text: Cooper found Park lounging against the side of the lodge in the shadow of the porch where they'd agreed to meet. A persistent breeze jostled the treetops around them and Park's dark hair looked messier than usual, like it did right after Cooper ran his fingers through it. That made him smile and he saw Park relax ever so slightly at the sight, even as he scanned Cooper intently, as if making sure he was in the same tip-top condition he'd left him in.
  
  "How'd that go?" Park asked mildly, despite the intense curiosity in his eyes.
  
  "We gossiped about you. It was super fun," Cooper said. He was in a much better mood than before. Sometime during the test taking his headache had faded and now that the AQ was behind him entirely (for the last time, please and thank you), he felt very light and optimistic. "Did you find it?"
  
  Park gestured for Cooper to follow him and led him around the lodge and down the hill. The back of the building also had a large porch overlooking the lake, this one at second-floor level. Underneath was a gravel patio thick with pebbles, as if it had been replenished recently. Against the wall of the lodge, in shadow, was a bike rack with a few old-looking mountain bikes, a covered grill and a metal door painted dark green.
  
  Park flourished his hand, looking pleased. "May I present the utility room and Kreuger's office?"
  
  "Good hunting," Cooper said, impressed. "Did you already start looking?"
  
  "I thought I'd wait for you." Park winked. "What do you say, a little B and E for this week's activi-we?" Cooper groaned and Park opened the door. It let out a long squeal of rusty hinges that got lost in the constant roar of the falls. "That and if someone interrupts us, I can think of about fifteen more alibis for two people to be hiding down here than for one person."
  
  "Only fifteen? Maybe we should hit up the intimacy talk tomorrow after all," Cooper said, walking into the utility room and neatly sidestepping Park's hand reaching out to slap his ass with a laugh.
  
  Inside, it was dark and all Cooper could really see were large square shapes and a rack of rakes, shovels and hoes by the door where the slightest sunshine could reach. The smell of old cut grass was strong and there was a persistent humming sound in the room.
  
  Park's dark form eased past him and found a pull-chain. A single bare light bulb lit the room and Cooper blinked, adjusting. On his right, the large square shapes—the source of the humming—appeared to be the electrical boxes for heating/AC units, and generators in case of power failure for the lodge. The other side of the room had a mess of landscaping equipment: a lawn mower, leaf blower, sacks and sacks of mulch, sand and ice melt. Along the wall, mostly fallen to the concrete floor, were miscellaneous items. A single plastic kayak oar. An empty, crusty birdfeeder. A metal sign that said Danger. Swim at your own risk.
  
  Cooper gave them all a careful going-over, then followed Park into the back of the room behind the electrics. Here there was a rudimentary metal desk covered in papers, eons away from the sleek oak piece in Dr. Joyce's office. Along the back of the wall were a couple of wall-mounted cupboards, a free-standing metal sink splattered with white paint, a mini-fridge with a microwave balanced precariously on top and another dark green metal door that must have led into the lodge.
  
  "You try that?" Cooper asked, pointing at the door.
  
  "Locked," Park said. He was going through the cupboards, and over his shoulder Cooper could see an equally grim interior. One bowl. One mug. An open box of cheap tea bags. A spoon. Pantry-type foods that never got used and never got thrown away.
  
  "Christ, I've seen city dorm rooms less depressing than this."
  
  "Let's say he really did go off the grid. Maybe he took all the good stuff with him." Park held up a cardboard container of breadcrumbs and shook them at Cooper. "The real question is, do you think these lead anywhere?"
  
  Cooper gave him a look. "And you told Dr. Joyce I'm the one that can't take things seriously. Slander and lies." He sat in the wheely chair behind the desk and pulled open a drawer. It was empty aside from some masking tape and pens, but when he closed it the unstable desk tilted with a jerk and a large stack of papers from the top scattered to the floor.
  
  Cursing, Cooper bent down to regather the papers, going through them at the same time. Most of them were old bills in Kreuger's name and a few receipts where the landscaping items were circled in pen. But one credit card statement caught his eye. It was from March of that year and issued to Vanessa Claymont. Underlined in the same blue pen that had so diligently circled bags of mulch and weed killer was a payment of $595.50 to someplace called Iaso Supply. Sorting through the papers still on the desk, Cooper found five more statements for Vanessa Claymont. Each with an underlined $595.50 payment to the same company.
  
  "Have you ever heard of a place called Iaso Supply?"
  
  "No," Park said, checking the fridge. "But Iaso's the Greek goddess of cures and stuff like that. They might sell medical supplies."
  
  Cooper looked back at him, startled. "How the hell do you know that?"
  
  "I said I like folklore, mythology, all that. Used to be pretty obsessed as a kid, actually, tracing the ways wolf and human lore overlap."
  
  Cooper filed that away in his treasured Facts About Park that Surprise and Delight Me drawer and held up the card statements. "Any clue what a couple's counselor would need from a medical supply company?"
  
  Park scanned the documents, frowning. "Based on our session? A helluva lot of lavender."
  
  Together they slowly started going through the rest of the papers and drawers.
  
  "Tell me about Kreuger," Cooper said, skimming through an old bill. "What was he like?"
  
  Park shot him a look. "I'd hardly say I knew him. I just met him that once and it wasn't what you'd call a social visit. You probably have as good a grasp on his psychology as I do, from going through his drawers."
  
  "You went there, to CT, to remove him as alpha, right? Because he was a bad leader?"
  
  "He was a dick," Park said bluntly. "He was a bully who only wanted to lead over others to make himself feel important. He teased offers of security, pack, shared resources, but then kept everyone around him struggling, just enough to need him. To not be able to walk away. You'd almost be better off with the rebels."
  
  "And your family didn't like that?" Cooper asked tentatively.
  
  Park shrugged. "I know what you're thinking. They're hardly leading figures of morality. But the fact is, long term, we're only as strong as our weakest member. Just like any other group or system. Kreuger believed otherwise. Or maybe he just didn't care about long-term success, only that he could keep living the way he wanted in that moment. Feeling that little extra bit taller by standing on top of those around him."
  
  They continued to sort quietly, with nothing but the rustle of papers between them for a moment. When Park spoke again, he sounded very matter-of-fact. "So one day the Shepherd showed up. Told him he was unfit to be a leader and no longer welcome in our territory. He could agree and leave. Or he could choose to fight. He fought." Park shook his head. "I don't know why. He must have known how it would go. But he was arrogant and he lost."
  
  "Muñoz said Kreuger was different after. Like he wasn't an alpha anymore."
  
  "He was never a real alpha," Park protested.
  
  "What do you mean? Like a low AQ?"
  
  "No, I'm sure he scored perfectly within the range he felt he deserved. A nice, neat sixty-seven. Not higher than expected, but not lower, either." Park fell silent once more, but Cooper could tell he was chewing on something he wanted to say.
  
  Finally, he exploded. "It's just such bullshit. Literally all it measures is thinking patterns. Interpersonal habits. Personal strengths. It's not bad to get a low score. Just like it's not good to get a high one. The people who really succeed are the ones who understand it doesn't matter what number you get, it's what you do with it. If you'd asked me back then why Kreuger felt different after we fought, I'd have said it was because he'd finally been forced to see himself differently."
  
  "Back then, but not now?" Cooper asked, studying Park carefully.
  
  Park ran an impatient hand through his hair. "I thought it might have changed," he mumbled, and his words were nearly lost.
  
  "What?" Cooper asked. "Kreuger?"
  
  "No, me. My number. I thought it might be lower because—" Park cut himself off. Shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I just thought it might have dropped. I had this theory that we're not actually born with an innate, static AQ. That we develop one based on people around us, the way we're treated. How it informs our self-perception. When I would visit the packs in my family's territory as the Shepherd, I'd see a ton of wolves like Kreuger who were loud and aggressive toward people they knew wouldn't be naturally inclined to fight back. Conflict-averse. Pleasers. In their minds, that's what made them an alpha—using people. So I thought, now I'm not with my family anymore. I'm not the Shepherd anymore. Maybe I don't have to be this anymore, either."
  
  "But it didn't change?"
  
  Park laughed darkly. "Oh no, it did. Ninety-one to ninety-three."
  
  Cooper blinked rapidly, trying to process all the different feelings he was having at once. Shock: Park had told him most alpha-types scored between sixty-five and eighty.
  
  Anxiety: Park hoped his relationship with Cooper's long-fabled but never proven high-AQ ass would lower his own. The opposite had occurred. What the fuck did that mean?
  
  Tenderness: he may not understand jack-shit about these numbers, but he could plainly see Park's worldview had been shaken.
  
  "I know that doesn't mean a lot to you, but it's kind of a ridiculous jump," Park was saying. "And exactly the sort of thing my grandfather would have loved. Would have thought we were owed because of our bloodline." He groaned. "I don't know how I can be so adamant that something is overrated, outdated, erroneous bullshit but still get that number and feel so excited. For a moment I was fifteen again and so, so proud to tell Joe."
  
  A small, sympathetic noise escaped Cooper. He'd never met Park's recently deceased grandfather—doubtless a good thing considering the man hated humans and Cooper blamed him for a lot of Park's insecurities today. But relationships were complicated, especially those with the people who raised you. The pain of loss wasn't always about missing the person themself. Sometimes it was the free-fall shock when you stumbled into the bottomless blank space that they'd always filled before.
  
  Cooper tentatively reached out and slipped his hand into Park's, who looked at him, surprised. "I'm sorry," he said.
  
  "You have nothing to be sorry for," Park said immediately.
  
  "I'm sorry this hurt you." He bumped Park's shoulder with his own, then kissed it quickly. "I'm sorry anything's ever hurt you, but especially something like this that seems entirely...avoidable."
  
  Park laughed and rubbed his face tiredly. "It's a joke how obsessed we all are with this, isn't it? Fucking thing didn't even exist eighty years ago, but now it's all anyone wants to know."
  
  "Not a joke," Cooper protested. "If you're told something over and over from the day you're born, of course you're going to internalize it."
  
  Park sighed. "Well, I'd like it out now." He slammed the last drawer and the desk tilted dramatically again. He knelt on the dusty concrete to examine the legs. "One of these is missing a foot."
  
  Cooper crouched to see, a sharp throb shooting through his leg where the bite was, and he, too, saw that only three out of the four metal desk legs ended in black rubber knobs.
  
  "Here, help me with this," Park said, and they moved the papers into neat stacks on the floor. When it was clear, Park lifted the desk on two legs easily with one hand. Cooper was momentarily distracted by his casual inhuman strength and the lines of arm muscle peeking through his shirt.
  
  "Hello," Park said.
  
  "Hello yourself," Cooper said in his best leer, before noticing Park gently tug a tightly folded piece of paper out of the naked leg hole. He put the desk back down and spread the paper flat on top.
  
  "It's...a map?" Cooper said hesitantly. It was obviously a map. He could see the topographic lines, the faded greens and blues indicating land and water, the outlines of buildings. He could even tell, based on the quarry and falls, that it was a map of the retreat property. He only sounded hesitant because he couldn't see a reason someone had gone through the trouble of hiding it up a table leg. There was no X marks the spot. No illegal poison spillage here or helpful doodles of oilcans and dollar signs.
  
  "Does it look sort of old to you?" he asked.
  
  "All maps look old these days," Park said absently, and tapped the largest rectangular building. "This is the lodge. And over here's the staff quarters we saw yesterday. Look, there's the back road we took." He traced the lines with his finger.
  
  "This would have been more helpful than the map we were actually given," Cooper mumbled. "This must be Montclaire Mill." He tapped a collection of smallish square buildings, about a mile away from the lodge. One of the buildings even had Mill scrawled in blue pen under it. The same blue pen Kreuger had used to circle items on the bills.
  
  "It looks closer than I thought." Cooper got his phone out and took careful photos of the map before Park folded it back up and replaced it in the leg. "Now I feel like we should check every nook and cranny in here. Who knows where else Kreuger was squirreling things."
  
  "I'm not sure he—" Park stopped, staring off into space, head tilted slightly. Before Cooper could react, Park swiftly kicked over the neat stacks of paper, still on the floor, scattering them messily, then abruptly grabbed Cooper around the waist and lifted him onto the desktop.
  
  "What—?" Cooper whispered, and was cut off by Park's mouth covering his. Park kissed him deeply and moaned louder than he usually would. One of his hands slid up Cooper's shirt, massaging at his chest while the other knocked his thighs open so he could tug Cooper closer, encouraging his legs around Park's waist.
  
  Cooper accepted the touch, holding on to Park's back tightly, kissing him back, but he couldn't shut his eyes. He kept scanning the room, searching for what had set Park's warning bells off.
  
  That's why he noticed right away when the previously locked, dark green metal door at the back wall cracked open.
  
  Cooper reached down to grab Park's ass and pull him into a slight humping motion and waited for the intruder to burst in on them. He mentally prepared his embarrassed, fumbling excuses. Going for a swim. Got sidetracked. Snuck in here for privacy. Sorry.
  
  But no burst came. The door stayed slightly cracked, but nothing else happened.
  
  Cooper ran his hand through Park's hair, tugging his mouth free, and pressed a couple of kisses along his jaw until he could whisper, barely more than a breath, in his ear, "Gone?"
  
  "No," Park growled, pushing Cooper flat onto his back on the desk. He half-crawled over Cooper and nuzzled his neck. "Plan?"
  
  Fuck, Cooper thought. Well, that certainly wasn't the plan. But what were they supposed to do, stop now and risk major suspicion? Or get off while someone with best-case creepy, worst-case nefarious intentions listened?
  
  Cooper's skin prickled and he shuddered beneath Park at the thought. He wasn't aroused, really, but he was excited and hyperaware of every sound he and Park were making; every shaky inhale and satisfied hum, every movement they made. Cooper's hands worked their way down from grasping Park's ass to the backs of his upper thighs, then inward, digging his fingers into the thick muscles.
  
  Park's eyes slipped shut and he seemed caught on the edge of speaking. His mouth hovering directly over Cooper's, lips parted, brow furrowed, motor control stripped down to its most basic, animal function. Cooper's hand dipped deeper still to nudge at the back of Park's balls and felt him jerk impulsively, knocking between his legs. He knew if he wanted to, he could make Park come, right here, like this. Knew that he could ask him for anything and receive it, no matter how many people were watching. He imagined, fuzzyheaded with lust now, what they looked like, the two of them, rutting fully-clothed over a desk in the dark.
  
  Power. That's what it was. To have a man like Park trembling and desperate for his body. Willing to do anything for him. Let them watch. Let them see how powerful I am.
  
  Cooper gasped and shoved Park away. His face felt hot and he was breathing quickly. "Stop. Don't," Cooper said.
  
  Park stood up hastily, backing up a couple of steps. He, too, was breathing hard and looked wide-eyed with confusion. Confusion as to what they had come close to doing as opposed to why they had stopped, Cooper suspected guiltily.
  
  Pull it together, Cooper. Someone might still be watching.
  
  "I can't...keep doing this. We can't just fuck every time we fight and expect that to make it better," Cooper added for their possible audience.
  
  Park nodded, back to the door, but his face was still unsure, worried. "You're right. I'm sorry."
  
  "No, I'm sorry," Cooper said, meaning it this time. "I honestly don't know what's gotten into me. We should go."
  
  He walked to the door, hoping to surprise the eavesdropper, but when he opened it—not locked now—there was no one there. Just a dark set of wooden steps leading upstairs and presumably into the lodge. He crouched to examine them, hoping to find a convenient, thin layer of dust and perfect footprints, but there was nothing. The steps were perfectly clean. Well-used, even.
  
  "Someone had easy access to Kreuger's office, whether he knew it or not," Cooper murmured, not able to meet Park's eye yet. "Come on, they might still be close."
  
  As quickly as he could, Cooper climbed the steps, Park at his back. It became pitch-black as soon as Kreuger's office door closed behind them and Cooper stumbled a few times, catching himself on the wall, rough planks beneath his palm. The darkness felt oppressive, watchful, and it was a relief when they made it to the door on the other end and found it unlocked as well.
  
  Cooper and Park emerged into a room that was much warmer than downstairs. The air felt wetter, too, and he could hear water faintly nearby. Looking around, it appeared to be a sort of high-end locker room sans lockers. Or at least not the sort of lockers one expected. There were two fashionably enormous benches of dark brown distressed leather, wooden cubbies with doors stained mint green, and a curiously antique mirror. Along one side of the room was a counter with three sinks in the form of stone basins, and around the corner Cooper could glimpse shower doors and what appeared to be a steam room.
  
  "Cooper?" Park asked hesitantly, and it hurt Cooper's heart how confused he sounded.
  
  He plastered a reassuring smile on his face. "Too bad we didn't catch them. My fault. Did you pick up anything, though? Any sound or smell? But we should probably head up before anyone else comes looking. We really should get back. Don't want to draw too much attention. Going to get a reputation—"
  
  "Cooper," Park interrupted firmly. "Please, you're—just—slow down for a minute." He stepped hesitantly closer. "What happened down there... Are you okay? You're not really acting like yourself."
  
  Cooper looked down at his shoes. Honestly, he didn't quite feel like himself. But how were you supposed to tell your lover that you were rattled by an unprecedented fantasy of fucking them in front of the entire retreat? He knew fantasies didn't equal real-life desires. But still. Where the hell had that come from?
  
  It was the suddenness of it that bothered him more than anything else. An almost alarming flip from professional and alert to...that. His mood was all over the place. He'd blamed it on having to take the AQ again, but even this morning in bed he'd felt a bit more intense than usual and if he was being honest, his mood had been all over the place since falling into the river yesterday.
  
  "I'm..." Cooper started. But he owed Park more than vague reassurance that he was fine. That was for other people. Park was his romantic partner and his work partner; it was important he knew he could trust Cooper.
  
  "I've just been feeling a little weird today." He flapped his hand, frustrated by his own inability to explain. "Exhausted one minute and completely...hyper the next."
  
  Park was listening to him patiently, looking intent and supportive. As if whatever Cooper said would be treated as seriously as any other case that they could then problem-solve together.
  
  "And horny," Cooper blurted. "I'm intensely horny out of nowhere and was this close to sucking you off just now, potentially murderous voyeurs be damned. In fact, voyeurs welcomed."
  
  That wiped Park's sweet and caring expression clean away. "Oh," he said, shocked, and a slight flush colored his cheeks. "I...oh."
  
  "I'd like to buy a consonant now, please," Cooper said.
  
  "...'kay. I mean, right. Is that something you'd be interested in doing? Someday. When we're not on a potential crime scene, I mean."
  
  Cooper felt a burst of affection for Park. "No. I mean, I don't know? I haven't thought about it. My point was that I feel...off. Weird."
  
  Park frowned thoughtfully and cupped Cooper's face in his hand and stared into his eyes. "Pupils seem normal. Fever's not back." He ran his hand carefully across Cooper's scalp. "Any tender spots? Did you sleep poorly? Eat something that didn't agree with you?" Cooper said no to all of the above. "What exactly do you mean by weird?"
  
  "I don't know, I just don't feel like myself? I haven't since—"
  
  Cooper jerked out of Park's gentle hold, heart beating fast.
  
  "What? What is it?"
  
  Cooper backed up a few steps. "Oliver...don't laugh at me."
  
  Park's expression turned perplexed. "I just checked you for skull fractures. I'm not in what you might consider a jolly mood."
  
  "No, not... I was wondering, you can't—" Cooper stopped. Ridiculous question. He should not have brought it up. But he still just needed to be sure. "I mean, if you were to...bite me... Really bite me 'til I bled, while in fur, that wouldn't—Would that affect me in some way? Please don't laugh. Or be angry," he added in a whisper.
  
  Park looked about as far from laughing as it was possible to get. Angry, on the other hand...
  
  When he spoke, his words were so tightly controlled Cooper shivered. "No. It wouldn't affect you. Who bit you until you bled?"
  
  Cooper exhaled shakily. For a moment he'd thought...well, that was clearly wrong so it didn't matter. "It was an accident. When Vanessa pulled me from the river. I—I freaked out a bit. Struggled. Hurt myself."
  
  Park stalked toward him faster than one would expect and then stopped, as if jerked back, right before touching Cooper. He stared down at him. "Show me. Please?"
  
  Cooper carefully propped his leg up on the bench and rolled his pants up to the knee. "It's really not that big a deal." On his shin was the vicious-looking scar from his run-in with a murderer while visiting his dad and brother in Jagger Valley last year. The scabs from the bite appeared laughably unserious next to that.
  
  Park looked at them dispassionately. Mask carefully on. "May I?" he asked. Cooper nodded and Park ran a gentle finger over the marks.
  
  "See?" Cooper said finally, when it was clear Park wasn't going to say anything. "It's nothing. I was being silly."
  
  Park laid his hand flat over the bite, covering it, then slipped his palm carefully up Cooper's leg until he could grab his thigh and squeeze. Cooper inhaled sharply, stumbling in surprise and Park's other hand shot up to grip his waist, steadying him. One leg up and spread, balancing on the other, Park's hands holding him in place, Cooper felt immensely vulnerable.
  
  "I had you this morning," Park growled, so graveled it made the hairs on Cooper's neck stand. "I had you, spread naked beneath me. How didn't I see this?"
  
  "I didn't want you to," Cooper said. He felt Park's hands flex against him convulsively, and his eyes flash gold.
  
  "Why not?"
  
  Cooper reached up to pull Park's mouth to his. He kissed him deeply, greedily, until the hand that had been tight on his thigh reached up to the base of Cooper's throat and gently but firmly pushed him away. Cooper whined. His body felt too hot, contained.
  
  "No. You just told me you're not yourself," Park murmured. He swiped his thumb quickly over Cooper's lip.
  
  "Maybe I misspoke," Cooper said, trying to push forward again.
  
  Park gave him a look, then released Cooper's waist, holding his hand in more chaste support.
  
  "All right, fine," Cooper accepted. "But clearly if there's something going on—and that's a big if—then it's not from the bite."
  
  "No," Park agreed. "Of course, you'll want to treat it for infection as you would any bite, but you can't catch werewolf. It can only be inherited from one or both biological parents." He paused. "However, you have been carrying around another interesting clue in your pants."
  
  Cooper raised his eyebrows. "I thought you didn't want to solve that right now."
  
  "Not that." He took hold of Cooper's calf again, in a much more professional manner than before, and positioned it to better see the neat ring of blood bursts. "Pretty distinct bite pattern."
  
  Cooper twisted to examine it for himself, but the elongated semicircle of irregular dark spots looked pretty much how he'd expect any semi-gentle bite to look. "In what way?
  
  "These are all from incisors." Park gently pointed out six of the marks. "That's why you bled. Only a couple of premolars here, but I wouldn't expect to see many of those anyway if she was just trying to grab you. The canines are primarily used to grab and hold."
  
  "Where are the canines?" Cooper asked.
  
  "Exactly," Park said. "See this distinct space between the incisors and premolars? There are none."
  
  Cooper frowned. "Don't you think we would have noticed if Vanessa was missing front-facing teeth?"
  
  "Not if she uses fakes while in skin. They would have popped right out when she shifted, though." Park rubbed one soothing thumb over the marks again, then gestured that Cooper could put his leg down. "More to the point, I've seen bite patterns like this before."
  
  Cooper straightened abruptly from rolling his pant leg back down. "You mean you've seen someone else Vanessa's bit?"
  
  Park looked grim. "No. But she's not the only wolf in the world missing her canines. It's not an uncommon punishment amongst some rebel packs. If they try to leave, or betray the pack in some way, they get their fangs pulled."
  
  Cooper's hand shot to his own mouth and a wave of disgust rolled through him. "That's..."
  
  "Vicious? Horrific? A good reason to think twice before disobeying?"
  
  Cooper shook his head, not in disagreement, but more to keep the brutal images from settling too deeply. This wasn't the first time he'd been on a case involving pulled teeth, though that had been for an entirely different, near clinical reason. "Are you saying Dr. Vanessa Claymont, co-director of the bang-your-troubles-away couples retreat, is part of a rebel pack?"
  
  "Unlikely. They're not exactly known for supporting the business ventures and independence of their followers. But my guess is that she certainly used to be."
  
  "And left under less than ideal circumstances," Cooper said.
  
  "There are no ideal circumstances to leave a rebel pack," Park said. "Rebels aren't just those who don't follow the ruling packs. They're territories to themselves. They follow their own rules and deal their own unpredictable and cruel justice."
  
  Cooper considered that. "Wasn't Eli in a rebel pack when you met him?" he said, naming Park's charming and painfully good-looking ex he'd met briefly early that year. "I thought he said they were just a band of outcasts or something."
  
  "You think I'm unfairly biased against them because of who my family is. Because of who I am," Park said bluntly.
  
  Cooper placed a hand on Park's arm. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just trying to understand."
  
  The silence drew out. Park was stiff and unmoving and his eyes had grown distant, angry, though Cooper was fairly sure it wasn't directed at him.
  
  "Eli's story isn't mine to tell," Park said finally. "But as much as you think the wolves you've met place emphasis on dominance, submission, obedience and sacrifice for the benefit of those in charge, rebels are ten times worse. Eli felt that. I'm guessing Vanessa did, too."
  
  "You think this is what Kreuger found out? The information he was looking to trade? Maybe he discovered something about Vanessa's past she didn't want getting out?"
  
  Park shook his head. "I don't know. I doubt the Kreuger I knew took issue on a moral level. Blackmail, on the other hand..."
  
  "What about Paul? He must know of Vanessa's past. If Kreuger was threatening her somehow, he also has motive to remove the threat."
  
  "We need to take a closer look at Vanessa's and Paul's offices," Park agreed. "And get you to a doctor," he added so casually Cooper nearly missed it.
  
  "Don't be ridiculous. Look at me, I'm completely fine."
  
  "You said you feel weird."
  
  "Sure. But it's a big leap to seek medical attention. What would you have me tell the doctor my symptoms are? Mood swings and intermittent horniness? If I were a nineteenth-century woman I'd get sent home with a vibrator. In fact, I might prescribe myself the same treatment after this case."
  
  "But—"
  
  "No. Look, first I need to eat. I'm hungrier than I've ever been in my life, for some reason."
  
  "Tell me you're not trying to blame horniness on hunger."
  
  "I'm just saying, if I don't feel better after that, we can revisit the idea of a doctor. But otherwise, forget it."
  
  "What does feeling better mean in this scenario? If you don't want to fuck me after lunch, we're in the clear?" Park said sarcastically.
  
  Cooper raised his eyebrows. "Well, I certainly hope not, do you?"
  
  Somewhere around the corner, a door opened with a heavy whoosh and closed slowly. Cooper and Park stayed silent and watchful as soft footsteps approached and relaxation expert Reggie appeared.
  
  "Oh!" she said, jumping a bit. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear anyone come in." Her eyes darted back and forth between Cooper and Park and then, so quickly he almost missed it, toward the door to Kreuger's office. It was much prettier on this side. Subtly painted to blend with the décor and remain as unnoticed as possible.
  
  At least it would if they hadn't left it slightly open.
  
  "Are you here for a lesson?" she asked, and there was just a hint of suspicion under her tone.
  
  "Yes, we are," Cooper said quickly, sliding his arm around Park's waist and bumping their hips together affectionately. "Sorry, when we didn't see anyone we thought that might be your office," he explained, gesturing at the door.
  
  Reggie smiled and her posture relaxed a little. "Oh, no. That's just the heaters and such."
  
  She was a short woman, hardly five feet, fat, had a shaved head and dramatically winged blue eyeliner. Most of the tattoos on her arms were abstract swirls in a faded green-black color and looked like they had been done at home, but there were a couple tattoos on her chest that were objects of some kind. Two teacups maybe, or a couple of flowerless vases. It was hard to tell exactly what because they were both twisted and stretched oddly. Almost like they covered burns or had been distorted through surgery, but the skin was smooth and unscarred. Cooper thought she didn't look older than twenty, but that might have had more to do with the way she hovered there, vacillating between discomfort and confidence. Like she was still deciding between giving the instructions or waiting to receive them.
  
  "I can give you a quick tour of the spa area and then we can begin the lesson, if you'd like."
  
  Cooper nodded and tried not to look too worried about what the lesson referred to. "Is there anything we, uh, need or...?"
  
  "Oh no. We provide all the supplies. This is our dressing room." She gestured around them. "The facilities are open all hours and the cupboards under the table there are kept stocked with all sorts of stuff you are free to use. Towels, shampoos, soaps, oils, and, um, lots of things."
  
  She blushed a bit and started to lead them out. Cooper opened the cupboard for a peek and saw all the items Reggie had listed along with boxes of various high-end condoms, sealed single-use lubes and a bag of individually wrapped mints. Please don't let these be the lesson supplies she was referring to.
  
  Reggie led them down a wide, tiled hall. "These are the showers and the steam room is here." She knocked on the glass, waited a couple moments, then opened the heavy door. Cooper was expecting steam to come billowing out, but it was barely hotter inside than out. Everything was made of very dark, near-black stone. Stone floor, stone semicircular benches, stone walls. In the center of the room was a stone pillar with an orb thing covered in black wire and cut metal shapes.
  
  Cooper ran his fingers over the top and waggled his eyebrows at Park.
  
  "What's my future look like, Nostradamus?" Park asked.
  
  "Pretty steamy." Cooper winked.
  
  Reggie stood watching them in the open doorway. "The timer to set how long you'd like the steam to run is out here. Along with the lighting options." She flicked something out of sight and the room switched to a warm, intimate light. Another flick and it was low blue. Once more and the lights fell quite dim indeed, but deep inside the orb glowed a soft white.
  
  Cooper followed Reggie's direction to look up and saw it was projecting shadows that looked like forest tree limbs and little birds onto the ceiling. Cooper suddenly remembered where he'd seen a similar device before. Sitting on Muñoz's shelf. Apparently Park remembered, too.
  
  "That's very clever," Park said, staring up at the pictures. "Where'd you get it?"
  
  "Oh, the groundskeeper made it. He used to work here, anyway. I told him how I was jealous he gets to work outside all day while I'm cooped up in here. He said now I'll always be able to see the sky. Actually he made me, like, thirty if you want one."
  
  "That must have taken a lot of time," Cooper said neutrally, and glanced at Park, who looked distinctly unimpressed. Kreuger was, what, forty-seven? Reggie seemed barely out of her teens. "Was he your friend? Boyfriend?" he added carefully.
  
  Reggie scrunched up her nose immediately. "God, no." Her face turned guilty. "I mean, he's nice or whatever. But—" She shrugged and flipped the light back on, obliterating the forest scene. "Ready to continue?"
  
  Reggie gave them the rest of the tour, showing them a sleek indoor pool with a connecting hot tub and glass doors leading out to the enormous outdoor deck. Inside the pool, Jimmy swam aggressive laps and Lisa lay out on one of the comfortable cushioned reclining chairs with her eyes closed. If either of them noticed Cooper and Park, they didn't acknowledge them. Finally, closer to the main part of the lodge Reggie led them into a room with a massage table, raised stone bathtub and enormous shower in the corner. To the side was a long table with oils and stacks of towels. Park gave Cooper a slightly alarmed look.
  
  Reggie closed the door behind them. "Now the main event. Have you decided who wants to do what?"
  
  Cooper cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"
  
  "Who is learning how to give the massage and who is receiving?" She paused and looked slightly uncomfortable, hands twisting in front of her. "I, uh, usually base the lesson around wolf anatomy, but..."
  
  Cooper exhaled. "Right." He nodded at Park, not sure why he felt a little nervous. "You heard her. Get your pants off."
  
  Park hesitated. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather the other way? After what you said about being—" he glanced at Reggie, who turned away to futz with the towels "—very hungry."
  
  Cooper rolled his eyes. "I think I'll be able to resist taking a bite out of you for a little bit. Come on. It's time I show you what these hands can really do."