by Jane Jamison
She laughed at his sincere disgust. “Right. Got it. I won’t say it that way ever again.”
Tony put out his arm for her to take. “Will my lady allow me to escort her to dinner?”
Her stomach did that strange little flip-flop it did whenever she got close to one of them. She played along and gave him a quick curtsy. It was all kind of lame and kind of fantastic at the same time.
She and Tony walked over to the makeshift table. Eric and Nick waited for her to sit on the flattest rock then took their seats. A lantern rested in the middle of the table, but it was as romantic as any candle in a fine restaurant.
“Wow. You guys did a great job.” She glanced at each one of them and wished she could see all their reactions at once. “A girl might think you care.”
Tony and Nick opened their mouths to speak, but didn’t get very far. Instead the pop of the wine bottle that Eric had uncorked upstaged the moment.
They’d been ready to say the words they’d said while in the lake. She was sure of it. If only Eric hadn’t interrupted them. She held out her Dixie cup and studied him. Had he done it on purpose? Was he trying to derail any chances of them telling her how they felt? Or of her telling them?
She cleared her throat, suddenly embarrassed, and lifted her hand in the air. “I’d like to make a toast. To three men who are teaching me how to rough it.”
“This isn’t roughing it.”
Nick frowned. “Shut up, Eric.” He flashed a grin at her, wiping away his foul mood. “And to the most beautiful wolf hunter in the world.”
She sputtered her drink. “Hunter? I don’t think so. If he doesn’t bother me, then I won’t bother him. Isn’t that how you put it earlier, Eric? All I want is a picture.”
“Do you think he’ll just up and pose for you?”
Eric made it difficult for her to like him all the time. Lust for him? That was easy. And she couldn’t deny that she thought they might have more than that between them. She was sure of her feelings with Tony and Nick, but just as she started thinking the same about Eric he had to go and open his big mouth.
“Only if he’s a very vain wolf.” She laughed, knowing they’d get her joke.
Her shoulder bumped against Tony’s and another one of those exhilarating sizzles sparked to life. Her gaze drifted to the tent. Tonight was going to get very interesting. She caught Nick watching her and saw that he knew what she was thinking.
“Tell me about you guys. Tony said you’ve lived in Lost Hills all your lives.”
Nick answered. “Every minute of it. Aside from side trips like Vegas and other vacations. And we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. This is our home and there’s no place like it on earth.”
“That’s what Tony said.”
She was envious. To have a home that meant that much to her would be wonderful. “I wish I could say the same, but I’ve lived all over the place. My parents joke that they put my address in the address book in pencil because it changes so much. I tell them it’s their fault. We moved around a lot when I was a kid, so I guess I got used to it.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Not really. Lots of people move.”
Tony bumped against her again. “No. It’s amazing that they still use an address book.”
“They do.” Tony had a point, yet she’d never thought about it. Her parents were up to date on technology with the latest in computers and phones, but they’d never gotten rid of their trusted little black book of friends, family, and service providers.
“Tell me about Lonesome Trail Ranch.”
Eric’s gaze jumped from her to Tony and back. “It’s our home. We run some cattle and horses. You know. The usual cowboy thing.”
She laughed. “Well, no, I don’t know. But I get your drift.”
“I invited her to visit the ranch,” added Tony.
“Any time you want, Livi. Just say when and I’ll come pick you up. It’s not easy to find.” Nick’s smile warmed her as much as Tony’s repeated offer did.
They talked a while longer, about the ranch, about the people of Lost Hills. She listened, and the more they told her, the more she could see the love they had for their life and their home. Again, jealousy hit her, making her wish she loved her life in L.A. as much.
The sun dipped below the horizon and the flames in the fireplace grew bigger. Purples and reds lit the night sky while lightning bugs made tiny spotlights in the night. The sounds of the forest, noises she hadn’t notice during the day, set up a musical score to their meal.
Nick added some wood as Eric spooned out generous portions of the soup.
He placed a bowl in front of her. “I guess you’re really going to have to rough it now.”
She took a deep drag of the aroma and sighed. “Why? This smells so good and I’m starving.”
“Because someone packed plates and bowls, but no spoons.”
“Oh.” She was, without a doubt, a lousy camper. “Sorry.”
“If you don’t mind our slurping, we won’t mind yours.” Tony skimmed his fingers along her shoulders as he came behind her then retook his seat.
“Not a bit.” She lifted the bowl to her lips and took a small sip. The soup was very hot, but the taste was better than anything she’d had in the fanciest restaurant in the city.
She licked her lips, not caring what they might think. “This is amazing.”
“It’ll keep your stomach from eating through your backbone,” quipped Nick.
“It’ll do more than that. You guys should bottle this and make a fortune.”
Three sets of eyes landed on her, and she froze, feeling judged. “What’d I say?”
“Is money important to you?”
She placed her bowl carefully down on the table. “Well, it does help when I’m trying to pay rent and feed myself. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just not that necessary to us.”
Tony leaned forward, taking his cup of wine after he put his bowl down. “What Eric’s saying is that we don’t need a lot of money to live. We own the ranch outright and we’re pretty much self-sufficient. If we need to eat, we can hunt.”
“It may be hard for you to understand, but we’re kind of different up here. We consider everyone part of our extended family. The folks of Lost Hills take care of one another.” Nick took a long drink of his soup, then moaned. “If anyone needs help, everyone pitches in.”
“That’s great, but the people in L.A. aren’t the same way. In fact, I don’t even know my neighbor’s name.”
“That’s just plain sad.”
Eric’s judgment hurt and she didn’t know how to respond. He was right, although she’d never given it much consideration. But that didn’t make it bother her any less. They sat in silence as they ate.
After a while and as much as she didn’t want to, she knew it was time to get to work. “Um, I’d offer to help clean up, but I need to find a place near the lake to watch for the white wolf.”
“You’re really doing this?”
She’d like to think that the tone in Eric’s voice was one of concern, but his scowl knocked that idea out of the park. “Yes, Eric, I am.”
“Have you thought about what that might do to our town?”
“I don’t understand. Why would my taking a photo of a white wolf hurt it?”
The flames from the campfire cast shadows over Eric’s solemn face. “Because others will want to see it, too, in real life. Campers and tourists will come and destroy the serenity of this place, of our home.”
She hadn’t given that any thought. It was an assignment to her and that was all. “Maybe not. You don’t know that.”
“And you don’t know that it won’t.”
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. She didn’t want to cause problems for the people of Lost Hills, but she had a right, hell, a need, to make a living. “I have to do this. I took a job and I’m going to get it done.”
“Is there anything we can say to talk you out of it?”
She didn’t doubt the concern in Nick’s voice. “I’m sorry, but no. In fact, I was hoping you’d help me figure out the best spot.” Batting her eyelashes, she added, “Pretty please?”
She pushed down the guilt starting to make her queasy. She’d get the shot first then think about what to do.
“Eric and I will handle the cleanup. You make sure she’s in a safe place, bro.” Tony reached for her empty bowl.
As Nick started to stand, she took him by the arm, got on her tip-toes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The burning current of desire that was always on a low flame leapt up, heating her. She paused as their eyes locked, and if Eric hadn’t cleared his throat right then, she would’ve grabbed a hunk of Nick’s hair and brought his lips to hers. Instead, she patted him on the chest and stepped away.
“Hey, where’s mine?”
She should’ve made a joke to break the intensity of emotions surging between them, but couldn’t. Instead, she did the only thing she dared to do. She planted a quick kiss on Tony’s cheek then backed away.
Her gaze shifted to Eric. Did he want a kiss, too? Yet she couldn’t dare to give him one. If he refused, she wasn’t sure she could handle the rejection.
“Let’s go, Nick.” She put her back to them, reached for her backpack with her camera equipment inside, and slung it over her shoulder. Given half a chance, she’d let them talk her out of getting her photo and into the tent. She couldn’t let that happen if she wanted to do her job. But would that be such a bad thing? She could already imagine their bodies entwined, the shadows of the lantern dancing on the walls of the tent as they made love to her. All of them.
But she was a professional and her personal life would have to wait. Sighing, she had to wonder if she was giving up a lot more than she’d gain.
* * * *
Getting Nick to leave her alone, sitting behind a bush near the lake, had taken far longer than she would’ve liked. At last, however, he’d respected her wishes and had gone, but only after she’d promised that he or his brothers could check in on her. Part of her disliked the idea that they thought she couldn’t handle herself. Another part of her, however, loved it.
At first, she was vigilant, scoping out every single noise. She’d grown fascinated when a large buck and a doe had come for their sips. The full moon overhead lit up the area with a surreal quality that would look great in the final image. The photos she’d taken of them were wonderful, but they wouldn’t pay the rent.
She yawned and patted her cheeks to keep awake. Too bad she hadn’t thought to bring a thermos of coffee, but Nick had warned her against the idea, saying that the animals would smell it. She’d be lucky if they didn’t pick up her scent, but there wasn’t much she could do about that except stay upwind of them. If nothing else, she was learning more about camping and how to get wildlife photographs.
Her eyes grew bleary and she nodded several times as sleep tried to take her. She jerked her head up and rubbed her eyes. Maybe the men were right. Maybe she was wasting her time.
Almost in the same instant that she’d had the thought, she heard the crack of a twig. The pop was loud, which meant that whatever had stepped on it was heavy. She got her camera, gave a quick thanks to the bright moon, and scanned the shore.
It was a wolf, but not the one she’d hoped for. Still, there was something about the animal that made her bring her camera up for the shot. He was beautiful with dark fur that was streaked with lighter gray markings. The wolf held his head high, surveying his kingdom, his blue eyes taking everything in.
Blue eyes. Is that normal?
She clicked off the first photo.
The wolf shifted his head toward her and locked his gaze with hers.
Holy hell. It’s like he knows what I’m doing.
Besides his unusual eyes, his size was much larger than any wolf she’d seen during her quick research. He had to be at least twice the size of an ordinary wolf. The way he held his body, as though the angles of his legs were slightly different, was odd, too.
Although she used a telescopic lens, she wanted to get closer. If she didn’t wind up getting a shot of the white wolf, then maybe she could sell pictures of the extraordinary gray wolf. Since the animal had already seen her, she stood and pushed past the bushes and into the clearing by the water.
“Come on, boy. Stay put and give me a good shot.”
His ears pricked forward even though she’d spoken in a whisper. But then again, wolves were supposed to have excellent hearing.
She took her time, going slowly so she wouldn’t scare the wolf off, keeping the camera at the ready in case an incredible shot came up. “Easy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
He growled and yet it was a strange growl since he hadn’t stretched his lips to show his fangs.
Then it hit her. The gray wolf hadn’t growled at all.
Her breath hitched in her throat. Willing her body to move, she slowly turned around.
Four large gray wolves were hunkered low and creeping toward her. She took a step toward the bushes, but she’d gone too far. One of the wolves padded over to block her way.
She was trapped between the wolf pack and the dark wolf.
Chapter Five
“Hold up, Eric. It’s my turn.” Tony stalked past his older brother. He’d waited for his chance to check on Liv and he wasn’t about to lose it. “You just went.”
“I don’t mind going so you can nurse your beer.”
Tony chuckled at Eric’s lame attempt to take his place. “Not on your life. We already hashed this out and we’re keeping to the schedule.”
“He’s right, man.” Yet Nick didn’t get up and instead took another sip of his beer.
“I figured you and Nick could keep trying to think of a plan to keep her here without letting her get a shot of you as a white wolf. You two are good at coming up with solutions.”
“Man, you’re really slinging the shit now. You hate it when we make decisions without you. Besides, we already know the only way to keep her here is to tell her how we feel and what we are. We can’t chain her up and lock her in the barn.” The idea appealed to him. “No matter how much we may want to.”
Eric’s jaw twitched as he ground his teeth together, obviously searching for another reason to take his place. “Here’s the way it is. You two have already spent more time with her than I have. Not to mention fucking her. But I’m willing to overlook that. I’ll take the next two turns and we’ll call it even.”
Tony chuckled, knowing bullshit when he heard it. “You didn’t have to stay on shore. You could’ve jumped in and joined us.” He let out a scoffing grunt. “As a man, of course.”
Not that he blamed Eric for doing so. Watching could be fun, too.
“He’s got you there, Eric.”
“Sorry, bro. You going right now isn’t happening.” Tony kept moving, not bothering to look back. He sped up his pace just as his heart started speeding up at the thought of seeing her again. He was like a love-sick teen with his first crush and it felt great.
He whirled around at the sound of his brothers coming up behind him. “What the fuck, guys?”
Eric breezed past him. “We decided we didn’t want to take turns anymore.”
That was more bullshit and they knew it. Thing was, he couldn’t do anything about it. Arguing with the two of them was like trying to discuss politics with a toddler. It just wouldn’t make sense. Instead, he growled back his anger and fell into step alongside them.
The scent of danger hit Tony before his eyes caught the scene by the lake. The anger he’d felt a few moments ago was nothing compared to the fury boiling inside him.
Liv was trapped, surrounded by a wolf pack. He recognized them as one of the packs of regular wolves that had lived in the area for years and had rarely caused any problems. But the large dark wolf standing on the other side of Liv was someone he did know.
Calem was a skinwalker who loved terrorizing campers and had at one point gone into one of
the large cities to frighten people. Unlike Tony, who liked to play with campers and had never threatened them, Calem delighted in seeing and smelling the fear that his huge presence elicited. Although he’d been warned several times by the other skinwalkers in and around Lost Hills, he’d managed to gain the loyalty of a few of the regular wolves and used them to his advantage, often letting them take the blame for his acts of terrorism.
“Damn him to hell,” muttered Nick.
Tony gritted his teeth. He’d like to damn Calem to hell all right. “He’s asking for a beat down. It’s bad enough that he’s turning good wolves into bad, but to use it against our future mate? He’s lost his mind.”
Eric took his arm, but he shook it off. “Fuck off, Eric.”
“I’m not trying to stop you. I just want to make sure we do this right. Look.”
Tony narrowed his eyes, then groaned. “I’ll bet Dina’s behind this. Calem doesn’t have the brains to pull this off. Why is she fucking around with the likes of him anyway?”
“I’ll give you one guess because that’s all it should take.”
“She wants to get rid of Liv because of us.” Dina’s obsession had gone over the limit. They’d have to decide how to handle her once and for all. Tony started tugging off his clothes, ready to make the transformation.
“Hang on, bro.” Nick nodded at Livi. “She’s smart. She’s going into the water.”
“That’s not going to keep them from coming at her.”
Tony kept getting undressed. “You know Dina’s not going to turn this loose until she’s sure Liv’s out of the picture. Who knows what she’s told Calem to do?”
Liv backed into the water, going up to her waist. She kept the camera above the water and continued to snap pictures.
“Let’s let her handle it.”
“Are you fucking crazy, Eric? What if Calem decides to attack her? Naw, man, I’m stopping this right now.”
He had the rest of his clothes off and let the change flow over him. It came fast and hard, hurting more than usual in his urgency to become his wolf. Within a minute, he landed on all fours and growled at his brothers to get out of his way. Spinning around once, he loped toward the pack.