The interview room had been built for humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was the first problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second problem was the chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane sat in it anyway, shoulders hunched forward, brown fur brushing both sides of the cheap plastic backrest while his knees crowded the underside of the table. His blue eyes stayed fixed on the mirror across the room, the one everyone pretended was just a mirror and not a window with three cops standing behind it trying to decide whether he was a suspect, a witness, or a problem they did not have a large enough cage for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beside him, Gabriel looked entirely too comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was Gabriel\u2019s gift. Black fur, blue eyes, lean posture, one ankle crossed over the other as if they were waiting for a table at a bad diner instead of sitting in a police station at six in the morning. He had found the one chair in the room that did not squeak under werewolf weight, which Thane suspected was less luck and more quiet arrogance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark sat on Thane\u2019s other side, gray and white fur neatly groomed despite the hour, brown eyes moving with careful precision from the camera in the upper corner, to the recorder on the table, to the detective\u2019s notepad, to the door, and back to the recorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEverything in this room is recording,\u201d Mark said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel glanced up at the camera. \u201cEven the chair screaming under Thane?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt may become evidence,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane growled low in his throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel smiled without looking at him. \u201cSee? Audio confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The detective across from them did not flinch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane gave her that much credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was maybe in her mid-forties, dark hair pulled back tight, sleeves rolled to the elbows, badge clipped at her belt instead of displayed on her chest. Detective Mara Voss had introduced herself five minutes earlier with the tired calm of someone who had already seen too much before sunrise. She had not offered them coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was probably wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man beside her, Detective Owen Rusk, looked older and heavier in the eyes. He had the gray skin of a man who had lived under fluorescent lights and bad news for too long. A file folder sat closed in front of him. His hand rested on top of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not gripping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not guarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane did not like the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He knew what was in it. Maybe not every detail. But enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detective Voss folded her hands on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s talk about the little girl,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The jokes stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even Gabriel\u2019s expression lost its lazy edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark went very still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s claws flexed once beneath the table, the tips clicking softly against the underside. The sound was small, but sharp enough to make Detective Voss\u2019s eyes drop for half a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course she noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good detective, Thane thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bad morning for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat little girl?\u201d Gabriel asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His voice was smooth. Almost bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane did not look at him. Neither did Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detective Rusk\u2019s mouth twitched, but not into a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCareful,\u201d Rusk said. \u201cThat answer only works if you don\u2019t care whether we believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel tilted his head. \u201cI care deeply. That\u2019s why I\u2019m trying to establish which little girl you mean. There are, sadly, several missing persons cases in this county.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark breathed out through his nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTechnically accurate,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot helping,\u201d Thane muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUsually my line,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss opened the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a photo on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She did not slide it across the table. Thane appreciated that more than he wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The girl in the picture was five years old. Maybe just barely. Blonde hair, round cheeks, missing front tooth. Pink shirt with a cartoon unicorn on it. She was smiling at someone outside the frame with the absolute trust of a child who had not yet learned the world had teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked away first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not from guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmma Kincaid,\u201d Voss said. \u201cFive years old. Missing for fifteen days. Taken from her grandmother\u2019s backyard while her mother was inside packing her lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s jaw tightened once, very slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears angled back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stared at the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss continued, voice even. Professional. Thin at the edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was found at three-seventeen this morning sitting on her parents\u2019 front porch wrapped in a green wool blanket. Dehydrated. Malnourished. Bruised. Scared half out of her mind.\u201d Voss paused. \u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word sat between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was the only word in the whole room that mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk leaned back in his chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHer parents found her after she rang the doorbell,\u201d he said. \u201cSecurity camera caught the porch. She comes into frame from the left, climbs the steps, rings the bell, and sits down. No car. No adult. No visible escort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s eyes flicked to Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss drew another photograph from the file and placed it on the table, still closer to her side than theirs. It was a still image from a doorbell camera. Grainy. Night vision. A tiny girl wrapped in a blanket too large for her, hair tangled, bare feet dirty, one hand pressed to the doorframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s stomach twisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had seen that porch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had seen her feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had seen the way she had clutched the blanket like letting go would make the dark take her back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss watched him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane did not look at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe told her parents someone brought her home,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Gabriel said softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery good,\u201d Rusk agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The older detective tapped one finger against the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe also told them who.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane kept his breathing steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel did not move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked down at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss slid a printed transcript forward. Not all the way. Just enough for the top lines to be visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane saw childish words typed by an adult hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big wolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bad man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They carried me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One had blue eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room became too small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel exhaled through his nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cblue eyes. That narrows it to half the people at a rodeo and every husky on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark closed his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGabriel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat? It\u2019s a valid statistical point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane finally looked at him. \u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel leaned back. \u201cThat\u2019s his indoor voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk gave the smallest huff. It was almost a laugh, but too tired to make it all the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss did not laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe said there were three wolves,\u201d Voss said. \u201cBig ones. Bigger than people. One brown. One black. One gray and white.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked down at himself, then at Mark, then at Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears flattened. \u201cPlease stop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m handling the tension.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re manufacturing evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am absolutely not. I\u2019m manufacturing plausible annoyance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss leaned forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmma said the wolves saved her from the bad man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That ended Gabriel\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment, the only sound was the faint buzz of the fluorescent light overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane could hear the people behind the mirror breathing. Three of them. One had a cough he was trying to suppress. One smelled like coffee and wintergreen gum. One smelled like old rain, gun oil, and a grief that had gone stale from being carried too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane knew that smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every cop in the building probably did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss closed the folder halfway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you know who the bad man was?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s face remained composed, but his claws had curled lightly against his palms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel answered more carefully. \u201cWe know what everyone knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd what does everyone know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s smile came back, but there was no humor in it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat Harold Caine had very expensive attorneys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk\u2019s eyes lowered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss did not react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harold Caine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The name did what names like that always did. It took a monster and dressed him up like a taxpayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Developer. Donor. Businessman. Church volunteer when cameras were around. Friend of judges. Friend of commissioners. Friend of anyone who liked campaign checks and steak dinners. A man who had been too close to too many missing children and too far from enough evidence to matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cases had been built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cases had fallen apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Witnesses had gone quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search warrants had come too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evidence had disappeared, been mishandled, been ruled inadmissible, or been buried under the weight of lawyers who wore five-thousand-dollar suits and spoke in polished circles until truth became a technicality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody could prove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until the forest proved something in a language no court wanted to translate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss turned a page in the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt four-fifty-two this morning, deputies located a cabin eleven miles north of Lake Carl Blackwell. Remote property. Registered through two shell companies and a trust connected to Caine\u2019s business manager.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s eyes sharpened despite himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat fast?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark shifted slightly in his chair, suddenly aware he had said it out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss answered anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFast enough when a missing child comes home after fifteen days and gives us enough to start looking.\u201d Her gaze stayed on him. \u201cYou always notice details like that, Mark?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears angled back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI notice when people skip over the important parts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel glanced at him. \u201cHe also notices when restaurants alphabetize the dessert menu wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey shouldn\u2019t do that,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, something almost like amusement touched Voss\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d she said. \u201cThen notice this. That cabin wasn\u2019t a rumor anymore. It was real. And everything inside it mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk pulled another photo from the file, then stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked at the three werewolves. Really looked at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he placed the photo facedown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane appreciated that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe found Caine in the woods about two hundred yards from the cabin,\u201d Rusk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not say shredded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not say pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not say the blood had frozen black into the leaves or that the trees around the clearing still smelled like terror, rage, and old copper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnimal attack?\u201d Gabriel asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMedical examiner hasn\u2019t made a ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCoyotes are getting ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark made a small sound. It might have been pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss\u2019s gaze cut toward Gabriel. \u201cYou think this is funny?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s eyes went cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cI think if I stop making jokes, I may say something honest. And I suspect that would be inconvenient for everyone in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good answer, Thane thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dangerous answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss held his stare for a few seconds, then looked back at the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe cabin had restraints,\u201d she said. \u201cA small bed. Children\u2019s clothing. Several locks installed on the outside of interior doors.\u201d Her voice remained level through force alone. \u201cWe found evidence connected to at least three open cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane heard the scrape of stubble against palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThree confirmed so far,\u201d Rusk said. \u201cMaybe more once the lab gets through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane wanted to bite something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wanted the table between them gone. He wanted the mirrored glass gone. He wanted the whole clean little room gone so everyone could stop pretending the world was built out of paperwork and start admitting some men only understood one language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s hand touched his arm under the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Straight and narrow, that touch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane drew in a slow breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He smelled Mark\u2019s worry. Gabriel\u2019s controlled anger. Voss\u2019s exhaustion. Rusk\u2019s grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And beneath it all, under the bleach and stale coffee and rain-damp coats of the police station, he smelled relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one wanted to say it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harold Caine would never touch another child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No lawyer could undo that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss slid one final page across the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one came all the way to their side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a blurry trail camera image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three shapes moved between trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost impossible to define in the grainy dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One darker than the rest. One broad and brown. One pale gray-white blur near the rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No faces. No scale reference. No timestamp visible in the crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just ghosts with claws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel leaned over it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCould be bears,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel shrugged. \u201cLarge, organized, morally outraged bears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane snorted despite himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The detective behind the mirror with the wintergreen gum coughed once, poorly disguising what might have been a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss pressed her fingers against her forehead for half a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you three understand how serious this is?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Mark said immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel and Mark both looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane leaned forward. The chair protested under him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI understand that a little girl is home,\u201d he said. \u201cI understand that you found the cabin. I understand that you found proof he was what everyone said he was. I understand Harold Caine is dead.\u201d His blue eyes locked on Voss. \u201cWhat I don\u2019t understand is why you sound disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room held its breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss did not blink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not disappointed he\u2019s dead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s ears angled forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk looked at her, but she did not look back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI spent eighteen months trying to build a case that would survive his attorneys,\u201d Voss said. \u201cI watched parents sit in rooms like this while men in suits explained why their pain had insufficient evidentiary value. I watched a mother vomit in a courthouse bathroom after a judge threw out the one piece of evidence she thought would finally matter.\u201d Her voice tightened. \u201cSo no, I am not disappointed Harold Caine is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen what are we doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss leaned in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m disappointed that I can\u2019t put him on trial.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That landed differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane felt it, though he did not want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s expression shifted, the sarcasm fading into something more thoughtful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss tapped the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou think death is the only justice that counts because it\u2019s clean. It\u2019s final. It feels honest.\u201d Her eyes hardened. \u201cBut there are parents who needed to hear him sentenced. There are families who needed his name dragged into daylight. There are other victims who may never know if he was the reason their child didn\u2019t come home. And now every answer we get depends on what survived in that cabin and what the lab can pull from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s jaw worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had no answer ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hated that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk spoke next, quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd there\u2019s another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel glanced at him. \u201cOnly one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk ignored it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou three keep showing up near things you shouldn\u2019t know about. Domestic calls where the suspect suddenly decides moving to Texas sounds healthy. Drug dealers with broken hands and improved manners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSounds like you\u2019ve had a productive year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSounds like we\u2019ve had civilians interfering with police work,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSounds like people needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoth can be true,\u201d Mark said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark did not back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room went still again, but this time for a different reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel turned his head slightly, watching Mark now with interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark folded his hands on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf someone helped that girl,\u201d Mark said carefully, \u201cthen she is alive because of it. That matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears tilted back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut people who decide they\u2019re the only ones allowed to fix things usually become dangerous. Maybe not at first. Maybe not when everyone agrees the bad guy deserved it.\u201d He glanced at the folder, then back at Thane. \u201cBut eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room went quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou taking their side?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying there\u2019s a difference between protecting people and becoming something people need protection from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words hit harder than Thane expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked between them and gave a quiet, humorless smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was unpleasantly mature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark sighed. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was not a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk watched them with an unreadable expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he closed the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That sound felt final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not under arrest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s eyes shifted to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShould we be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we had enough to arrest you, we wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel spread his hands. \u201cRefreshing honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a traumatized five-year-old talking about wolves,\u201d Voss said. \u201cA blurry trail camera. No usable tracks because the ground was frozen and half the search team contaminated the area before anyone knew what they were looking at. No witness who can place you at the cabin. No murder weapon because the alleged murder weapon would apparently be teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel raised one finger. \u201cAllegedly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark put his face in one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane almost smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss\u2019s eyes flicked toward Gabriel. \u201cYou\u2019re very funny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI get that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot from people who like you, I\u2019m guessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That time, Gabriel smiled for real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDetective, I\u2019m wounded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot according to the medical examiner,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk made a sound into his fist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane decided he liked Voss a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo here\u2019s where we are. We can\u2019t prove you were there. We can\u2019t prove what happened to Caine. And frankly, there are people in this building who do not seem especially motivated to try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mirror remained silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut,\u201d she continued, \u201cif you keep doing this, eventually you\u2019ll make a mistake we can prove. Or you\u2019ll get someone killed. Or you\u2019ll ruin a case. Or all three.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane rose slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk\u2019s eyes flicked to Thane\u2019s hands, then back to his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss did not move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane towered over her. He knew what he looked like. Brown fur. Blue eyes. Teeth too visible when he spoke. A predator shape wearing a man\u2019s anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou think we\u2019re the problem?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Voss said. \u201cI think you\u2019re a solution with no rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That stopped him cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel uncrossed his ankle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss reached into the folder again and pulled out a thin packet of papers. She set it on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked at them like she had dropped a dead rat between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInformation on CLEET certification,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he laughed once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, that is funny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark leaned forward despite himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCLEET?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk nodded. \u201cCouncil on Law Enforcement Education and Training. State certification. Academy. Firearms. Law. Procedure. Defensive tactics. Reports. All the boring things that keep people out of prison for the wrong reasons and put them in prison for the right ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know what CLEET is,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Voss said. \u201cThen you know it exists for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel picked up the packet and flipped through the first few pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re recruiting us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk shrugged. \u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss shot him a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He lifted both hands. \u201cWhat? We are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked back at the werewolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am telling you that whatever happened last night cannot become a pattern,\u201d Voss said. \u201cNot for you. Not for us. Not for this city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s ears angled forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou got a better idea?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Voss said. \u201cStop working from the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel gave her a thin smile. \u201cWe weren\u2019t aware we were working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Voss said. \u201cI\u2019m sure you were just out for a peaceful moonlit stroll near a hidden cabin connected to a missing child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked down at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss let the silence sit for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou want to understand why we do things the hard way? Learn it. You want to help without making every cop in this building pretend they don\u2019t know what they know? Learn it. You want to prove you\u2019re more than teeth in the dark?\u201d She tapped the packet once. \u201cLearn it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel glanced at Mark. \u201cShe\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark was already looking at the packet despite himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane did not touch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou think a classroom fixes what\u2019s wrong out there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Voss said. \u201cBut neither do claws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s mouth opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s eyebrows lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked almost impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not wrong,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane turned on him. \u201cYou enjoying this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Mark said. \u201cI\u2019m deeply uncomfortable. But she\u2019s not wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk stood too, slower than Voss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a captain who thinks this is insane,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a deputy chief who thinks it\u2019s political suicide. There\u2019s a city attorney who may actually burst a vein if this conversation becomes official.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d Gabriel asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk looked toward the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a second, the tired mask slipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Emma Kincaid is home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk swallowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI also think Detective Voss is right. We can\u2019t have shadows doing police work. Even shadows with good intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss picked up the CLEET packet and held it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark took it first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark adjusted the papers neatly against the table edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere would be prerequisites,\u201d Mark said. \u201cBackground checks. Psychological evaluations. Physical standards. Agency sponsorship depending on route. Field training after certification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel stared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou read one paragraph.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI skimmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou skim like a tax auditor hunts prey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark ignored him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked at Voss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou really think a police academy is going to know what to do with three werewolves?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss\u2019s mouth twitched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019ll be the best entertainment law enforcement training has seen in years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel nodded slowly. \u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t encourage her,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rusk walked to the door and opened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hallway beyond was busy in the way police stations were always busy: phones ringing, printers coughing, radios murmuring, boots crossing tile, someone laughing too loudly at something not funny enough because exhaustion made everything either hilarious or unbearable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss stepped aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re free to go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane moved first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had to turn slightly to clear the doorway. Gabriel followed, packet now stolen from Mark\u2019s hands and held loosely at his side. Mark immediately took it back without looking, which made Gabriel smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three of them stepped into the hall, clawed feet quiet against the tile despite their size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The station noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not obviously. Cops were too practiced for that. But conversations dipped half a beat. Eyes moved. A young officer at a desk pretended to study his report while watching over the top of his monitor. A dispatcher looked up, then away, then back again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Werewolves were rare enough to draw attention anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three fully-shifted werewolves walking out of an interview room at dawn drew more than attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They drew questions no one wanted answered on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halfway down the hall, Thane caught the scent from behind the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old rain. Gun oil. Stale grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man stood outside a side office, one shoulder against the doorframe, coffee untouched in his hand. Late fifties maybe. Brown skin weathered around the eyes. Mustache gone mostly gray. Tie loose. Shirt wrinkled. Badge on his belt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kind of detective who had not gone home because going home meant the case might follow him there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His eyes met Thane\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment, nothing moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the detective gave a single nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not anything that could be written in a report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane felt it more than he wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel saw it too. His expression softened, only for a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark lowered his eyes respectfully as they passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one said a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside, dawn had turned the sky pale gray. The parking lot smelled of wet asphalt, exhaust, and the weak coffee someone had spilled near the steps. The city was waking up like nothing had happened. Like a little girl had not come home wrapped in a green blanket. Like a dead man had not been found in the trees. Like three werewolves had not walked out of a police station with their freedom, their secrets, and an application packet none of them had asked for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel stopped beside Thane\u2019s truck and looked down at the papers in Mark\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo,\u201d he said. \u201cPolice academy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked up. \u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel leaned against the truck. \u201cThat was quick. Very open-minded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane pointed toward the station. \u201cThey drag us in, dance around accusing us of killing that piece of filth, then hand us homework?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears angled forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTechnically, it is not homework until we enroll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel nodded. \u201cComforting distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane glared at both of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark held up the packet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane\u2019s growl returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark did not retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was,\u201d he said. \u201cEmma is alive. That matters most. But if there are other victims tied to that cabin, evidence matters too. Procedure matters. Reports matter. The law matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe law let him walk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Mark said. \u201cAnd maybe if people like us understood it better, we could help make sure the next one doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That one landed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The station doors opened behind them. Voss stepped outside, hands in her coat pockets. She did not approach at first. She let the cold air move between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she came down the steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cForgot one thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked at her. \u201cIf it\u2019s coffee, apology accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen this relationship is already strained.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss ignored him and looked at Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou were right about one thing in there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not disappointed Caine is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her voice was quiet enough that it did not carry to the officers smoking near the far end of the lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I have spent my whole career trying to prove that monsters don\u2019t get to decide what justice is.\u201d Her eyes held his. \u201cThat includes the ones I agree with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss pulled a business card from her pocket and tucked it under the clip on the CLEET packet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an informational session next week,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you show up, ask for Sergeant Hale. He owes me a favor and has bad judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked delighted. \u201cOur kind of man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll hate you,\u201d Voss said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlso our kind of man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark studied the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss turned to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stopped her with one word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDetective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wanted to say a lot of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That Caine deserved worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That Emma had cried without making a sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That the cabin had smelled like fear layered over fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That when they found her, she had asked if the bad man could still find her, and Thane had promised no because in that moment there was no law in the world stronger than the promise of a wolf to a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said none of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead he asked, \u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s with her parents,\u201d she said. \u201cDoctors say she\u2019ll recover physically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Physically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word did a lot of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane nodded once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss held his gaze a moment longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she said, \u201cFor what it\u2019s worth, she told her mother the brown wolf had kind eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel turned slowly toward Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark\u2019s ears lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stared at Voss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was traumatized,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cNo reliable witness would say that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark made the mistake of smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane bared his teeth at both of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voss actually smiled then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTry not to get arrested before next week,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel put a hand over his heart. \u201cDetective, we\u2019ll do our best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what worries me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She went back inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The glass doors closed behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a while, none of them moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traffic hissed on the street beyond the lot. Somewhere nearby, a siren wailed once and faded. The city kept breathing. The world kept turning. Bad men still existed. Lost children still needed finding. Rules still stood between rage and justice, thin as paper and twice as easy to tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked down at the packet again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked at Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane looked at the police station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane hated them both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He held out his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark gave him the packet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane glanced at the top page. Training requirements. Application steps. Standards. Dates. Deadlines. A whole ugly machine of rules, tests, instructors, reports, and people telling him when he was allowed to use his teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He imagined Detective Voss across an interview table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He imagined the old detective\u2019s silent nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He imagined Emma Kincaid on her porch in a green blanket, tiny hand on a doorbell, alive because the dark had teeth too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane folded the packet once and tucked it under his arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark wisely did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane opened the truck door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not becoming cops,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel climbed in on the passenger side. \u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark opened the back door. \u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane started the engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The truck rumbled awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked out the windshield at the station and said, \u201cBut hypothetically, if we were not becoming cops, we should probably attend the informational session for the thing we are not doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark buckled his seatbelt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPurely for research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane pulled out of the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind them, the police station shrank in the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead, the morning opened gray and cold and full of things that did not care about the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane drove for almost a full minute before he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf either of you tells anyone about the kind eyes thing, I\u2019m biting you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel looked at Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark looked at Gabriel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNoted, Detective Fluffy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane growled so loud the dashboard vibrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for the first time since the cabin, Gabriel laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not because any of it was funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the girl was home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the monster was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the line between justice and vengeance had just been drawn in front of them, and all three of them knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives trying not to cross it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The packet slid against Thane\u2019s arm as he turned east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CLEET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A badge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hated the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hated even more that Mark was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And somewhere behind his anger, buried under the growl and the grief and the memory of a child\u2019s shaking hand tangled in his fur, something else stirred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane tightened his grip on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel watched the road with a faint smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark was already reading the packet in the back seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sun broke over the city in a thin line of pale gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The night was over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their shift was just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The interview room had been built for humans. That was the first problem. The second problem was the chair. Thane sat in it anyway, shoulders hunched forward, brown fur brushing both sides of the cheap plastic backrest while his knees crowded the underside of the table. His blue eyes stayed fixed on the mirror across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-beginning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/nightshift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}