Chapter Ten
Morning came painfully early. The giggling of the girls woke me and I groaned when I saw the sun shining outside. Some days, mornings should do the world a favor and hit the snooze button. Only good things could come from longer nights. More sleep, more sex...what’s not to love?
I hauled myself out of bed and stumbled into the master bathroom where I threw cold water on my face and rinsed the post-whiskey consumption taste out of my mouth. For his part, Jackson just rolled over and covered his head with a pillow, hiding.
I left him be since he’d been running through the forest for hours the night before and needed the rest more than I did. I went into the kitchen where I tried to remember how the hell to make pancakes.
Mara and Sara swarmed me the second I appeared.
“Are you going to make pancakes for real?” Sara asked, bouncing in circles, her eyes wide with excitement.
I nodded, still not quite capable of speech yet that morning, and the girls cheered. Fumbling with the coffee maker, I started a much needed caffeine infusion. While it brewed, I found the pancake mix and blinked blearily at the directions on the box. Why did the words have to be so tiny? They made my head hurt.
A knock on the door saved me from cooking before my brain came online. I went to answer it and found Chief Mueller on the front porch. His eyes were red with lack of sleep and his evergreen and woodsy scent was stale as old bread. The morning had spared no one it seemed, except small children.
He took off his sheriff’s hat when he saw me and held it in front of him with both hands. The khaki brown of his uniform was creased, as if he’d worn it longer than twenty four hours, which was a distinct possibility. “Morning, Chloe. My shift’s over and I thought I’d stop by on the way home. This a good time?”
“Of course, Chief.” I motioned for him to come in. “I’ve got coffee brewing. Would you like some?”
He shook his head. “No thanks, I’m hoping to go to bed soon. I’ll take some water though.”
I filled a glass with water for him and poured myself a generous cup of coffee. Joining the chief at the table I asked, “How are things going? Did you find Vicki or the rogue alpha?”
“No, sorry to say, we have not. We did find traces of the rogue’s scent mixed with hers. There were signs of a struggle in the brush and fresh blood. Looks like Vicki’s bitten off more than she can chew.”
I winced, picturing her at the mercy of the rogue. She’d done it to herself, but I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. “Were you able to track them?”
“For a bit. The trail goes cold not even a quarter mile out. Cuts off on the main road.”
I frowned. “How does a scent just go dead like that?”
He sighed, his face slack with fatigue and defeat. “Damned if I know.” He finished his water. “I’ve got one of my deputies poking around asking questions. So far, we’ve established that Vicki was in Nashville around the same time as the women down there disappeared.”
I sat back in my seat, unable to comprehend that kind of evil. I shook my head. “I thought she was just a bitch. I would have never believed she was capable of something like this.”
The Chief nodded. “It surprised all of us. She’s young and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her.” He sighed. “But Vicki really hates you, Chloe. We interviewed some of her friends, and, apparently, all she’s been talking about lately is about getting rid of you.”
I put a hand to my chest as my heart began to race. “Oh my God.” It hurt to be hated that much. I was a good person. Maybe not the best wolf, but I was still new and people needed to give me a chance. I didn’t deserve to die. I hadn’t chosen Jackson, our mating wasn’t preplanned just to spite her. Surely Vicki knew that?
Chief Mueller gave me a sympathetic look. “Listen, the other reason I stopped by was to pass on a message from Cal. He asked me to tell Jackson to meet at his house around three. We’re working in shifts now, round the clock.”
I nodded. “Okay, I’ll let him know.”
The chief stood up and I followed suit.
“Thanks for stopping by,” I said.
He gave me a wan smile, looking dead on his feet. “Never a problem, you’re the alpha’s mate after all. Call me if you need something.”
“Same here, Chief.” I smiled at him. “It works both ways, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, it does.” He looked over to where Mara and Sara were watching cartoons. “Those the Klempoff girls?”
“Yeah,” I said, filing away their last name for future reference. I’d been so busy feeding them and then dealing with Vicki and her rogue assassin that we’d never gotten past first names. “They spent the night.”
He fell silent for a moment, taking in their frayed clothing and slight frames. “This pack’s been missing a woman’s touch these last few years. It’s good to have you. Betty would approve.”
“Thanks,” I said softly. “I thought I would take the girls shopping for some new stuff and maybe pay a visit to their grandmother’s house. Things don’t seem right.”
Chief Mueller patted me on the shoulder. “That’s a real good idea, Chloe. I’ve been worried about those girls.”
Chapter Eleven
The pancakes I made after Chief Mueller left were an advertisement for the axiom of ‘under promise and over deliver.’ I’d promised light fluffy pancakes, but could only deliver over cooked pellets, half of which tore when I flipped them. It wasn’t my finest moment in the kitchen.
Mara and Sara didn’t complain and gamely doused the pancakes with extra syrup. I tried to make up for the mess with the deer sausage. Jackson didn’t hunt in human form, but the guys who did passed on some of their bounty to us. Thankfully, the sausage only required the ability to operate a microwave and I could manage that much at least.
Jackson joined us eventually and rumbled ‘good morning’ to the girls. I relayed the Chief’s message to him and said what I could about Vicki without the girls overhearing anything. Jackson wasn’t happy, but he took the news in stride, saying, “We’ll find her. She can’t hide for long, now that we know it’s her.”
We ate breakfast in companionable silence, mostly because the girls had inhaled their food like a supercharged vacuum and then made a beeline for the television in the living room. I smiled as they scampered off, remembering how much I’d loved cartoons as a kid myself. Jackson finished the last of pancakes, even eating the ones that were black on the bottom. I wimped out and went for the sausage, unwilling to eat my own cooking. Then Jackson cleared the table and started loading the dishwasher.
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as I took my plate into the kitchen.
He smiled at me. “What’s that for?”
“Doing the dishes.”
Jackson shrugged and leaned in close to whisper, “I heard somewhere that this is like porn for women. Tell me, are you wet? Does this make you hot?” He made a show of soaping up the griddle I’d used to make the pancakes. Instead of scrubbing, he caressed the pan with long, even strokes, all the while staring at me meaningfully.
I giggled. “Jackson stop.”
He frowned in mock outrage. “What do you mean stop? You know what they say, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” He abandoned the dishes then and grabbed me, pulling me close for a kiss.
My knees went weak as his lips took possession of mine. The weight of his hands on my hips, the way his thumbs dipping inside the waistband to stroke my skin made my heart flutter. My wolf did a little happy dance, her delicate paws prancing on the ground, ears straight up and tail wagging. She loved it when Jackson was dominant with me.
He came up for air a second later. “Well, Clo?”
“Well what?” I said, my voice breathless.
“Can you take the heat?”
I held his eyes with mine. “Yeah, I can take the heat.” I glanced over my shoulder, checking to make sure the girls were still entranced by their cartoons. Then I slid my hand down and
massaged him through his jeans until he was nice and hard.
He hissed. “Clo.”
I removed my hand and kissed his cheek again. “Wait until you see what I do when you mop the floor.” With that, I sauntered out of the kitchen, leaving him slack-jawed.
“Wait. Mop? What?” he called after me, utterly confused. “That wasn’t the plan, Clo.”
I just laughed and disappeared into the bedroom intent on getting ready to take the girls shopping. I could still hear Jackson talking to himself in the kitchen, completely flummoxed.
“Do we even own a mop?” he muttered as he banged and clanked dishes around.
I shook my head as I eavesdropped, big smile on my face.
* * *
Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt topped with a warm sweatshirt, I went into the living room, sitting on a chair while I put on my most comfortable hiking boots. I considered malls to be the true wilderness of the world. Give me the great outdoors any day. Shopping required more gear than any forest. The girls didn’t even notice me, completely hypnotized by some kid’s show with a color palette so psychedelic it made me wince.
Boots laced, I clapped my hands together to get their attention. “Come on girls. Time to go.” I retrieved my purse from its hook by the front door and slung it over my shoulder. Then I grabbed Jackson’s truck keys from the foyer table. His extended cab pick-up could seat four, whereas my tiny Toyota barely held two. “Turn off the TV.”
“Have a good time, ladies” Jackson said as he put the soap in the dishwasher. “I’m going back to bed.”
I gave him an arch look. “No mopping?”
He grinned. “I’ll mop later. The kitchen and then the bedroom.” His voice dipped low on the last word and he gave me a hard, pointed look that made my stomach clench. “You’re going to beg me to mop.”
I smiled sweetly at him. “Sounds awesome. I can’t wait.”
Jackson made an expansive gesture with his hands. “Oh, it will be the most amazing, fantastic mopping in the universe.”
I raised an eyebrow.“Jackson?”
He raised an eyebrow back. “Yes?”
“Do you know where the mop is?”
His hands dropped to his sides.“Uh no, I don’t.”
“In the laundry room, next to the washer,” I said helpfully.
“So we do have a mop,” he said with a note of wonder in his voice.
I tried to hold in my laughter, but he was cracking me up with his mopping-as-foreplay shtick. “Yes, Jackson. They really do exist.” We both laughed at that. Noticing Mara and Sara looking at us wondering what was so funny, I cleared my throat. “All set, girls?”
Both girls nodded in unison and Mara turned off the television. Then they shrugged on their worn coats for what I hoped was the last time and we headed for the door with a quick wave to Jackson.
Outside, the chilled autumn air hit us all like a sharp slap and our breath made ghosts in the stiff breeze. I shivered inside my coat, even overheated werewolves could get cold if the temperature swing was big enough.
“Mom!” Sara gasped as I shut the front door.
I heard the pounding of feet as they rushed off the porch and into the driveway. Turning around, I spotted two smoke gray wolves in front of Jackson’s truck, their gazes focused on the girls.
Sara wrapped her arms around one and squeezed. Mara reached a hand out to the other one and the wolf nuzzled her palm.
I came down off the porch and joined them. “These your parents, girls?”
Sara nodded eagerly. “This be my momma. Her name’s Mae. Daddy’s name’s Rob.”
The wolves looked at me, unblinking. “Nice to meet you,” I offered. They gave no indication of hearing or understanding me, but I noticed they were more responsive with their daughters. Their mom kissed them with quick flicks of her pink tongue.
I stepped to the side and gave the girls a few minutes to commune with their parents before asking them to get into the truck so I could have a word with the wolves in private. Once the girls were shut inside, I squatted down until I was eye-level. “Your girls need you. You need to come back. They’re hungry and their clothes aren’t right.” While they couldn’t talk, they should be able to understand me, and I wasn’t going to let them go without say what needed to be said.
Mae whined, a desolate sound, and managed to look ashamed. Rob just continued to stare at me, his eyes unmoved. His expression was blank, as if he’d forgotten he started out human. Perhaps he didn’t remember. Maybe he was trapped in his wolf form. Maybe he’d forgotten English, too. I didn’t know.
My eyes narrowed and I tried again. “I did part of my growing up without parents and it’s a hard road. Don’t leave them in the dust.”
The wolves showed no reaction to my words. They just blinked and then turned in unison to melt back into the forest they now called home. They gave no indication they’d understood or even cared about what I said, but at least I’d tried. With a sigh, I climbed into the truck and found the girls had already turned on the radio, blasting some awful hip hop music that struck my ears like anvils. It made me sad that their parents walking away from them was so normal, it didn’t even register on their emotional radar anymore.
I turned down the volume and started the truck. The drive to Hudson would take about forty minutes and I would’ve been deaf in five if I’d left the music blasting.
“Can I get a pink shirt?” asked Sara, bouncing excitedly in her seat. “Pink’s my favorite color.”
“I like purple,” said Mara a little more subdued than her younger sister. She was probably more aware of their circumstances.
I looked at them in the rear view mirror and smiled. “I’d like to get you girls a new wardrobe. The works. Coats. Pajamas. Shoes. Everything. Any color you want.”
A huge smile blossomed on Sara’s face and I noticed for the first time that she was missing her two front teeth. Had the tooth fairy left her anything? Somehow I doubted it. A memory of loneliness hit me. I remembered the days of having no one, and my heart ached for the two sisters. Yes, they had each other, but that wasn’t the same as having a parent. Not even close.
Halfway to Hudson, a thought occurred to me and I pulled out my cell phone and found Kelsey’s call from the night before. Sure we’d gotten off to a rocky start, but last night’s conversation had redeemed her a bit and I wanted to give her a second chance while we were in town. I hit the green call button and waited. She answered on the first ring.
“Chloe?”
I hit the speaker button and kept my eyes on the road. “Hey, Kelsey. You got plans today?”
“Nothing I can’t change. You have something in mind?” There was genuine excitement in her voice. She sounded pleased that I’d called.
Now I was happy I called, too. “A little shopping. I have two girls here who need a makeover. You in?”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I am the queen of makeovers.”
“Great. You’re at the B&B off route twenty nine, right?”
“Yep. Room ten.”
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes to pick you up.” After I hung up, I glanced over my shoulder at the girls pleased to see the eager anticipation gleaming in their eyes. “Are you ready for some fun?”
They both nodded somewhat shyly, but their smiles were wide enough to split their faces in half. I smiled too, feeling like I was making up for my awful pancakes among other things that hadn’t gone quite right in their lives.
The day passed by in a whir of retail. We picked up Kelsey on our way to the mall. Dressed in a sleek tan leather coat and her hair in a French twist, she looked very cosmopolitan. She greeted the girls with a knock-knock joke and wrapped around her little finger in no time. She was good with kids, real good. They absolutely loved her. I made a mental note to brush up on some jokes.
From the girls’ awed reaction to Hudson, I had the impression they’d never been outside Huntsville before. Hudson was still a small town by mos
t standards, but, with a population of more than ten thousand, it probably felt like New York City to Mara and Sara. The city’s main road held more cars than we had people in Hunstville and there were even stoplights. Huntsville was a ‘blink and you’ve missed’ it kind of town. Forget streetlights, we didn’t even have stop signs.
The sprawling mall really blew their mind, and they ran from store to store with breathless excitement. Kelsey and I instantly bonded over the mission to get the girls set up with proper clothing. It was the kind of thing we’d wished someone would’ve done for us.
The entire tenor of our relationship changed. The hostility she’d brought with her when we’d first met was gone, replaced with an easy going charm. I found myself liking her more and more.
“How did you manage clothes growing up?” I asked as I went through a stack of shirts looking for Mara’s size.
Kelsey shrugged and riffled through a rack of holiday dresses. With winter coming, all the stores were in hardcore Christmas mode. “Jackson’s momma took me shopping. When I was older, I earned my own money and bought what I wanted.”
I took in her snug designer jeans and loose peasant top. She had such an effortless style. The clothes were simple enough, in design, but the fabrics and patterns held rich details you wouldn’t find anywhere I shopped. I felt gauche compared to her with my dark blue Levis, plain v-neck t-shirt and tennis shoes. “Who taught you to dress?”
She shook her head, a small smile playing over her red lips. “Vogue. I was into fashion big as a teenager. I poured over those magazines like it was homework.” She held up a green velvet Christmas dress for my consideration.
I shook my head. “Too green.”
She frowned and put it back. “I want them to have something nice to wear at Christmas.”
“We don’t dress up much in Huntsville,” I said, eyeing the dresses doubtfully. Not only were they expensive, they were all sleeveless, which made no sense to me. Granted, we weren’t in the high North and our winters were mild, but not sun dress mild. I could handle the cold, but I was a mature wolf. For little ones, these fancy dresses were an open invitation to hypothermia.
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