Sins of Long Ago

by Naomi Bellina

  “Yeah, no problem. You don’t have to come to Nocturne. I’ll be okay.”

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to. I’ll be there soon.”

  She turned and looked him in the eye, smiling slightly, her cheeks bright with color. “Hey, I, uh, I enjoyed that. This. Us, by the fire. We’ll do it again, right?”

  “Yeah, we will.”

  Smooth. Real smooth. Vincent watched her car drive away then turned on the Jeep’s headlights, grabbed a shovel from the back, and smothered the fire. He set Hallmar’s clothes on the log. The old man would know to look for them there. The physical work helped tamp down his lust and allowed him to focus on why someone might break into Gen’s shop. After what they’d been through in recent weeks, this could hardly be a coincidence.

  Vincent phoned Roland as he drove.

  “I need you to see if you can pick up anything on a break-in. Just happened in Nocturne. No, I don’t have the exact address, I’m headed there now. It’s Gen’s garden shop. Let me know what you find. Yeah, I’m going to Nocturne.”

  Nocturne. Hell.

  The minute he set foot in that town, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his inner wolf yipped and yowled for him to shift. Whatever magic called to the other gifted folks reacted oddly with weres. With him, anyway. The town put off weird vibes, he swore. Genevieve had explained, the weirdness was due to it being in the middle of a convergence of ley lines, a feature which also attracted magical beings to the area. As she’d once pointed out, his city of Bethany sat very close to Nocturne, one of the reasons so many weres chose to make it home, she surmised. Vincent assured her it was due more to his skills as an excellent leader. Possibly the power of the ley lines diminished slightly in Bethany, enough to make it tolerable yet still appealing to him.

  Nothing else he could do until he got to the scene, where he’d take a sniff around. Except think about how good it felt to have Genevieve Birch in his arms. He shifted slightly in his seat, his erection still not totally subsided. The moment he met her, he knew there was something special about her. This little bit of time they’d spent alone confirmed it. She had a wildness about her that spoke to his own primal nature. Not just on a sexual level but also to his soul. She was smart, courageous, and just a tad bit devious, a trait he loved in a woman.

  She had fire in her, and he knew she could handle his. He’d practiced for years and could most always calm his beast during sex with a human woman, as long as it wasn’t close to the full moon. Since he now had Morgan’s potion, no doubt he could remain in complete control.

  As much control as he wanted. With Gen, he would have to show restraint, but he planned to go wild on her and he knew she would return his ferocity. If they hadn’t been interrupted, they would be rutting like beasts right now in the woods.

  With humans, though, there was always the morning after. The beautiful thing about sex werewolf-style, everybody knew how it worked. They fucked, no commitments, no long-term relationships. Those few who did decide to become permanent mates had their work cut out for them. A few succeeded and he gave them a lot of credit. It wasn’t easy sharing a household with another partner who had a wild, volatile nature. The weres who took humans for partners had it even rougher. Once their bonding or ansanm kicked in, they were tied closely to each other, heart and soul. And, they both knew, if the human caused any trouble, death followed.

  Speaking of the ansanm, he’d promised Morgan and Dylan he would check into why they had unintentionally created one between them. Damn, he’d forgotten to discuss the issue with Hallmar. He scrawled a quick note as he sat at the stoplight to the highway exit. Looking into the information Morgan found the previous evening about the men who attacked his weres took top priority, though, now that this ceremony had been completed. Everything else would have to wait.

  He ran his hand through his hair. Too many things to do and not nearly enough time. Right now, he just wanted to lie down with that hot woman who stirred his desire, bury his face between her legs, and breathe in her scent until he could think of nothing else. Would they ever have time to do that? His life was busy enough on a normal day, and since a killer now hunted his people, it would get a whole lot crazier. It made no sense at all to start a thing with Genevieve.

  Michael, apparently, had not been satisfied with werewolf-style love. He’d found a human woman, and at some point believed he could have a life with her. He must have wanted that life badly, to have kept his secret hidden and to put his lover, his sister, and himself in danger. The same thing Vincent would be doing if he got serious with Gen. Even though she had her own magic and secrets, there was always the possibility she could tell others or start trouble. He’d seen the Konsèy, their high council members, pass down their ruling on the death sentence. Always horrible, but every remaining were on Earth knew the laws and the penalty for breaking them. Death. End of story.

  Vincent caught his reflection in the rearview mirror. In this low light, several lines showed around his eyes. They weren’t there last month. His job, the pack, the weight of worrying about the future, taking a toll on him. He needed a pleasurable escape to balance his duties, and Genevieve was it.

  Then he laughed. Here he sat making plans, and they hadn’t even had a serious conversation lasting over twenty minutes. Or had sex. But sex would be good, no doubt about that. And it would happen soon. Real soon.

  * * * *

  Gen skidded to a stop in the gravel drive beside Garden Magic and jumped out of her car. The front door of her shop stood wide open and all the lights shone. A police car and another vehicle sat in front of the building. She hurried inside and scanned the interior. Nothing appeared broken or even out of place. Sheriff Packard stood by her back door, talking to a young woman.

  “That’s fine, Jane, thank you,” he said and the woman picked up a small case and strode toward Genevieve.

  “Ma’am,” she said, touching the rim of her baseball cap, then headed out the door.

  “My wife’s cousin,” Sheriff Packard said. “She’s training to be a crime scene technician. She tried to lift a few prints from the back doorknob and other surfaces, but I don’t think she got much. Says they’re smeared. Anyway, you got people in and out of here all day, don’t you?”

  “I do. I don’t see any damage done.”

  “Doesn’t look like it. The only thing I noticed out of place is a file cabinet open in your back room. Take a look around, see if anything else has been tampered with.”

  Gen turned and walked to her office. Sure enough, one of the file cabinet drawers stood open. Now who would want to get at her paperwork? She didn’t keep anything of value in there.

  “Can we come in?” Gen heard Sally’s voice from the front door.

  “Yeah, come on in,” the sheriff answered.

  Gen stepped out of her office and into Sally’s open arms.

  “Are you okay? Is anything missing?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to look all around, but I don’t think anything’s been taken. Are you the ones who saw the guy?”

  Sally nodded. “We were driving home, and when we went past your shop, I saw a light moving around inside. I didn’t think you’d be here this late, and my intuition told me something wasn’t right.”

  “She’s got crazy powerful intuition,” Greg said.

  “So we got out and peeked in the window. We saw someone, looked like they had a flashlight, in your shop. Greg banged on the window, and the person ran to the back door. By the time we got there, they were gone.”

  “They climbed the fence on the patio side and forced the back door open,” Sheriff Packard said. “Come on and take a look.”

  Gen studied the broken doorknob. Just a standard knob, nothing elaborate. The lock wasn’t overly sturdy, but she had never thought she would need anything stronger. Who would consider robbing a garden shop?

  “I’ll send one of my guys out tomorrow to fix this and put on a deadbolt.”

  Gen turned to see Vincent stand
ing behind her. The second time he’d snuck up on her tonight. She made quick introductions.

  “He’ll put an alarm system on your shop too. And I don’t want you staying by yourself tonight. Do you have somewhere you can go?”

  “She can stay with us, we have plenty of room,” Sally said.

  “I’ll be fine by myself. It was probably just some kids, looking for quick and easy cash.”

  “No, you stay with your friends.”

  “I said, I’ll be fine by myself.” Gen crossed her arms. Who did this man think he was, issuing orders to her? She started to protest further, then looked into Vincent’s eyes.

  “Come here.” He took her by the arm and led her a short distance away. “Or maybe not just kids.” He lowered his voice. “We have people causing us harm, remember?”

  “I hardly think my shop could be involved with your werewolf business.”

  “Yes, it could. You are working with Morgan. Someone wants her research. They could figure you’re assisting her. Which you are.”

  Icy little fingers of fear touched her heart.

  “Go, stay with your friends tonight. I’ll have an alarm put on your home too.”

  “That’s not really necessary…”

  “It is,” he snapped. “It is.” Quieter this time.

  “I can take care of myself. I have been for a long time.”

  “I know you can.” He took her hands and squeezed them. “These are different circumstances than you’ve ever been in. I want you to be extra cautious at all times. Please.”

  Much as she hated to admit it, he could be right.

  “I’m going to check the exterior of the building. Come on, outside. Talk to me for a few minutes before I go.”

  Genevieve took another look around inside then turned off the lights. After promising the sheriff she would go through the shop the next day more thoroughly to make sure nothing had been taken, and being assured by Sally and Greg she would not be imposing on them, she turned the key in the front door of her shop, the sound of the lock clicking not as comforting as usual. Someone had disturbed her special place, her beautiful sanctuary. Why?

  “I’ll call you tomorrow, let you know when my guy is coming out.” Gen stood by Vincent, both of them leaning on his Jeep.

  “And then?”

  “And then we’ll find a way to finish what we started.”

  He ran a thumb down her cheek, and she shuddered. The panic racing through her for the last hour or so had subsided, and being this close to Vincent, all the fire she’d felt earlier flared again. He smiled, well aware of the effect he had on her.

  “As soon as everyone leaves I’m going to shift, take a sniff around. Your home too. Wave goodbye and get them out of here.”

  “You don’t know where I live.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Okay, I don’t want to know why you have that information. I do want to watch you shift, though.”

  “No, you leave. You’ll distract me if you’re here. I’ll call you, let you know what I find. Sheriff,” he called over to where Packard stood talking to Greg. “Would you take a look around Genevieve’s home, make sure it hasn’t been disturbed? I need to get back to Bethany.”

  Instead of telling him to mind his own business, the sheriff nodded. “Good idea.”

  Interesting. Did werewolves have some kind of hypnotic power? She would have to watch herself around Vincent.

  “Stay back,” Sheriff Packard said as he opened her apartment door and then flicked on the light. “I think someone’s been through here. It’s a mess.”

  Gen peeked around his shoulder. “Uh, no, it’s the maid’s week off. Just kidding. No one’s been in here. I’ve been busy and haven’t had a chance to clean much.”

  Ignoring the disapproving look in his eyes, she headed to her bedroom to pack an overnight bag. The place looked a disaster, Gen knew. She really had been busy, but she had so little storage space it was hard to keep things organized. What she wouldn’t give for a larger home. Someday.

  Safely tucked under a chenille blanket next to Sally on the couch, a bottle of wine and a bowl of popcorn between them on the table, Gen’s shoulders finally dropped a notch. Holiday cartoons were a sure cure for stress, and for once she welcomed the networks starting the onslaught early. Rudolph never failed to make her smile as well as shed a tear or two. She could so relate to the elf who wanted to change his career. She’d followed her dream of having her own business and living a different than normal lifestyle, but some days she wondered if she’d chosen the right path.

  It would truly be nice to have more security in life and to not be responsible for every aspect of her income. If she made more money, she could have put an alarm system on her shop herself. And if she worked for someone else, she wouldn’t be the one to have her hot date ruined when thieves came calling.

  It didn’t take long for her head to start nodding, and Gen turned in before Rudolph made his triumphant sleigh debut. Lying in bed with a pleasant wine buzz, she was almost asleep when the sounds of Sally and Greg making love pulled her back to consciousness. She smashed the pillow over her head, but it was no use. Passionate moans filled the air, reminding her of what she’d almost had hours before. Gen tossed and turned, twisting the sheets into a knotted mess. Her skin still smelled of wood smoke, even after a shower, and she could swear the faint aroma of Vincent clung to her body too

  The noise finally stopped but, wide awake now, Gen pulled out her phone to read a book, hoping to lull herself back to sleep.

  Nope. After twenty minutes of reading, her brain refused to quit. The more she thought about her present situation, the angrier she became. Though it had been brief, the intensity of passion she and Vincent had ignited burned like the embers in the fire. Screw it. Some asshole had spoiled her evening; she’d be damned if she would let him ruin the rest of her night. Her heart and her body demanded satisfaction. She got out of bed, dressed quietly, grabbed her things, and crept down the stairs to call Vincent. He answered on the first ring, and she spoke in a low tone.

  “I know this is silly, but…”

  “I’ll be at your place in ten minutes.”

  “What? Ten minutes? Where are you?”

  “I just left Nocturne. I took a sniff around, watched your shop for a while to see if the robber would come back, then went to your apartment to look around. Go to your place. If you get there before me, wait outside in your car, don’t go in.”

  “You’re being mighty presumptuous. You don’t even know what I want.”

  “I know what you want.” His deep voice sent the same intensely pleasurable shudder through her body his thumb on her cheek had earlier.

  “I’ll be there soon.” Two hours. He’d hung around Nocturne for two hours. For her.

  She found a piece of paper and started to scribble Sally a note. What could she say? Got horny and left? Thanks for the wine and movie? The kitchen light flicked on, and Gen jumped.

  “Hey, Sally, just getting ready to write you a note. I’m going to…”

  “I know where you’re going. You’re going to hook up with your hot man.”

  “Uh, yeah. How did you know?”

  “The way you two looked at each other. I could have fried an egg on your head. Why didn’t you just stay with him tonight?”

  “I thought it would be presumptuous to ask and anyway, we don’t know each other all that well. I don’t know how he feels about me.”

  “Are you kidding? That wolf has it bad for you. He’d walk across broken glass to get some of your lovin’.”

  Gen’s mouth fell open. “You know he’s a werewolf? How do you know that?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re some kind of magic woman, aren’t you?”

  Sally laughed. “Yes, I am kind of magic. I’ve got this weird telepathy thing, where I can read other people. I keep it turned off most of the time, but I did a quick scan of Vincent in your shop. He sent out powerful vibes, and I wanted to make sure he was safe for you. I’m sorry. I did
n’t mean to violate your privacy.”

  “No problem, I guess. What did you pick up from him?”

  “He’s wildly crazy about you. He might not even know it yet, but he is. Then I saw his wolf side, trying to get out. He’s got control, but the animal is there, right beneath the surface.”

  Gen shifted her feet around. Crap. Did she just get Vincent in trouble? “You can’t tell anyone, about him. Promise you won’t.”

  Sally put a hand on her arm. “If you only knew the secrets some of the people in this town keep. I don’t use my little skill too often. I see way more than I want to. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

  Gen studied Sally. She’d always suspected there were other witches, or at least those with magic in Nocturne, but apparently they all chose to be solitary, like her. No one opened up about their practice. She’d often wanted to talk to several women about forming not exactly a coven, but some other kind of group. One without a lot of regulations or political bullshit. Now that she knew weres lived nearby, maybe they could all collaborate.

  Right now, she had to know more about Sally. “What else do you do, besides the telepathy thing? I know you’ve got other skills.”

  “Oh, I do a little glamour.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Like this.” As Gen watched, Sally’s facial features shifted, ever so slightly. Her eyes moved further apart, her lips plumped. Then her hair changed color and her brown eyes turned a vivid shade of violet.

  “Get the hell out! Freaking amazing! Can you teach me how to do that?” Gen clapped her hands.

  Sally laughed. “No, but I can do it to you. A little bit. Okay, what exactly do you do, besides grow plants like a mad woman?”

  “That’s my main superpower. I use the forces already in nature, the natural ingredients of plants, minerals, everything, and add a touch of magic to give them an extra boost. Combined with my schooling and years of practice, I can whip up a whole lot of goodies. I’m working on…Listen, I’ve got to go but we need to talk. You, me, Morgan, and who knows how many other magic folks are in this town. You’ve been here awhile, why don’t people get together?”