by Jane Jamison
“Where do you think they’re coming from?” Casey had never heard of any of the local young werewolves giving anyone trouble. Of course, that could’ve changed once they’d banded together. If one of them was a troublemaker, then he could spoil the rest of the lot. Even good teen werewolves were hard enough to handle with their human hormones mixing with their inner wolves’ urges.
“I don’t think they’re local. I’ve done enough checking to figure that much out.”
Casey frowned at Jackson. “Then you think they’ve come in from the outside? Maybe from Dallas?”
“I do.” Jackson took a swig. “I called the leader of the Dallas pack, and he said they’d had the same kind of trouble up until a little while ago.”
Joe hit the nail on the head before Casey could respond. “Let me guess. Their problems ended around the same time ours started.”
But Joe hadn’t taken it far enough. “And about the same time Bonnie and Harry rolled into town. And Dirk started showing his ugly mug around here.”
Jackson lifted his beer in a salute. “I knew you boys were smart.”
“So where are they staying? You haven’t got anyone renting one of your places, have you?” Casey knew the answer to the last question, but he still had to ask it. If Jackson had any renters, he’d have already said so.
“There are other places between here and the surrounding towns like Shatland. I’ve got some feelers out to see if anyone’s seen any newcomers hanging around Shatland, but so far, nothing’s come up.”
“What do you have in mind? How do we handle this?” Casey didn’t usually look to others to solve problems, but the Carr family had been one of the first families to settle in Forever. Since then, people had always considered the Carrs as the unofficial leaders of the werewolf community.
“For now, there’s not much we can do. Other than to have people keep their eyes open. I’ve suggested that some of us start posting lookouts around the various ranches, but that’s like trying to catch a fly with a hole-ridden swatter. It’s hit and miss.”
“You’re saying all we can do is sit and wait?” Joe downed the rest of his drink. “That plan sucks.”
“Give it time, man.” Jackson’s voice lowered to a whisper only a werewolf could hear. “We’ll get a handle on them soon enough.”
The ring tone of Casey’s phone brought their conversation to a halt. “Hello?”
“Casey, it’s Bonnie.”
He leaned forward in his chair, his abrupt change in body language catching Joe’s attention. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Harry. Dirk didn’t bring him back.”
“Harry’s still not home?” He’d disliked Dirk before but now he was ready to tear the man apart. If he’d done anything to harm Harry, he’d pay for it with his hide.
“No. I mean, yes. He came home hours later, but not with Dirk.”
“Then he came home alone?” He was hoping she’d say yes, but something told him that hadn’t happened.
“No. He came back with that gang of kids.”
Shit. “Bonnie, I’m sitting here with Joe and Jackson Carr. Let me put you on speaker so they can hear.” He pushed the speaker button. “Go on.”
“He came back with them and he was acting differently. Like he was one of them. Like he’s a horrible person. You know he’s not like that, Casey. He’s a good kid. It’s just that he’s angry and mixed up right now.”
“I know, Bonnie.” His gaze met his brother’s. Even a good kid can go bad if he hangs around with bad people. “Are they there now?”
“No. I tried to get Harry to stay, but he went off with them. Casey, I’m really worried.”
Harry mixed up with a bad gang could spell big trouble for the kid. If he could do anything to keep that from happening, he would. “Joe and I will look for him.”
“Would you? It may be easier to do that in your other body. That’s why I didn’t follow him. I have no chance of keeping up with him.”
“Of course we will. But I have to warn you. I doubt he’ll listen to anything we have to say.”
“I know, but I’d be so grateful if you’d try.”
“Consider it done.” Joe was already on his feet and moving out the door with Jackson. “I know it’s easy to say, but try to stay calm. He’s going to be okay.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. We’ll get in touch once we have any news.” Casey ended the call and joined Joe and Jackson outside the diner.
“It sounds like your new stepson-to-be is in a world of trouble.” Jackson tipped his cowboy hat to a couple going into Milly’s. “Want some help looking for him?”
Casey had known Jackson would offer to help. “Naw. I think it’s going to be tough enough to get him back to his mom. But with another man in tow? Let’s keep this as low-key as we can for now.”
“If that’s what you want. Holler if you need me. I can round up my brothers, too, as well as a few others.”
“Thanks, Jackson, I will.”
Jackson strode over to his pickup parked on the other side of the road. Casey wondered if he’d made a mistake in turning down his help. If nothing else, they might need more men who could help handle the other teen wolves. But he was banking that they could convince Harry to come along if it was just them doing the asking.
“You really think Harry’s okay?”
Casey twisted his mouth as the knot in his stomach grew tighter. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter Nine
Bonnie spoke briefly with Casey and Joe when they came home in the early morning hours. Once they’d told her that they hadn’t found Harry, they’d hurried off to get a shower and sleep. They’d wanted to stay with her, seeing how upset she was, but she couldn’t ask any more of them.
Hours later, she was ready to wake them up and beg them to hunt for her son again. Her worry had grown so intense that she could do nothing more than pace back and forth in the RV’s small interior. She wrung her hands and prayed for Harry to be unharmed and headed home.
When he finally opened the door and stumbled inside, she almost wept with joy. “Harry, you’re all right.” She tried to hug him, but he pushed her away.
She didn’t want to reprimand him. Not when she was so glad that he was home safe and sound. But she had to know, had to find out where he’d gone.
“Harry, where did you go? You were gone so long. I’ve been worried sick.”
He swayed, exhaustion evident in the way he moved, toward her bedroom at the back of the vehicle. “Stop bothering me. I told you I wasn’t coming home last night, so back off.”
She gritted her teeth and swallowed angry words. “Harry, you have to explain yourself. After how you spoke to me and then staying out all night?” When he didn’t respond in any way, she couldn’t hold back any longer. “You’re grounded for life. Do you hear me?”
He turned toward her and gripped the door. His bloodshot eyes held no amber, but the animosity in his expression was enough to frighten her. “Back the hell off.”
Her mouth was still hanging open for several seconds after he slammed the door. Once the shock was over, she reached for the doorknob and found that he’d locked it. Her first impulse was to pound against the door and demand that he open it. Instead, she dragged in a big breath and clenched her hand to keep from doing exactly that. Trying to talk to him now would only cause a bigger fight. Instead, she’d be ready for him once he woke up.
But what can I say to get through to him?
* * * *
Bonnie knew she was pushing it, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She’d waited for Harry to come out of the room for over three hours, and she couldn’t stand to sit there any longer. Instead, she found that she had to get out, away from the silence that taunted her from behind the bedroom door.
She hurried into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom where, at least for a brief moment in time, all her worries had gone away. It was the same bedroom where Casey and Joe had made love to her,
but that seemed so long ago. Lifting her hand, she rapped on the bedroom door. No one answered.
She knocked again. “Joe? Casey?”
She paused and reconsidered. They wouldn’t both be in the same bedroom, would they?
A moment later, the sound of the door on the opposite side of the hallway had her turning that way. Joe stood at the door, his hand planted against the frame. For a moment, she forgot why she’d come. He was naked, his body a mass of muscles that reminded her of an iron robot she’d seen at an exhibition once. Unlike the fictional man of steel, he didn’t radiate cold. Instead, the urge to have him plunge his cock into her made her dizzy with need.
“Bonnie, are you all right? Is Harry home?”
She tore her attention away from Joe to see Casey leaning out into the hallway from another bedroom. He was nude, too, and just as luscious-looking as his brother.
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I know you guys are exhausted from looking for Harry, but I wanted to tell you that he’s back.”
It was a lie, but that’s the first thing that had popped into her head. Would they have understood that she’d simply needed to see them?
Casey moved toward her even as Joe took her arm and led her into his bedroom. The room was much smaller than the one they’d shared, and the bed was only a regular full-size bed. The cover and the sheets were messed up, and she wondered if Joe tossed a lot in his sleep.
Joe’s gaze followed hers to the bowl of strawberries and container of chocolate icing. He smiled as he pulled her toward the bed. “Never mind that stuff. It’s just my favorite late-night snack.”
She nodded, vaguely aware of answering.
“Is he okay?” Joe had her sit beside him on the bed.
“He is. Physically, anyway. He came back and then went into my bedroom and locked the door. He was exhausted, but okay.”
She couldn’t help it. She had to glance down at his cock. Had it grown longer, thicker once they’d sat down? Pulling her focus away wasn’t the answer since Casey came up beside them. His cock stuck straight out and was only inches from her face.
I could lean forward and lick it.
She shook herself, surprised at her thought.
How can I think about sex now? Her gaze settled on first Casey’s then Joe’s cock. How can I not?
The need that always took her was back, stronger than ever.
“Would you two cover up? I can’t think straight with your you-know-whats pointed at me.”
They seemed surprised to find themselves naked in front of her. Or were they surprised that she wanted them to cover up? They each grabbed a portion of the top sheet and slung it over their cocks. As soon as they had, she regretted telling them to do it.
“How are you doing?” Joe slid his palm along her spine, giving her a fresh and even stronger wave of desire.
She closed her eyes, but that didn’t help. In fact, the urge, the need, the compulsion that she always felt whenever they were near her grew stronger. “I’m okay now that he’s back. But I need to ask for your help again.”
Casey sat on the other side of her and brought her chin up, opening her eyes. “Anything. Just tell us what you want us to do.”
“I need you to talk to him. He’s not listening to me.” The yearning ache she felt for them whipped into her pussy. “He was angry that I brought him to Forever, but after Dirk spent time with him, he got even angrier. Furious even.”
“Do you think Dirk said something to him to make him act that way?”
She could hear Casey’s irritation in his tone. “I wouldn’t put anything past Dirk. I was an idiot to let him get Harry alone. But I thought it would give Harry time to say good-bye and then we’d be through with Dirk, once and for all.”
“I don’t think Dirk will give up that easy,” added Joe.
“Do you think Harry will listen to us?”
“I don’t know, Casey, but it’s worth a try. I’m hoping having another man, or men in this case, talk to him might shake him out of this awful mood. You said that he opened up when you took him riding, right? Could you take him riding again? Maybe he’ll open up even more.”
Joe shrugged then reached for his ringing phone. “It’s worth a try anyway. Joe here.”
She hung her head, dropping her gaze, and didn’t pay much attention to the conversation Joe was having. If talking with the men didn’t help, she was out of options except for one. But she didn’t want to consider that choice. Not yet. Not after finding Casey and Joe.
“Is he sure? How does he even know what Harry looks like?”
She jerked up her head. Why were they talking about her son?
Joe averted his gaze, making her stomach do an ugly flip. He didn’t want her to see his reaction which meant the news was bad.
“Okay. Thanks, Jackson.”
Before Joe had ended the call, she was clutching his arm. “What about Harry?”
“Bonnie, try and stay calm.”
“Calm left me a while ago, Joe. Just tell me.”
“One of the ranchers came across the teen gang harassing his cattle last night. He said he shot over their heads—”
She gasped and racked her mind. Had Harry had any blood on him? If so, she hadn’t seen it.
“Anyway, it must have frightened one of them bad enough that he shifted back into his human body for a minute.”
“And then what?” She had to know every detail even if it tore her heart apart.
Joe glanced at Casey then back to her. “He recognized Harry from having seen him at Milly’s. Then Harry went back into his wolf form and ran off with the rest of the pack.”
“No.” She shook her head, trying to dispel the image of Harry going along with the gang and their destruction. “He wouldn’t do that. I know he’s mixed up and confused, but he’s a good kid. The man is mistaken. He saw someone that looks like Harry, but it wasn’t my son.”
“I don’t think so, baby. The man saw Harry in town, and he got a good look at him.”
Casey’s tone was soft, comforting, but she refused to let it soothe her. “No, he’s wrong.”
“And if he’s not?”
She looked into Joe’s eyes, knowing what she’d see in them, yet needing to see it anyway. “Do you really think it was him? Do you think Harry would’ve done that?”
His struggle to say the answer she wanted to hear warred on his face with the need to tell her what he really thought. “Yeah. I think even a good guy can do bad things when he’s around the wrong kind of people.”
She came to her feet, ready to do something, anything to help her son. “Then if you think it’s true, I have only one choice.”
She tugged her hands away when they both tried to take one.
“What are you talking about?” Joe stood, putting his body so close to hers that she could smell the shampoo he’d used.
The sizzle that was there every time they were near her spurred another blast of lust, determined to make her forget all but the need to have them. She pushed down the clog in her throat and struggled to keep focused. “I have to leave Forever.”
Casey was on his feet next to her, too. “That’s crazy. You came here to start a new life and to find a werewolf to help your son through this hard time in his life. And you found not one, but two of us. Give us a chance to help you and your son.”
To have them touch her was painful. She paced to the other side of the room and kept her back to them. What she had to say would be easier said if she didn’t see their faces.
“I’ve run out of time. Look what’s happened. Harry’s fallen in with a horrible crowd and he’s getting into trouble. He was better off in Dallas. Hell, he was better off with—” She slammed her mouth shut.
“With who, Bonnie?” Joe’s voice was low, but filled with tension. “With Dirk? Was that what you were about to say? Are you serious?”
“Joe’s right, baby. Dirk’s no good for Harry. Or for you.”
She whirled on them, the frustration of the nigh
t tightening her body. “Maybe he wasn’t that bad after all. At least when Dirk was around, Harry wasn’t hanging out with a gang.”
“It’s a pack.”
Joe shot a hard look at Casey who simply shrugged.
“Gang or a pack. It doesn’t matter what they’re called. They’re no good, and I have to get my son away from them.” She hugged herself, fighting an impossible war to rid herself of the chill coming from deep inside her.
They came to her, and although she tried to make it to the door before they caught her, she was relieved when she didn’t. They trapped her between them, each on one side of her, their hands caressing her as much as the tone of their voices did.
“You know that’s not the answer, baby,” cooed Casey. “You left Dallas for a reason. Don’t go backward now.”
“Listen to Casey.” Joe took her hand while his fingers brushed a tear from her cheek. “Don’t give up on us yet. We haven’t had much time with Harry. Let us take him riding again tomorrow and see if we can get through to him.”
“One last try. Okay, baby?” Casey held her other hand. His thumb rubbed her palm, calming her.
She sucked in a hard-won breath. “One last try. But if that doesn’t help, then I’m going to have to leave. I’ll find somewhere else, away from Dallas and away from Forever.”
The connection she felt for them couldn’t be denied any longer. It was crazy to get so turned on when she was upset about her son, but she couldn’t help but feel that her body, even her soul, needed to have them. A part of her felt like she was betraying her heart by giving into her yearning. Yet another part, the part that had seen lonely days drift into even lonelier nights, wouldn’t be denied. She lifted her gaze to Joe’s eyes then dropped it to his lips.
“I feel like the world’s spinning out of control.” She skimmed her tongue between her lips. “Hold on to me. Don’t let me fly away. For now, it’s all I’ll ask.”
Joe slid his hand behind to cup her neck. “I won’t let you go, baby. Not ever.”