She was so very confused.
“Oh Lord.” Groaning, Tori sank to the ground. Russ stepped forward, but she held out a hand to stop him.
“Wait!” She gulped in air, filling her lungs, trying to pump oxygen into her body and brain. She couldn’t think straight. Her mind spun like the tires on her SUV, slinging mud and muck all over her plans for her life.
He halted, brows furrowed above a simmering dark gaze, hands in tight fists. She wasn’t afraid of him. One thing she knew, she trusted him to keep her safe, even from himself.
“This should never have happened.” She shook her head. “This isn’t what I wanted.”
Russ’s shoulders sagged. “Okay.”
“It was a mistake, what happened here.” She patted the ground.
“Right.” Russ’s teeth snapped shut and he drove his fists into the pockets of his jeans as he glared at her. Then he walked over to his jacket, where they’d fucked, and snatched it up. “We need to leave.” Then he turned and walked away, shoving his arms into it.
Tori shuddered, not knowing if it was from just having wild animal sex with a stranger, or letting the best thing she’d ever seen walk out of her life.
She stood and finished dressing. Most of her clothes were covered in leaves and twigs from the ground, and she had some stuck in her hair. As she did the walk of shame back to Russ’s motorcycle, she plucked them and dropped them to the ground.
Thank God no one witnessed it.
Chapter 10
Tori stepped through the last of the bushes, as she tucked her shirt into her jeans, and into the glare of the sun off a pair of reflective lenses. Her hand went up to shade her eyes and she gasped.
A black and white state trooper car had parked next to Russ’s bike. Russ and the trooper stood to the side, staring at her.
So much for no one seeing her shame.
“And here she is now.” Russ smiled at her.
The officer gave her a severe look, down his nose, over the tops of his reflective sunglasses. Right. She inhaled and braced herself.
“What’s up, Russ?”
“Well, the officer was just asking where we’ve been.”
“That’s obvious, isn’t it?” She batted her eyes at the stern-looking, middle-aged cop. “I had to use the ladies, and since we’re in the middle of nowhere, we pulled over, and I went—” She looked back over her shoulder at the woods “—well, Russ stood guard while I…” she bit her lip and tried to look as innocent as she could.
“You know women.” Russ shrugged. “I told her there wasn’t anything bigger than a raccoon in the woods, but…”
For a moment, Tori wasn’t sure the cop believed them. Then he said, “Sure. I understand. But next time, try to use the proper facilities. These woods aren’t marked for trespassing, but some of them are and you can get a ticket. Or shot.”
“Thanks, sir. I’ll try to. It just caught me by surprise, is all.” Tori smiled at him.
Russ stuck out his hand for the trooper to shake. “Thanks for understanding.” He leaned in and whispered, “It’s just easier with guys, you know. Any tree will do.”
The man laughed, and headed back to his car.
“Okay, that was embarrassing.”
“Not as embarrassing as if he’d been here five minutes earlier and gone looking for us.”
Tori groaned, and then joined Russ at the bike. “We shouldn’t be but a few hours more.”
“Good. Once I get you there, I can be on my way.” Russ didn’t look at her; he just swung that long leg of his over the bike seat and started it up. Tori looked at the ground as she climbed on. She didn’t want to see what lay in Russ’s eyes.
Vibrations poured off Russ, and Tori knew they had nothing to do with the bike.
* * * *
Marvin pulled into the service station, parked his car at the telephone stand, and took out the number. He dropped some coins in and punched it in, as he hummed softly.
“McCallan’s Specialty Lumber. How can I help you?” Sounded like the same old woman as before.
“Is Victoria McCallan there?” he asked.
“Victoria? Why no, she’s not here. Who is this?”
“I’m from the Excellent Furniture Company. Ms. McCallan is purchasing some furniture from us and she gave this number as a credit reference.”
“Oh, well. What do you need to know?”
“I haven’t been able to reach her at her home or cell numbers. Do you have another one?”
“No, I don’t, I’m sorry.”
“Well, can you tell her when she comes in we need her to call us?”
“Sure. But she’s not coming here. Not that I know of. Hold on, I’ll see if Jake knows anything.”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
Marvin waited as she put him on hold. A few minutes later, she was back.
“As far as her brother knows, she’s not told him about coming home. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to try to reach her on those other numbers.”
“I will. And thank you for your time.” Marvin hung up.
He sat back and stared at the road. Had he made a mistake? What if she wasn’t running home? What if she took off somewhere else?
She might be hundreds of miles away in another direction for all he knew.
He worked his neck until it popped, easing the tension in it.
No, he’d stick to his plan. She was running home, straight to momma. They always ran home. Repetition was their downfall. Patterns of behavior he’d read like a book and used to fulfill his plans.
She was somewhere on this stretch of highway, heading to McCallan’s Specialty Lumber and her momma.
She might make it there before he did, but he had an advantage.
She didn’t know he was coming.
* * * *
As Tori and Russ rode down the highway, the forest looked more and more familiar. They passed the sign for the town just down the road from hers, and she inhaled the deep scent of pine that oddly smelled nothing like the forest in Mississippi.
Her woods, the McCallan woods, had a smell all their own, and she’d never realized it until now that she’d been away for a few years and returned.
Home. Her body relaxed, going loose, as if a tight band had been cut away from her shoulders. Her heart sped up a few quick beats at the thought of seeing her mom, and even Jake.
She’d missed them. Only now, it hit her like a body blow, and she clung tighter to Russ’s waist. He leaned back just a touch, and she rested her forehead on his back.
He still supported her, just like he’d said, even though she’d told him to get lost, she didn’t need or want him. Even though she’d rejected and hurt him.
Good Lord, she was the female version of a jerk, whatever that was.
A jerkette?
Yep, that was her.
Russ was a great guy, and she’d dumped all over him. She’d let him mate with her, and then denied everything she’d felt for him, terrified of what it meant.
She was a jerkette and a coward.
Before she could get further down on herself, Tori realized they were close to the turnoff to the mill.
“This is my family’s mill.” She pointed to the road and the sign for it ahead of them.
“Want to stop there?” he asked over his shoulder.
“No, let’s go home. I really want to see my mom.” Jake would most likely be at the mill, and she wasn’t ready for a confrontation with her big brother. Even once she’d become an adult, Jake still thought he could tell her what to do and think.
“Okay, lead the way.”
“Down the highway, through town, and head west. When you see the large black iron gates, turn in.”
He nodded, and they rode on, through town. She drank in the places of her youth, the stores, the neighborhoods, the restaurants, and their church. Just as she’d remembered it. Not much had changed, except now there was a Starbucks on one of the corners on Main Street.
They left the
town behind and winded through the forest that surrounded it. Before she could catch her breath, the gates loomed.
“This is it. Turn here.” She tapped him on the shoulder.
Russ guided the bike through them, and down the long drive leading to the McCallan compound.
Russ came around the final curve, and the great house appeared. He slowed the bike and gave out a long whistle.
*
“So. Your family lives here?” The house was bigger than all of his pack’s ragtag collection of buildings put together. These people had money, and from the look of the structure, they’d had it for a long time.
He swallowed, and gunned the engine and the bike lurched forward. No reason to let any of this intimidate him. So what if they were rich.
“It’s pretty big for one pack.”
“It was built before the turn of the century, for multiple families. Now it’s just Mom, Jake and his family, me, and Trey, when he’s around.”
Russ nodded, and pulled up to the front of the mansion. He parked the bike, and Tori got off. He slid off and stared up at the huge double front doors.
Tori jogged up the steps. “I don’t have a key anymore, I’ll have to knock.”
Russ followed her and laughed as he caught sight of the large brass doorknockers—wolf heads with the ring in their bared teeth. “Not hiding much, are you?”
“You’d be surprised. Very few people know about us.”
Russ raised his eyebrows at her, and she winked at him. “Best kept secret in town.”
Just then the door opened, and an attractive woman somewhere over fifty gave a little shriek of happiness. “Tori!”
Tori and her mother, Russ had figured that much out, fell into each other’s arms, both laughing and crying at the same time. He’d seen the phenomenon before between the women of his pack after absences of any length, so he knew not to worry, or try to do anything.
There was nothing to be done but wait for it to run its course.
When the two women parted, drying their tears and giving each other meaningful looks, they turned their attention to him.
Russ knew what was coming—the introduction. Everything he wondered about his and Tori’s relationship would be told in these next few moments. Or not.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Russ Magnus.” Tori smiled at him and took his hand, pulling him toward her mother. “This is my mom, Carrie McCallan.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. McCallan.” He shook her extended hand, firm but gently.
“Russ, please call me Carrie.” Her smile welcomed him, but beneath it, she took him in, from the way he was dressed, to the way he smelled. She was definitely a wolf’s mate.
Where was her husband? Tori’s dad? She’d only mentioned her mom and her brothers.
The time would come when he’d have to present himself to her father and make an official claim for her. Tori might not be sure, but Russ was positive. Tori was his mate.
“Of course, Carrie.”
She stepped inside, and looped her arm in Tori’s. “Well, what brings you back home?” Carrie halted, looked out the door, and then to Russ. “Besides a handsome man on a motorcycle.”
Tori blushed and God, Russ’s heart just slammed in his chest. He was in deep, for sure. Keeping a smile plastered on his face, he followed the women into the house.
“Damn!” Russ whistled as he stared up at the grand staircase at a large bronze statue of a wolf in full cry. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. My late husband Michael had a wicked sense of humor.” She led the way down the hall toward the back of the house. “Let’s settle in the kitchen, honey, and you can tell me all about it.” Carrie cast a look over her shoulder at Russ, and he got her drift. Tell her all about Russ, is what she really meant.
He sighed. He’d been through a vetting before with his first mate, but this wasn’t something he wanted to do now. No way was he ready to face parents. He hadn’t even told Tori about his previous mate, or her death, or his failure as an alpha, husband, and man to protect her.
Russ entered the kitchen and sat at the table with Carrie and Tori, more than willing to keep his mouth shut unless absolutely necessary.
“So Russ. How did you meet Tori?” Carrie leveled laser-like blue eyes at him.
So much for his plan.
He glanced at Tori, one eyebrow cocked up in a plea for aid.
“I was taking photos in the woods. Russ was going for a run,” Tori said.
Carrie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a wolf?” She sounded puzzled.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded.
“Tori? I’m not sure I understand. The last time I saw you, I had to listen to an hour-long, rambling speech about how you would never become involved with a wolf.” Carrie turned to face her daughter, and Russ leaned back to watch, not showing how interested he was in Tori’s answers.
Tori shifted in her chair, her gaze flicked to Russ, and then back to her mom. “We’re just friends. He’s just giving me a ride home.”
Russ didn’t control the low growl in his throat. “Excuse me?” Oh no she didn’t just blow him off? “Just?”
Her mother whipped her head to focus on him, and Russ stared down at his hands clenched on the table, trying to maintain control.
“Sounds like Russ doesn’t agree with that statement, Tori.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Want to try again?”
Tori exhaled, and a strand of her gorgeous hair danced in the puff of her breath. “Okaaay.” She looked at Russ and touched his hand. “I know I said I’d never be with a were, I know that. But,” she glanced at Russ, licked her lips, “I guess life had another plan for me. One I couldn’t escape.” She shrugged.
“You want to escape?” Russ asked. Being reluctant was one thing, but wishing he were gone or she had never met him, was another matter.
Tori placed her hand over his fist and gave it a squeeze. “Sometimes, yeah. I’m scared, Russ.”
“And other times?”
“It feels right.” She gave him a smile.
For now, he’d take it. It wasn’t the same passion she’d shown when they had made love, but good enough for now.
Carrie laughed. “Let me tell you, Russ. You’ve got your hands full with this one. She got the better of her brothers all the time when she was young. Drove them nuts. Especially Jake.”
“I can understand that. Tori is her own woman, and I really respect that.” He entwined his fingers with hers.
“Now that that is all settled…why are you here?” Carrie asked.
Tori looked at Russ and he shrugged. “Tell her, baby. You’ll have to do it sooner or later to the police.”
“The police?”
She reached out and took her mother’s hand.
“Mom, when I was in the woods, when I met Russ, I was taking photos of wildlife. I took pictures of a man burying a woman’s body. I think…we think he might be a serial killer.”
Carrie gasped and looked to Russ for confirmation. He gave a sharp nod.
“And I think he knows who I am.”
Chapter 11
“Oh my God!” Carrie gasped. “Did you tell the police?”
Tori shook her head.
“Why not? If you have photos, proof of what he did, the police need to see it.” Carrie stared at her daughter, and Russ cleared his throat.
“It’s not so cut and dry. I’m part of the problem.”
“What do you mean?” Carrie asked.
“Like Tori said, I was in the woods too. I was tracking her. Following her scent.” He glanced up to check Carrie’s expression. She nodded her understanding. “When I finally found Tori, she was hunkered against a tree, scared, but in control. I could sense her fear, and like a good wolf, I located the reason for it.” Russ swiped his hand through his hair. “I charged him. Eliminate the threat, you know. Trying to protect what I thought was mine.” He frowned. Tori’s words still stung.
“He shot Russ, Mom.” Carrie rubbed Russ’s ar
m.
“Took a bullet to my shoulder. It pretty much downed me. Luckily, the guy bolted and didn’t try to finish me off. Tori found me, got me to change back, and helped me get away.”
“So if you go to the police, and they catch him, he might talk about the wolf he shot.”
“Right. And how do I explain that?” Tori sighed. “So we have to find a way to tell them about the killer, but not about Russ’s wolf. I just hate lying to the police.”
“That won’t be a problem, if the killer is dead,” Russ muttered.
“But with your photos, they’d be able to find him, get him off the streets, and stop him killing again.” Carrie looked from Russ to Tori.
“We need to tell the cops.” Russ held his hands up to surrender. “Okay. We tell them we were in the woods together taking pictures. Which is true—in a way. You leave out my being shot and my wolf. If he talks about the wolf, we mention a big dog, nothing more.”
“I think we should mention the big dog right away. If we don’t and he does, it might look like we’re hiding something,” Tori replied.
“I agree,” Carrie added.
“But what about my photos?”
“You didn’t take any of the wolf, thank God. Just turn over the shots of the killer and the body.” Russ figured if they had their story straight now, when they talked to the cops it would go smoother.
Tori nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”
Carrie went to the counter and picked up the phone.
“Who are you calling, Mom?”
“Your brother. Jake needs to know what’s going on. He’s alpha, and you brought this to his turf.” Carrie waited a second for Tori to nod, and then pressed the number in.
Russ shifted in his seat, and lowered his voice so only Tori could hear him. “Uh, your brother, Jake? How do you think he’s going to react when he sees me?”
Tori’s smile faded. “I’m not sure.” She scrunched up her nose. “You’re both alphas, so…” She shrugged. “You’ll behave, right?”
If Jake had been raised like Russ had been, he’d have a big problem with Russ.
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