Blood of Eden

Chapter 8

The next two days were spent scouring the city for any sign or trace scent of the rogue wolf and the hunter. Katherine was on the verge of pulling out her own hair when she finally caught a brief whiff of a familiar overwhelming stench.

It was filtered somehow, as though the wolf to whom the smell belonged had showered, laundered his clothes, then put on one item of clothing that hadn't been washed; a sock perhaps or maybe a pair of shoes that had been contaminated due to long-term exposure to filth.

The minute trail was worth following regardless of its impurity and the fact that she had been assigned to finding the hunter rather than the rogue.

She had expected her sense of smell to be somehow impaired after such a long term of dormancy. Since it seemed to work just as well as when she'd first left home, the practice she'd gotten from using her sense of smell during court cases must have been exercise enough. Tracking was like riding a bicycle; you never forgot how it was done. Like riding that proverbial bike, it was also extremely fun.

Despite the tedium of following ever decaying trails, Katherine found herself reveling in her first active urban hunt in over a hundred years. The last time she had searched a city for a wolf was back before they had left France. Anthony had dared her to find him in the sprawl of Paris, a city well known for its already pungent scent. It had taken her two days and a complete tour of the city to find him lounging in a gentleman's club drinking whiskey from a fine crystal snifter. He had laughed at her aggrieved expression and told her that all was fair in love and war and, since he loved her, their chase had been fair game.

The search for the rogue wolf and the hunter wasn't based on fanciful childhood games but the basic pleasure of the hunt still remained.

By the time she caught the scent of the rogue the sun was falling deep in the sky. She had been on her feet for at least ten hours and was starting to fantasize about the deep whirlpool tub and the thick bed covered with fine Egyptian sheets that she had reserved at the Waldorf-Astoria. The Golden Square Mile was on the other side of the city but that distance would be nothing compared to the miles she had already walked.

The moment the distinctly rotten scent filled her nostrils Katherine forgot about soaking in the tub or falling asleep at a normal hour. Adrenaline rushed into her veins giving her the energy necessary to continue her hunt for hours.

The trail led her on a three-hour long wild goose chase around the city that quickly raised her ire and excitement level to fever pitch. The trail finally ended at the Place Ville Marie tower and the nightclub 737 Attitude.

She glanced down at her outfit and grimaced. She was dressed all in black, which was good, but she was as far from sexy as possible. It didn't really matter that she wasn't dressed for a night out on the town since that was the last thing she had expected to do, but it still would have been nice to not be sweaty, dirty, and without even a simple tube of lip gloss. She knew this place well from previous visits to the city and she knew that the place had a strict dress code. It wouldn't take much to convince the bouncers to let her in but still, it would suck to look this crappy while surrounded by Montreal's hottest singles.

Of course, she knew exactly how terrible it was that she could be so vain while on a tracking expedition and, as she pinched her cheeks then brushed her fingers through her hair, she dismissed that prudent voice and let herself just be human.

Satisfied that she looked as good as she could, given the circumstances, Katherine raised her head and walked into the club.

♀♀♀

It happened quickly.

The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose as her body immediately reacted to some unknown presence. She glanced around and moved quickly to a long wall, leaning against it in a self-protective measure as she scanned the room below. The beat of the music filled her head with chaotic images of bodies and blood, and the sweltering heat acted as an amplifier for the mixing scents.