She Wolf

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  “Sheriff, I’m really worried.”

  So was she, far more than she dared share with Jeni. “I know, Jeni. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “You’ll call?”

  “You have my word.”

  Jayne ended the call and tried to come up with a good explanation for why Dana didn’t follow up on Willa. Nothing came to mind, but until she talked to her and got her side of the story, she wasn’t going to give in to the anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

  As she studied the phone in her hand, a thought occurred to her. She raised her gaze until her eyes met Lily’s. It could work. “You’re a werewolf, right?”

  Lily raised a single eyebrow and said softly, “Yes.”

  “You any good at tracking?”

  *

  Bellona couldn’t have asked for a nicer place. It suited the needs of their new family perfectly. The house was big enough for all of them to have plenty of space, with room for more. She and Little Wolf called the master suite theirs, while Adam and Eve each had a room in the lower level. The big barn was perfect for those multipurpose events that she didn’t feel needed to be brought into the house. Considering the youth and inexperience of her children, the barn was seeing a great deal of use. It would take time for them to hone their hunting skills so that they kept under the human radar.

  Eve was a little worrisome in that respect. She was an accident, and Bellona probably should have turned her, yet something about her drew Bellona in, and she made the split-second decision to have her join their family. It seemed like such an inspired decision at the time, and to Eve’s credit, she was more than willing and always listened to what Bellona told her. She obeyed without question, and that was an excellent trait to have in a student. Still, while Adam was young, strong, and smart, Eve was almost too gentle a soul. She’d turned faster than anyone Bellona had ever seen and yet lacked the instinct for survival so critical in a pack.

  It was too early to make a call on Eve. Bellona felt she needed to give her time, let her learn, and let her run. Only after she had a chance to develop could Bellona pass judgment on her wisdom to allow Eve to join the pack. Besides, Eve reminded her so much of a girl from her hometown she simply didn’t have the heart to end it quite yet. Just as with Eve, she had been a wonderfully tender sprite, beloved by all, rich and poor alike. This was the first time she’d run into another who touched that part of her memory and her heart. She’d been unable to end Eve’s life and instead brought her into the fold. Besides, every family needed the bright sunshine that people like Eve possessed and so freely shared.

  As if sensing Bellona was thinking about her, Eve came into the kitchen. “When can I run? Can I go now? I’d really like to go now.”

  Bellona smiled and held out her arms. Eve walked into her embrace and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Can we go now, pleeeze?”

  Kissing her on the top of her head, Bellona breathed in the fresh scent of her hair. She’d obviously showered with the apple-scented shampoo Little Wolf stocked in her bathroom. “Not now, my sweet girl, but soon.”

  “Why can’t we go now? I want to go now.”

  “Remember, I’ve told you how we must wait for darkness.”

  “That’s stupid. You can see so much more in the daytime. Night is dumb.”

  “No, sweet girl, it’s safe. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

  Eve stepped out of her embrace, put her hands on her hips, and frowned. “No, it’s not safe, it’s stupid. We are way stronger and faster than anybody else, and nobody can hurt us, ’specially since Adam runs with us. He’s nice and he’s real tough. Only dummies would pick on Adam.”

  “Yes, he is powerful, but you still have to do this by my rules. We only run at night, and we only run together.”

  “Little Wolf runs alone.”

  “Yes, she does, but Little Wolf is older.” She didn’t add that Little Wolf was a handful and that while Bellona was totally infatuated with her, she wanted to throttle her about half the time because she didn’t heed Bellona’s warnings.

  “That’s a stupid, stupid reason.”

  Bellona kissed her on the top of the head. “Yes, it is, but sweetheart, you still can’t run until tonight. We’ll all go together. I promise.”

  Adam walked in. Eve pulled away from Bellona and ran to him. He smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, punk, what’s up?”

  Eve frowned. “I want to run but she won’t let me.”

  Adam winked at her. “Well then, since we can’t run, how about we go feed the horses?”

  The frown disappeared and a smile brightened Eve’s face. She clapped her hands. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  Together they went out the door, leaving Bellona alone in the kitchen. Yes, she had high hopes for this family, this pack. Now that Adam had Eve sufficiently entertained, she turned her attention to more pressing matters. She had traps to set and Jägers to run out of town.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lily went with Jayne when they left the morgue and walked side-by-side the relatively short distance to the sheriff’s department. Oddly it felt natural to be at her side, as if they’d been lifelong companions. She hadn’t felt that way about anyone since she’d been part of the special trio of childhood friends. She still missed her two closest friends terribly, even after all these years.

  “What are you thinking about? You’re very deep in thought.”

  She looked over at Jayne’s profile and once more thought how attractive she was. A little flutter went through her body. Given Lily was a big, tough werewolf hunter she should lie and tell her she was mulling over hunt strategies for taking down the rogue here in Jayne’s county. Instead, she admitted the truth. “I was thinking about how comfortable I am around you and how much you remind me of my two best friends.”

  Did she imagine it, or did Jayne wince when she said “friends”? If her words bothered her, she didn’t let on. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re growing on me too.”

  Lily laughed softly, understanding how difficult that had to have been for Jayne to confess. “I have that effect on people.”

  “I somehow believe that. Tell me about your friends, Lily.”

  Lily touched the necklace that hung around her neck, feeling the smooth stone beneath her fingers. It had been with her all these years, and the only time she didn’t wear it was when it required repair. “I grew up with two special friends, Alexia and Taria. We all came from noble families and lived in fine homes by the standard of the times.” She never told anyone that her family went far beyond fine, as she was born into a royal family. Her father, the duke, was distant and focused on his country, not his children, with the exception of arranging advantageous marriages. Her mother, the duchess, was kind though forever sad. Lily always believed she longed to return to her birthplace of Austria but was a prisoner in the marriage arranged by her own parents. These memories she kept locked inside. “We were so close in age and our families so intertwined in the same social circles, we were more like sisters than friends.”

  Jayne cut a sideways glance at her. “What happened?”

  This was something she had shared with few people in her lifetime. It had cut too deep, and the scar had never really healed. She turned to study Jayne and started talking again when she made her decision. “I was to be married. My father sold me, you see…”

  Jayne gasped. “Your father sold you?”

  That probably wasn’t fair to Father. It was, after all, the way of their world at the time. “It was an arranged marriage. The man my father chose was of noble birth and, like me, had no choice in the arrangement. It was a practice expected and normal at the time. The reality, however, is that both Aldrich and I were essentially sold by our families. We were expected to do as we were told without question. It was simply the way things were done.”

  “That’s awful.” Real emotion sounded in her voice.

  In more ways than one, Lily thought. “My friends and I were together on
the last night of my freedom. I was to be married the next day.” The thought of what had awaited her on the night of her wedding to Aldrich still made her shiver. That bullet she’d dodged, though the price had been, and still was, very high.

  “Did you marry this Aldrich?”

  She shook her head. “No. After my friends returned to their homes that night, I was attacked and left for dead. At the time, I thought it was all over for me. I was in such bad shape, bloody and barely alive. Aldrich took one look at me after the attack and backed out of the marriage. My family was on the same page and gave me up for dead.”

  “Seriously?”

  It would be hard for Jayne to understand how things were back then. Her value had been wiped out in a matter of minutes. Much had changed in the intervening centuries. “Seriously.”

  “You had to have been furious with them.”

  Another moment for decision. As the old saying went, in for a penny, in for a pound. “No. I wasn’t angry at all. I was relieved.”

  Jayne stopped walking and turned to stare at her. “Aldrich wasn’t a good guy?”

  She stopped walking as well and studied her hands. “He was a fine man, as far as men went, and that was the problem.” She brought her eyes up to meet Jayne’s. “He was a man.”

  She let that hang while the implication sank in. When it did, she saw a ghost of a smile flit across Jayne’s face. That little smile warmed her heart. Her instincts about Jayne didn’t appear to be failing her.

  “I see.” Jayne didn’t look away.

  “My family took the attack and Aldrich’s abandonment as a personal affront. The only way to save face was to let me die, and truthfully, I was happy to die. I wanted out of my life. I’d been dreading the fate that awaited me and in fact had felt dead inside. The only thing that would have changed at that point is I would have died in body as well as spirit.”

  “But you obviously didn’t die.”

  “Not at all. The injuries were severe enough I could have, if not for our local priest. He contacted the Jägers, as he suspected the truth of what had happened to me. They swooped in and bundled me away to what was then the headquarters of the order. They healed my wounds, ushered me through the changes, and began giving me the serum that has kept me sane for centuries. My family and friends were told I had died, and they didn’t question it. It was easier that way for them and for me.”

  “God, that had to be rough.”

  “In many ways, yes. It was difficult to say farewell to my life, even if it wasn’t one I was looking forward to living.”

  “But it was your life.” Jayne understood.

  “It was my life, good or bad. One day it was there and the next it was gone. That’s not something anyone can prepare for.”

  “What about your family?”

  “It was painful to watch my family and friends from a distance, never talking to them or touching them again. Even my father, as cold as he was, I would have loved to have held his hand just once more. After my parents and my siblings were put into the ground it became so emotionally draining, I finally had to go away.”

  “I don’t know if I’d be strong enough to do it. You know, walk away from everything. I’ve lost my family too, yet I find comfort here where my roots are and in the house my brother built. It makes me feel close to them.”

  “You might be surprised at what you can do when you have to. I know I was. The Jägers gave me a life I never would have had if not for that horrible night. I became strong and independent, able to love whomever I wanted. I’ve traveled the world and experienced history firsthand.”

  “Was it worth it?”

  She’d asked herself that same question a thousand times over the years. When she thought back to her family and Alexia and Taria, the answer was a solid no, it was not. When she thought about the years she would have spent as the wife of a man she could never love and of the years she’d have spent with him with nothing to do but run a house, then her answer was the opposite. Yes, it was absolutely worth it.

  She started walking in the direction of Jayne’s office once more. “I’ll let you know.”

  *

  Usually Kyle felt drained after connecting with the dead. This time he was not only drained, but he was also sick to his stomach. Everything about this trip had been a little off. A lot of what he was feeling right now probably had to do with the fact that Tess was so young. He was incredibly sad that such a young woman had been forced to die so terribly. It would take a hard soul not to feel that deeply. He ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his scalp. It didn’t help.

  Connecting with Cheryl had hurt his heart as well. She’d been scared and alone. Her loss was also tragic. Touching the souls of both women so close together was almost too much, but it was something that had to be done.

  Ava was a sensitive person and understood what it had taken out of him when he connected with Tess and Cheryl. They’d come back to Jayne’s while she and Lily went to the sheriff’s office. Back at the house, Ava made a tea with some herbs and honey and who knew what else. She handed him a mug and ordered him to drink, which of course he did. He would do anything Ava told him to. The funny thing was, the tea worked beautifully so he really didn’t care what she put in it. Love maybe. Hopefully.

  After his stomach stopped rolling, his first inclination was to head back into town to talk with Jayne and Lily. He’d half expected to see them shortly after they’d gotten back to the house. So far, they hadn’t shown up. Ava called Lily to hear what they’d discovered on the latest missing woman. So far, nothing, according to Lily, and he’d wanted to jump back in the car and follow. Lily told them to stay put. He didn’t understand why because he was certain they could help. They didn’t come all this way to sit around and do nothing.

  Lily was, however, their team lead, and rule one of the Jägers was to follow the directions of the lead without question. She had her reasons for asking them to stay put even if she didn’t share what they were with him or Ava. All he could do was to trust that it was all for the greater good.

  “I hate this,” he mumbled as he stood staring out the big front window while holding the warm mug of tea between two hands. A light breeze was blowing and the sun was shining. Perfect weather for a pack of werewolves to run.

  Now why did he think pack? The word came to him without conscious thought, and with it came a chill not related to weather. He’d never heard of a pack hunt before. Maybe years ago before the Jägers came to full strength but not in modern times. It simply didn’t happen, too dangerous for the wolves.

  “We’re not useless here,” Ava told him as she came to stand beside him.

  “What can we do?” God almighty, was that him whining? Geez, he definitely needed to man up if he wanted to impress Ava.

  “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  Oh, he wanted to see up her sleeve all right. “Really?”

  She took the mug out of his hands and set it aside. Then she put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. “Trust me, big boy.”

  He managed not to jump in surprise and instead wrapped his arms around her. Smoothly too, if he did say so. “You have no idea how much I trust you.”

  “You feel it, don’t you?”

  Honestly, he was afraid to answer that question. Was she talking about the odd nature of this hunt? Or was she talking about the wave of emotion that came over him every time he looked at her face? Professional question or personal question?

  “Yeah, I do.” Neutral answer that would work either way she was going with this.

  “We have to stop this werewolf.” Professional it was.

  “We do.”

  “I’ve got a spell, and I’m thinking if you and I work together it might just get us closer to whoever is doing this.”

  “Really?” He couldn’t imagine what he could do that would help her. While he could summon the dead to come to him, that was about the extent of his superpowers. He’d always admired the magic that witches cou
ld summon, partially because it was something he couldn’t do. Powers he possessed. Magic, not a drop.

  “Take one part witch and one part true believer, and you’d be amazed at what we can accomplish.” She smiled up at him and winked. “Trust me,” she said again. “I promise not to lead you astray.”

  He wouldn’t mind her leading him astray, but he’d save that comment for another day. “You got it. Tell me what you need from me, and I’ll do it.”

  She stepped out of his arms and tilted her head as she looked up at him, her green eyes holding his. “All right, Kyle. We’ll make some magic, and after we’ve done that, then we have to talk about us.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The situation they were facing was deadly serious, and Jayne noticed how Lily had to tamp down the urge to smile each time Jayne was required to explain her being at her side. She obviously didn’t have to explain to Lily how very unlikely it was for the county’s sheriff to go looking for a girlfriend online. Each time she introduced Lily as just such a girlfriend, it made her twitch, and she was painfully aware that her discomfort was obvious. Her great idea for explaining Lily’s presence in her life was not nearly as simple as it had sounded at the start.

  Now, however, instead of being in the office fielding questions on Lily, they were standing in Willa’s small apartment. Any desire to linger on her own discomfort at the façade she was forced to present faded away as very real worry invaded her thoughts concerning the sweet soul who lived here. Willa would be no match for the jaws of a powerful wolf or any other kind of predator, human or otherwise. She was a simple, sweet soul who liked and trusted everyone. She wouldn’t recognize evil.

  The tiny living room held a love seat and a single chair. A neon-pink fleece blanket was tossed over the love seat. A fluffy stuffed cat sat on the window sill as if watching for Willa to return, and several empty pop cans were on the kitchen counter. On the small kitchen table was a blue vase stuffed with bright-yellow silk daisies. Willa had made her little home cheerful and inviting. Jayne had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t be coming back to her daisies and her sweet pink blanket.