“Oh.” Gisele raised a manicured eyebrow and tilted her head just that little bit. “I'm afraid your friend hasn't been given appropriate lessons in manners for a werewolf.”
That time I growled.
Rob used the tip of his finger to scratch the silky part of my nose. It felt surprisingly good and soothing. “I asked her to accompany me on the next full moon. I believe she sees you as a threat.”
I could have died of embarrassment right then. Rob certainly had a lofty opinion of himself. It surprised me that his brutal honesty worked. Gisele removed her hand and we went back to business. “The amulet. Did you bring it with you?”
Rob handed her the collar. “When she changed into a wolf, the amulet disappeared, but she was wearing this.”
Gisele hissed when she took the collar into her hands. “Powerful magic. Dark. Very dark. Three wolves lost their power when this amulet was made. Three cats lost their lives.”
She wasn't talking about regular cats. These were were-cats. I just wanted to know how to stop the spell. My stomach felt queasy knowing people died to make it, and I wanted to rip the thing off. Rob must have read my mind. “How do we turn Jen back and return the wolves' power?”
As she looked me over, Gisele wore a haughty expression. “You must find all three wolves. When they put on the amulet and say a spell, their power will return to them. I will write down the exact words for you. The amulet should disappear with the third wolf and Jen will turn back into a human.”
I didn't like Gisele. It wasn't just because she was tall and perfect or even because she thought she was better than me. She just had this way of making me feel small. Even as a wolf, I felt like a mouse in her presence, which technically I was, but I shouldn't be made to feel it. But she was a predator, in a way that a mouse like me did not appreciate. I watched her watch Rob, and I realized that she was interested in him.
Running to the door, I turned and looked over my shoulder at Rob. He laughed. That's what I like best about him. He's charming even when I'm not.
“Wait. I know you don't like me, Mouse. You will stay the night here. The maker of the amulet is hunting for it. I'll help you hide. I'll create a potion that helps you hide. One night is all I need.” Her smile was false. As a wolf, I could read her scent, her being. She wanted Rob. Wait, what did she say?
She called me Mouse. My soul roared at the indignity. It was what I was. She named me truly. And now Rob would know. And we wouldn't ever go on the moon tryst date. Not that I planned on going, but I wanted to.
“Jen?”
I felt as if I couldn't win. We needed Gisele's protection. Dirk's description of her power and her willingness to help meant that we needed to stay the night. I dipped my head. It was the best I could do. Gisele slid closer to Rob. I watched while she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, and I heard exactly what she said, “Are you sure she's the one? You could always save that date with her for another month. We could have a glorious time.”
Rob was listening to her words, but looking in my eyes. With a shake of his head, he said, “I've made my choice. Wolves stay firm you know, when testing for a mate. I'm going to test her next.”
Wow, that made me feel special, like a tube in a laboratory filled with disease. Testing the girlfriend. It was a good thing Andrea explained this to me in detail or I would have slipped out the door with my tail slinking below my legs and run so far away that I never saw Rob again. But I knew that it meant he wanted me. He wanted to see if we were mates, and only because he thought we could be.
So I just sat there and pretended I couldn't hear what they were saying as they whispered back and forth, as he took her hand and removed it from his leg.
“Whatever you say, Sweetie.” Gisele stood abruptly. “Well, let me show you to your rooms.”
Her house wasn't overly large. There were exactly three rooms. The master bedroom on one side of the kitchen and the two smaller bedrooms across the house next to the living room. Those two bedrooms shared a bathroom. What concerned me was that she gave me the master bedroom...and worse, it looked like a guest room for a dog, with doggy furniture and a rather large pet blanket. And she gave Rob the bedroom next to hers. This lady was trouble.
We both had overnight bags, with hopes to do a few tourist stops once I had turned back to a human. Neither of us anticipated a long drawn out problem with the amulet. After taking a moment outside to do my business, I followed Rob into his bedroom.
“I'm sorry. I don't allow animals in that room or in my room. I'm sure you understand.” Oh, I understood. Rob with his handsome smile and chiseled werewolf body could stay next to the witch. This was a total set up.
I stopped at the threshold of his room and sat down, putting my tail just at the edge of the door, but not a hair over.
“That's okay. There's plenty of room in the master for both of us.” Rob leaned down and patted my shoulder.
Gisele's mouth fell open. To say she looked shocked was an understatement. “I'll just be downstairs finishing the masking spell.”
For my part I hoped it worked. She was somewhat upset to be foiled in her pursuit, and I wouldn't put it past her to mess up the spell now that her fun was ruined. Also, it felt a little too convenient that she knew exactly what had to be done to reverse the amulet. How would a witch know that? Unless she'd made amulets before.
Rob wasn't one to be pursued. It's probably why he wanted me. It's not like I've been easy for him to get to know, even after months working together. I was surprised when he accompanied me to the pet room.
The pet beds were new. Perfect for a were-anything, the room didn't work for a human. After Gisele went downstairs, he slipped outside to grab his sleeping bag.
I went into the pet bathroom and discovered a huge tub with buttons on the bottom, specially built to a wolf's needs. I pressed the button and water filled the tub. It was just the right temperature, which for a wolf was a little cooler. As the tub filled with water, another tube squirted bubble bath in from another angle. I love bubble baths.
I was busy splashing in the tub, rolling upside down. There were some really cool things about being a wolf. The water smelled so fresh. Not exactly like water, but like something else, something more, something better.
I'd left the door open. It's not as if I could have closed it anyway with paws, but it didn't matter because I wore fur which in the wolf world was as good as clothes. Rob chuckled when he saw me in the tub. And then he pulled out his cell phone and took a picture. I hoped it was a good one because he sure as heck wouldn't get another tub picture of me again.
“Jen, would you mind if I shut the door for a minute? I'm going to change.” Rob looked a bit awkward and I realized that we were going to spend the night alone together. Hmm...I'd imagined it several times before, but never quite like this. I barked what I hoped would be a cheerful response. He laughed and our eyes met, then he closed the door gently while I went back to my bubble chasing pursuits. After that, I had the tub to myself.
He opened the door a moment later, looking good in a blue t-shirt and shorts, and I found myself wondering what he looked like as a wolf. Maybe I could run with him on the moon as a wolf, if we didn't resolve the amulet situation.
I went into the corner of the bathroom and shook from head to tail. Rob pulled a hair dryer out of my bag, “You'd best get dried off before sleep.”
Now that I faced a hair dryer as an animal, I discovered something. They are loud. My ears were far too sensitive now. But we managed and I felt clean and refreshed when Rob lay down in his sleeping bag. I longed to lie down next to him...or at least at the foot where a regular pet would lie.
But I felt shy. And I didn't know if he wanted me there. So, I curled up on the doggy couch with my head tucked over my butt.
Pretending to be asleep, I stared into the dark, but of course I was awake. My ears heard whispers in the dark of things I could not place. Rob experienced the same discontent and shifted back and forth in his sleeping bag. B
y morning, we were both tired and cranky. Coffee sounded good. The witch poured milk in my metal bowl. I sniffed it a few times. It actually smelled okay. So no coffee. At least she wasn't trying to poison me...yet.
I drank the milk without complaint, feeling grateful that Rob looked worse than I did. He had hair sticking up on the side of his head and wore a grumbly expression from all that tossing and turning.
There is no etiquette for licking milk out of a bowl. I felt awkward and very much on display, probably because Gisele watched me carefully while I drank. I sniffed the bowl again for good measure, then looked under and around just to make sure that there wasn't some witchy thing attached. All clear.
She handed Rob a bag of herbs on a leather thong. “Wear this around your neck.”
She attached a similar bag to the amulet collar and reached for me. I side-stepped and growled.
“Fine.” She handed Rob the collar. “Make sure she wears this. I've spelled it to make it more comfortable. If your moon tryst doesn't turn out, look me up.” She smiled and it was genuine and soft, and she looked too good for having stayed up all night, much too good. But we never had to see her again. So I finished my milk and thumped my tail on the linoleum floor when Rob finished making pleasantries. He knelt down at my side and his hands on my neck felt right even while the collar felt oh so wrong.
He watered his hair down in the bathroom before we carried our stuff out to the car, ran a comb through his hair, and suddenly it was as if he'd never lost any sleep.
It was like magic. I loved watching him.
Chapter 14
After a comfortable night asleep on Rob's couch, I waited while Rob did a house showing and met with clients to list their house. It was going to be a slam-dunk. The house was in a good neighborhood and would sell quickly.
Waiting for the day to end so that we could get on with fixing me was the only hard part.
The moment finally came. I'd never see two men look so eager. Apparently being a werewolf must be awesome because they truly waited on the porch like two kids whose father had just come home from a business trip with presents.
Dirk introduced us to the guy that yelled at me on the phone and we got down to business. I wore the collar with the little brown pouch swinging under my chin. Trust me when I say the tooth mark in the leather was mostly an accident.
When Dirk leaned down to remove my collar, I nearly bit him. Talk about hackles rising. I wasn't expecting it and something about him just rubbed me wrong. With my canines showing, my growl meant business. It made no sense even to me, but I did not want Dirk touching me.
Rob knelt beside me, unbuckling the collar. His hand ruffling through my fur comforted me. “It's okay, Jen.”
“You want to go first?” Dirk stepped back, a quick flash of anger smothered with a smile that didn't quite fit. He wanted to be in control, and I wasn't playing nice. I decided I didn't much like him.
I watched the man wrap the collar around his throat, a doctor from a small town forty-five miles south, he took a deep breath when Rob handed him Giselle's spell. With a husky voice he read the words from the piece of paper Giselle had written out, words that made no sense by the way. Witches.
A flash of light followed the last word and he changed from man to wolf and then back again. That made sense since wolves only changed on the full moon.
“Do you have your power back?” Dirk held out his hand for the collar.
He gave Dirk the collar, saying, “I'll know soon enough.”
Dirk inspected the holes along the leather and touched the mojo bag. The urge to bite him grew, but I held my temper. Apparently I'm a territorial wolf. I had no idea I could be like that.
Dirk put the collar on, the change flashing for a moment to a wolf with a feral gleam in his eyes. We stared at one another, playing a dominance game in that instant that sent adrenaline shivering through my body. And then he was human again.
Dirk pretended nothing happened. He asked,” Have you thought about how you're going to find that third wolf?”
Werewolves met regularly at the full moon and since they ran in packs, somebody should have known if a wolf lost his power. Dirk only found one other wolf missing his power.
Being without vocal chords really stinks sometimes. I had an idea. Something life as a mouse had taught me. When a person is embarrassed by something, they tend to hide it. As I did my mousiness. Maybe this wolf hid his loss in silence.
I woofed at Rob and then spent a good half hour trying to tell him what I thought. I'm a horrible mime. Ali would have understood. Rob asked for computer paper and we had to do the whole alphabet thing again, just so I could tell him my idea, which turned out to be a good one after all.
“You know, we do have wolves who have disappeared from the pack runs recently. I know a few are sick, but the rest might just be in hiding. Let me make a few calls.”
Dirk left the room, handing Rob the collar. Rob played with the leather pouch, his fingers trailing the bite marks. He was watching me furtively, and now that I could see him through wolf eyes, I knew the wolf within was intrigued by me. I smiled, the kind of grin that made my tongue fall out. This time, Rob's smile reached the crinkles in the corners of his eyes.
Dirk returned with a list of names, some with phone numbers and addresses, some without. There were seven people on the list.
“I have it on good authority that this first one is holed up in a barn. You'd best check that address out first.” Dirk winked at me. It made me feel slimey. Some people should not wink, Dirk being one of them.
Rob took the list and thanked Dirk and we were off.
I'd love to say that we immediately caught the guy and gave him his wolf back and we all lived happily ever after. The next time I let Ali talk me into anything...I'm talking the slightest trip to get our hair done or even a quick stop at an ice cream shop, I'm going to remember the barn on Hawktail Road and the crazy man inside.
I've long thought that Rob had sixth sense about life. He just seems to know when to call for help. We drove to the barn. Ali was already waiting, her hair swept back into a pony tail. For her this was the middle of the night, but as much trouble as Ali can get me into, I have to admit, she's always there to help get me right back out again.
“Thank goodness you're closer to a solution. Jen's grandma is driving me crazy. She was actually waiting at the top of the stairs in front of my apartment door last night. She knows something's up.” Ali took off her sun glasses and slid them into the case. Now up close, with the rings under her eyes, no raccoon joke here, I could tell she hadn't been getting enough sleep, probably covering for me.
I yipped, and what I said was, “What exactly did you tell my grandmother and will I be able to join a family function without ridicule when this is all over?”
After years as friends, language is almost secondary. Ali tossed her sunglass case through the passenger window which had been slightly rolled down and said, “Hey, don't worry about me. I'm an accomplished liar. As a matter of fact, your grandmother is now happily convinced that you are on a cruise with a new boyfriend, who happens to be a hot werewolf. I didn't drop any names, so you have plenty of room to embellish.”
Rob lifted an eyebrow and smirked. Yes, that's right. He smirked. I realized then that he planned to be the hot werewolf in the story. And Ali just scratched my head and stepped by me as if she'd solved world hunger on her own. I let her be patronizing in that moment because she was my best friend and I could hear a growl coming from the barn, an inhuman growl, and by that I mean, the werewolf was a wolf, in wolf form, and not on a full moon.
You know how barns have those openings in the second story with large doors? To throw hay down, I suppose. Well, this wolf growled at us from the barn. Rob stepped in front of me. Seriously. I'm in wolf form and could hold my own a lot better than he could.
“I'm going to open the door slowly, and I want you to both to get in the car.” The effect was lost when he glanced over his shoulder to Ali to f
ind a raccoon with a cheeky smile where a lovely young woman once stood. She greeted him with a chittering laugh and scampered under the car and out the other side, drawing the werewolf's attention.
In my limited world view, I thought that a wolf standing on the second story of anything would have to run down the stairs to get down from such a height. As I say, limited. The wolf in question dropped out of the opening like it was nothing. It occurred to me then that most barns had ladders. He couldn't have gotten out any other way. And he was running after Ali, snarling and foaming at the mouth.
No wolf was going to eat my friend. Even if she deserved it.
With a growl of my own, I leapt past Rob who yelled, “Jen! Jen, get back here!” He cursed like a rapper. Hell might have been mentioned a few times. It's hard to say, my focus was elsewhere.
There comes a moment in everyone's life when a decision must be made. A stupid, horrendous, really bad decision. This was my moment. Teeth bared, I knocked down the other wolf at full speed, snarling and snapping while we rolled in a tangle of fur and teeth.
He grazed my neck with his teeth and I growled and tried to sink my teeth into his. He tasted like manure. Like the barn. It was gross. So I didn't bite him. And he missed biting me. All around, not a great way to start off Round 1 in werewolf vs. werewolf.
The wolf shook himself away, his fangs bared while he stalked around me. I did the same with no intention of giving him the chance to look elsewhere. He could kill Rob or Ali in a single snap and from where I stood, the guy acted crazy.
Rob spoke very calmly in a soothing voice and I imagined he'd be a good father, even for the early morning feedings. I shook myself. We hadn't even gone on a first date and I was writing our future together. How pathetic.
In the meantime, the wolf was listening. His head was cocked and he stood still. I waited. And then the wolf bolted, not for the barn nor toward Ali or Rob. There was only one direction left for him and he took it.
Moon Struck: Book 1 (When, Were, and Howl) Page 6