by Lane, Jessie
Luckily Jenna was supposed to have the next forty-eight hours off anyways. So a trip home to Mama gave her some much needed space to figure out what she needed to do next, and the state protected forest behind her house for a good hunt. As she crossed the space to the back yard of her place, she let her beast sit and indulge in the moon’s light for a moment. She at least deserved this for saving their asses tonight. Hell, who was she kidding? Jenna needed the quiet comfort of nature too. The wind blew gently across her fur, caressing her body and offering a small sense of calm. Raising her head to the sky, she let a heartbreaking howl rip through the night air. In that moment, Jenna had to be the loneliest half wolf shifter on the planet.
Chapter Three
Adam trotted back to the bar in his wolf form. First, he would see if Kent was still in the parking lot, then he would shift and grab the change of clothes from his bike. After that, he could contemplate the best way to reel in his new obsession. It was a damn good thing he had remembered to grab a fresh set of clothing to put in one of the saddlebags before he had left his house. Somehow his instincts had told him a shift would be needed, and he didn’t figure the authorities in Wilmington would appreciate a naked man driving his motorcycle around the city.
His heart was pounding from his discovery and the chase she gave him. He now had more reason than ever to track her down. Who would've thought that he would find not only an unknown female shifter here in Wilmington so close to his pack lands, but a female lone wolf? It was unheard of. Females were so few among the packs that they were always sheltered and guarded to the point of crazed possessiveness. Almost never letting them leave pack lands. The males in the pack simply couldn’t afford to have an eligible female, or their mate, taken or hurt, to deprive them of the next generation they were supposed to produce. So who had let this female loose? Or perhaps since she was such a feisty one she had escaped her pack? Whatever it was, Adam intended to find out. Then perhaps she could be persuaded to join his pack. Lust hummed through his body as he thought of all the ways he’d like to persuade her.
His animal was always there, just beneath the surface, even more so than other shifters. There was a part of him that was always wolf, even in his human form. Adam was faster and stronger than any other predator out there. He had to be in order to protect himself and those he cared for.
His eyes would never shift to what humans might consider a normal color. Instead, they stayed their bright amber hue in both forms. That feature alone was practically unheard of. Shifters had normal shades of blues, greens and browns for eye colors in their human forms. However, in their shifted forms they sported eye colors closer to their animal brethren in shades of brown, amber, gray, yellow and a small percentage with green. The chances of a shifter carrying the same eye color in both forms were slim to none. So Adam figured his nickname should be Slim.
What most of the younger generations of shifters didn’t know was that this complex level of genetic deception in appearance was due to the evolutionary beginnings of the shifter race. The shifter race was not born onto this planet as they lived today. Instead, as the humans evolved from primates that walked up right into their current highly intelligent state, you could say that the shifter race evolved right along with them. They started as some of the original predatory creatures on the planet. In fact, they lived during the reign of the dinosaurs.
The shifters that survived the asteroid that wiped out most of life from the planet, including the dinosaurs, went on to live their lives in the drastically changed world. The need for survival in dire circumstances somehow had wired their DNA to adapt to what was needed to survive in the environment around them. Where other species of animals died off, unable to live and find nourishment in the new harsh climates, the shifters’ ancestors survived. With time, as their surroundings continued to change, their DNA changed with them. Those changes led to large, lethal animal forms, considerably higher intelligence, and immensely longer life spans than that of the other species around them.
Eventually, mammals were born and became plentiful on the planet. The changes in the world just kept coming. So the evolutionary changes in the shifter species also continued. Around the time primates were formed, shifters came in many shapes, sizes and forms. The ancestors of the wolves, predatory cats, and bears spread throughout the world, living in packs to promote the continuation of their species. Compared to their unintelligent animal brethren they were stronger, faster, and now lived hundreds of years longer than what could be considered their closest cousins, such as the Saber tooth Tigers. Although shifters had a hard time producing offspring, the cubs they did give life to seemed to be that much healthier, sturdier, quicker, and lived that much longer than their parents before them.
As humans evolved from primates, traveling farther out into the world, and procreating much faster than any other mammal species in existence, the now highly intelligent shifter race knew they would become a threat one day. Somehow, that extra significant survival gene allowed them to push their bodies into the next stage of evolution. To become the ultimate chameleon in the rapidly changing predator game of life.
They obtained the ability to change their appearance from their respective animal form into that of the now highly dangerous human form who hunted them for food and supplies. With the ability to blend, shifters gained one last advantage in the game of survival, the ability to hide in plain sight by blending in with their enemy. It was excruciatingly painful to force their bones to break apart and reform into their enemies’ likeness, but after years of trying they were finally successful. In human form, they had the same soft, vulnerable skin devoid of hair to keep their bodies warm, but they also grew slightly taller and bulkier than the humans did. They might have seemed weaker since they didn’t retain their claws or canines but they could use their preternatural speed, intelligence, and their hands to use the humans own weapons against a perceived enemy. To wage war and maneuver humans away from wherever shifter packs claimed that territory.
His voice was just this side of a growl no matter how harmless he tried to pretend to be and his wolf was always there, never fully letting go. Others like him would have been put down for being too close to their animals in such a way. These kinds of traits could be symptoms of feral shifters. However, Adam had always been enough of a controlled bad ass to scare even the most dominant of Alphas. There was less than a handful that could take him. Those that could kill him, well they seemed to like him better alive. Lucky him.
Rounding the corner he came into view of the bar parking lot and saw Kent standing next to Jenna’s bike. Bobbing his head to indicate Kent follow him, Adam made his way behind the bar where his bike and spare clothes were parked. He shifted quickly and was pulling jeans on as Kent walked towards him.
“Seein’ as though you’re alone, I’m takin’ it that you didn’t catch her?” Kent drawled.
“No. She’s a fast little one. But I need to find and talk to her now more than ever. Do you think you can get her phone number?” Adam pulled a white t-shirt over his head.
Cocking his head to the side, Kent studied him for a moment before speaking, “Why do you need to talk to her? I gotta tell you, I’m not feeling too enthusiastic about running off the newest member to my SWAT team. If she doesn’t bother to come back because we scared her it could be the end of her career. Not to mention I don’t much like havin’ made the poor gal so upset.”
Donning his usual stance, Adam stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. The demon was starting to agitate him. His inner wolf snarled at the unconscious poke at his dominance. “It’s pack business now, Kent. While I appreciate your help tonight I think the rest of this no longer concerns you.”
He stood eerily still with his face expressionless, beating down the urge to flash his canines in annoyance. Kent stood there a minute longer staring at him incredulously. “Are you trying to tell me that she’s a wolf? Is that what you’re trying to insinuate here? I’m finding that possibility a lit
tle hard to believe if she felt me trying to skim her thoughts. Look, I’m not going to let you run Jenna off like that. I think she’s good people. So unless you tell me what the hell is going on, then you can forget about me helping you out anymore. Like I said, I’m not going to let you scare Jenna off.”
Adam heaved a heavy sigh. “Kent, I saw her with my own two eyes. She’s a wolf. Whatever else is going on with her… I don’t know. Whatever the reason, it honestly doesn’t matter. She’s a lone female wolf without a pack and that’s just not acceptable. So will you help me or not?”
Kent pushed an irritated hand through his hair. “Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t much like the idea of you trying to force pack on Jenna. If she’s a loner it’s for a damn good reason, I’m sure.” As Adam started to interrupt, he held up a hand to stop him. “On the other hand, I’m also afraid Jenna might need help of some kind. So I’ll get her number but I’m going to call her and try to smooth this over. Ask her to meet us somewhere to get her bike. I’ll call you as soon as I can get a hold of her.”
Adam climbed on his bike and started the engine. Giving Kent one final, harsh look, “You do that. But don’t think I don’t smell her scent all over you, Demon. She’s a wolf, leave her alone. She belongs to our kind. I’ll expect a call tomorrow.” As he left Kent standing in the dust behind the bar and headed towards his home, Adam’s inner wolf howled in pure lust-filled interest. This was becoming the kind of chase he could never resist. After she had shifted, her scent became stronger. Damn, did she smell delicious! Like wild honeysuckle and sugar cookies. Never in his life had he wanted to roll around in someone’s scent so much so that it coated his skin, drowning out everything around him. His beast was happily growling at the thought of tracking little Jenna down, getting all of her dirty little secrets, and then wooing her into submission. If he had anything to say about it, he’d be taking her back to pack lands as a potential mate. For himself.
*****
Jenna climbed the back steps to her Mama’s house naked, exhausted, covered in blood, and utterly happy. She woke up long before the sun lit the sky to go for a run and catch some breakfast. Her inner wolf was restless. The small deer she took down this morning would hold her over for most of the day but she would probably have to go for a run tonight. The few hours she had spent this morning in the woods had helped to clear her mind, but now that she was back in her human form, she needed to decide what she was going to do about yesterday’s events.
As Jenna made her way to the bathroom, she noticed out of one of the living room French doors that her Mama was reading on the porch. Good. She had some time to take a shower and clean off. Locking the door, she turned the shower spray on hot and climbed in. The water sluiced down her body as she dipped her head beneath the spray. Shampooing and rinsing her hair she thought about her options. She could run off some place and hide. Tell her Mama and Uncle Rick everything, and they would help her disappear. That idea made her feel like a coward though, and she didn’t like that feeling much.
She started to soap up her body while her mind continued to think. Her next option would be to tell Uncle Rick and get her old job back here in River Bend. Leave Wilmington behind, and hopefully the demon and Alpha wolf would forget about her. Somehow she doubted they would. Were they determined enough to track her down to River Bend? That brought her to her last option. Go back to Wilmington, confront the two, and convince them to leave her alone. Perhaps it was time to stop running from what she was. Maybe Kent was telling her the truth when he had said that they meant her no harm.
Rinsing off the last of the soap, she climbed out of the shower and started to dry off. As she ran the brush through her hair, she heard a beep coming from the direction of her room. Opening the door, she walked over to her desk where her cell phone sat. One new voicemail. Dialing into her mailbox, her breath hitched when Kent’s voice came over the line.
“Hi Jenna, this is Kent. Look I’m sorry that Adam and I scared you last night. I promise you that we’re not out to hurt you or anything. It’s just not normal for an unknown shifter to pop up under our noses like that. We just want to talk to you. Adam says he knows you’re a lone wolf, and he’s worried about you. Please call me back. We’d like to meet you somewhere just to talk. By the way, I got your duffel bag from the Captain last night. So I need to return that to you as well. Call me.”
Jenna bit her bottom lip in hesitation as she deleted the message. Kent had already managed to get her number, probably from the Wilmington Police Department’s Human Resources Division. If he’d already gotten her phone number from the WPD, then he probably had her Mama’s address as well. She was betting they would be more than willing to track her down if she didn’t call him back. So she could tell her Mama everything now, tuck her tail between her legs and live on the run forever, or she could go with option number three. Confront the two pains in her ass and talk them into leaving her alone. Warm amber eyes flashed through her mind, challenging her to back down and show submission. To run and hide like a scared pup. Pushing her chin out in defiance, she knew what she had to do. Option three it was.
After getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top, she repacked her bag to get ready to leave once her room was straight again of course. It was seriously sad that a grown woman could be afraid of her Mama’s temper tantrums. However, most mothers couldn’t pick up a house and drop it on you without breaking a sweat. Not that Mama would ever hurt her, but one predator knew how to act when a bigger predator was in the room.
She dialed Kent’s number. On the second ring, he picked up.
“Hello?”
“Kent, you two can meet me in the bar parking lot in an hour and a half. It’s seven thirty now so that means meet there at nine. Got it?”
“Thank you, Jenna. See you then.” Kent hung up.
She might be crazy enough to agree to meet them, but she was going in armed. Pulling out her shoulder harness from her closet, she slung it on and then pulled out two Sig Saur .45 pistols from the shelf. These were also a graduation present from her Uncle Owen. See, who said a girl couldn’t be sentimental without candy and flowers?
Uncle Owen made sure to give her plenty of boxes of normal ammunition, along with additional special ammunition used to take down shifters, such as silver bullets. Discharging the two ammunition clips from the guns, she threw them in the overnight bag and dug for the box on the shelf in the back of her closet. In it were two more clips already loaded with silver bullets. Silver is lethal to shifters, poisonous to their blood stream. It also burns the skin if they touch it. Somehow, with her mixed background, Jenna was immune to the lethal effects of it. Not only could she touch silver without burning, but it didn’t affect her blood stream either. A little something Uncle Owen had learned after he cut her hand with a silver knife to test his burgeoning suspicions. After his discovery, he wanted her to be armed and prepared in case she ever had to protect herself, or her mother, against another shifter. Slapping the clips into place, she loaded the weapons into her harness and shoved her badge into her jean’s back pocket.
Grabbing the overnight bag, Jenna gave Mama a hug and a kiss goodbye, explaining that work had called her in and she had to leave right away. Mama’s blue eyes, identical to her own, teared as she asked Jenna to stay safe before leading her to the backdoor of the house. Standing on the top step, with her platinum blond curls blowing in the wind, Mama watched as Jenna climbed into her red Chevy pickup truck and drove away. Somehow, she would make it safe for the two of them again and Mama never had to know that someone had found her. Damn, why couldn’t those two just take a long walk off a short pier into piranha infested waters, and leave her the hell alone?
The drive felt abnormally long back to Wilmington from River Bend. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest with worry about whether they were going to let her live alone in peace or not. Adam knew that she was a wolf. If she could do damage control and let him only think that she was half wolf and half human, neither
of the two men would need to know the rest of it. Stopping at a light two blocks over from the bar, Jenna hastily pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Palming the familiar weight of her two guns to make sure they were right where she wanted them, she mentally psyched herself for the upcoming confrontation. The light turned green and she turned into the parking lot minutes later to see Kent and Adam standing next to her bike with casual demeanors and their hands shoved in their pockets. Looks like it’s show time.
Her inner wolf growled at the threat, begging Jenna to set her free to defend them.
Who wants their ass kicked first?
Parking her truck across the lot from them, she watched in the side mirror as she shut off the engine. While making sure they hadn’t moved, she took a minute to put up some strong mental barriers to keep out any possible psychic attempts by Kent. Climbing out of the truck, she scanned the parking lot to see that the bar was closed, the lot was empty, and the three of them were alone. It suddenly felt like a bad attempt at a low grade western shoot-out movie scene to her. Where was the tumbleweed to blow across the space between them while they broodingly stared each other down? Keeping her face schooled, she took a few steps until she stopped just two feet past the bed of her truck.
Kent gave her an easy smile while taking a few hesitant steps towards her and away from her bike. “Morning there, Annie Oakley. I see you brought your guns.” Holding his hands up in a placating manner he continued, “Promise you won’t need them though, we’re just here to talk.”
Looking at the two men, she was inclined to believe them. She didn’t see any visible weapons on them, and their easy and relaxed postures didn’t indicate that they intended her any harm. She was on alert just in case. “Well you know what I am. So what do you want now?” Her eyes traveled back and forth between the two.