The Winter Solstice: A Cassandra Blake Mystery

Prologue

Cassandra Blake sat at her desk, tapping her pen on the wooden top while she thought about the phone call she needed to make to her mother that evening. She had an unusual situation that, at times, greatly complicated her life. Cassie was a werewolf and a police officer for the Seattle Police Department. Not only was she a police officer, but she had made it to the rank of detective in record time, becoming the youngest police detective in the department’s history. Her heightened senses gave her an edge, which was extremely valuable in her line of work. The biggest problem was hiding it from everyone she worked with, including her partner Wesley Jones.

“Hey, Cass. What’s got you so deep in thought?” Wesley asked her as he placed a cup of coffee in front of her before he sat down behind his desk across from her.

Cassie forced a smile as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. “I am thinking about the call I need to make so I can attempt to convince my mother that I do not need to come home for my birthday and the big festival my town has every year.”

Wes raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know why you don’t just go. You might get lucky and have fun this year.” He smirked at her before adding, “Or, you might just get lucky. When was the last time you even went out on a date?”

“I might as well stay here because you sound like my mother,” Cassie scowled at him.

“Sorry. It was meant as a joke. Seriously though, why don’t you go? I know your family doesn’t have a lot of get-togethers, and you don’t go home unless there is an emergency. This is the one time of the year that you see your family even though they are less than two hours away.”

“I know. I just don’t like going back,” Cassie said before sighing and continuing. “It is hard to explain without making them and my entire freaking hometown sound bad, which they're not. I love my family and town.”

“Give it a try,” Wes said, leaning toward her. “I promise I won’t judge anyone except you.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said, dripping with sarcasm. “It’s just that even though I am born on what is supposed to be a day to celebrate for them, my birthday has never been a part of it. As a kid, I never had a single birthday party. It wasn’t until I went to college that I had my first one. I was always told that being born on the winter solstice and the town celebration should be enough. I should be honored because, in a way, the whole town celebrated my birthday.”

“I’m going to be honest with you,” Wes said quietly, leaning closer as if he was telling her a secret. “That freaking sucks.”

Cassie took a long drink from her coffee cup and looked at her partner closely.

“That is also why me and Jax are taking you out the day before you are supposed to leave so we can celebrate your birthday properly,” Wes said, smiling at her. “So, how many days will you be gone, and do you need help packing?”

“Less than a week, and I’ve already packed.”

Cassie had showered and was curled up on her couch in her pajamas when she dialed her mother’s cell phone number. A part of her wanted the call to go to voicemail so she would not have to deal with the twenty questions she knew her mom would ask her, almost all of them centered around her love life, which she admitted was all but nonexistent.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Cassie’s mom, Angela, chirped when she answered the phone.

“Hi, Mom,” Cassie replied. “I can’t talk long, but I wanted to let you know that I have been granted the time off and will be arriving in Bloodstone on the evening of the twentieth and leaving there on the morning of the twenty-sixth. I have six days off, so that will give me time to get back home and rest before I go back to work on the twenty-seventh.”

“I guess that will work.”

“Mom,” Cassie sighed in an exasperated tone.

“What?”

“I know you want me to move back home, find a mate, and have a bunch of pups, but that is not what I want right now. Maybe eventually, but right now, I feel like I am where I need to be.”

“I know, sweetheart. That is why I had no intention of mentioning it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Did you hear that Malekai was re-elected as mayor?”

“I did. Because that happened over a month ago, and Kai told me,” Cassie replied, knowing this would lead to a conversation that she was dreading.

“I swear you talk to him more than you do me. Did you know that he still hasn’t found his mate?”

“Yes, mother. I am aware of that also. Kai and I are best friends, and we still speak to each other daily or close to it, just like we have since we were running around in our diapers together.” Cassie said, not attempting to hire her aggravation. “He has also told me that he wants to wait until he finds his destined mate and not choose anyone, which I support him for doing.”

“Please don’t take that tone with me, Cassandra. I am just trying to make conversation and keep you up to date on all of the happenings in our little town.”

“I know, Mom, and I’m sorry for sounding mad,” Cassie sighed. “It has just been a very long day, and I’m tired.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Breakfast. I had to work through lunch today. I have some food ordered, and it should be here anytime.”

“Good. I want you to eat and then go to bed. I want you well rested for your trip.”

“Mom, I won’t be there for a couple more days, so I will have plenty of time to eat and rest before I make the drive.”

“I know, dear, but you are my baby girl, so I still worry.”

Cassie said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “Mom, I am your only girl.”

“Yes, and you are the youngest of my two children, which makes you my baby. You need to accept that because it will never change. No matter what kind of tough, big-city detective you are, you will always be my baby girl.”

Cassie laughed, “I know, Mom, which is one of the reasons I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” Angela cooed.

A notification on her phone made Cassie stop and look at the screen before she could answer her mother. It was letting her know the delivery driver had arrived outside with her food.

“Sorry, Mom, but I have to go. My food has just arrived.”

“Alright, enjoy your dinner and be safe.”

“Always,” Cassie replied before she hung up.

Cassie let out a sigh as she headed to the door. She grabbed the knob, yanking the door open, startling the delivery driver, who was poised with his fist raised to knock on the door.

“I am so sorry about that,” Cassie told him as she blushed slightly.

“Yeah, no, it’s fine, Miss Cassie,” the driver stammered as he handed her her usual order from the Chinese restaurant a few blocks from her house. “I just wasn’t expecting you to open the door like that.”

Before Cassie could say anything else, the driver turned and hurried down the sidewalk. Cassie sighed as she closed the door. She took the food into the living room and began placing the boxes on the coffee table so she could eat while watching TV. She shook her head as it dawned on her that she had been called Miss Cassie by the driver. She had not realized how often she ordered take-out to eat alone until then. Maybe her mother was right, and she did need to find a mate and settle down. Her phone rang as she opened her mouth to take her first bite. Glancing down at the screen, she saw it was her friend Malekai calling with a video call. She propped the phone up before she accepted the call.

“Hey, Kai. How’s it going?” Cassie asked as she stuffed food into her mouth.

“I would say better than they are for you. It is after 9 pm. Are you just now eating your dinner?” Kai questioned with a note of concern in his tone.

“I am, and I had to work through lunch. It is always busy around the holidays.”

“When you get here, we need to go for a long run and then curl up and sleep like we used to. Our wolves miss each other and spending time together,” Malekai told her.

“Who said I was coming home?”

“Every year, you complain about how you don’t want to come home, and yet every year, you do. I miss you. You are my best friend, and those few days you come back home are something I look forward to.”

“I will be heading out as soon as I get off work on the twentieth and then driving back on the morning of the twenty-sixth so I can rest for work the next morning.”

“So this year, I don’t even get a full week with you?” he questioned, sticking his lip out in a fake pout.

Cassie sighed, “I know. I had to put in for this time three months ago, and they still argued about giving it to me. I never use all my vacation days, and I cover shifts for anyone who needs them without complaint. Goddess only knows how much overtime I actually work because I don’t. Plus, I work every holiday except this one, and yet they complain when I ask for the same vacation days I ask for every year.”

Malekai chuckled, “I need to find a job for you here. Maybe you could be our first and only police officer in the history of Bloodstone. I promise I will give you all the time off you want as long as you handle any big crimes that come up.”

“Kai, when was the last time there was a big crime in Bloodstone?”

He leaned back and looked up as he thought about Cassie’s question. “You know that silver dagger in my office that I use for swearing-in ceremonies? It was used in the execution of a pack member a hundred and fifty-ish years ago for crimes committed against the pack. That would be the last time.”

“And that is why I like where I am,” Cassie said, pointing at the screen with her eggroll. “I’m busy here. There are always things happening, and I am needed.”

“I know they need you, and you love what you do. I’m sorry. I think I’ve been talking to your mom too much.”

“I think you have been too. But I know you are saying it because you are my best friend, and you are worried I am working too much here in Seattle,” Cassie said, smiling at her friend.

“That is true,” Kai said, then sighed. “I am going to let you go. You are making me hungry, and you need to finish eating and get to bed. So goodnight, my friend, and keep yourself safe until you get here, and I can give you a bear hug. And remember, you owe me that run when you’re here, so rest up.”

“I remember, and I will rest as much as I can. Goodnight, Kai. Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams Cass,” Kai said before he ended the call.

Cassandra sneered at the food in front of her on her coffee table. The combination of speaking with her mother and her best friend had made her lose her appetite. She closed all the take-out containers and put them in her refrigerator for breakfast in the morning. Cassie went to bed, hoping that she would be able to sleep as she questioned her life and the decisions she had made up to that point.