Thanks to everyone for the terrific response to Chapter 1! Shout out to the Guest reviewers since I can't respond to you personally, but I appreciate you!


Chapter 2 - The First Victim

Captain Moreno stopped at Joss's desk holding a slip of paper, and Joss knew what that meant, a new case. She sighed. She was already behind on three other cases.

"Whatcha got?" Fusco asked as he stood next to the Captain reaching for the slip of paper.

"Mummy found in the Bronx," Moreno said as she relinquished the paper to Fusco.

"We're detectives, not archeologists!" he grumbled as he read the paper.

Joss leaned back in her chair and arched her eyebrow at the captain. "Last time I checked, the precincts in the Bronx had lots of detectives assigned to them. Any reason why WE are being called out?"

Moreno glared back. "The vic is Wolf and you two are the most experienced in the department in dealing with Wolf cases, so the brass wants you on it. You better get moving, the techs waiting for you at the crime scene."

"Oh yeah we're the new Muldar and Scully," Fusco growled as Moreno walked away.

Joss snickered. "That makes John, Sam, and Harold the Lone Gunman!"

"You know they died, right?" Fusco grinned as he stepped over to his computer and shut it down.

Joss grinned back. "Yes I know. They sacrificed themselves heroically to prevent a deadly disease from escaping. I cried watching that episode." She shrugged on her coat. "Let's go."

Joss didn't want to admit to her partner, but she was rather eager to see the mummy and work on this case. It wasn't their usual kind of case and Joss's natural curiosity was on overdrive.

"We cannot be the only Wolf detectives on a force this size," Fusco grumbled in the car on the way to crime scene.

"We're not. I know of several others, but we're the only 'out' Wolves" Joss explained as she negotiated a turn.

"I say we out the other Wolves and let them do their fair share," Fusco snapped, making Joss laugh.

They arrived at the address, an empty lot, to find it bustling with police activity. As soon as they were out of the car, they were approached by a tall man whose credentials hanging from his neck identified him as Detective Gary Linander.

"Fusco, long time no see," The large, burly Swede shook his hand. "You only get uglier."

"And you only get fatter," Fusco shot back. "This is Joss Carter, my partner." He turned to Joss. "Linander and I were rookie patrolmen together."

"Call me Gary," Linander said as his huge hand engulfed Joss's much smaller one.

"Thank you Gary, call me Joss," Joss smiled back. Despite the fact that Linander was so big, his handshake was delicate and Joss appreciated the fact the he wasn't trying to crush her hand.

Linander dropped his hand and jerked his head in the direction of the hub of activity. "Follow me, I'll show you the body. I gotta say this is one time I don't mind having to hand off a case; this one gives me the creeps."

"How so?" Joss asked she fell into step with the large man.

"The body's been mummified somehow, and mummies freak me out," the big guy shuttered.

"You must be a blast at Halloween," Fusco grunted as he followed them.

Linander patted his ample stomach. "I'm more of a Christmas guy. I play Santa every year for the family." He ducked under the crime scene tape, followed by Joss and Fusco. "Here we are."

Looking down at the victim, Joss had to admit that Linander had a point, the mummified remains were creepy as hell. The victim looked like they had died in pain, judging from the agonized expression on their face. The skin had shrunk as it dried so it was stretched tightly over the bones of the face. The hands, the only other part of the body visible through the clothing, looked shriveled and dry as well. The body was curled into the fetal position as if they had been trying to protect themselves from whatever had killed them.

Joss and Fusco both pulled on gloves and knelt down to examine the body closer. It was male, but with the skin in the condition it was in, Joss didn't want to hazard a guess as to how old he was. Since he had a full head of thick black hair with no gray, he was probably younger rather than older.

"We were told the victim was Wolf, how did you know that?" Joss asked as she sat back on her haunches so she could look up at the tall Swede.

Linander took a plastic bag with a man's wallet out of his coat pocket and tossed it to her. "He had his wallet on him, so I ran his name as soon as I got here. He's Peter Yoshida. He had a DUI and resisting arrest 'bout ten years ago and his arrest records noted he was Wolf. As soon as we saw that, the brass decided to call you."

Joss and Fusco spent the next several minutes examining the body and immediate area for clues, while Linander watched and answered questions. Then Linander asked one of his own. "When did you become a Wolf, Fusco?"

Fusco didn't look up. He got that question a lot once he decided to stop hiding his Wolf status. "Few years ago, about a year before HR went down."

"Do you like it?" Linander was curious.

"Yeah, yeah I do. It feels good, and I have a pack of friends." Fusco looked up at his old colleague. "Joss here is an Alpha; she can turn you if you want."

Linander shook his head. "Nah, I seen how Wolves get treated. I ain't signing up for that."

He knelt down next to Joss. "There is something you should see, I'm not sure if it's a Wolf thing or not." Very carefully he moved the man's shirt collar out of the way allowing Joss and Fusco to see a strip of leather around the man's neck.

"What the …?" Fusco exclaimed as he moved more of the shirt collar out the way to see that the man was wearing a leather collar marked with some sort of strange symbols and held in place by a small locked padlock of the type a traveler would use to lock their suitcase.

"That is definitely NOT a Wolf thing," Joss said emphatically. "Hold his shirt out of the way Fusco, I need to get some pictures."

Fusco obediently held the man's shirt back so Joss could get several pictures. Then with the permission of the coroner on scene, they turned the body over so Joss could get shots of the entire collar.

"What do you think that is?" Fusco asked.

Joss shook her head. "I have no idea, but I'll send the pictures to our mutual friends. Maye they'll have some idea."

Joss stood up. "I have to make a phone call, be right back."

She moved away from the crime scene until she was satisfied she was far enough away so she would not be overheard, then she punched the first number on her phone.

"Hello Detective."

Out of a long established habit, John Reese continued to call her "Detective" over the phone even though they had been mated for some time and had a cub together. Despite the fact that their association was several years old, John Reese's soft voice never failed to make her shiver in the best way possible.

"You busy?"

"Not really, we're waiting for our number to get out of bed. Shaw's eating. Why?"

"We pulled a weird case. We have a dead mummified Wolf."

"Mummified? How so?" Joss could feel John's interest was piqued through their mating bond.

"He's dried out, shriveled up, like someone sucked all the moisture out him. From the look on his face, I'd say he was alive when it happened and it was a very painful death. He was also wearing a collar with some symbols on it and we're not sure if that's related."

Finch broke into the conversation at that point. "If you have pictures Detective, send them to me and I'll see if I can decipher them."

"I was hoping you would say that Finch," Joss smiled even though she was wondering when she had gotten so used to the loss of privacy that she now expected Finch to listen in on her conversations.

With the push of a button, the pictures were winging their way to the computer genius. Joss turned and walked back to the crime scene.


That night Joss arrived home to find chaos in the spacious apartment their family called The Bunker for its high tech security. John was in his Wolf form pretending to stalk their toddler cub Cali, also in her Wolf form. Cali was happily scuttling around the large room that served as the living room/dining room/ kitchen, sliding on the hardwood floor when she tried to corner too sharply. John was taking a more leisurely pace as he followed her since his long legs meant he was taking one stride to Cali's four.

Joss watched with a wide smile on her face. If only the law breakers of the city who trembled in fear at the mention of "The Man in the Suit" could see him now. Here inside their home, he was a tender, loving husband and father. He reveled in family life, a life he once longed for but thought he could never have. Consequently he cherished his time with his mate and cubs like few others did.

It didn't take long for Cali to notice that her mother was home and she ran up to Joss with her tail wagging, her tongue hanging out, and a large grin on her little Wolf face. The toddler morphed into her human form to address her mother. "Mama! Pway wid us!" She demanded as she hopped up and down.

Joss laughed at the sight of the happy, butt-naked toddler. "Let me change out of my clothes and I'll be right out."

Cali, happy with the answer morphed back to Wolf and scurried back to her father. John gave Joss a wink then resumed playing with his cub.

Joss went to the master bedroom to remove her clothing. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze across her skin as she assumed the shape of the black She Wolf. She bounded out to the living room to begin her three way romp with her mate and her cub.

After a spirited play session little Cali was almost asleep on her tiny paws. Joss settled down on the plush rug in front of the electric fireplace and Cali snuggled up to her mother, falling asleep instantly. John curled around his family, laying his chin on Joss's back. The three of them were soon asleep in a happy pile of Wolf family.


We needed some happy time with Cali, before things get really grim later. Before anyone asks where Taylor was, he was out with friends. You'll see him later in the story.