We darted between some thick trees and around scratchy bushes. The brook came into sight. It really was like the one Toby and I had spent so much time near so long ago. A picnic sat before us.
I turned to him, tears pooling in my eyes. “How…?”
He kissed my right eye and then my left. “I told Sal to run ahead and set it up as soon as you arrived.”
“It’s perfect,” I whispered. A single tear ran down my cheek, stinging my still-bruised face.
Toby trailed kisses along the path of my tear. “I hope that’s a tear of happiness.”
I nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.
He put an arm around my shoulders and led me to the blanket and we sat. “I won’t feel safe until our fathers are dead again, but this brings back so many memories. I can’t tell you how many times I thought back to our many trips in the woods over the years while you were dead.”
“I’m sure I thought about them, too.”
Toby tilted his head. “What do you mean? Those memories haven’t returned?”
“They were crystal clear when I crossed back over to the land of the living, but from the moment I actually stepped across the threshold, my memories from the other side grew fuzzier by the minute. I don’t think that had anything to do with the jaguars.”
“I’ve heard others with similar stories after crossing over. Apparently death just isn’t that memorable.” Toby ran his fingers through my hair and smiled, but I couldn’t return the smile. He kissed me. “Let’s talk about happier things—like being back together, alone, and engaged.”
I nodded and returned the kiss. He pulled me closer, kissing me deeply. My body relaxed, knowing I was home because I was there with him. He ran his hands through my hair again and then down my back, sending a warm shiver through me. The water continued to bubble and forest critters ran around nearby.
It was the most romantic moment I’d ever experienced.
“I promise to keep you warm.” Toby slid off my jacket and took hungry possession of my mouth.
My heart raced. I pressed myself against him and kissed him just as greedily.
He fell back against the blanket and pulled me with him. “Sometimes it’s still hard to believe you’re really back. You were gone so long…”
“And I’m not going anywhere, ever.”
“Good.” He nibbled on my ear. I gasped, enjoying the light tickle. Toby pressed kisses along my shoulder and followed the collar of my scoop neck around my back.
The sweet and alluring scent of his love and desire surrounded me, taking over all of my senses. It was one of the best parts of being a werewolf—the strong senses that allowed me such a precious intimacy.
Toby gasped.
“I like it, too,” I whispered.
He sat up and pulled me up, also. His eyes were wide and his face pale. The aroma of his desire pulled away.
“What is it?” I looked behind me, fully expecting to see one of our fathers. It was just the peaceful brook. I turned back to him. “What happened?”
Toby went to my back and tugged down on my shirt’s collar. “You have a mole back here.”
“Okay?”
“It was never there before.”
“Those things show up all the time on skin, right?” I asked.
He came back around and looked at me. “It’s almost in the shape of a J.”
My heart plummeted. Just like all those mysterious jaguar references after I’d lost my memories. That had to be it. “What does it mean?”
Toby pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. “I have no idea, but I don’t think it’s good.”
“Could it be some kind of…” I searched for the right word. “A sign that they’ve somehow claimed me?”
He shook his head. “You were bait for me, remember?”
“But his father had no problem with Carter having an interest in me.”
An expression of terror and then anger ran across his face. “Someone said something about how jaguars are supposed to mate by a certain age—and that Carter’s close.”
“So, it might be a claim on me for Carter?” I felt sick to my stomach. “How many people think they own me?”
“Too many,” he grumbled. “Nobody owns you—not your father, not Franklin, and most certainly not those jaguars. Let’s add this to the list of things to explore while trying to figure out how to make you shift.”
A thought struck me. “Wait. You don’t think that mole has something to do with why I can’t shift?”
Chapter 14
Toby
I stared at Victoria, a mixture of terror and anger pulsing through me. Fear for how long it would take for the full moon to kill her if she didn’t shift soon and fury for the jaguars who had done this to her.
She trembled. “At least we know it’s there now. It’s a new clue.”
“I’m going to kill them.”
Victoria shook her head. “We just need to get to the bottom of this, then Gessilyn can fix it.”
“And then I can fix them.”
“Toby,” she whispered.
I bit back more threats toward the vile jaguars and gazed into her beautiful, dark eyes. “Yes?”
She ran her fingers through my hair and moved closer to me. “Don’t let them ruin our moment together. They, along with our fathers, have already stolen so much from us. Let us have this picnic, please.”
My anger melted. I nodded. “You’re right.”
Victoria pressed her sweet lips upon mine. “Let’s just enjoy our time alone. We have a busy week ahead of us, and I have a feeling I’ll probably only see you in class—and I won’t be able to do this then.” She closed her eyes, pressed herself against me, and gave me a mind-melting kiss that made the woods spin around us.
I wrapped my arms around her and let everything else disappear. For the short time we had together, we were the only two people in the world. Nothing and no one else mattered. We were finally together after far too many years apart.
Things grew a little too heavy, so I backed away, gasping for air. “We should eat before the food gets cold.”
She stared at me and pulled hair from her eyes. “Right. We want our wedding night to be special, so we should back off a bit, even though I would love nothing better than to kiss you all night long.”
I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “We need to start planning that ceremony. Soon.”
Victoria smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. Do you have anything in mind?”
“As long as we end up married, I’m not concerned about the details. Whether it’s big or small, fancy or simple—all that’s up to you, my sweetness. I want to give you the wedding of your dreams.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet. Honestly, as long as you’re there, nothing else matters.”
My heart warmed. It was hard to pull my gaze from her, but I managed. Together, we set up the picnic. Sal had put together some fruit salad, wine, candles, and dessert. It was perfect.
Victoria pulled out the candles and lit them while I poured the drinks. She leaned against me as we faced the brook and ate the salad, followed by the pie. We sipped wine and stole kisses between eating.
The moon grew higher in the sky.
“We should get back so you can get some sleep. Finals are no time to be short on rest.”
She turned to me and stole a kiss. “Except when I can spend time with a sexy professor.”
“I hope I’m the only sexy professor you’re spending time with.” The corners of my mouth twitched.
“You’d better believe it.” She kissed me again, a deeper, more passionate kiss.
As much as I wanted to continue our time together, I backed away. “I’m serious about getting you back. When you wake up tired, you’re going to blame me.”
“Happily. I’ll remember this picnic and have no regrets.” She moved to kiss me, but I ducked away. “You’re such a tease.”
I laughed. “And you’re making it hard to stay single.”
“W
e need to set a date.”
“That we do. Why don’t we plan on discussing all this during Christmas break? We can plan while decorating Moonhaven.”
“Won’t we decorate over Thanksgiving? That’s coming up.”
“You’re right. It’s right around the time of the full moon, isn’t it?”
“I think so.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to shift by then.”
Her eyes lit up. “I hope so. I really don’t know if I can take another full moon without shifting.” She shuddered.
I remembered the mark, and ran my finger over it. “We need to show that to Gessilyn before you go home.”
She nodded, but then her face fell. “With her being so busy with the dead body, is she going to have any time to look into this?”
“Her entire family is on that case. One of them can pull away to help us.”
Victoria sighed. “But if the entire pack is affected by the body’s curse, that needs to be the priority. I’m sure I can make it through one more full moon. I’ll take some pain pills before it has a chance to hurt.”
I shook my head. “We can’t risk the next un-shift killing you. They keep getting worse and your wolf needs to come out.”
“I’m tough.”
I frowned. “Nobody’s that tough, sweetness.”
“I’ll tell you what.” She took my hand and stared into my eyes. “When I see Carter in class tomorrow, I’ll find out if he’s learned anything new. Surely, he has to know something else by now.”
“You really think he can find out?”
“His father doesn’t know he’s working with us. It’s perfect.”
“Just be careful. Please.”
“I will.”
“Don’t forget he has feelings for you,” I said.
“I know, but both of us know I only have eyes for you.” She kissed my cheek.
“Well, go easy on the poor guy. I’d hate to be in his shoes.”
She smiled. “You never will be.”
My heart warmed, and the heat spread throughout my body. I pulled her close again and kissed her. “I hope I never lose my gratitude for having you back. Sometimes it seems so unreal—like I expect to wake up any moment.”
Her face formed a slow frown. “Is that what happened? You’d dream of me, and then wake to realize I was dead?”
I ran my thumb over her knuckles and nodded. “It was the worst feeling in the world, and the disappointment never grew more bearable. It always hit me like a ton of bricks.”
“Oh, Toby…”
“But you’re here now.” I cleared my throat. “That’s all that matters. You’re actually here.” I held her close again and ran my palms over her hair, overwhelmed with the reality of having her with me. After a minute, I pulled back.
She laced her fingers through mine and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry I did that to you—not that I’ll ever regret saving your life.”
“What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Victoria gazed into my eyes. “You don’t know? For starters, you always loved me for me. You never expected anything from me that I didn’t want—you know, you’ve respected my wishes. You’ve always believed in me—you’ve had an unflinching belief in me. In my old pack, it was always about what I could do for them. Especially for my father and Franklin, and obviously, they still think they own me. You’ve never thought that. You appreciate me.”
“How could I not? You’re the most beautiful and amazing person I’ve ever met.” I cupped her face. “You’re intelligent, gifted, caring, and so much more. To trap you in a cage—actually or metaphorically—would be wrong. You deserve freedom, and I always want you to have that.”
We gazed into each other’s eyes without saying anything for a moment. I ran my fingers through her hair again, and as my hand went down her back, my finger grazed her new mole.
“We need to get back to Moonhaven,” I said. “Gessilyn needs to see that.”
She threw herself against me and squeezed me. “I love you.”
“And I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”
“Can’t we just leave school behind and run away together?”
“I think we’re better off with the pack and our other friends—Gessilyn, Tap, and even Soleil.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighed. “I just don’t want to go back to the Waldensian.”
“I want you at Moonhaven, too. But you also deserve the college experience. There’s nothing like it. In fact, you probably shouldn’t spend so much time with your old, boring professor.”
The corners of her mouth twitched. “I happen to like my old, boring professor. But if you’re old, what does that make me?”
“Beautiful.”
She laughed and then pulled back. “We should clean up the picnic.”
“As much as I’d love to stay here forever, you’re right.”
We put everything inside the basket and then I carried it, and we headed on our way back with my other arm wrapped around her. She leaned her head against me. We walked quietly, enjoying each other and the soft sounds of the woods around us.
When we reached Moonhaven, Gessilyn and her family were still crowded around the grave. They were flipping feverishly through books and scrolls. Most of them had dark bands under bloodshot eyes.
“Why don’t you guys come inside and get some sleep?” I asked. “We have plenty of spare rooms. Take your pick.”
Nora glanced up and gave me an appreciative glance. “Thanks, Toby, but Johan has blessed us all with an anti-sleeping spell.”
“Tell me you’ve at least made some progress.”
Johan put an arm around Nora and nodded. “We’ve narrowed the curse down to having been placed in the last five years.”
I let go of Victoria, stood next to the witches, and studied the body. “But with the decomposition, it looks like it’s been there much longer.”
Nora shrugged. “The curse could’ve caused that, or even the elements. Either way, I wouldn’t try to figure out how long it’s been there based on decay.”
“That’s true. Well, if you change your minds about sleep, come inside. We hardly use the third and fourth floors if you’d like privacy.”
“Thanks, Toby.” Nora smiled and then turned back to the body.
“We do have one more question for you,” I said.
Gessilyn snapped her attention toward us. “What’s the matter? Your tone worries me.”
Apparently I couldn’t hide my fear when it came to Victoria. “Can you take a look at this?”
Victoria turned around and pulled her hair in front of her shoulder. I pulled her collar away from the mole.
Gessilyn gasped.
“Jaguars?” Johan asked.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.” I frowned.
Frida came over and ran a finger over the J-shaped mole. “Could this have something to do with why she won’t shift?”
“I was hoping you’d know,” I said.
Nora and Johan moved closer, studying it. Johan also ran a finger along it. “I’ve heard of using jewelry or spells to avoid the natural consequences of being a certain species, but a mole? Never.” He turned to Nora. “Have you?”
She shook her head. “It’s new to me, also. But then again, the jaguars seem to have brought in all kinds of new things. One of us is going to need to see if we can read the magic associated with it.”
“I’ll do it,” Gessilyn said. “I’m frustrated with this body, anyway. I need a break.”
“Let me know if you need any help,” Frida said.
“We’ll all help,” Keran assured us.
I nodded a thanks, and then Gessilyn, Victoria, and I went inside the house. Sounds from the TV came from the living room.
“Let’s go into my office.” I led the way and closed the door behind us.
Gessilyn put her hand over the mole and closed her eyes. “I can feel magic.” She held perfectly still. “It seems to be blocking something. Maybe we’v
e found the source of the problem.”
Victoria spun around, her eyes huge. “You can make me shift again?”
“Not this very moment, but if I can crack the spell, you may very well be able to run around with the pack at the next full moon.”
I wrapped my arms around Victoria and glanced at Gessilyn. “How soon can you crack the code?”
“That’s the big question. I don’t recognize the magic. We’re going to need to talk to your jaguar friend.”
Chapter 15
Victoria
“What are you going to ask him?” Soleil asked as we walked into Massaro’s classroom.
“I’m just going to tell him what we found.” I shrugged and sat in my usual seat. Carter wasn’t there yet.
Soleil glanced around. “Even with everyone around?”
“I’ll watch how I word it.”
“Did Toby give you any ideas this morning?”
“In class?” I held in a laugh. “Right. With all the girls clamoring for his attention, pretending not to get statistics.”
“Was that where he was during lunch? Signing autographs?”
“Probably. No, he’s busy with student appointments now. He says he’s always extra busy between midterms and finals.”
“Sucks for you.”
“We have most of the month off between Thanksgiving and New Year. But with Toby busy, it gives me more time to get homework done. I barely got anything done last weekend. I can’t wait for finals to be over.”
“I’m sure being in Seattle had nothing to do with that.”
“Nor did having a picnic in the woods.”
“Speaking of that.” Soleil raised an eyebrow. “How exactly did he find that J-shaped mark? Details. Spill ‘em.”
My face burned.
She laughed. “You’re so easy to embarrass. Anyway, I wasn’t kidding. Tell Soleil everything.”
Massaro came in, saving me. For once, the man was actually sparing me from misery.
Soleil leaned closer. “Where’s Carter?”
“Good question.” I watched the door as Massaro set up his things on his desk. Carter always arrived early for class.
“Time for another quiz,” Massaro said. “Open your devices and go to this webpage.” He scribbled a URL on the whiteboard.
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