by M. J. Parker
The Shifter’s Untamed Desires
Sexy Paranormal Romance
Copyright 2014 by Christy Torres - All rights reserved.
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Lycan Legacy
Werewolf Romance
Giselle was looking forward to her trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was the end of her school year as a Biology teacher at Carbondale High School, and her friends from California were coming out for the week to visit. Giselle had been to the park before, so she had some familiarity with the area, but this would be her first time actually camping in the park. She was excited to see Carla and Jasmine, and wanted to ensure that they all had a great time.
On the last day of school, Giselle’s principal, Mr. Riley, asked her if she could come in to help store some of the text books for the summer. Giselle wasn’t thrilled with the request, but felt obligated because the school had suffered so many budget cuts, she knew that Mr. Riley needed the help. She agreed to stay after, and was assigned the seventh grade classroom to haul and shelve over fifty science text books and forty algebra books.
As she was stacking the last of the books and rolling them on a cart to the storage closet, Giselle noticed someone standing in the hallway. It looked like a parent of one of her students, but she couldn’t be sure from where she was standing. She pushed the cart along, and as she got closer noticed that it was Richard Thompson’s mother. Richard was one of the boys in her Biology class who struggled with his assignments, and squeezed by graduation with a C minus. Giselle wondered what she was doing at the school.
“Ms. Walker,” said Mrs. Thompson. “I’m sorry to bother you. I know you teachers are all busy with it being the last day of school. But I have a favor to ask. Can you call me later? You know, whenever you get finished here?” she asked. Giselle could hear the desperation in Mrs. Thompson’s voice. She knew that something must be going on with Richard, it was probably not very good.
“Sure, Mrs. Thompson. I’ll be finished here around two. Is your number the same? I have it on my contact card,” said Giselle, tucking a long blond strand of hair behind one ear.
“Yes. We still live at the same address and have the same phone number, Ms. Walker. I hope it’s not too much trouble for you,” Mrs. Thompson wrung her hands a few times. “I’ll tell you everything when you call,” she forced out a smile. “Bye now,” she said, and then turned around and walked back down the dimly lit hallway.
Giselle stood in silence for a few moments before returning to the classroom. Richard had been plagued with a string of unfortunate events during his last year. His father had been incarcerated last summer, and his oldest sister had been killed in a house fire only two months later. Mrs. Thompson had three other kids, all of whom had varying degrees of problems due to the recent events. Richard had always been a good kid. He worked hard in her class, and sometimes stayed after school to receive extra help on assignments.
“How’s it going in here?” Mr. Riley popped his head in the classroom. Giselle was standing wither hands on her hips, trying to process Mrs. Thomas’s meting, and also trying to map out where to move the rest of the books. She was feeling increasingly grouchy and hungry.
“Going great,” Giselle smiled. “I got all of the algebra books stacked, and now I’m just trying to make room for the rest of these,” she motioned toward a large pile of textbooks on the floor. “The storage room is getting packed,” she added, then rubbed off some dust that had collected on her jeans. “In fact, I was going to suggest that maybe you pick another room to put these, if you don’t want these to fall on you when you open the door to that room,” she laughed. Mr. Riley looked thoughtful for a moment.
“How about the basement?” he perked up and looked proud at his solution. Giselle looked at him like he was crazy.
“Mr. Riley,” she said. “The basement?”
“Sure. Why not?” he asked. I’ll have Jack help me out tomorrow. You’re done for the day. Thanks for everything, Ms. Walker.” Giselle breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to be a part of that escapade tomorrow.
See you later, Mr. Riley,” Giselle said goodbye and he headed back to his office. In the next five minutes Giselle stacked the rest of the books in a corner, piled some scattered papers on the desk, and then pulled the last of the bulletin board borders off. Then she took a deep breath, bid her goodbyes to the classroom, and turned off the light. Then she closed the door and walked to the parking lot.
When she got in her car, Jasmine called on her cell. Giselle fished around in her bag and caught it before Jasmine hung up.
“Hey, Girl,” said Giselle.
“Hey. How are you? Done with school?” asked Jasmine.
“Yes. Thank God,” said Giselle. “I was actually in there helping my principal move textbooks for the last two hours,” said Giselle as she drove down the street and headed for the local coffee shop.
“You get paid extra for that?” Jasmine gave her a hard time.
“Nope,” said Giselle as she pulled into the first empty parking spot she could find at Aspen Café.
“Well, hey, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to tell you that I got my flight booked, and I’m all set for the week of the tenth,” said Jasmine, excitedly.
“Great!” Giselle couldn’t wait for the trip, and she was glad that her friend had found a reasonable flight out to Colorado.
“Anyway, that’s all I wanted to tell you. Call me when you get home,” said Jasmine and she hung up. Giselle sat in her car for a moment. Her mind wandered back to her run-in with Mrs. Thompson. She decided to pull out her lap top once she was settled in the café so that she could retrieve
her phone number. She had a strange feeling about this, and wanted to get the conversation out of the way.
Giselle ordered a café latte with skim milk and sat down. Luckily, it was relatively empty inside since no students were cramming in homework or study sessions. She scrolled down her list and pulled up Mrs. Thompson’s phone number, then dialed her number and waited. “Hello?” Gisele asked. “It’s me,” she said.
“Hi, Ms. Walker. Thanks so much for getting back to me. Well, I’m sure you know that it isn’t great news I have, and I hope that my favor won’t be too much to ask of you,” she said. Giselle took a deep breath.
“Lay it on me, Mrs. Thompson,” Giselle said, playfully.
“Well, Richard’s father is in jail again. This boy don’t need that in his life anymore. You know? It’s hard enough as it is, with him losing his sister so recently, and me trying to make ends meet at this job,” she huffed. “But now I got to deal with his other sister who just found out that her house is being knocked down over in Germantown,” said Mrs. Thompson.
Giselle nodded her head, sipping her drink as she listened, fully absorbing all of the details. She could only imagine what the favor was going to be, yet she had a pretty good guess. “I’m really sorry to hear about that,” said Giselle, alarmed that someone’s house could just be demolished without further notice.
“Yeah, it’s one of those things, and her neighborhood has so many other problems, anyway, it just might be the best thing. So that bein’ said, Darlene, his sister, is moving in with us for the summer, and she’s coming with her five kids. Now don’t get me wrong, Ms. Walker. I love them kids, but she’s got two older boys- Richard’s cousins, you know? And they ain’t the best influence on him. He’s already been in a bunch of trouble for hangin’ with them last year,” Mrs. Thompson continued.
“Sounds like a lot to deal with,” said Giselle. She had no idea as to how much stress Mrs. Thompson was under, nor did she know how much pride it took for her to seek out assistance.
“Well, it is,” Mrs. Thompson said, and then sighed. “And I was hoping that Richard might be able to stay with you for a few weeks,” she finished, and took a deep breath from her seat on the couch.
Giselle was silent. She had a feeling all along that this might be asked of her. She knew that Richard had stayed with the wood-shop teacher a year earlier when his mother had been forced to take care of an ailing aunt in Georgia. She knew that Richard was the kind of kid who would be respectful of her space if he stayed with her. Yet it was still a tall order.
Giselle took a deep breath. “That would be fine, Mrs. Thompson. I think Richard would actually have fun staying here for a few weeks,” she added, hoping that it was true.
“Oh, Ms. Walker, I just had a feeling that you would understand. I know Richard is comfortable around you, and that you can be trusted, so that’s why you were the first person I wanted to ask,” she said.
“Thanks,” said Giselle. “So, could you tell me when I should expect to have him over?” Giselle asked.
“Yes. The fist week of June,” said Mrs. Thompson. Giselle’s heart sank. It was the same week that she was planning on going to Rocky Mountain National Park with Jasmine and Carla. She thought for a second about changing the date, but then remembered that Jasmine had already booked her flight. In addition, they had already reserved a camp-site for the week of June first. A light bulb went off in Giselle’s mind. She would just ask if Richard could come along.
“Hey, Mrs. Thompson. I wanted to run something by you,” said Giselle, hopeful that Mrs. Thompson would be in agreement with her suggestion. “I actually have a camping trip planned with my girlfriends that same week. Would you be opposed to Richard coming along with us?” asked Giselle.
The line went silent momentarily. “Well, Richard hasn’t done much camping, you know. But,” she paused and then finished. “I bet you he would like it. And it might be good for him,” she added. Giselle felt relieved.
“Then it’s a done deal,” said Giselle. “Just send him on over as soon as he’s packed and ready to stay,” she said and finished her drink. The café had gotten busier in the midst of their conversation, and Giselle realized she was getting hungry. She closed up her lap-top and then left for home, wondering what she had gotten herself into.
“Jasmine, you aren’t going to believe this,” Gisele was sitting on her couch looking at the mountain range from her apartment bedroom.
“I might. Try me,” said Jasmine.
“I’m bringing a student on our trip,” she said, hoping that Jasmine would understand.
“Wow. You’re kiddin’, right?’ Jasmine asked, laughing.
“No. I’m totally serious. It’s Richard,” she said. “He’s one of my students who just graduated. His mom asked if he could stay with me for two weeks,” she said. “I couldn’t tell her no. He’s got all kinds of crazy stuff going on with his family right now,” she added.
Jasmine was quiet for a moment. “Well, Giselle. I guess you’re just a good person,” she said. “Because I would have told that kid’s mom she was crazy,” she added, and the two laughed for a minute. “Hey, I guess we’ll still have fun,” she said.
“Jasmine,” said Giselle. “We always have fun.” They hung up after their conversation and Giselle ate a burrito for dinner. She decided that whatever happened, they would make the best of it and enjoy themselves. Before bed that night Giselle made a list of camping supplies that she wanted to pick up at the outdoor store in town.
When she dozed off around ten, she dreamed of swimming alone in a lake, surrounded by wolves. She woke with a start, and realized it was already morning. Then she made herself a coffee and headed into town. As she stood in front of the camp stoves, Giselle overheard a man speaking in an excited tone.
“Yes, Pete, I’m telling the truth. They said they spotted this wolf-like creature over by the edge of Silver Lake,” said the man who was rummaging through windbreakers and speaking on his cell phone at the same time. He was quiet for a moment, and then he piped up again. “I have no idea, dude. I’d just be a little extra cautious if you plan on hiking out there this weekend. Who knows what’s out in those mountains,” he said, and then hung up.
Giselle made a mental note. Silver Lake was situated close to their camp-site in Rocky Mountain National Park. She didn’t know what to make of the tidbit of information she overheard. It would be pointless to share that news with her friends and make them wary of camping overnight in the park. However, she wouldn’t want to be responsible for withholding information, either. After purchasing a Silver Lite camp stove, she decided to wait before saying anything unnecessarily.
“Over here!” Jasmine had just stepped of the plane and was running toward Giselle. Carla was directly behind her. The three friends embraced and then hustled off to the baggage claim. Once Jasmine and Carla had their belongings, they all walked to Giselle’s jeep that was parked outside the airport. They loaded up, got to Giselle’s apartment, and then unpacked once they were inside.
“I’m just going to say that this is going to be the best camping trip!” Carla exclaimed from the couch. “I have been waiting all year to do something fun, and this is going to be a trip to remember,” she said. Giselle had poured everyone a glass of wine, and the energy was lively and positive. Jasmine offered a toast and they all raised their glasses.
“To friendship and adventure,” she said.
“To friendship and adventure,” Giselle and Carla chirped back. Then they all threw back their glasses and finished off their drinks. When the night settled in, Giselle gave everyone blankets and pillows for sleep. They dozed off in Giselle’s bedroom, with thoughts of mountain peaks, lakes, and relaxing sunshine in their heads. The next morning was spent packing and preparing for their trip.
“So when is Richard getting here?” Jasmine asked Giselle as she stuffed a tin bowl into her blue backpack. Their plan was to drive to the trial-head today, set up camp, and then eat dinner. The following morning they
would pack up and move deeper into the forest, until they reached the south side of Silver Lake.
“He should be here any minute,” Gisele said, noting the time. Sure enough, the apartment doorbell rang five minutes later, and a thin, handsome boy with a backpack stood at Giselle’s doorstep. He said nothing, and then shuffled his feet a few times. Giselle invited him inside.
“Hi, Ms. Walker,” he finally said, feeling awkward with everyone’s eyes on him. “I’m all set for the big camping trip,” Richard smiled and plopped his pack on the floor.
Richard, these are my best friends- Carla and Jasmine. They live in Los Angeles,” Giselle smiled and introduced them. “And Jasmine has a little brother who’s about your age,” she added.
Richard smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was not opposed to spending two weeks with a group of beautiful women. That was for sure. However, he didn’t quite know how to act around them, either. “Well, my mom thinks this will be a good experience for me,” he said, and then nodded his head.
“I’m sure that we are all going to have fun,” said Giselle. She took Richard’s pack from him, and offered him some water. Richard thanked her and sat down on the couch. “Now, let’s see. I have our entire route planned, and we’ve got plenty of daylight left. What do you say we all head out in about ten minutes?” Giselle asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.
After everyone had eaten some sandwiches that Giselle made, they hoisted their gear and followed her out of the apartment. They crammed their packs into her Jeep, then Richard got in the back with Carla, and Jasmine got up front with Giselle. It was about an hour to the trailhead, and everyone admired the landscape as they cruised along the highway. When they pulled up at the trailhead, Richard was the first to speak.
“Wow. Look at all the trees out there,” he said. Even though he lived in Colorado, Richard didn’t get out to the mountains much. His family rarely left the heart of Denver. “And look at how much bigger the mountains are here. Cool!” he exclaimed, clearly impressed. Everyone helped get the backpacks unloaded. Then they set up their tents and got the stove going to make some tea.