by Lola Gabriel
“I don’t know, boss,” Jasper replied, his voice taking on that sometimes nasally whine that made Cameron want to put him through a wall. “I have asked around, but everyone is pleading ignorance.”
Cameron grunted. “Not shocking. You guys are becoming a pain in my ass. The Monkshood will keep whoever it is away, but when I find out who keeps killing that old bird’s chickens, I am going to be pissed.”
Jasper did not respond, but as the two emerged from the woods, he blinked his eyes, the light from the moon illuminating their path.
“Want to grab a drink at Patty’s?” Jasper asked, and Cameron scowled viciously at him.
“It isn’t enough that I have to see you all day, but I’m stuck fighting you off at night too? And now you want to become girlfriends?” He huffed out a sigh. “Go home, you maggot. I better not run into you again on a hunt.”
Jasper swallowed visibly and scurried off. He was lucky Cameron’s wrath had not been worse.
I was too soft on him, he thought, wondering why. What Jasper had done was such a blatant infraction of Lycan code, there was little else to trump it. Why did I release him?
For a brief moment, Cameron considered going after him, but there was someone else on his mind.
Gabriella Medina.
It had started slowly throughout the afternoon, small images of her lovely face popping into his mind as he poured a coffee or tackled budget paperwork. By the end of the workday, he was wondering what he could do to run into her again.
You must be starving, he told himself as he walked into his apartment that night. You are thinking insane thoughts if that spoiled, whiny princess is popping into your subconscious.
He cracked a beer and turned on a football game he had recorded, eventually nodding off in his worn recliner.
In his dream, he found her bedroom window open, allowing for the crisp fall air to flitter through the curtains innocently. Gabriella was curled asleep on the bed, her body nude and drawn into a half circle like a child in the womb. Her glorious mane of silken chestnut tresses spilled against the pillow, her breaths rising and falling in an even, deep rhythm. A thin bed sheet covered her, though it did nothing to hide her figure from sight. In through the pane he climbed, his body still in human form but his mind completely primitive. Slowly, he stalked toward her, his nostrils inhaling the sweet scent of her skin even from the distance between them. She sighed in her sleep, her full mouth moving slightly, as if calling out to him, and closer her drew, running his tongue along his lower lip.
I must possess her, he thought, his hand reaching out to caress her soft cheek. Again, she moaned quietly, and he knew she could sense him there, even if in her dreams.
He peeled back the sheet covering her slender figure, his fingertips tracing the delicate lines of her body. Goosebumps prickled her skin and he felt his breaths quicken as he dropped to his knees.
Wake, he told her silently. Wake and look at me.
Her long lashes fluttered instantly and her lids struggled to open. Her lips formed a circle of surprise as she registered his closeness, but she did not move nor speak. They stared at one another, and suddenly Gabriella bolted upright, reaching eagerly for Cameron’s neck and pulling him toward her, their lips crushing with so much force, he could taste her blood. Alarm coursed through him, his hunger overtaking his desire, and he tried to wriggle from Gabriella’s grasp, but her grip was fierce, vice-like. Deeper he was pulled into her, greedily lapping at her mouth and simultaneously attempting to wrest away. She did not release him, though, her hands digging deeper into his skin, and he could feel his resolve slipping away, his mouth exploring the softness of her cheek as he traveled lower, arms encircling her slim body.
Past the lines of her bronze shoulders toward her bared breasts he moved, the desire to sink his teeth into her unbearable, but as he nuzzled her nipples, tongue jutting out to taste her, she sighed as if in surrender to him.
He was on top of her, his form changing before her eyes, but she only stared without fear, as though she had expected such a transition. She did not question the transformation, her coffee-colored eyes only widening with yearning as her perfectly sculpted thighs fell apart and he mounted her, his member engorged and ready to claim her.
Cameron was inside her swiftly, but he was no longer a man, and instead, the untameable beast who could not be stopped.
Rutting into her, she cried out, a genuine noise escaping her lips for the first time since he had crept into her room unannounced. Faster he pounded into her, his passion knowing no bounds as he took her with near fury. Gabriella’s eyes rolled back into her head and he felt her tremble violently beneath him, a surge of heat meeting his member. He could take no more, leaning into her and gnashing violently on the throbbing vein of her jugular.
When she screamed this time, her cries were filled with panic as she fought to throw him from her, but it was too late. He had taken her and she belonged to him.
Cameron woke encased in sweat, the football game still playing in the background but nearing the end of the fourth quarter.
I need to feed, he realized, rising from his reclining chair. He grabbed a jacket as he left his apartment. Now I have not fed thanks to Brewer and I am wandering the streets of Great Falls at almost two in the morning.
His frustration was reaching almost insurmountable proportions and he did not know which way to direct his energies. He considered going to Patty’s Bar after all, but he knew she would likely be closing up.
She’ll serve me but she’ll spit in my beer.
Cameron silently willed himself to shift, but the moment had passed. Whatever little he had taken from the deer before Brewer interrupted him had sated him enough to keep him at bay for a little while, at least. He continued to walk, forgetting how long it was to prowl on human foot from Cascade County to Great Falls, but it was the only safe place to hunt.
His pack had become lazy in the past years, feasting at random. In an effort to control the town’s ever-increasing suspicion, Cameron had enforced a no-kill policy on Great Falls territory. He suspected that some of the renegades were not following procedure, but that was one of the reasons he had maintained a career in law enforcement. He had a better handle on what his counterparts were up to. Like Mrs. Giberson’s chickens.
He had yet to get to the bottom of which of his crew was attacking the old lady’s coop, but when he did…
Cameron glanced up, confused. He was in a neighborhood which was both familiar, yet unfamiliar. He tried to get his bearings as he looked around.
It was not until he looked directly up did he realize he was standing before Gabriella Medina’s rented house.
What am I doing here? An uncomfortable feeling overcame him as his highly charged dream came flooding back to him. He could not seem to stop himself as he stepped onto the property and slunk around toward the back of the house.
Is it how I remembered it? He slipped into the modest backyard. As in the dream, a window was open, and he could see filmy white curtains blowing ever so gently in the light breeze. Guided by a hand he could not resist, he drew closer to the half-opened pane, his breath quickening.
This is wrong, he told himself, but he could not stop. He stood before the window, unable to see in, but one more step would allow him clear view of the room.
Is she asleep in there? Cameron’s highly honed sense of smell told him she was, but he dared not make one more move.
The dark hairs on the back of his neck rose and he whirled to stare into the darkness.
Someone else was out there—someone he did not recognize.
Without waiting for a form to materialize, he shot out of the yard, knowing the repercussions of being caught in such a situation would raise too many questions.
He was home in minutes, semi-racing through the abandoned side streets like a burly ghost.
It was not until he was safely back in the security of his apartment that the gravity of the situation hit him.
Someone else h
ad been outside of Gabriella’s house, in her yard.
A feeling of incomprehensible dread filled him.
Why was someone lurking in her yard? Why didn’t I stick around?
He knew why; his own guilty consciousness had stifled his cop and supernatural instincts. Self-preservation had kicked in.
He flew back out the apartment door, his heart hammering.
Is she in danger? he questioned. And if so, did I leave her to fend for herself?
4
As she promised the sheriff, Gabriella kept a low profile over the next few days. It was not difficult to do, as she was equipped with a computer, Wi-Fi, and access to food delivery at her fingertips. Her backyard was semi-private, and her neighbors did not bother her as she spent her days combing through the internet, playing online games, and avoiding social media.
Initially, she had sworn off looking into any articles which might involve the mess she had left behind in New York, but soon boredom and curiosity got the best of her and she found herself trolling the web for bits of information. To her chagrin, she saw that the fervor had not subsided in her absence. If anything, her abrupt departure had caused more speculation in the gossip columns.
How much longer will I be looking over my shoulder? This is such a mess, she thought. How is this even happening? Is there anything I can do that will make it right?
Her personal email had almost crashed her computer, inundated with messages from her agent, agencies, and reporters deigning to know where she had gone and when she was returning.
Gabriella dared not respond, lest someone track her internet protocol address.
The responses could wait, especially in light of what she was learning through the media.
“New York mayor, David Charlotte, says he deeply regrets his actions and begs his wife, children, and constituents for forgiveness in his indiscretions,” Gabriella choked aloud. “Alison Charlotte, stoic and poised, has urged the public to remember all that Charlotte has done for the city of New York and to forgive his personal misgivings as she has.” Screaming to no one in particular, she belted out, “What a dick! How dare he drag me into this mess? How can his wife put up with such a lying piece of shit?”
“Are you talking to your computer?”
Gabriella whipped her head to the side, shielding her eyes in the bright autumn sunlight directly in her line of sight.
“Hello Sheriff Lapin,” she sighed, closing the screen before he could see what she was reading.
She felt red stain her tanned cheeks and reached for her glass of wine. Gabby took a long sip, eyeing the sheriff with slight suspicion.
“It’s ten o’clock in the morning,” Lapin commented, looking reproachfully at her beverage choice.
Gabriella’s eyebrows shot up. “And? I am on my own property and look, not being a public nuisance!”
His mouth became a tight line, but he didn’t respond to the baiting. She watched as his eyes scanned the yard.
“How is everything going?” the cop asked, and she peered at him.
“Did you come by to check up on me?” she asked defensively. “I haven’t even left the house.”
He shook his head.
“No,” he replied. “I came to see how you’re doing.”
The answer took her by surprise, but she refused to let her guard down.
Don’t let his incredible good looks distract you from the fact that he has it in for you, she told herself.
“Everything is fantastic!” Gabby replied with feigned cheer.
The sheriff scowled at her.
“You don’t need to be sarcastic,” he retorted. “I just came to see if you needed anything…”
He trailed off and she stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his thought.
“Yeah,” she answered when he did not continue. “I need to get out of this town and get back to my life in New York, but that isn’t likely to happen any time soon.”
The sheriff’s brow furrowed as he watched her intently.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she demanded. “Is there something on my face?”
Cameron smirked. “No.”
Again she waited for him to continue, and she found herself growing annoyed with his presence, despite the attraction she felt toward him.
He really is keeping tabs on me as if I am some common criminal. When I get back to New York, I am going to see about buying this town with him in it and making his life miserable.
The idea almost gave her a sexual thrill, and she wondered idly if it could be done.
Yeah, you’ve had enough wine. You’re drunk, she thought, snorting to herself. She took another swig. Might as well keep drinking. Nothing else to do around here anyway.
“Have you noticed anything suspicious in the neighborhood?” Cameron asked, ignoring her actions and tone as if he could sense her inherent desire to fight with him.
Gabriella’s eyebrows shot up. “Why? Was there a crime?” she demanded, glancing about furtively as if a killer might be lurking in the bushes.
“No,” Lapin sighed. “Nothing has happened…”
Gabriella began to wonder if she had missed something in her slightly intoxicated state, but she got the sense that the sheriff was only speaking in circles to irritate her.
“Okay, well, nothing happening here either,” she told him shortly. She looked pointedly at the gate, as if silently willing him to leave.
He seemed to understand the gesture immediately and nodded, averting his vivid blue eyes from her face. “If you see anything or…” Once more he trailed off, and Gabriella felt her temper flair.
“Oh for Christ’s sake, spit it out!” she snapped.
The sheriff’s face became a mask of anger.
“Never mind,” he growled, spinning to leave the small backyard. “Forget I stopped by.”
“Done!” Gabriella called to his departing back.
“And maybe lay off the wine,” the sheriff shot as he closed the gate.
She stared after him for a long moment, her mind trying to reconcile what had inspired him to stop by.
Forget about trying to figure out that grouch, she thought, shaking her head. He’s probably a product of this town; too much isolation from the rest of humanity. They likely all lack people skills, just like the driver in the accident.
Gabriella realized she had another problem she had yet to contend with: getting a new vehicle. Her car had been completely mangled in the wreck. There was no salvaging it.
I don’t even know if I should call my insurance company.
She realized that the other driver, Bob Jacobs, had likely already contacted both of their insurance companies.
Shit! No one can find me through an insurance claim except the insurance people, right?
She rose from the cast iron chair and headed back into the house for another glass of wine. What else was there to do, after all? Drinking, Candy Crush, and sleeping were her life. It steered her away from the thoughts of paranoia which seemed to plague her when her mind started to go.
It would have been a fantastic vacation if not for the circumstances.
Damn you, Cameron Lapin. Why did you have to distract me from my perfectly oblivious day?
Pouring the strong liquid into her glass, Gabby returned to the yard. Dark clouds began to roll in, blocking the sun, which had shone so brilliantly only moments before.
Oh, nice work, Lapin, she thought angrily. You even ruined the weather.
Sighing, she closed up her computer, knowing that rain was inevitable, and returned to the house.
As she slipped back out the sliding doors to retrieve her glass, she was struck by the sense that someone else was in the yard.
Her eyes, somewhat bleary from the four glasses of wine she had consumed, scanned the property, a surreal feeling crossing through her as if she was in a dream state. Had the sheriff returned for something else?
His words echoed in her mind.
“Have you noticed anyt
hing suspicious in the neighborhood?”
She began to feel her skin prickle, but she noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
He got you worked up now. Great, she chided herself with annoyance. That was probably his intention the entire time. Why didn’t he just let you pack up and leave town when you told him you were going? It’s obvious he doesn’t want you here. What kind of game is he playing?
Gabby seized her drink and stormed back into the house, slamming the glass doors behind her. She turned to close the vertical blinds, and as she did, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky.
It was then that Gabriella saw a man standing by the shed, staring straight at her.
5
“Did you put someone up to it?” she screamed at the sheriff. “That is creepy and weird!”
“Calm yourself, Miss… Kelly,” Cameron ordered, rolling his eyes skyward. He wasn’t alone, and so he had recurred to referring to her by her fake name, which she was grateful for. “Tell me again what you saw.”
“I saw a man standing right there!” She gestured toward the shed and watched as the sheriff exchanged glances with the rookie cop at his side.
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know!” Gabby screeched. “A man! Medium build, average height, kind of balding…” She stared imploringly at them. “Did you search the area?”
“Miss Kelly, how much have you had to drink today?” the rookie asked.
Cameron cast his riding partner a sidelong look, but said nothing. Gabriella was furious.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she roared. “You come here asking me about suspicious activity and when I report it, you write me off as drunk?”
The younger cop glanced uneasily at his superior, but the sheriff stared at her intently.
“No one is writing you off as anything,” he told her. “I am sure you think you saw something.”
“Aren’t you just a cunning wordsmith?” Gabby snarled. “You know what, forget I called you. Get out of here.”
“We assure you, we’re taking your story very seriously!” the young rookie protested, looking from the irate woman to his boss, as if trying desperately to understand the dynamic, but both ignored him.