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Grindylow, Beast thought at eons

It took me a moment to understand Beast was a literal creature, and the river was naeon To her, it should either s the boating couple just upstrearindylow, a creature once thought to be rindylow brought unexpected, puzzling possibilities into the equation I stared up at Stirling Mountain, wondering just how much responsibility for this attack rested on rit offrafts float toward me They were filled with fa away a Septe and carefree The water of the Upper Pigeon River rippled and frothed at the end of the run, spilling out into a wide placid pool beneath the bridge where the attack took place, dividing around islands and curling into smooth eddy pools where commercial rafts could launch or be pulled up the banks Just downstreaeon, a slower, easy-paced river

I scuffed a boot heel over the three cuts in the rock I had an idea what supernat hadthat would make the local van and the grindy scent, the grindyloasn’t the assailant either Leo had made this ht Crap This was gonna be a booger And if I could prove it, it was ut

I held out ed The poor-quality, grainy, low-pixel-count photos were clear enough to make my knees weak Yeah Provided I could find evidence to support it, I knehat had attacked the couple, unlikely as thatwoman, ent by the h in her twenties, she was tiny enough to look like a very young teen--hence the nicknaes, except for a few superficial wounds on one calf, and those were fa scars that looked similar The man, her boyfriend, was former military, and his wounds were more severe He’d defended her and paid the price In the dark of early evening, neither had been able to identify the creatures that attacked the Itty Bitty had seen nothing at all; her hero boyfriend had reported hairyup, I handed the photos back to the deputy "Yeah I knohat attacked the couple" Holding in a resigned sigh, I pushed lasses back over my eyes and tapped the scarred rock with my boot heel "But it isn’t what ht?"

I pulled uides, the cop, whose na, and my best friend, Molly--here for moral support and curiosity "These three cuts were uides’ blank reactions I said, "Grindys are like the enforcers of the were community They kill weres who try to turn hu weres to make sure they abide by were-law" When they still looked blank I spelled it out for the my own reactions inside, hidden "I think olves attacked the couple last night"

"We got olves here?" a young guide said, his steel tongue stud catching the light "Aweso his workplace in a new and exciting way

Molly’s eyes widened as she took in the irindy in the Appalachian Mountains Fro I just had, andto share with the others I caught her gaze, directed hers to the sheet of photos in the cop’s hands, and let her readMountain, asand lowering theonna be a rin at the sentiment

"Werewolves Damn" Emmett looked around, eyes narrowed, and rattled off a series of questions that suggested he wasdangerous? Can you prove it olves? Do we need to pull the rafts?" He resettled his heavy utility belt, one hand on the butt of his 9for trouble and being ready for it Not A ould eat his innards for dinner

Pulling the rafts off the water wouldalong the river I started to say it was safe, but closed rindys ate, or whether they were pririndy was here because of its life mission, but I’d drawn conclusions and made deductions before based on insufficient info, and hu weres in the hills wasn’t gonna make the locals happy Like the itchy deputy, local law enforceitated--passing out stakes, holy water, crosses, and garlic against vaheads in an old-fashioned hunt Now they’d be after weres too, and I had good reason to want them not to I said, "Grindys don’t eat people, and olves are mostly nocturnal Keep everyone off the water after sunset, but you don’t have to pull the rafts during daylight hours"

Emmett didn’t like it He wanted action, and he wanted it now, but he was also conscious of Cocke County’s econo his gun butt with little pats of sound "Mike, Dave," he said, addressing two river guides, "you’ll see word gets passed? I’ll run patrol down here throughout the night, but I’d rather not have to arrest somebody or pull a dead stoner outta the water"

The two er, also known as Jedi Mike, or the Old Man of the River, had over thirty years of rafting experience, and Dave was a raft guide, a Class-V kayak paddler, and a Level Four instructor-- the tere the best of the best I’d ator at a security company, before I went out onco into local businesses protected by RJY Securities and I’d been sent to look around They weren’t friends, but, for business co relationship

Mike squinted into the sun glare on the river, his lined face drawing tight, one hand adjusting the red scarf he wore like a do-rag Voice boo, he said, "We’ll pass the word"

I started the cli for evidence of the creature I believed had attacked Itty Bitty and her boyfriend At the top of the short rise, I stopped, a fresh scent reaching me My sense of smell is a lot better than most humans, likely because of the decades I spent in Beast-forain and reentered the huth braid out of the way and dropped to hands and knees in the brush

The dead-fishy smell was here too, but this time it overlay another fa the pics of the injured With one hand, I pushed aside the sharp-edged grass, not touching the ground beneath or disturbing the roots, but exposing a partial paw print I had found my evidence and I didn’t knohether to be pleased with myself or even more worried "Werewolf," I said, louder

The cop jostled closer to get a better view

I pressed e asindentations in the damp soil One forepaw had been bloody, the smell of dried blood, rank and old Not much of a leap to assume it was Itty Bitty’s blood I bent and sniffed Witch blood Itty Bitty was from a witch family I motioned to Molly to take photos of the prints while I crawled forward, pressing the long, sharp grass to either side of the wolf tracks

I bent lower, lettingto fill my head And I shivered in the heat I knew these wolves I’d fought the back onto me I had helped to kill off all the members of the Lupus Pack of olves, except for tolves who had been in jail during the raid I had forgotten about them, until now They had etful otten sloppy Directly or indirectly, they were here because ofthat it was visual clues giving me the information "I may know the shots"

The cop cursed and reached for his cell phone "I gotta tell the sheriff ’bout this, ’n secure the area Get me some backup Crime scene"

"Good idea," I said Cri, before several hundred tourists had access to the area, and before the powerhouse released thousands of cubic feet of water, but as I to point out souides and gawkers and called the sheriff, I followed the tracks onarea to the sic filled ed back to human form Yeah I knew them And I kneas no coincidence that they were here The attack, here, now, so close to Stirling Mountain, so close to the parley of va, wasn’t an accident It was a personal challenge and a private threat, issued on the body of innocents

A growl vibrated throughhuman Not experienced kit Her clawsto fight off pack hunters Hate pack hunters Stealers of winter food Thieves of meat