“She brought the whole gang,” Ginger said softly, looking unhappy.
“That guy is Quincy Sinclair, Alpha of the Sinclair pack,” Marigold whispered to Lainey. “They’re all pissed off because Quincy wanted his niece, Portia, to marry Loch, but Loch wasn’t interested. They went out on a couple of dates, so Loch tried to be nice about breaking things off, but she pretty much started stalking him. When he proposed to Ginger, Portia actually went around telling everyone that Loch had proposed to her first and then cheated on her with Ginger. Total lie. Now Portia’s boo-hooing that she’s too devastated to come to the wedding, which is actually a good thing because she’d probably try to sabotage it.”
An older woman, slim and pretty with her hair cut in a severe bob, stood next to Quincy, scowling at Loch.
“Who’s that?” Ginger asked.
“Cornelia, Portia’s mother. Thinks she’s a big shot because her brother’s the Alpha for their lame-ass pack.”
Lainey hoped they couldn’t hear Marigold. There was little chance they’d miss how Marigold glared at them, though.
Loch was standing directly between the Sinclair family and Ginger, his forehead creased in a frown. “We already discussed this yesterday,” Loch said to Aurora.
Quincy was carrying a briefcase, from which he pulled a sheet of paper. He handed it to Loch. “We have spoken to everyone from my family who’s in town, and they have provided their whereabouts on the night in question. I should note that we do this under protest, and we consider this a deliberate insult to our family’s good name. For the sake of peace between our two packs, we are willing to overlook the insult. This time. We may not be so forgiving in the future.”
“If you want to issue a Death Challenge, you know where to find me, any time, day or night,” Loch said coldly. “Why wait? We can get down to business right here in the parking lot.”
Quincy swallowed hard. Loch was a big man, packed with muscles, with a dangerous energy crackling around him with every step that he took. Quincy was also a large, solidly built man, and he didn’t appear to be a pushover—he couldn’t have been an Alpha if he were—but he was clearly outmatched.
“That won’t be necessary at this time,” Quincy said, his face flushing. Lainey could tell he was still trying to save face and talk tough, but he was failing badly. He took a step back, and hung his head submissively, glowering at the ground. The family members who came with him all looked as if they’d just taken a big gulp of sour milk.
“I appreciate the Hooperation with our investigation,” Loch said in a calm, even tone. “We have asked hundreds of people to tell us their whereabouts on the night in question. As you well know, if I declined to question the entire Sinclair family, it would raise a lot of eyebrows, and it would be perceived as either favoritism or fear on my part. We’ll get back to you if we have any more questions.”
He turned to walk away, but Aurora called out, “Wait.”
Loch turned back. “What?”
“Given what the Cypress Woods Witch said, I think you should call off the wedding for now. Maybe permanently.” Aurora stood tall, eyes blazing, staring at Loch defiantly.
Ginger gasped in outrage, and Loch let out a warning growl. His eyes glowed with anger, and Lainey saw hair sprout on his face and the back of his hands. Bones rippled in his face, and black claws shot from his fingertips.
“Everyone’s talking about it. The Cypress Woods Witch spoke to a visitor, and she said that the wedding shouldn’t take place, and everyone would be in danger if they attended. I’m sorry, Loch, but it appears as if I’ve been right along and this wedding simply isn’t meant to be.” Lainey thought her smile looked poisonous, although her tone was wheedling.
“That’s interesting,” Loch ground out, “because the last time the Cypress Woods Witch spoke out, you said that she was crazy and nobody ever took her seriously. That was when a rogue shifter was killing local farmer’s sheep, and she warned everyone to beware the J wolf. Then it turned out that your cousin Jarrod was the rogue wolf. Remember that?”
Aurora’s smile was still pasted on tight, but her dark obsidian eyes glittered with anger. “Nonetheless, if you care anything about the safety of your town and your wedding guests, you should—”
This was just too much. Lainey stepped forward. “Hey!” she snapped. “That’s not what the Cypress Witch said at all.”
Aurora’s smile vanished, and she swung on Lainey with a growl, her face lengthening into a snout and her ears turning pointy.
Lainey stood her ground, her own ears turning pointy with tufts of fur sprouting from them, sharp claws springing from her fingertips. Her fangs shot out of her gums, and she let out a feline hiss of warning.