Our third character is Elora Long, Thad’s partner. She’s the only woman and the only psychic in the department, and while she doesn’t have a problem with Leo, she’s terrified of Ric.

Her skill allows her to find things that belong together – a missing earring, a dropped chopstick, or a lost sock. She hates using her skill. If she uses it, she’ll pass out and will remain sleeping for a few hours.

Thaddeus does what he can to keep her safe since using her skill leaves her vulnerable, but the two of them have a much worse solve rate than the others in the department – something Ric often reminds them of.

Most people, both humans and magical beings, feared Ric. Thad didn’t, and he’d almost managed to make himself believe it, too. If things went bad, he could always turn him into a toad, and Ric knew it. Though he was a lousy wizard, and if Ric wanted to rip his throat out, he’d do it before Thad could cast a spell.

Slumping on his chair, he did nothing to try to muffle his sigh.

Jaecar straightened his back and stared Ric in the eyes—not many did for more than a second, but Jaecar didn’t lower his gaze for anyone. A sizzle went through Thad. There was so much power hidden beneath the disheveled surface.

Jaecar was a shifter too, but Thad had no idea what his animal was. Something solitary since he didn’t belong to a pack, pride, or family group.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve requested a couple days of vacation, starting about half an hour ago.” Jaecar’s voice was cool and controlled, and while Ric didn’t move a muscle, it was as if he deflated.

“Yeah, but a woman’s life is in danger.”

“And Ezax and Long are looking into it.”

Ric snorted. “Might as well tell her family to contact the funeral service, those two will never solve a case. They’re fucking useless.”

Jaecar didn’t respond, but Thad suspected he agreed with Ric. He chanced a glance at Elora who had shrunk several inches during the conversation. Elora couldn’t afford to lose inches, she was short for a woman, and Thad, who was relatively average in the height department, appeared tiny next to the shifters.

Elora was a curvy, quiet woman in her early thirties with skin like melted chocolate and black, close-cropped hair. Thad liked her, a lot, but none of them had any brawn, none of them had the nose of a shifter, and therefore not the tracking ability of one either.

Thad could’ve cast a tracking spell if he’d been more powerful. Had he been anywhere near as powerful as the rest of the members of the Ezax bloodline, he’d be able to find the woman within minutes. Now they had to solve this case like the mundanes did because there was no way in hell he’d admit Ric was right and that it would be better to hand the case over to the shifters.

He glanced at Elora again. Perhaps she’d be able to pick up on something. For once the odds might be in their favor—they never were. He was being unfair. Elora was clairvoyant, Thad had seen it happen, but she never got any clues as to find missing people or murderers on the run. She was formidable at finding a lost glove or sock, which might have been good if she’d worked as a dry cleaner or something. If she accidentally touched a dropped chopstick in a restaurant, she instantly knew where its mate was, but it didn’t mean she’d find missing people.

The most useful Thad had seen her was when she found a lost cufflink at a crime scene. She touched it and told them where the other one was. If it was close by, she could point the correct direction and know when they were getting close, if it was farther away, a map worked pretty well.

Finding a cufflink now would be too much to hope for. Sighing, again, Thad spun the small, ceramic jack o’ lantern bowl Elora had placed there and wished he could go home and hide. Glancing inside the bowl, he pursed his lips when he saw there only were two tiny chocolate pieces left. He’d eaten the entire bowl—the entire super-small bowl of chocolates.

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.