Soul Eater | Leo Norden

The second character I want you to meet is Leo Norden. Leo is Ric’s partner, and mostly, he does what Ric wants him to do, but there is something… Leo is a secretive guy. He does what’s expected of him. He keeps a close eye on Elora, Thad’s partner, and he’s pleasant enough, but no one knows why he doesn’t have a pack or how he ended up in Rockshade.

To be honest, I’m about to start the third book in this series soon, and while things in the department have changed a lot since the beginning of Soul Eater, Leo still plays his cards close to the vest.

Jobs in the Paranormal Investigations Department were sought-after, the department had a great reputation—or it had at least had a great reputation before they had hired Thad and Elora.

How the hell would the two of them find the missing woman? They couldn’t afford another unsolved case; the department’s statistics were already down a lot since they’d added a wizard-slash-psychic team. In their defense, they never got much of a chance to solve cases. Had the collaboration between wizards, psychics, and shifters worked, they could all gain from each other’s strengths. As it was now, there was nothing more than competition; hushed conversations between team members so no one else could intervene or give their opinion.

Thad sighed and bit his tongue until he tasted blood. They had to solve this.

“Perhaps, I could stay and help.” Leo Norden, who despite Thad’s first assumptions wasn’t a lion shifter, but a jackal, and Ric’s partner, took a step forward.

“As I recall, you too, have two vacation days coming up.” Jaecar’s voice was flat as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Leo cleared his throat. “Yeah, but it was to spend Halloween with Ric and his family up at the cabin in the mountains.” He pointed at Ric, his shaggy sand-colored hair falling into his eyes at the gesture, “I don’t have a… eh… mate or kids. I can cancel.”

“No.” Leo’s eyes flew to the floor when Ric spoke. “You’re coming with me. Either we both work, or none of us do. Fay has some woman from her job coming to meet you.”

Thad grimaced as Leo’s shoulders slumped. He could sympathize—a Halloween blind date, poor soul.

Thad had met Fay, Ric’s mate, once, and it was not something he wanted to repeat. Her body was ample and she had honey-colored, soft curls framing a heart-shaped face. Thad’s initial reaction had been to smile because she looked warm and lovely, then she’d opened her mouth… He guessed if you were to be mated to someone like Ric, you had to be a bit bossy, and she was—more than a bit.

“Then get out of here, both of you.” Jaecar turned toward his office. He was the only one who had an office. In the open area, there were two rows of desks, and they each had their own. His was in front of Elora’s. If they wanted to have private meetings, they used the conference room. “Better get cracking, Ezax.”

“Yes, sir.” Thad held the folder in his hand as he spun around on his office chair so he was facing Elora. Her desk was filled with Halloween trinkets—skulls, witches, ghosts, and Thad’s favorite, a skeleton cat. He couldn’t find anywhere to place the folder, so he continued to hold on to it.

“Show us some of that spark now, Ezax,” Ric sneered.

Fucking wolf.