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Chapter 1

  Nothing complimented blood quite like snow. The tiniest red speck shined like a beacon amid an endless sea of white, so it was no surprise that the body quickly attracted a curious crowd, all asking the same question: What was it?

  As police Chief Jon Mikkelson approached the scene, he guessed wolf, spotting the gray tufts of fur. Upon brushing away the morning's fresh power with his mitten to uncover the creature's true size, he had doubts.

  "Do Norwegian wolves get this big?" he asked his partner. One glance at her shocked expression told him no.

  The canine was the size of a large black-bear, over twice the size of any wolf. If the beast was standing on four legs, it would be tall enough that its breath could fan the back of Jon's neck.

  Officer Dahl, Jon's partner, pressed her hand on the animal's hip until it was swallowed by its fur. "This must be a hybrid - one of those wolf-dogs."

  Wolf-hybrids were considered such a dangerous breed that they were banned in Norway, but of course people found ways to dodge the law. It was feasible someone was hiding this animal, it escaped, and then attacked someone, forcing them to kill it in self defense. The problem with that, Jon thought as he watched skiers glide down the hill, there's no victim. The person who called the station had found the body already dead, and no one had come forward about a dog attack.

  Even if it were self-defense, the shooter had an odd choice in weapons. A single wooden arrow was lodged deep between its ribs. Jon grasped the shaft and pulled upward, feeling the arrow tip nick bones and shred muscle until it was free.

  "Is our suspect a caveman?" Dahl leaned closer to the bloody arrowhead, made of stone and attached to the shaft with sinew.

  Jon, on the other hand, was more concerned with the arrow's fletching that resembled the primary feathers of a hawk - evidence of another crime.

  As Dahl took the arrow to her truck to be thrown into an evidence bag, Jon surveyed the surroundings for evidence. Thanks to the morning's fresh snow, there wasn't much left to find, but something drew his eyes to the dark trees nearby.

  He was being watched.

  He knew this feeling well from his time working in the states, searching the woods for a suspect on the run, never seeing them but feeling their eyes as he drew nearer. After moving to the tiny town of Skjolden, Jon thought he had left those experiences behind, since the most hardcore crime around was the rare stolen vehicle. But once one learns the feeling of being watched, it can never be ignored, so Jon's eyes jumped back and forth, searching for movement in the shadows.

  The sharp crack of wood was like a firecracker in his ear, knocking him off-balance. His hand caught himself before landing in the snow as his eyes snapped upward toward the noise. He caught a glance at the golden feathers of a large eagle just before it disappeared over the trees.

  "Everything ok?" Dahl asked when she returned.

  Jon shook himself off, and together, they carried the carcass down the slope to the parking lot. Dahl jumped up into the bed of her truck to pull the body over the tailgate while Jon pushed it in from the other side. When the animal was secure, Dahl and Jon leaned against the truck to catch their breath. It was the perfect opportunity to take in the ski resort sitting just off the lot. It was the kind of building fit for a postcard, with an A-frame roof dusted with snow and tall windows facing the best mountain views.

  "Dad!"

  A car door opened, and out ran Jon's oldest daughter Elizabeth with a small herd of her friends. He gave the girls a polite nod and pulled his daughter into a side-hug. "Happy birthday, sweetheart. You spending the weekend here?"

  Elizabeth began to gush about a friend-of-a-friend who found a terrific deal online and all the cool amenities the resort had to offer, but Jon had to interrupt her when he noticed someone was missing.

  "Where's your sister?"

  Everyone looked back at the car, where Elizabeth's younger sister, Jess, sank lower in the passenger's seat.

  From the moment one of Elizabeth's friends pointed out her father, Jess was overcome with a sense of dread. She didn't hate seeing her dad - it just happened that not seeing him all weekend was one of the big perks of going on a weekend trip with her sister. When everyone else poured out of the car to say hello, she hoped to fly under the radar, until several pairs of eyes landed on her like spotlights, and she begrudgingly pushed the door open.

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  While Jess took her time dragging her feet over to the group, the girls had taken notice of the animal in the back of Dahl's truck and started asking what happened.

  "Someone found it this morning," Jon answered with a shrug. "We're not sure what happened yet."

  Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at the mass of fur and blood. "Are there any more of them?"

  "Probably not. I don't think you girls have anything to worry about, as long as you be smart. Stay safe." Jon looked over at Jess, who was balancing on her tiptoes to peek at the creature. "You got that paper done yet?"

  Straight to business, as usual. "I'll finish it this weekend."

  Elizabeth frowned. "You told me you finished it last night! I'm sorry, Dad. If I knew, I would have made her stay home!"

  "I can get it done," Jess said in a small voice, digging the toes of her boots in the snow, trying to tunnel her escape.

  The Chief nodded at her as if closing a deal, and gave one final, friendly wave to the rest of the group before departing. The scene played out exactly like Jess had feared, from the shame burning a hole through her chest to her sister's passing glare as she went to collect her bags from the car.

  That damn application. If only her family understood she'd have better luck writing about a brick wall.

  But the weekend had only just begun, and Jess had a plan to turn things around. For weeks, she had prepared a birthday surprise for Elizabeth that would make her forget everything.

  First things first, she had to get luggage inside, which would have been easy if not for her laptop bag slipping off her shoulder, her guitar case bumping into everything, and the thin straps of her clothing bag digging into her hand as she battled across the parking lot and through the front door.

  Across the hall was the front desk, set between a stone fireplace and a curved stairway. The only sign someone had been here was an empty McDonald's wrapper crumpled up next to the keyboard. After a solid minute of waiting, an employee hurried over from a backroom looking pale as a sea-sick sailor. He was tall and skinny, with a badge on his shirt with his name: 'Kark'. Despite his bout of illness, he greeted them warmly before checking them in and escorting them to their suite.

  Jess barely had the opportunity to set her stuff down and rest her arms before the group was moving again. Frantic to keep up, Jess yanked on the handles of her bag, which only lasted a few seconds before snapping, and her bag thumped onto the hardwood floor.

  While heat flooded her cheeks, Elizabeth could not be bothered beyond reminding her sister she shouldn't have packed so much. It was Kark who came to the rescue and offered to take both Jess' bag and guitar case. She protested at first knowing how heavy they both were, but she fell silent when he scooped them up like they were full of air. Where did such a thin guy hide all his muscles?

  The suite was two bedrooms and a main room, with typical Norwegian minimalist decor and photogenic views of the ski slopes. Upon entering the suite, the girls dumped their luggage on the couches in front of the TV, while Jess looked between the two doors of the bedrooms. "Which room are we taking?"

  It wasn't crazy to assume since they were sisters that they would share a bed. So why did Elizabeth and her friends stare at her as if she had just spoken in tongues?

  "Actually," Elizabeth said, "the three of us were gonna room together, so you can have the other bed to yourself."

  "Oh...ok." Jess turned to one of the doors to unpack when Elizabeth called her back. She perked up, expecting her sister had changed her mind, but instead, Elizabeth snatched her laptop bag off her shoulder. "Wait!"

  The sisters ran laps around the room while the other girls giggled at the free entertainment. Elizabeth was tall enough and fast enough to keep the laptop just out of reach. Growing up, Jess had always been too little and helpless to hold her own against her sister, which Elizabeth exploited at every opportunity.

  Flipping open the laptop, Elizabeth scrolled through her most personal files. "Let's see...only a million fantasy stories...Ooh! This one looks good-" Elizabeth cleared her throat, and Jess died a little inside, hearing words never meant to be spoken out loud. "'The prince tendirly took her hand and stared deeply into her vibrant azule blue orbs.'"

  Hysterical laughing interrupted the reading. All Jess could do was stand there with her arms crossed and cheeks turning red. It was from her freshman year of high school, when she had just begun creative writing. Of course it wasn't going to be good!

  "Wait wait! It gets better!" Elizabeth lowered her voice for a half-hearted male impersonation. "'I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you, and I will love you until the coo of the morning doves, and the meloncholly - mel..." She looked up to make sure her sister heard her critique. "You spelled 'melancholy' wrong. The melancholy cry of the night larks cease. Until the stars burn out of the infinitely vast sky and the seas dry up, leaving it's creatures gasping for breath on the desert floor.'"

  "It's like nails on a chalkboard!" someone said with a dramatic grimace.

  "Right? But what I'm really looking for...is this!" She flipped the computer around on her lap to reveal a blank document titled 'College Application'. "You haven't written a single word!"

  Jess fantasized throwing herself out the second-story window so she wouldn't have to endure another moment of this torture. There she stood, like an idiot, avoiding all eye contact and bouncing on her feet. "You wouldn't have let me come with."

  "Yeah, so tell me why I shouldn't drive your ass home right now!" Elizabeth snapped the laptop and stood up.

  "I was gonna get it done in our downtime!"

  "Right. So, how about while we go skiing, you-" she shoved the laptop into her sister's arms, "finish this. Just so we don't continue this track record of lying."

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