors. The intruder seemed pissed because he was now trying to break the door down.
    “Ma’am, we have two cars approaching your home.”
    She heard the person walk slowly through the hallway to the bathroom door, which led into her bedroom. Cold chills settled over her body when he jiggled the lock and, discovering that he couldn’t get in, began banging on the door.
    The intruder growled. Next, she heard the sound of a zipper opening. Pearl wrinkled her nose in disgust when she heard what sounded like him pissing on the bathroom door.
    In the distance, she heard the approaching of the police car. He must have heard it, too.
    Cursing, he quickly zipped his pants. His rapid footsteps carried him back the way he came.
    “Ma’am, are you still with me?”
    “Yes,” Pearl said breathlessly. “He’s gone.”
    “The police officers are right outside your home.”
    “Thank God,” Unable to move, she began crying out loud as a sudden wave of relief swept over her. The officers began yelling her name. A sliver of light suddenly filtered beneath her door.
    “Ms. Gordon?”
    She managed to crawl out of the closet. Legs feeling like lead, she limped over to the bedroom door and unlocked it.
    “Ms. Gordon, are you okay?”
    She shook her head and passed out.

    * * *
    When she came to, Pearl was greeted by several police officers. Immediately, she started shaking uncontrollably.
    “It’s going to be okay, ma’am,” an officer said as he tried to calm her down. “Is there anyone you want us to contact?”
    “No, not at the moment.” Pearl sat up slowly and glanced at the officers. “Did you catch anyone?” She glanced at the tall bald-headed officer with light blue eyes standing next to her flat screen television.
    “No ma’am. By the time we got here, the intruder fled the scene.” He held his hand out to shake hers. “I’m Officer Shapiro.”
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “As you know, there has been a rash of burglaries in Raven’s Falls, but oddly enough, nothing was stolen from your home.” Office Shapiro admitted with a frown.
    “What are you saying?” Pearl rose from the couch, glaring at the mess that had once been her immaculate living room. She gasped and then cursed at the unsightly holes in her walls.
    “What the hell? It looks like a cyclone struck my home and nothing was taken?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “I thought I was going to die tonight,” Pearl said angrily. “I mean, he was so damned close to getting me. He came after me because once he discovered he couldn’t break into my bedroom, he started pounding on the doors.” She rose from the couch and walked over to the basement and ran downstairs, with Officer Shapiro right behind her. The sight of her basement brought her to tears.
    She turned to the police officer. “But, why would he do this?” Someone had spray-painted her walls in red. Clothes that had been neatly packed away were strewn across the floor.
    Bottom lip trembling, she picked up her favorite emerald green sweater that was now
    shredded.
    “Ma’am, come back upstairs,” Officer Shapiro coaxed. “You need to get yourself together.
    These things can be replaced. You can’t.”
    Tears stung her eyes and the fresh smell of piss assaulted her nose. “Who would do such a disgusting thing?” she asked as they ascended the stairs and returned to the living room.
    “He came into my home like he was marking his territory or something. ”
    “We saw that, Ms. Gordon. Are you enemies with any shifters living in Raven’s Falls?”
    Officer Shapiro asked.
    “What? What’s this got to do with someone breaking into my home?”
    “Because the perpetrator was alone and indeed a male wolf shifter. And from the behavior exhibited, we figured it might be someone you know.” The second officer stated coolly.
    “This is Officer Matriano, and he’s a wolf