Wolf Quest

by Bianca D'Arc

  Dedication

  This book is for my family, as always. I would never have been able to do any of this without their love and support.

  Chapter One

  “You hear that, Jess?” Arlo said over the tactical radios his small team employed.

  The sound of breaking glass and the crash of furniture came from inside the farmhouse.

  “I hear it. I think the subtle approach just went out the window. Let’s go.” Jesse moved on the backdoor even as he gave the order. He knew his team was doing the same on other approaches. They would storm the house and neutralize whatever threat was inside, probably frightening the girl they’d been sent to check on, but that couldn’t be avoided now.

  Something was going on in there. Some kind of struggle. That much noise indicated nothing less than a full-throttle fight in progress.

  Jesse kicked the door in and found what he’d expected, though not exactly the scenario he’d anticipated. There was a struggle going on all right, but the two men attacking the young lovely in her nightgown were definitely on the defensive. One was already out cold, slumped against the far wall, while the other was face down on the kitchen floor, his arm twisted behind him in what had to be an excruciating position. The woman crouching over his back had a fierce expression on her lovely face and her dark hair flipped out to the side almost in slow motion as she turned her head to look at Jesse.

  “What do you want?” She couldn’t have growled any better if she’d been a female werewolf in half-shifted battle form.

  The thought made Jesse grin as he aimed his weapon at the ground, away from her.

  “We thought you might need some help, but I see you have matters in hand here.”

  “We?” she asked, arching one eyebrow as she pulled the man’s arm a little tighter. The guy grunted in pain but she wasn’t letting up.

  Jesse gave the signal over his tactical radio and the rest of the team appeared in the hall leading to the kitchen. The woman would be able to see them if she looked up, but the dude on the ground with his cheek pressed into the linoleum wouldn’t. Jesse gestured toward the hall with his eyes, hoping she’d get the message.

  Wonder of wonders, she did. This girl was on the ball. Of course, he shouldn’t have expected anything less from Sally’s cousin. His brother’s new wife had already proven to be more than a match for a male Alpha werewolf.

  And Jesse was definitely Alpha. And male. And a werewolf.

  All his senses were standing on end in the gorgeous female’s presence. A bare hint of her scent wafted to him and his hormones raged.

  Whoa. Down boy.

  “Ma’am…” Jesse made himself get back to business. “We’ve been pursuing these boys. They’re wanted in connection with a kidnapping in Wyoming. I’m sorry we had to barge into your home, but I thought you might need assistance. As team leader, I take full responsibility, and I promise we’ll repair any damage our entry may have caused.” He glanced significantly back at the kitchen door. It was badly splintered and still swinging slightly on its hinges.

  She didn’t ease off the man on the floor. “Look, buddy, I don’t know you. For all I know you could be working for these guys, just waiting for me to let this one go.”

  “While I applaud your caution, in this instance it’s misplaced. If you’ll allow me?” He didn't wait for an answer before pulling a dart gun from the holster on his thigh and plugging the struggling man with sleep juice.

  She didn’t even have time to blink, which was a good thing. Jesse sure as hell didn’t want to tranq her by mistake. Oh, no. He wanted her awake and spitting at him. He wanted the chance to try to gentle her. To woo her.

  Woo her? Where the hell had that come from? Damn. She was every bit as attractive as her cousin and twice as alluring to Jesse’s senses. He’d thought his brother was a lucky man when he’d found Sally, but the mild envy he’d felt had nothing on the downright possessive streak that stirred in him at seeing Maria Garibaldi in her nightdress.

  The dude under her went slack as the fast-acting drug kicked in.

  “What did you just do?” she accused, outrage in her silky voice. Damn. He could listen to her for hours and never tire.

  This thought from a man who found most women intensely annoying when they started to chatter? He was in trouble. Big trouble.

  “He’ll wake in a few hours. I figured you wouldn’t mind since you knocked the other one out cold.” He glanced at the other man, still slumped against the wall. Signaling his men to enter the kitchen, he stepped closer to Maria. “We’ll take these guys off your hands, ma’am.”

  Maria stood faster than he would have credited as he stepped forward. She was really quick for a human. Maybe her alleged magical ancestry gave her some physical advantages.

  “You can have them, but I’m not going anywhere. And you can think again if you expect me to agree to anything else you may have in mind.”

  He holstered the dart gun and held his hands out, palms up in the intergalactic gesture of I come in peace.

  “We mean you no harm, Maria.” Her chin jerked up defiantly when he used her first name. “It’s okay. We really have been following these guys for a couple of weeks. Two of their friends kidnapped a young boy in Wyoming. We got those two, but these guys have been leading us cross-country.”

  Arlo and Len had secured the unconscious man’s wrists and feet with zip ties. They’d also disarmed him while Jesse had been talking. Maria had been splitting her attention between them and Jesse for the past minute or more. She was like a caged animal, ready to strike and unsure what was coming next. He had to calm her down but he wasn’t sure how.

  “Why here?” she whispered. “Why me?”

  Now there was a question. Jesse paused. He wasn’t sure how much she knew about the magical world around her. She might be like her cousin Sally, who had been completely unaware of the weres, bloodletters and other kinds of magical beings living alongside the human population. Or she might know a lot more than Sally had. He’d noticed a couple of low-level wardings in Maria’s backyard. Nothing that could stop a werewolf of course, but enough to let a magic user know that someone was trespassing on their land.

  “Do you know what I am?” Jesse tested the waters.

  To his amazement, she sniffed in his direction. That wasn’t something a human would do. She looked at the man on the floor before speaking as if to make certain he was fully asleep.

  “Were?” She didn’t seem too sure of her answer.

  Jesse grinned at her, letting her see the slightly sharper teeth of the predator.

  “Wolf,” he confirmed. “We were sent to make sure you were okay. You specifically, Maria. Once we realized your home was on the path these cretins were taking, we feared they might be targeting you.”

  “But why? I’m not a threat to anyone.”

  Jesse paused beside the unconscious man, kicking his remaining weapons away. Certain he was out cold, Jesse knelt and lifted the man’s hand, displaying his wrist for Maria’s inspection.

  “Do you see anything here? A tattoo maybe?”

  “Well, yeah. Of course. Don’t you?” She sounded puzzled.

  Jesse flipped the man’s hand over and took a good long look before dropping it to the ground.

  “Nope. Your cousin Sally can see it too. Looks like the magic blood runs true. Both of you can see the mark of the Venifucus.”

  “Venifucus?” Maria’s tone turned to curiosity as she repeated the unfamiliar word. While she may know the smell of were when prompted, it was pretty clear she didn’t know much about their greatest enemy. “And you think I have a cousin named Sally? I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.”

  “You do. You just didn’t know it. She didn’t know about you either until about three weeks ago. She’s been
searching for you ever since. She located a record of your address earlier today and passed the information along to me. She sensed you might be in danger.” He looked around at the demolished kitchen. “Looks like she was right. You can consider me and the guys your personal cavalry.” He shrugged. “Although it looks like you had things under control when we got here. So we’ll just do the mop up, okay?”

  “What are you going to do with them?” She jerked her chin toward the drugged man who was being trussed up by Arlo as they spoke.

  “That’s for the Alpha to decide.”

  “You’re not the Alpha?” Her tone said she was truly surprised. Jesse flinched a bit at the question. By rights, he should have taken the responsibility instead of leaving it to his younger brother, Jason. But there were things in his past that prevented him from committing fully to Pack life. He’d seen too much. Done too much in wars too far away. It would take time to heal.

  He was an Alpha wolf. Always had been. Always would be. He just wasn’t the Alpha in charge of the Pack. He lived on the outskirts of the Pack and left the running of it to Jason, who hadn’t been through the hell Jesse had. Jason was more stable. Better for the Pack. Jesse knew he could best serve the Pack by leaving the leadership of it to Jason.

  “I’m an Alpha. The Alpha is my brother.” He didn’t go into the details with her. Not yet. Maybe not ever. It was too personal. “The only Pack I’m fit to lead is this small group right here. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” He turned the small revelation into a joke. Arlo and Len chuckled as they carted the two trussed-up hunters out the kitchen door slung over their shoulders.

  “Fancy that. A werewolf who quotes Henry the Fifth. I’m impressed.” She leaned back against the kitchen counter, more at ease now that it was just the two of them in the house.

  “Known a lot of werewolves in your time?”

  “None, actually. You’re my first.” The mischievous smile she gave him made parts of him stand up and take notice of just how scantily clad she really was. He could see the hard tips of her nipples poking at the satin cups of the gown she wore. It only came to mid-thigh, and he had to admire the mile-long shapely legs that were showcased so nicely by the lace trim at the bottom of the hem.

  “Then how do you know about us? How did you know what I am?”

  “It’s the scent of your magic. It’s very distinctive. Were magic smells kind of wild and golden green.”

  “You smell in color?” Jesse leaned one hip against the kitchen table, truly interested in everything this alluring woman had to say.

  She chuckled at his question. “I never thought of it that way. It’s just that were magic smells sort of piney. It’s faint, but it’s like the forest.”

  “You have to have known at least one were to know the scent of our magic. What kind was it?”

  “I was friends with a werecougar for a while. Look—” she shifted as if she were suddenly uncomfortable with how much she had revealed, “—who exactly are you?”

  “Major Jesse Moore, US Army, retired. Brother of the Alpha of a large wolf Pack based in Wyoming. Oh, and I should probably mention that my brother just married your cousin, so I guess that makes us related somehow.”

  “I still don’t understand who this supposed long-lost cousin is. You won’t be insulted if I don’t take everything you tell me at face value. I mean, you did break into my house, after all.” Her raised eyebrow challenged him. He liked her spirit.

  “Yeah. Sorry about that.” He looked once again at the broken back door. “Why don’t I put you up for the night at the hotel by the interstate? It would be safer than here, now that we know they know where you are.”

  “I told you I’m not going anywhere. With you. With those guys. With anyone. My work is here. The animals need me.”

  “Animals?” Damn. He really wished he’d had more intel about this situation going in. The information Sally had been able to dig up on her cousin was sketchy at best. Just a name and address. Nothing about her occupation or background.

  “I’m a veterinarian.”

  “Seriously?” That was something he hadn’t expected.

  “I specialize in exotics. Big cats mostly, nowadays.”

  “Since the run-in with your friend, the werecougar?”

  Her head tilted. “Something like that. She said I had a way with felines.”

  “Really? Sally is at least part wolf, which means you might be too. Cats and dogs usually don’t get along.”

  “The werecougar I knew said I smelled of magic, but she couldn’t tell me what kind.” Maria looked interested now. There was no way she could hide it, though it was obvious how hard she tried to sound casual.

  “This is all tied up with why your cousin was trying to find you, but I can tell you some of it. Sally recently found out she is the descendant of a dryad named Leonora, who lives on Pack lands. Sally is able to pull up a magical family tree of sorts and it shows that she is descended from Leonora’s daughter Marisol and a famous werewolf of old. I don’t know exactly where you fit on the family tree, but you are a cousin somehow. Whether you come from the wolf line or not, you definitely have dryad magic in you from Leonora.”

  “If what you’re saying is true, it would explain a few things.” She looked pensive.

  “Is she coming with or staying?” Arlo’s voice intruded in Jesse’s ear, over the tac radio. Jesse almost jumped. He’d just about forgotten they were in the middle of a mission. Damn. This woman was a killer to his concentration.

  “Will advise. Stand by,” he answered back, tapping his ear to let Maria know he wasn’t talking to her. “The boys want to know if you’re staying or going.”

  “Staying,” she said firmly.

  “Sure I can’t talk you into leaving? It’d be safer. And easier for me to keep you that way.”

  “I’m not convinced of that. Besides, I haven’t made arrangements for anyone else to take care of the animals. I can’t leave them in the lurch. The animals in my barns are very ill. I take on the hard cases—those that require surgery or extensive medical treatment—and rehabilitate them to the point where another facility can take them.”

  They hadn’t had time to scout the barns and paddocks. They’d come directly to the house, expecting to have time to work their way outward from there once they’d established that Maria was safe—preferably sleeping peacefully. Only it hadn’t turned out that way. They’d arrived, heard the crashing sounds from the kitchen and had to dive right in. Not the best situation ever, but he’d dealt with worse in his time.

  “All right.” He looked out the window and noticed the slight pinkening of the eastern horizon. “It’s nearly dawn. I’ll send the guys back with the prisoners for my brother to deal with. If you’ll allow, I’ll stay here and repair the damage our entry caused to your home. I’d also like to arrange for you to speak with your cousin. Maybe she can explain in more detail and convince you to help.”

  “Help? Who, exactly, needs my help?”

  Jesse sighed. It really was too complex to bombard the woman with all this at once.

  “Leonora. She’s in a sort of suspended animation inside a willow tree. Damndest thing I ever saw, and that’s saying something. The two men who attacked you tonight? One of their friends shot Leonora with a poisonous silver bullet during the dust up in Wyoming three weeks ago. Before going into the willow, she made Sally promise to find her long-lost family and gather them together to help her. Only together can you save her life, she said.”

  “So now you’re telling me someone’s life is in danger and only I—and some alleged family members I’ve never even heard of—can save her?”

  “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  “No shit.” Her muttered profanity made him smile. Damn, he liked this woman.

  “How about we take this one step at a time?” He tried to sound less threatening and more warm and fuzzy. Not so easy when you had an assault weapon strapped across your chest, but he’d give it his best shot. “We�
��ll secure the perimeter and then I’ll send the guys on their way. I can fix up your door and any other damage today. I can even help you around the farm. Consider me your personal slave for the day. It’s the least I can do to make up for smashing in here. Then maybe this afternoon you can talk to Sally and learn more about what’s going on back home. What do you say?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head in the most adorable manner as she considered. He wasn’t sure she was going to go for Plan B. It would’ve been so much easier if she’d just gone along with Plan A and come quietly. Now he had to improvise, and his Plan C was cloudy at best. Plan C covered what to do if she turned down Plan B, and it wasn’t ideal. Not at all.

  Come on, baby. Go with Plan B.

  “All right.”

  Jessie tried not to let his sigh of relief come out too loudly.

  “You—” she pointed at him, “—I want you outside with your men. I’m going upstairs to get dressed. Might as well start the day. I’d have been up in a half hour anyway. Secure your perimeter, whatever that means, but stay the hell away from the white barn. If the cats in there smell werewolf, it might upset them. It’s hard to predict how they’ll react, and I don’t want to deal with a half dozen frenzied felines.”

  “You might be surprised. They tell me I have a way with pussy…cats.” He couldn’t help himself. The woman begged to be teased what with the way her thin satin nightie teased him. He was hard just from looking at her long legs under the lace-trimmed satin.

  “Behave, wolfman,” she threw over her shoulder as she headed out of the kitchen. “I’ll meet you by the back door in fifteen minutes.”

  Jesse met his men on the back porch and handed out orders as they marched toward one of the vehicles they’d stashed down the road out of sight. The back of the pickup truck would do well for prisoner transport. What happened to the two men after they got them back to Wyoming was up to Jason. He was the Alpha, after all. Jesse had to remind himself of that occasionally, but the arrangement worked for the most part. Jason gave Jesse complete autonomy over the Pack’s small but growing contingent of former professional soldiers—now tasked with keeping the Pack safe when not on outside assignment.