by Dahlia Rose
When Wolfe Calls
Copyright © November 2010, Dahlia Rose
Cover art by Anastasia Rabiyah © November 2010
Amira Press
Charlotte, NC 28227
www.amirapress.com
ISBN: 978-1-936279-55-5
No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.
Chapter One
“Stupid, self righteous, web-footed, perverted low class…” Vicki Ballentyne muttered as she stomped through the crowd. How she managed to accomplish that in a clingy red sequin dress with a long slit and a pair of stiletto heels she would never know.
They all held flutes of champagne and ate crepes on dainty little plates with their noses in the air and they were all fakers. Trying to fit into a world of prestige by whatever means necessary and none of them cared who they stepped on. She was here for one reason only to raise money for the wildlife reservation she was trying to keep afloat. Some big wigs in Washington wanted the land to revert back to being unprotected for profit, what kind?—mineral rights. No one cared about the animals that lived in that habitat or where they would go when they started to destroy the fragile eco system.
Coming here was a mistake. She grabbed a flute of champagne and downed it in one swallow and grabbed another one before the waiter could leave. The man dressed in his crisp white shirt and black bow tie raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and she simply said, “Bad night, trust me you don’t want to know.”
“Maybe I do,” a deep voice said behind her.
Vick turned to see one of the sexiest men she had ever laid eyes on standing in her line of vision. He was tall, taller than any man in there with broad shoulders and thick dark hair. But his eyes were the thing that mesmerized her. An amazing color of green with fleck of gold that could be so easily seen she was amazed. His rugged jaw finished and lips completed a package that she could only call perfect. No matter because if he was in this crowd he wasn’t worth the three thousand dollar suit he wore to get involved with.
Vicki took a sip from the glass in her hand. “Maybe huh, what do you want exactly?”
“You seemed to be having a rather intense conversation with Senator Maynard over there. I figured I’d come over and see how you fared.”
“Apart for him staring at my boobs while he talked to me he said no to my asking for money to save the wildlife habitat I run.”
“I would stare at your boobs too.”
“And that’s goodbye.” Vicki turned and began to walk away. Now she honestly could say that every man on the hill was some kind of depraved troll.
“You run the Ballentyne Refuge?” he asked keeping up with her quick steps easily.
His words stopped her even though the boob comment still made her wary. “Yeah, why?”
“That organization is one of the best charities in Washington.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Wolfe McCoy.”
“Victoria Ballentyne.” She offered up. “So what’s this exactly, you think if you know the name of my refuge you can charm your way under my dress?”
He laughed. “Victoria, you are not a trusting soul are you?”
“Politicians are all the same.”
“I’m not a politician.”
“What are you then?”
“A person who has a vested interest in seeing that refuge stays right where it is.”
Their steps had taken them outside where they stood at the top steps of The Capital building. “And why such an interest, Mr. McCoy?”
He gave her a direct stare, and she almost forgot to breathe when his eyes met hers. “That sanctuary is a home to some of the most fabulous creatures. I don’t think that the bill to strip it of its mineral rights does anything but make the rich richer and the animals extinct.”
“You sound like you really care,” she murmured.
“Oh I do.” He stepped closer, and Vicki took an instinctive step back. He kept coming and took both of her hands in his warm grasp.
“What are you doing?” she asked and heard the breathless sound to her voice. She couldn’t help that her stomach did flip-flops at how close he was.
He used his long hands to hold her behind her back. “I just want one small kiss.”
She opened her mouth to refuse, but he seized the opportunity to lock his lips with hers and delve his tongue deeply into her mouth. Heat and passion exploded in her like a furnace that was stoked too hot. The musky scent of his aftershave surrounded her. His arms held her tight, and as much as she wanted to deny him, Vicki kissed him back. Everything around her melted away and left only him. She vaguely felt him slip something in her hand before he pulled away. She met his heavy-lidded gaze and saw the smoky blatant lust in his eyes.
“For a kiss like that you better call me Wolfe.” His voice was husky, and he caressed her cheek. “See you around, Victoria Ballentyne.”
With that he bounded down the stairs and stepped into the back of a limo and was gone while she stood there with her mouth agape without uttering a word. She felt the crinkled paper in her hand and opened it up to see a check for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, twice what she was asking for to save her retreat. “Mother of pearl,” she exclaimed unable to believe the number of zeros she was seeing written on the paper. Whoever Wolfe McCoy was he saved her animal sanctuary, and she would be forever grateful. Plus that kiss was nothing to turn her nose up at either. She went home and undressed for bed. When she fell asleep, those gorgeous green were the center of her dreams.
* * * *
Wolfe looked back through the tinted window of the limo at the woman standing there looking at the check in her hand. With his hearing, he had picked up her conversation with Senator Maynard easily including the sexual innuendos the senator had made. He had the check written out soon after and could of just given it to her. But this sexy woman made him think past business, and he had to kiss her. He caught sight of her from the time she walked in. The red dress she wore molded to ebony skin that seemed to glisten. Her hair was dark brown with light golden highlights, and her eyes were so beautiful, soft brown and bright especially when they were flashing fire. Full lips that held that silver sheen from her lip gloss and Wolfe paid attention to every detail of her features. He knew he could pick her out of a crowd of thousands only after seeing her once. Now her taste was stuck in his memory and her scent forever imprinted in his senses.
“That’s what you get, Wolfe,” he chided softly. “What can you expect when you are named after the very thing that’s in your nature?”
“Take me back to work,” Wolfe ordered the driver. He wanted out of the limo that was sent for him and back in his own vehicle. Plus he had some calls to make.
Being the leader of Bad Boys Inc meant that he had to rub shoulders with the snobs of Washington to keep his funding. Lord knows that the men who worked under him had a soiled past, and if they were shut down because of their abilities, most of them would be locked away forever, including him. He couldn’t even fathom the thought. Only a few knew of his true nature and the wolf inside him. Caged and not being able to run free, that thought filled him with dread so he could imagine what it would do to his people.
The streets were damp when he got out of the limo. Wolfe looked up at the tall steel and glass structure that held his organization’s secrets. No one would know that Chambers Consulting was a front for one of the most elite government agencies in the United States. No one could know about the vampire that walked as a human, or the telepath that returned a kidnapped girl from under the Russian military’s nose. Or about a man who turned into a wolf at will. If the world knew what existed out there, chaos
and fear would reign, and he was the one who held the reins tightly and hoped that nothing ever leaked out. He rode the elevator up, and the doors opened with a smooth sound. He walked across the plush carpet to his office and opened the door.
“We really should hire a receptionist one of these days,” he said. “Get out of my chair, Connor.”
A figure materialized in the leather chair behind the desk, and a man wearing a huge grin looked back at him. “How’s it going, boss? You look very snazzy.”
Wolfe couldn’t help but return the smile of the invisible man. “Thanks I try. I take it your mission went well.”
Connor blew on his knuckles and rubbed them against his jacket. “As always, they never knew I was there. The package is in the safe for delivery.”
Wolfe nodded. “Good job, your pay is already in your account.”
“I love your faith in my abilities,” Connor replied.
“Just don’t show up in my office naked and we’re good.”
“So where you off to, boss?” Connor asked when he saw Wolfe packing his briefcase.
“Business,” Wolfe replied. Even his men did not know of his true nature. The urge to run was making his skin tingle. Sometimes the urge was so great to run and be free that he could hardly contain it.
“Have you ever noticed that around once a month you go away on these business trips?” Connor pointed out. “Someone might think you’re hiding a secret, boss.”
Wolfe gave him a direct stare. “Are you asking me something or telling me?”
Connor raised his hand. “Neither, boss, just pointing out that maybe you don’t have to keep things so tight to the chest. We’re all freaks of nature in this outfit.”
“I don’t think any of you are freaks,” Wolfe said honestly. “I think all you guys are some of the most amazing things in creation.”
The invisible man began to fade away. “You’d probably be the only one who thinks that. If the world knew… Have a safe trip, boss. See you in a few days.”
“Keep your cell on in case I need to get hold of you for a new job,” Wolfe replied.
“You got it.”
The voice came from behind him, and Wolfe looked on as the coat was taken off and was folded neatly over something that was in essence not there. The door opened and closed, and Wolfe went back to his briefcase. “Fuck it.” He slammed the briefcase closed and walked out of the office without it. It would only sit in his car anyway, and he was tired of the pretense. He went downstairs and got into his land rover and drove out of DC. By tomorrow he would be in a place that he knew and loved. The wolf inside him would be free.
Chapter Two
Excitement ran through his veins when he parked his land rover in a familiar spot off the road and out of sight in the trees. He stepped outside into the soft ground of the forest and the smell of the damp earth. The trees and nature in general assaulted him. He lifted his face to the sky, and the sun rays beat down on his skin. It was time. Wolfe moved to the back and like he always did he carefully took his clothes off and folded them in the back of his truck before removing his boots. He closed the hatch and locked it, and then put his keys in a zip lock bag to put it under a rock that was close by. It was a big rock, but because of his strength, it moved easily, and he knew no normal human could move it.
Wolfe stood naked with sunlight filtering through the trees. He closed his eyes and let the wolf free, feeling his body shift and bones change from human to animal. He could feel each strand of fur break through his skin, and through this metamorphosis elation filled his heart until the change was complete. He lifted his head and howled in pleasure. Wolfe moved slowly across the ground loving the way the earth shifted under his big paws and picked up speed until he was racing across the woods. Twigs snapped under his paws, branches slapped against his body when he went through the underbrush, but nothing slowed him down. He ran across the rocks near the lazy creek that trickled over his path. He stopped for a drink before he began to run again. He ran until he was miles away from where he started and laid down beneath the thick branches of a tree to rest. In wolf form he was blissfully happy as he laid his head on his paws.
A scent caught his attention, and Wolfe lifted his nose to the wind. He smelled smoke, and danger made the hair on his back rise. He moved cautiously forward and knew instantly something was wrong. Sweat, at least four different people, really angry men. Wolfe quickly assessed the situation, and then a hint of a familiar smell mixed in with the others. It was then he raised his head and looked up to the marked trees. He had passed his usual running grounds and went right into Ballentyne Refuge. The cabin he saw was Victoria’s, and these men were about to burn her out of it. Knowing full well if they set a fire with all the dry pine needles on the ground due to fall, the whole damn forest could go up. Was this the lengths that Senator Maynard would go to get his mineral rights? Wolfe was not surprised, but he wouldn’t let that happen, especially with Victoria as his victim.
“The boss said that we can take a piece of her before we finish her off,” one man said. “He said it will make it look better like if she was out here alone and got in some real trouble.”
“If you bastards think you’re going to win, I’ve got something waiting for you!” she called through the window. “I’ve called the state troopers. They’ll be here soon. All I have to do is hold you off.”
“Lady, we cut the wires at the transistor miles away. You ain’t called nobody. We’re professionals.” They all laughed at her threat.
Rape and murder? Wolfe felt anger surge through him, and he struck before they could set the first fire at the corner of the cabin. They all turned when he came out of the underbrush, eyes wide with fear. With a snarl and a howl he jumped on the first man taking him down with big paws, and the rest cried out with fear. He would fight them all and win to save her.
* * * *
The screams from outside caused her to look through the drapes, and what she saw made her jaw drop. A wolf was attacking the men who were trying to harm her. She had never seen a wolf on her refuge, never even seen tracks when she went in search of the wildlife or to track the bird migration. But this was a massive animal that when he was standing had to be above the waist of the men outside. One of them raised a gun as the wolf struck.
“No!” Vicki screamed.
But it was too late. The bullet hit the wolf in the hind quarter, and she heard him yelp in pain, but that did not stop him. He sank his teeth into the man’s arm, and the man screamed in pain. He was able to wrench free from the wolf’s bite but not before his flesh was torn. The men wouldn’t risk another round with the wounded animal. Vicki didn’t blame them. A wounded animal was not something to be taken lightly. The animal slumped to the ground and laid there. Vicki’s heart was in her throat. It would break her heart if the magnificent animal was dead. God knows what that bullet hit. The beast raised his head and looked at the window where she stood, and on shaky legs he began to move directly toward the cabin. Holy fuck, it’s coming to me!
Vicki looked around wildly. This was unprecedented. It was as if it could sense her inside and wanted help. She rushed around looking for supplies to tend to the wounded creature, and for protection she loaded the tranquilizer gun and attached the clip to the waistband of her jeans. By the time she opened the door to the wooden patio, the wolf was standing there. Even thought he was hurt, the animal stood proud.
“Um, thank you for saving me, and uh I’m going to try to help you,” she said cautiously. “Please don’t try to bite me. God, why do I feel like red riding hood?”
To her amazement the wolf walked past her and into the middle of the living room. The wolf shuddered, and she screamed when he turned into a man, one that she knew. He was completely naked, and she could see the blood trickling from the wound in his upper thigh.
“I would love to see you in a red cape, very sexy.” Wolfe McCoy gave her crooked grin. “Close the door, Victoria, and get something in front of it before those guys get
back.”
“Oh my God, Oh my God, you were a wolf and then a man but you were a wolf….” In her mind Vicki knew she was babbling, but she was trying to wrap her mind around what she saw. Wolfe McCoy, the man who saved her refuge was actually a wolf. Is that possible?
“It’s called being a shifter, sweetheart.” Wolfe winced. “Um I don’t want to get blood on your couch, but I gotta lie down. This fucker hurts. Can I have a towel?”
“Oh, yes, yes!” Vicki closed the door and braced it with a metal hook she kept close by. Then she rushed into her bathroom to get him a towel. She hesitated and grabbed another one so he could wrap it around himself. He was a beauty as a wolf, but in human from Wolfe was all man. She came back, and he took the larger towel. With an amused raised eyebrow when she looked away he wrapped it around his waist so the slit was next to his injured thigh. The other he pressed against the wound and then with a wince sank onto her sofa.
“Um I should get that bullet out,” Vicki murmured.
“Don’t worry it’s working its way out,” Wolfe replied. He moved the towel, and she saw the piece of lead working its way to the top of the bullet hole. “You see wolverine isn’t the only one that can do it.”
“So you’re like a mutant?” she asked.
Wolfe chuckled. “No, but any kind of foreign objects or medication does not stay in our bodies for long. The tranquilizer gun would have worked for about two minutes. I will need the stitches though.”
The piece of metal popped out and landed on the carpet, and she looked down at it before looking at him. “How the hell is this happening? Am I dreaming?”
“Those guys were no dream, sweetheart. I think senator Maynard sent them.”
“Probably so I cashed that first thing in the morning before I came back here. I officially own this refuge. The government can’t take it and strip it down.”
“You see why I wanted to save it?” Wolfe questioned.