Call of the Wilds

by Неизвестный

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “You don’t understand. A new face in town makes people curious. The last thing we need is to be the center of attention.”

  “So what? They can’t prove anything.”

  He sighed at her childish tone. “They don’t need proof to cause trouble for us.”

  “I don’t care. We’ve lost too many years already, and I don’t want to wait any longer to be together.”

  “What about the dead body we left in the cabin?” He had to make her understand their situation, the danger they faced. “The sheriff can make it look like I had something to do with it. At the very least, there’ll be traps and hunters combing the woods for wolves. “

  “You think too much. Come to bed,” she pleaded. “You were up all night.”

  “I need to find out what’s going on. I’m going to the cabin.” He couldn’t just sit around and wait for something to happen.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “No! Stay inside and don’t open the door for anyone.”

  * * * *

  Heart pounding a mile a minute, Karin held on to the basin with both hands and took a few deep, calming breaths. The reflection in the mirror scared the hell out of her. Her skin had an unnatural pallor, a sickly gray color. Dull, glazed-over eyes stared back at her while her brain tried to make sense of what happened.

  Was it possible Frank drugged her? She’d always known he wanted more than friendship, but she never thought he would go to these lengths to get what he wanted. She didn’t want to believe it, not of Frank, but his intentions were clear.

  She ran the cold water, cupped her hands to drink, then splashed her face. Slowly she made her way back to the bedroom. Her clothes were in the closet just as he said. Her mind started racing as she dressed. She had to know if he gave her something that might hurt her baby. She needed to get to her doctor.

  Afraid she might be locked in, she sighed with relief when the knob turned in her hand. She didn’t want to face Trudy, but she had no choice.

  “Karin! Are you all right?” The secretary looked up from her computer, disapproval written all over her face. She was the town gossip and self-appointed overseer of everyone’s morals.

  “I’m fine,” she lied. In reality, she felt as limp as a wet noodle. Afraid her legs would collapse, she put a hand on Trudy’s desk to steady herself.

  “You don’t look fine. The sheriff told me you’d be in bed all day.” Trudy wagged all three of her chins and raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

  Karin flushed hot. She didn’t know what to say.

  “Why don’t you go back to bed and wait for the sheriff?” Trudy suggested archly.

  Anger overrode embarrassment, but she refused to take the bait. “I have to get back to work.”

  “He won’t be happy. If he didn’t have that emergency, he’d be here looking after you himself. I am sorry I had to interrupt your, whatever, but a dead body comes before personal business.”

  “What dead body?”

  “Well, I’m sure I don’t know,” she said smugly. “That’s the sheriff’s job. Now if you wait for—”

  Karin let the door swing shut behind her.

  * * * *

  Frank thought he’d be the one to discover Glenn’s remains. After all, he’d picked out the spot and hid the body. He’d thrown Glenn into the gorge, a spot not far from where the hiker had been discovered. It was off limits to the public now, but the campers never obeyed the signs, and some idiot had stumbled over it anyway. Luckily, the boy called him and nobody else. He warned him he’d trespassed into a dangerous area, and he needed to go back to his camp and stay put. The kid didn’t need much encouragement to take off. He sounded scared shitless and was probably halfway home by now. Some good came of it. If anything looked out of order, he could always blame it on the kid. The half-wit coroner would never know the difference.

  He had to babysit Glenn until the coroner showed up. Christ, it made him sick to his stomach. It looked like scavengers had already been at the body, and that fool made him wait for hours. The man always took his good old time, and when he finally arrived, he started blubbering like a baby, going on about how he knew Glenn his whole life and what a shame he had to go so young. What a pitiful excuse for a man. He had to pat him on the back and act just as miserable. He would miss Glenn, maybe more than anybody, but a man had to stand up and act like a man, not some sniveling baby.

  He just wished he didn’t have to leave Karin. He thought about her waiting in his bed. What a waste. He’d been just about to shuck his clothes when Trudy called on his private line. Good thing she knew better than to barge in on him. He didn’t feature being caught in his birthday suit. He laughed, thinking about the look on her face when he told her about Karin. Shit, everyone in town must know by now.

  The sleeping pill he’d given Karin came from his own medicine cabinet. He didn’t like putting her out, but it was for her own good. She looked worn out. If she wouldn’t take care of herself, he would do it for her.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  The inside of the cabin looked and smelled like a slaughterhouse. Anyone coming inside would be driven off immediately. Bloody remains of a deer lay rotting where the deputy’s body had been. Malcolm still smelled Glenn’s blood underlying the stink, but no one else would. The sheriff did a good job covering his tracks. What did he plan next? He’d have to cool his heels or pay him another visit to find out. Laying low would be the smart move, but he didn’t like waiting around for the other shoe to drop. He headed to the lockup.

  He preferred a private confrontation with the sheriff, but seeing Trudy at her desk, he realized having a third party close by wasn’t a bad idea. It would prevent Frank from pulling any more tricks. He stood at her desk until she put the phone down. The woman gossiped more than she worked. He never understood why Frank hired her.

  “Malcolm. What can we do for you?”

  “Good morning, Trudy. I want to talk to the sheriff.”

  “He’s out. Can I help you?”

  “No. I’ll just have a seat and wait.”

  “Suit yourself. I don’t know how long he’ll be.”

  He sat on one of the hardback chairs, conscious of Trudy’s shrewd gaze fixed on him.

  “By the way, you just missed Karin,” she informed him in a conversational tone.

  He rolled her words around in his head, and his chest got tight, as if someone wrapped an iron band around it. He wanted to leave it alone, but he couldn’t. “Oh? I guess she didn’t have time to wait for him.”

  “Time was not an issue.” She paused and raised an eyebrow. “Well, you know I’m not one for gossip, but I’m sure he took care of her business. After all, she did spend the night.”

  Malcolm froze. A suffocating sensation tightened his chest.

  “When the emergency came in earlier, and I had to call him, he didn’t sound too happy at being interrupted. Then he came out here loaded for bear." She pressed a hand to her chest. "I don't know if he was more irritated by the crisis or because he had to leave Karin. Anyway, he told me Karin was in bed, and I wasn’t to disturb her.” Her lip curled in disgust. “I don’t believe in fooling around before marriage, but I believe the good Lord will forgive him for giving in to temptation. He’s been alone a long time.”

  A dark tide of possessive rage surged through him. Every word added fuel to the inferno building inside his body. He felt like a rabid animal, agitated and ready to attack.

  “Malcolm, are you all right?” Trudy cried. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  He shook his head to clear the red haze over his vision. Jesus, when had he moved over to her desk? Breathing hard, he forced himself to back off. He needed to get out of here.

  “I can’t wait.” He let the door slam behind him and almost knocked down the sheriff in his haste.

  “Malcolm. I didn’t expect to see you back here. Not unless I dragged you in that is.” The sound of Frank’s laughter infuriated him more, and the sm
ell of blood on his clothes enraged his wolf anew. He didn’t want to talk. He feared what he might do if he stuck around. On some level, he knew his jealousy was unreasonable, but his wolf only knew that another man had touched what was his. “I’m running late.” He clenched his jaw and tried to shove past the sheriff.

  “You must have had a reason for coming here. What’s on your mind?”

  Before he could stop himself, the words were out. “What’s going on between you and Karin?”

  “If that’s what you came out here for, you’re wasting your time. It’s none of your business, and you have more pressing problems to consider.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “I’m asking the questions here. My deputy is dead. A hiker found his body in the gorge earlier today, and this is an official investigation now. If you know something about Glenn’s death, you better tell me now.”

  Well, that explained the blood. Frank spoke so calmly. If he didn’t know better he could almost believe the son of a bitch hadn’t moved the body himself.

  Blood pounded in his temples and he exploded. “You know more than I do. You removed Glenn’s body from the cabin,”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “So that’s how it’s going to be.” He lowered his voice, aware of people on the street looking at them curiously. “Do you deny you drugged me?”

  “All I know is you slept off a drunk in my office. I went out, and when I came back, you were gone.”

  “What exactly are you trying to pull here?”

  “You’re starting to sound like a guilty man. So far, it looks like Glenn was the victim of a wolf attack. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch the wolf, but it looks to me like the case is cut-and-dry.” Frank regarded him with a speculative gaze. “Of course, if it turns out you let the wolf out of the bag, so to speak, I can charge you with reckless endangerment.”

  “I don’t know anything about the wolf.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear. I’d like to close this up so I can concentrate on Karin.”

  His heart twisted. “What about Karin?”

  “She’s had a rough time lately. I thought I might take her away for a few days, maybe a little honeymoon trip.”

  The words hit him with the force of a bolt of lightning. For a minute, he was shocked speechless. “Are you saying you’re getting married?” He spit it out through clenched teeth. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

  “Like I said before, it’s not your business. Isn’t this new woman you’re screwing enough for you?”

  The enraged wolf inside him snapped. “You son of a bitch!” A red haze veiled his sight. A primitive growl bubbled up from his chest. Nothing would satisfy him more than to hear the crunch of Frank’s bones as he punched the smirk off his face. He balled his fists and sharp claws pierced his palms. Coarse hair erupted on his back and rubbed against his shirt. He saw Frank in shades of gray. Dimly, he heard the click of a gun hammer and felt the pressure of a pistol against his chest. If he shifted Frank would shoot him and go after Sable. He drew from the control his father had taught him and pulled himself back from the brink of change.

  “Calm down. Don’t do anything stupid.” Frank had his pistol aimed and cocked. “You have a new girlfriend now, and you don’t want her cooling her heels while you’re sitting in a cell or worse. I can’t be looking after all your women.”

  “You mother—”

  “Hold on. You can be angry all you want but stop and think about what’s best for Karin for a minute.”

  With an iron will, he forced himself to put his hands up and back off.

  “That’s better. Mind your business and I won’t have to mind it for you.” He sneered. “Just forget about Karin. She wasn’t thinking about you last night when I had her in my bed. Stay away from her and you’ll have no problem with me.”

  The strong desire to kill Frank almost made him ignore the semi-automatic pointed at his chest. At that moment, he wouldn’t have cared if Frank shot him right there on the street. He would have died for Karin, but the sheriff’s words cut through his fury. Karin spent the night in Frank’s bed. She had moved on.

  His heart twisted, thinking about how fast she forgot him. Had he been wrong about their connection? He reminded himself he had been the one who ruined everything. But what could he have done differently? He made a commitment to take care of Sable, and he intended to keep it. He knew he couldn’t protect Sable and have Karin in his life too. As much as he hated the thought of Karin in Frank’s arms, he couldn’t change things.

  Maybe this was the way it was supposed to be. He thought about Sable, home alone, waiting for him, trusting that he would always be there for her. Whatever he did now would affect both of them. He couldn’t put her in jeopardy. She might be his destiny, his chance to start over with someone like him and preserve their heritage. He’d always wanted children. His seed wouldn’t plant in a human female, but with Sable, he could have a family. Nothing was more important than family.

  * * * *

  Sable couldn’t understand Malcolm’s reluctance to cement their bond. She shouldn’t have to push so hard. He’d loved her sister. Why not her? She looked enough like Mia to be her twin. And she was Lycan, same as him. Their shared past connected them. No one understood him like she did.

  When he belonged to Mia, she had a crush on him. Just a silly childish infatuation, but one she’d never gotten over. Wherever her travels took her, she’d looked for him, never really expecting to find him. Now that she had, she meant to keep him. She would never go back to the life she had before.

  Malcolm rarely asked about that life, and she never volunteered anything. Some things were better off buried, like the hiker.

  She lived wild and feral before that bitch trapped her. She’d enlarged an abandoned coyote den and made it her own. Remote enough to be overlooked by campers and close to water, it made a perfect hideout.

  She bathed in the river, secure in her aloneness. The man appeared one day and surprised her. She lifted her head from the water and saw him walk out from a stand of pine trees. He watched her emerge from the river as if it were an everyday occurrence to find a naked woman on the river bank. Tall with a blond buzz cut and a hard body, he moved with a cocky swagger. As soon as she smelled him, she knew he meant trouble. The scent of his arousal stung her nose. He looked her up and down as if she’d stripped for his amusement. She didn’t want any part of him. It had been a long time since she had sex, but arrogant assholes made bad lovers.

  His expression was priceless—a mixture of surprise, lust, and smug satisfaction, like he couldn’t believe his luck. He approached, confident in his sexual appeal.

  “Are you okay?” He tried to sound calm and sympathetic, but she smelled his excitement.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Your clothes…”

  “I’m sunning—alone.”

  He didn’t seem to notice the hint of annoyance in her voice. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but maybe you can help me out.”

  “I don’t think so.” She spoke with a weighty warning in her voice.

  He dared to move closer. She stepped back.

  “I’m lost, but I can’t be too far from camp. I haven’t been walking that long. You look like you know your way around. How about helping me out here?”

  “No.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll rest here for a while.” He threw off his backpack.

  “Suit yourself. I’m leaving.” She started walking toward the trees.

  He followed and grabbed her wrist. “Hey. You can’t just leave me here.”

  She raised an eyebrow, and her gaze fixed on his hand. “Let me go.”

  He tightened his hold. “Come on, baby. You know you want it, walking around out here like that.”

  “You have no idea what I want.”

  “You shouldn’t tease a man if you have no intention of following through.” With a quick jerk, he pulled her close, caught her chin, and forced
her face to his. “Maybe I need to teach you a lesson.”

  “I think a lesson is definitely in order,” she said silkily. “I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me.” She grasped his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, biting his bottom lip and drawing blood.

  He pulled back grinning. “So, you like it rough.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “I can handle it.” He grabbed her breasts and squeezed, playing with her nipples, pinching and pulling them. “I want to fuck you.” Desire glittered in his eyes.

  She withstood his groping for a few seconds, then grasped the edges of his shirt and ripped it open. The buttons came flying off.

  “Hey. I don’t have another shirt.” She ran her hands up and down his smooth, hairless chest to shut him up.

  “I’ll be more careful with your pants.” But the zipper stuck, and when she yanked too hard, the tab broke off. Before he could complain, she pushed his jeans and boxers over his slim hips and grabbed his rock-hard cock. He kicked his pants away and was on her immediately, pushing her down on the ground, his hands roaming all over her body.

  “Don’t be in such a big hurry,” she purred.

  “I can’t wait.” With a loud groan, he pressed his muscular body against her. She let her rage take over, and she raked his back.

  “Hey! What the fuck.” He tried to push himself off her. “You bitch.”

  “Exactly.” Withdrawing her claws from his back, she exploded with unholy laughter. “Run.” She knocked him aside like a rag doll. “Run and I’ll show you exactly what kind of bitch I am.”

  He climbed awkwardly to his feet. Fascinated, she watched her prey scramble into his pants. “Give me a good chase,” she whispered, showing a glimpse of her fangs.

  His head jerked back as if he’d seen the devil himself, and he blanched under his tan. Backpack and shirt forgotten, he edged away. Black hair darkened her body, and the muscles in her face elongated and turned her smile to a snarl. Astonished, he turned his back and ran. She watched, delighted. With impossible fluidity and grace, she launched herself into midair and knocked him off his feet with huge black paws.