by Amber Lynn
There was a little hesitation before the call ended, but nothing else was said. I hadn’t managed to figure out where Jack had gotten my cell number, which wasn’t something I made public. His first call had been to it, and he didn’t have an answer for me when I’d asked how he got the number.
I thought about calling him back to find out just how close the tornado had been to him. I wasn’t sure if he was exaggerating about the storm’s focus, but I didn’t believe it’d been purposefully pointed right at him.
Instead of calling, I settled for letting him call back on his own. I didn’t know exactly where he lived, but chances were he was still making his way home.
I put the phone down on the table next to me and settled back into my chair, pulling the purple afghan up to my neck. I still wasn’t tired, so I started counting backwards from two hundred, one hundred was rarely enough. Around ninety-nine, my brain started to settle and the peace I needed to fall asleep crept in.
Chapter Two
Flutes greeted me when my consciousness came back online. When I woke up without assistance, I tended to be chipper and spring right up, but when something woke me up, groggy was just the beginning of how disoriented I could be. It didn’t help that I wasn’t in my bedroom, where I woke up one hundred percent of the time.
My eyes weren’t fully opened when I reached over to pick up the phone. It fumbled a little in my hand, but I managed to hit the button and get it up to my ear.
“Yeah.”
I hoped the person on the other end didn’t expect more from me at whatever hour it was. The sun seemed to assault my eyelids, so I figured out it was morning, but my alarm set for seven hadn’t gone off. As if the mere thought of it was enough to set it off, the annoying beeping started echoing through my otherwise quiet house.
“Hold on.”
The person on the phone hadn’t had a chance to utter a word. They were lucky I wasn’t muttering curses at them for calling, so I didn’t bother apologizing for my delay in figuring out what they needed.
After fighting with the recliner for a second, I managed to make it to my feet. My house was a two-story, which meant half-awake me had to make it up twenty steps before I could end the racket drilling into my skull.
I managed to accomplish the climb and make it to my room. It was nice that I could navigate without my eyes being fully opened. I’d lived in the house for five years, plenty of time to learn to fumble around in case the electricity ever went out.
Sighing when the alarm was finally silent, I put the phone back up to my ear. I’d had my arms both down at my sides during my trek to make sure I didn’t run into anything.
“Did you really just walk upstairs to turn an alarm off? I thought witches could handle that kind of thing with a spell.”
“Jack?” I expected to hear his deep voice even less first thing in the morning than I’d expected the message from him the night before.
“The one and only. Sorry for calling so early, but I figured you had plans for the day and I didn’t want to interrupt them. Plus, the more I thought about it, the more I was worried you didn’t make it home safe. I figured calling you repeatedly last night until you answered wasn’t cool, so first thing this morning was what I settled on.”
“You shouldn’t worry. Even if you age as gracefully as I do, you’ll eventually end up with wrinkles. What was the message last night about the tornado attacking you? We saw the thing form, and felt the wind from the lake. Abbie said she thought a demon was casting spells, but I couldn’t feel a thing.”
I overshared, but since the storm had calmed down by the time I pulled into the garage, I wanted to know everything I could about it. Figuring out who was behind it was somewhat important in case they decided an encore was in order.
“So Abbie’s the little mouse hiding where she thought I couldn’t see her. Nice to put a name to a shadow. As far as the tornado, yeah, it more or less just appeared and sucked my truck up into it. I ended up landing pretty hard on the ground, but no major damage done.”
“Was anyone else caught up in it and hurt?”
He sounded fine, so I decided not to push to find out how many bruises showed up after being dropped to the ground. I doubted he was totally unscathed. My brain seemed to want me to push to verify he was really okay, but I held my tongue. Showing too much concern could make him think I really cared, and I didn’t want to reveal I actually did.
“I was alone on that stretch of road, so I was the only one who got to witness the phenomenon. For a second I thought it was you trying to prove some point, but Nikki was quick to tell me you were too nice for that kind of trick.”
“Nikki?”
He’d been alone, so I wasn’t sure where a woman factored into things. I wasn’t sure why I felt a little jealous that there was a woman, but I figured it had something to do with the fact I was half asleep.
“Are you shocked to hear there’s a woman in my life? You sound a little shocked.”
More than likely I looked a little shocked, as foolish as that was. Jack seemed like the kind of guy who had women lining up to get a little attention, so there shouldn’t have been any surprise when he mentioned a woman’s name. Of course, Nikki could’ve been a nickname for a guy, but I immediately jumped to her being a woman.
“I’m not shocked. I’m just surprised you didn’t bring her with you to check me out.”
“Don’t worry, princess, I’m not seeing someone. Nikki is my sister, and I called her right after I left to let her know that you checked out.”
“And how would Nikki know anything about me? You said she thought I was nice, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t met a werewolf before you.”
Skating around the pet name and the assurance Jack was available seemed like a good move. I wasn’t awake enough to deal with any kind of flirting, if that was what he was trying to do. I’d been out of the dating scene for a while, so I didn’t really know.
Even when I was dating, I never got good about picking up subtle clues about flirting. A guy really had to come right out and say they were interested in me for it to get through my thick head.
“So I’m your first. I like the sound of that. What time do you have to be at the library?”
“Have you been stalking me, Jack? Is that how you somehow figured out this number and know where I work.”
Some women would think they were lucky to have someone with Jack’s looks showing interest. I didn’t like the idea of someone knowing things I didn’t tell them.
“No, I haven’t been stalking you. I’m a cop, so along with making sure you were as magically inclined as I heard, I did a background check on you.”
“You’re a cop?”
I didn’t usually continue to dream after I woke up, but I was fairly certain the whole conversation was a product of my unconscious mind. I should’ve sat down on my bed to deal with the fact that the conversation was out of control.
“I find it comes in handy at times, and surprisingly I’m really good at it. Are you going to answer my question about when you need to go to work?”
“Not unless you have a book you need to return. You didn’t answer my question about your sister. How does she know anything about me?”
“You can ask her that question tomorrow. As long as you haven’t changed your mind about doing the reading.”
I wasn’t sure going through with the reading was a good idea. Wolves had stayed in the shadows for so many years that I wasn’t used to dealing with them and I didn’t know if the way Jack acted was normal for them. Abbie had mentioned they were lotharios, but that contradicted the rumors of them keeping the wolf genes strong in their bloodlines.
“You confuse me, Jack, so I’m not sure it’s a good idea to do the reading. You weren’t exactly upfront with me about things.”
“Really? I called, identified that I was a wolf and asked if you did readings. You said you were able to, so I requested we meet in person to make sure you knew what you were talking about. You passed the test and the
reading was scheduled. Explain to me what I haven’t been upfront about.”
“Who’s going to be at the reading? How you picked me out of all the witches around, when I’m the only one who doesn’t advertise? I’m sure there’s other things, but those are the ones I’m most concerned with.”
I didn’t bring up the weird flirting. I didn’t know him well enough to know if that was just how he acted, or if there was intent behind the words. For all I knew, he even called his sister princess.
I decided it was finally to the point in the conversation where I needed to sit down. My bedroom was rather sparse other than my queen size bed, so I picked the one and only option for a seat. I didn’t really want to mess up the purple comforter, but sitting on the wood floor didn’t sound comfortable.
“Members of my family will be at the reading. When you meet them, you’ll understand that giving you details about them would more than likely taint the reading. As far as why we picked you, Nikki said you were the only one who could do it. Again, you’ll understand why when you meet her. We’re not exactly typical wolves, and saying that is probably a mistake.”
Something seemed off in his words. There were no outright lies, but I thought maybe he was stretching the truth about something.
“But since I’ve already met you, I don’t find that surprising at all.”
“And I’m sure we intrigue you enough to meet with us tomorrow. I was asking what time you worked to see if you wanted to grab lunch. I may let more things slip about my freaky family.”
He was teasing me, and the tone of his voice made that clear. Part of me wanted to see what he’d do if I flirted back, but I was out of practice, and I didn’t want to make a total fool out of myself.
“It’d be worth it to see what I could pick up before the reading, but I have a standing lunch with Abbie on Thursdays.”
We hadn’t missed our standing lunches since the very first one. Every once in a while lunch was closer to dinner, but we were always there to have something to eat on Thursdays.
“I should probably meet her, shouldn’t I? I assume she’s going to be there tomorrow.”
“You shouldn’t meet her. She already thinks you’re trying to get in my pants, and spending more time together would only drive that point home for her.”
Words I wished immediately could fly back in my mouth. I didn’t remember ever being shy when it came to a guy, but something about Jack made me want to tread lightly.
“She is aware that wolves are particular about whose pants they get into, right? Once we decide we want to make a commitment, we tend to stick with it, and the terminology you just used seems to lessen what we find with our mates.”
Oh god. I knew nothing about wolves, since they were so secretive, and it sounded like I’d offended him. I needed to get off the phone and pretend the conversation hadn’t happened.
“Sorry, I don’t know much about werewolf society, other than you guys tend to keep to yourself. I’m sure the commitment you made with your mate isn’t something to laugh about. Look, I need to go get ready and see if I can keep my foot out of my mouth the rest of the day.”
He laughed softly, undoubtedly the sexiest laugh I’d ever heard. I should’ve told him the reading was off right then, but he’d grabbed my interest enough that I had to meet at least his sister to find out how she knew anything about me.
“I can understand why you’d take my offense to mean I have a mate, but officially I don’t. I just wanted to make sure you knew I don’t play around when it comes to relationships. Finding someone you’re compatible with is one of the hardest things for a wolf to do.”
“I think it’s hard for anyone to do, but I imagine the limited number of wolves in the world makes it even harder. I think I heard a figure thrown out at one time that there are three male wolves to every female.”
“See, you do know something about us. I’d say that figure is pretty accurate. So, I’ve established you were okay, that we’re still going to meet tomorrow and that you think I’d make a horrible lunch guest. I think that was everything on my agenda for this call. Do you have anything else we should discuss before we see each other tomorrow?”
That was a loaded question. If he was willing to discuss werewolves, I wanted to know more. I’d always wanted to know everything I could about everything, but when it came to the elusive wolves, reading materials weren’t available, and I’d never had one willing to talk to me.
“I really do have to get ready for work, and it sounds like Abbie just pulled into my driveway. An unexpected call and guest is going to put me behind.”
I’d felt Abbie walking up the driveway, not necessarily heard her car, but Jack didn’t need to know that. It was best that I didn’t share all the little things I could do with him. There were times when humans tried to use a witch’s powers by imprisoning them.
That was long before I was born, but witches didn’t flaunt what they could do because of it. Abbie’s little in-home readings didn’t involve anything that charlatans couldn’t reproduce. She even mislead from time to time to make sure her readings weren’t completely accurate.
“I guess I’ll let you get the door and get on with your day. You have my number if any unexpected tornadoes hit and you need help with clean-up.”
“You’ll be the first person I call. Maybe by the time we see each other, I’ll figure out who was playing with the weather last night.”
“Why don’t you leave the detective work to me, princess? By the way, I don’t call my sister that. She’s got a different title she prefers.”
Jack hung up the phone before I could ask if he assumed I’d thought about him calling her that or if he’d managed to read my mind. As far as I knew, wolves turned hairy some times and were stronger and more durable than most, but I’d never heard of them reading minds, even in fairy tales.
There was so much I didn’t know, and Abbie’s persistent knocking on my front door didn’t give me a lot of time to think about the possibilities. I groaned as I got up and headed downstairs with the phone still in my hand.
“It’s too early for you to be pounding on my door, Abbie.” I cleared the bottom step as I spoke.
My solid oak door didn’t let me see her before I opened it. I’d thought about putting in a peephole, but when you could read who was waiting on the other side, it seemed silly.
“On a normal day, seven-forty means you’ve already eaten breakfast and showered. I’m getting the feeling you tried to sleep in today.”
Her words died a little once I got the door open and she immediately noticed I was carrying my phone.
“Or maybe something else has kept you busy. Who have you been talking to?”
I ushered her inside and locked the door. I didn’t have to be to the library until nine, so I had a little while to play reluctant hostess.
“Jack, but don’t start with the nonsense of him wanting to bite me. He was just checking in after the weather went haywire and targeted him. He said the tornado was centered on his location.”
“Well that’s interesting. A storm targets him not long after he met you and you couldn’t feel the source behind the storm. I’d say that’s not a coincidence. Do you still have that tea I like?”
She moved through the living room like she hadn’t said anything significant. I considered not following her, but went ahead and tagged along so we could continue the conversation.
“It has to be a coincidence, and I’m not sure he didn’t cause the storm himself. There’s something about him. He even admitted his family wasn’t like other wolves, so maybe one of them was pissed at him about something.”
Abbie’s head was tucked into a cabinet, but when she heard my words, her eyes peeked over the edge of the door.
“Explain.”
“Right after you explain what you’re doing here this early. I didn’t know you were able to drag yourself out of bed before ten.”
I put my phone down on the small round table in the modest kitchen. S
ince it only needed to provide food for me, I didn’t think the space was too cramped, but Abbie liked to complain about it not being big enough to fit two people. To prove her wrong, I made my way to the stove to fill the tea kettle.
“After everything that happened last night, how could I not show up here first thing? I didn’t know someone else planned on checking up on you. How’d he sound this morning?”
“About the same as he did yesterday. I found out he was a cop, so the question of where he found my number is solved, but apparently I won’t find out where he found me until I meet his sister tomorrow.”
“So his sister is the one who wants a reading. I knew it wasn’t a girlfriend.”
She’d found the cup she designated as hers and already had the tea in the bottom it. I wasn’t a tea drinker, and only kept it in the house for her, so I wasn’t the least offended that she hadn’t prepared a cup for me. Figuring she could take care of the rest of the process, I moved away from the stove and leaned against my granite countertop.
“I don’t think the reading is for her. The more he talked about her, I’m not sure why they even need me to do a reading. She somehow knows me, and I have a feeling they’re a family of wolves with a witch or two in their lineage.”
It was a stretch, but I didn’t think it was as far as I would’ve thought the day before. If Jack had wanted me to have a clear mind going into the reading, he did a bad job of making things seem ordinary.
“Evidently I’ve missed a lot since you dropped me off. Did you manage to get any sleep?”
She looked a bit condescendingly at my clothes from the previous day. I didn’t remember kicking off my heels, so they must have fallen off sometime during my nap in the recliner.
“I got enough sleep that I won’t have any trouble functioning. Since you’ve made yourself at home, why don’t you keep sipping on your tea while I run upstairs to get my shower out of the way?”
“I’ve got all sorts of questions, but since I’ve verified you made it through the night without natural disasters or wolves blowing down your house, they can probably wait until lunch. You are still planning on eating with me today, right?”