Page 16 of Starting a New Life

“You think? And he’ll believe me? Even though there’s no scent at all trailing back here? If the thief was human, we should be able to scent him.”

I nodded, placing my hand on Susie’s shoulder, pushing calming energy through the pack bond.

I might be agitated and nervous and fucking pissed, but she didn’t need to be. She shouldn’t have to worry about stolen items or whether our deputy would believe that someone had stolen from her when there was no proof.

It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“Paul will definitely believe you. As I said, you’re not the first one.”

There’d been Hal and the restaurant. Clothes stolen from the general store.

It was something new every day, and I just wanted to have my quiet, peaceful pack back. I wanted to go back to fretting about whether my newest members were settling in okay, whether they were getting used to the way we did things here.

I wanted to go back to roughhousing with the teens, to story times with the younger pups.

Instead, I had to worry about some fucking thief possibly hiding out right under our noses.

“So, you’re coming back?” I asked, running a hand through my hair, following the strands until the tips ran through my fingers at my waist. “When?”

“Tomorrow,” Rhett said. I didn’t need to see him to know he’d furrowed his brow and was looking at the phone quizzically, trying to figure out what was going on for me to sound like I was about to rip someone’s head off.

Well, if I finally found that fucker who kept stealing from us, I might.

Maim, my wolf agreed. He was fed up with the thief too.

We’d combed through our pack lands as best as possible. If there was someone hiding in the woods, we should’ve found hints. Footprints in the snow. Smoke coming from a fire. Hell, we should’ve found a fucking tent.

But there was nothing.

Not a single thing.

“Gray?”

I growled in annoyance.

Just an hour ago, someone had stolen a human’s thermos bottle out of their fucking car.

“There’s a thief running rampant,” I explained.

“A thief? In Balwood?”

I nodded grimly, even though Rhett couldn’t see it.

“A thief. Stole food. Camping gear. Protein bars. A thermos bottle. Stuff like that.”

There was a tense pause.

“Do you want us to come back today?” Rhett asked, voice tight.

“No.”

I hadn’t filled him in before because I knew he’d try coming back early. His sense of duty was strong, always had been.

“We could…”

“Rhett,” I interrupted, voice loud and booming. “You’re coming back tomorrow. Do you really think a single day will make a difference?” I certainly didn’t.

Rhett sighed. “No. I guess I’m just ready to come home.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “I hate big cities.”