Free Wolf Claim (Wolves of Willow Bend Book 3) by Heather Long Page A

her.
    “Yes, but also your packmates. Did they feel the young man’s death, too?” On some level, the pack knew when a loss happened. A wave of sadness would ripple out. Sometimes the knowledge went with it. Bit-by-bit, even the most distant would know. Little could be kept truly secret in a pack and death didn’t even come close to being a private event.
    The Alpha didn’t reply immediately, but she was patient. Even without Dalton to guide them, she would have known the house where the death took place. An isolated cottage occupied a narrow stretch of dirt road right off the farm road they traveled. More wolves waited for them—some shifted, some not. They had the house surrounded and a miasma of sadness clung to them.
    “No,” Dalton answered finally. “I knew. They didn’t. They were surprised.”
    Which explained the black note in his voice. No illness felled a wolf that swiftly. At least none she’d ever heard of.
    After parking and shutting off the truck, the pair in the front exited, Owen moved his seat forward and offered his hand. Death lingered in the air, an empty, hollow scent drenched in sadness. Dalton strode forward, but Gillian called, “Wait, please.”
    Surrounded by so many strangers, and bearing the weight of their curiosity, their grief and beneath it all, a sense of resentment, she dodged Owen and reached out to Dalton. “I know you want to show me and it’s one hundred percent your call, but I want to go in there alone, without the distraction of scents I don’t know.” So many wolves were present, a dozen or more were arriving. In the distance, behind a shelter of trees, a woman cried and a man’s voice tried to comfort her.
    More than one member of Hudson River had red-rimmed eyes. No sooner had she approached the Alpha than another male surged toward her. Owen blocked him before he could get close.
    “I would never…” She directed her words toward Dalton, but spoke to the whole pack. “Want to make you feel that I have no heart. You are all hurting, and I am so deeply sorry for your loss. But you asked me here for a reason, and I need to know if what we are facing is disease or something else. I might miss something if too many scents are in the way.”
    Expressionless, Dalton studied her. Whatever he saw must have convinced him because he swept his gaze around the circle of the house. The wolves began to withdraw, backing away. “I cannot let you go alone, little wolf, nor do I think your protector allow will you to be out of his sight, but the others will stay back.” His orders were clear. “Take a moment,” Dalton told her. “Learn my scent, then use that beautiful gift and mind of yours to help me find what is hurting my people.”
    "I will." Her hands trembled, but she fisted them. Holding on to her courage and her commitment, she nodded. “I promise.”
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Surprisingly, Owen didn’t object to her searching the house or examining the body. When she returned to the truck to pull out her medical kit, he stood by, patient and watchful. His presence grounded her and helped soothe her frazzled nerves. “Owen?”
    He swung his head to glance at her. “Yes?”
    “Whatever happens in there, don’t touch anything, okay? Also, I want you and Brett to wear these.” She passed him a surgical mask. He eyed it with distaste, but accepted it.
    “Scent is one of our primary hunting tools.”
    “I know. If whatever is in there is airborne, chances are every wolf who has been inside could be infected. But humor me?” She was every bit as protective and possessive as him. Keeping him safe was important.
    “As you wish,” he said with a long exhale. “Are you ready for this?”
    “No.” She didn’t want to lie. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she secured it then slid surgical gloves on to her hands. Bag in hand, she headed for the house with Owen and Brett right behind her. The front door stood open and she nudged it open, pausing just