He looked up at her, searching her face to see if she was telling the truth.
“For real?” he asked.
“Yes. So my parents have said that someone has to watch over me until the people are caught, but they haven’t been caught, and it’s been months, so they’ll probably be following me around until the day I die.” Virginia shrugged with resignation.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I shouldn’t have used bad language.”
“It happens. No big deal.” She looked over at Leah. “Leah, that’s beautiful. I know, why don’t you go see if the girls want to learn how to braid a crown of flowers like that?”
Leah shrugged. “They won’t,” she said, but she got up and walked over to the table.
“So why do you think that you’re a freak?” Virginia asked.
Riley never looked up from his carving. “Well, I’m probably gay,” he said.
Virginia had thought she’d seen him checking out a female bobcat shifter named Jen earlier. He must have just been checking out her outfit, she thought. The girl’s frayed denim jean shorts had been pretty sweet.
“I know that the shifter community is kind of behind the times when it comes to accepting gay shifters, but you shouldn’t let that discourage you,” she said. “It’s not the big deal that it used to be. In the human world, it’s illegal to discriminate against people for their sexual preferences in most places. We shifters seem to follow behind trends in the human world by about twenty years, but we’ll get there eventually.”
Wolf Shifters were ruled over by an ancient book called The Covenant, and its rules were enforced by a group of thirteen Elders. Recently the Elders had been voted out, and newer, younger Elders had been voted in. As in, men and women in their fifties rather than 100 years old or more. They were revising areas of the Covenant, including the ancient law that said a gay shifter was an abomination who must be put to death.
Feline shifters had their own ruling body called The Council, made up of cats from different species. Like wolves, they were a conservative bunch. Gay shifters weren’t specifically banned, but they weren’t welcomed, either.
He managed a smile. “Thanks.”
“Nice carving,” she said, looking down at it. “You know, you could always get a job working for my father in his furniture workshop.”
“Really?” He looked startled. “Nah. He’d never trust me in there after my father stole from your father. Allegedly,” he added hastily.
“Somebody’s been learning from his big sister the lawyer,” Virginia laughed. “And my father would judge you on your own merits. He wouldn’t hold what your father allegedly might have done against you.”
“Thanks.” She thought Riley looked pleased.
Leah walked back to them and sat down. She put the daisy crown on Virginia’s head, and started plucking more flowers from the grass around them.
“What did they say?” Virginia asked her, glancing over at them. One of the girls, Evangeline’s younger cousin Anthea, saw Virginia look her way and quickly turned away, pretending to be very interested in her lemonade. Great. It obviously hadn’t gone well.
“Anthea said that I shouldn’t sit with them because I might steal something from them,” Leah said calmly. Riley didn’t even blink. They were far too accustomed to being treated like this; it had become normal for them.
Virginia felt a swell of anger flare up inside her.
Leah suddenly looked up from where she was sitting, a startled expression on her face. Then she looked at Riley. An unspoken message seemed to flash between the two siblings.
He stood up. “Leah wants to go to the bathroom, and she doesn’t like going out into the woods by herself,” he said. “We’ll be right back.”
Virginia watched them go. She had the oddest feeling that they were lying, but she couldn’t think what they could be lying about. What were they up to? She was especially surprised about Leah. She hadn’t picked up a sneaky vibe.
Odd, yes. Leah was always having conversations with people who weren’t there. Certainly not sneaky, however.
Well, she had other things to deal with. Virginia climbed to her feet and stalked over to the table. As she approached, Anthea shot to her feet and quickly started to walk away.
“Anthea, get back here! Now!” Virginia yelled.
“I have to go to the bathroom!” she whined, walking faster.
“I saw you go ten minutes ago! I said NOW!”
Anthea slunk back over to Virginia, and promptly buried her face in her hands and started sobbing loudly.
“You’re the worst fake crier ever, so knock it off.” Virginia barked at her. All the girls at the table startled laughing and whispering to each other, and Anthrea dropped her hands and glared at them.
“How dare you speak to Leah that way?” Virginia demanded.
Anthea stared down at her glittery pink sneakers. “It’s the truth,” she muttered. “My uncle told me to watch my stuff since the Padfoots were coming here. He said it’s not right that you’re sending these criminals here with decent people.”
“Neither one of them have stolen anything, or done anything wrong since they got here.”
“My uncle says it’s only a matter of time.” Anthea put her hands on her skinny hips and scowled up at Virginia defiantly.
“They are not thieves, and if I ever hear of you speaking to them again like that, you will be in detention for the day.”
Virginia walked away without waiting for an answer. Evangeline’s father Warren did security work for her father, but Virginia had never much cared for him. He seemed like a big, blustering idiot to her; he wasn’t half the wolf her father was, but her father felt sorry for him so he protected Warren’s pack and kept him employed.
Now she out and out hated Warren’s guts. How dare he pick on young kids like that? How did anyone expect them to grow up to be good people if everyone treated them like a criminal and never gave them a chance to prove themselves?
Riley and Leah were coming back from their journey into the woods. She thought Riley looked kind of pale now. What was going on? Since when did a shifter need someone to keep her company while she pooped in the woods? That was second nature to all of them. You shift, you poop, you paw dirt over it…
Why were they lying to her?
* * *
Saturday afternoon
“So you don’t need an emergency extraction yet?” Isadora asked. She and Karen were sitting outside of Vince Battle’s house, with a crowd of shifters, mostly from the Battle pack, eating hamburgers and drinking lemonade. The scent of sizzling meat tickled Karen’s nostrils. It was a glorious day, with thick puffs of white cloud floating like lazy sheep in the vast spread of blue sky. The bluish-gray Timber Mountain range loomed in the distance. Ty had gone to The Zoo for a little while to meet up with some suppliers.
“The day is young,” Karen muttered darkly. “I might just find a cliff and push him off it. He’s driving me crazy.”
Isadora flashed her a smug look. “You’re buttoned up too tight. You could use a little crazy.”
“Pshaw. I like how I’m buttoned, thank you very much. By the way, did you ever hear from your parents?”
“Yes, they are in Europe on vacation with The Chosen One.” The Chosen One was her debutante sister Diana, a straight A student who had never been thrown out of school or arrested for streaking through a graduation ceremony, and who was dating a very wealthy lynx shifter, and who never dyed her hair colors that could not be found in nature.
“Well, lucky her,” Karen said.
“Feh. I’d rather vacation with a pack of rabid wolverines.” Isadora made a face. Karen suspected that her parent’s disdain for her stung on some level, but Isadora never showed it.
Dash ambled by, with a plateful of burgers.
“Here to make sure I don’t cause any trouble?” Isadora asked.
“That would be a fruitless endeavor.” He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a disapproving look.<
br />
“Fruitless. My, you have quite the vocabulary.”
“I carry my handcuffs all the time,” he said, with an unfriendly look. “As well as my powers of arrest.”
Isadora looked at Karen. “Why is it that people always assume the worst about me? Here I am, sitting peacefully and innocently enjoying a burger…”
“I say this with love, Isadora. I know you well enough to know that nothing you do is innocent.” Karen smiled pleasantly.
“By the way, I hear from a friend of mine on the Crystal Falls Police Department that somebody defaced the portrait of the mayor inside town hall. Do you happen to know anything about that?” Dash asked irritably.
Isadora stared at him, her eyes round and innocent. “Well, I did hear that somebody drew a rather large penis on his portrait. You could either take that as somebody implying that he’s a huge dick, or somebody complementing him and saying that he has a big dick. Either way, you got nothing on me, so quit trying to bust me, copper.”
“Heads up,” Karen said. “Your new boyfriend is on his way.”
Pierce had just pulled up and was hurrying towards them.
“Oh, hey, Karen,” he said casually, as he strolled past them. “Isadora, what brings you here? Can I get you a burger while I’m at the grill?”
“I’d love some meat,” she said, her words dripping with innuendo.
Dash glanced at Pierce. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing guard duty for your sister?”
“I was only taking the morning shift,” Pierce said. “Carver is covering for me now.”
“I see. Thought it was an all day thing. Well, enjoy your meat.” Dash walked off to join a crowd of wolf shifters, and Pierce went over to the grill.
“So, here’s how I see it,” Karen said. “Pierce had some kind of job which he ditched as soon as he heard that you had arrived on the premises today, but he’s trying to act casual about it. You are annoying the crap out of Dash, and he is going to bust you if you stick your paw one inch over the line of legality, so drive the speed limit and don’t litter while you’re in Timber Valley. I mean, for God’s sake, he’s conferring with Crystal Falls cops about you! Watch your furry ass around him.”
“I’m so scared.” Isadora took a long, slow sip of lemonade. “Don’t worry about me. I am fast, like Ninjas.”
Karen noted that Isadora hadn’t tried to claim she was innocent of anything that Dash was accusing her of. Great. Even back in high school, Dash had been Mr. Law and Order; he’d always volunteer as Hall Monitor.
“In other words, I’ll need to be coming up with bail money for you soon. Peachy. By the way, why decide that Pierce would be your latest boy toy rather than Lance? They’re both panting after you. Just curious about your selection process.”
“Well, they’ve both got awesome guns, but Pierce’s are slightly bigger, and also as far as I can tell, by shamelessly inspecting the package area, Pierce is also more gifted there.”
Karen gave a scornful snort. “Oh, I hope and pray that someday I can find a love based on principles as deep and pure as that.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears. And look, here comes Lover Boy with my meat.” Isadora winked Pierce as he walked up with a tray of burgers.
“Yep,” Karen sighed. “And he also bought burgers.”
Chapter Nine
Saturday night
“Well, well, if it isn’t the good sheriff,” Ty said, as Steele walked up to the bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, not while I’m duty, thanks,” Steele said.
Ty pushed a bottled water at him, which Steele accepted.
It was early but the nightclub was still packed. Ty glanced around. “There’s a number of young ladies here who would love to make your acquaintance,” he said. “Any in particular strike your fancy? I know most of the people here. I can give you their whole dating history.”
Steele laughed and shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m taking a break from dating.”
“You’ve been off the dating market for a year,” Ty said. “What happened when you went out of town?”
Steele’s easygoing smile slipped a notch. “You always were the observant one,” he said. He opened the bottle of water and took a long swallow.
It would be impossible for Ty not to have noticed. Before Steele went on his vacation, he’d been a frequent visitor to The Zoo. He’d done his fair share of dating shifters, mostly wolf, but some other species as well.
Then he’d gone on vacation to Montana and when he’d come back, he’d been a changed man. He’d been more serious, hadn’t laughed anywhere near as much, and suddenly he had absolutely zero interest in the female sex.
“So in other words, none of my business?” Ty said.
“Like I said. You’re a smart one. How are things going with her, by the way?” He glanced at Karen, who was leaning over a table to serve a beer. “I see you watching her like you want to tear the throat out of any shifter who comes near her.”
“You see nothing.” Ty scowled and looked away. “It’s strictly business.”
“So it would be okay if I asked her out on a date?”
Before he could stop himself, Ty’s fur and fangs sprang out, and his lips wrinkled back in a snarl. He let out a low rumbling growl, and his jaw lengthened. He could feel his fangs poking through his gums, yearning to pierce flesh. His ears went pointy and he could feel the bones all over his body rippling.
Then he saw Steele laughing at him, and he forced himself to stay human.
“Asshole,” he snapped.
“You are such an easy mark,” Steele snorted. “So, she’s the one, eh? And by the way, I would never have asked her out.”
“Of course not, since you decided to join the priesthood or whatever reason you’ve decided to check your dick at the door.” Ty shook his head.
“No, because you’ve totally fallen for her. Anyway, the reason I’m here, other than to give you crap, which is always fun, is to let you know that I’ve got news. The girl who disappeared in Wisconsin was also a healer, just like Virginia, and that may not be a coincidence.”
Alarm shot through Ty. “Who could be behind that? Not another pack, or pride. I mean, every pack and pride has at least one healer. Heck, we’ve got more healers than we know what to do with around here.”
“We’d love to know the answer to that,” Steele said. “I’m communicating with the Council of Elders, and the Chief Warden. I’m also reaching out to packs in every state to get the word out. That’s why I’m here. You get shifters from all over as your customers, even out of state.”
“I do put on a good show,” Ty said modestly. He glanced up at the Play Stage. A beautiful tiger shifter was being disciplined by two lion shifters. On one side of the dance floor there were girls dancing in the cages, on the other side of the floor were handsome, muscular men. The Zoo was a safe haven for shifters of all sexualities to mix and mingle.
He turned his attention back to his cousin. “What can I do to help?” he asked.
“I’d like you to talk to your bartenders and wait staff, tell them to spread the word among the customers. If they know anything, if they’re aware of any other disappearances or people who might be behind it, they can contact my office, or the Chief Warden. I’m also going to put some flyers up around the bar. It’s possible that they’re targeting shifters from species other than wolf, and we want everyone to be on alert; female healers may be at risk.”
“Absolutely. Anything that I can do to help,” Ty said.
Ty watched Steele make his way out of the bar. He wished he knew what was bothering him what he could do to help, but he’d already made the overture to be a sympathetic ear, and Steele had shot him down.
Maybe there was simply nothing to be done, he thought. Most likely, Steele had found the one woman who wasn’t panting after him, and she’d rejected him, leaving him pining away after her.
He glanced over at Karen to make sure that nobody was hassling her, and th
en began making the rounds among his staff, telling them about the news about the Wisconsin kidnapping, so they could spread the word among his customers.
He went back to work, polishing the counter. Karen had vanished into the crowd.
She’d spent the day in Vince’s office, reviewing some of his business contracts for him. When he’d given her a ride to work that night, they’d barely spoken.
He could tell she wanted him, though. She stiffened and drew in her breath whenever he came near, biting her lip and doing a delicious little squirming motion. Her skin flushed as he drew closer, and she would hug herself hard. Just thinking about it sent a deep carnal hunger rumbling inside him.
Every time he drew close to her he could smell the heavenly scent of her arousal, a delicious female musk that made him want to sniff her, bite her, taste her…
God, there was nothing on Earth sexier than Karen Padfoot.
Would he take her tonight, or make her wait a little more? He wasn’t sure. He wanted her so much that he burned for her. The throbbing in his groin wouldn’t go away. He’d relieved himself several times the night before, taken a cold shower – but it was only a temporary solution. He’d think about her, and instantly get hard again.
He forced himself to concentrate on work, serving drinks, then mingling with the crowd, breaking up a couple of minor scuffles, verifying that they were well stocked on all of their supplies.
Finally he went looking for Karen. He just needed to be near her, to talk to her, to breathe in her scent again.
“The Lynx?” one of his waitresses, a girl named Tammy Sue, said. “She asked us to cover her tables for a while. Said she had a family emergency, she’d be back as soon as she could.”
* * *
“Dad, make it quick. I was at work, and it is very busy tonight,” Karen said impatiently. “What’s the emergency?”
She glanced around her. She was still wearing her waitressing uniform. They had met in the parking lot of a diner called Flapjack Fannie’s, several miles from The Zoo. They were parked in the far end of the parking lot.
Purr For The Alpha (A Paranormal Romance) (Timber Valley Pack) Page 6