Shades of the Wolf

by Karen Whiddon

  After crawling beneath the covers, she must have fallen instantly asleep. Because when she came awake again, startled, her nightstand clock showed it was almost three in the morning.

  What had awakened her? Sitting up, she peered around the pitch-dark room, trying to get her bearings. Had Tyler returned?

  But no, she saw no ghostly presence, no shimmer of energy either. Since the sun hadn’t yet risen, she assumed that he’d retreated to whatever place ghosts came from.

  Something else, then. Something inside her...

  The urge came upon her suddenly, like a match lit to dry timber. She needed to shape-shift. More than a need—a visceral command that she do so immediately. Right now. The instant she realized, she tried to think back, to remember when she’d last changed into wolf.

  Too long. More than a month, actually. Which explained the fierceness of her urgency to comply this instant.

  Which was good, since shape-shifters who didn’t change walked a slippery slope into madness. Again, she found herself wishing for Tyler. It would be exhilarating to have another wolf to run with. That was, if he could still change. Even though her kind was meant to run in packs, lately Anabel had done all her shape-shifting alone. She liked it that way, really. She’d told herself that so often that she almost believed it.

  Slipping from the house into the cool, predawn breeze, she let the light of the three-quarter moon pull her toward the woods. Since she wore only the large T-shirt she slept in, as soon as she’d stepped into lush undergrowth below the towering oaks and pines, she pulled it over her head and draped it across a stack of large rocks. She always used them for the same purpose when she changed.

  Then she smiled and turned around in a complete circle, lifting her arms high to the forest and the night sky. This ritual wasn’t necessary, of course, but it made her happy, so she always did it.

  Beneath her skin, her wolf rippled with impatience, wanting out. For a moment, she held her inner beast at bay and then dropped to all fours to begin the process.

  Chapter 6

  As Anabel initiated the change, the shifting tore through her, swift and vicious, almost as if the beast feared she’d change her mind. Pain mingled with pleasure, a peculiar combination. And then she was wolf.

  Lifting her head, she sniffed the air, amazed as always by how different the wolf viewed the world. Her beast used smell first, then sight and sound.

  And tonight, as usual, the forest was a feast for the senses. She tried to start off at a walk, but the joy to be wolf filled her and made her run. She crashed through the underbrush, feet drumming into fertile earth, rustling through long-fallen leaves.

  Smaller animals bolted ahead, terrified by her passage. Even though they were prey, she wasn’t hunting. At least not yet.

  When she burst upon a clearing, she slowed to a trot, then a walk. Finally, she stopped and inhaled deeply. The human part of her regretted that she’d gone so long without letting her wolf run free. As wolf, she lived in the here and now, without worries or guilt or stress. In the days after David had been killed, she’d taken to spending days as wolf, the sorrow too deep to face as human.

  Of course, like all shifters, she’d had no choice but to eventually change back to her human form.

  Now, though, as wolf, she refused to think of those things any further. At this moment, she thrilled to the power in her muscular, lean form.

  A flash of movement to the right caught her eyes. Sniffing, she smelled nothing, no other animal’s telltale scent. Which wasn’t good. At all.

  Dropping into a hunting crouch, she began to approach the area where she’d seen the movement. Her nighttime vision was good, and as wolf, she never imagined things that weren’t real.

  A moment later, she had her answer. There, near the dense underbrush near a towering oak, sat another wolf. One whose form shimmered in and out of existence with each wisp of wind and who bore no scent. Like Tyler.

  A ghost wolf? Mystified, she continued to study the other animal. Previously, all her ghostly encounters had been as human. She’d never before seen the specter of a wolf. Like Tyler, this one was big and gave off the aura of a male.

  And then, as she drew closer, the other wolf cocked his head. Something in the glimmer of his eyes gave her the answer.

  It was Tyler! Her ghostly companion must have finally shown up at her house and found her gone. So he’d followed her wolf, wearing the form of his own beast.

  She hadn’t known ghosts could do that.

  She also hadn’t known how happy she’d be to see him once more. Especially now, since she was running without a pack.

  Heart singing with joy, she panted at him. And then, because she was wolf, she spun and took off running again. Delight pulsed through her with the pounding of every paw on the earth.

  Wolf Tyler kept pace, his shimmering ghostly form beautiful. He ran full out, making her think he had difficulty matching her pace, which only had her increasing her effort to see if she could outrun him.

  Tongue lolling, grinning a wolf’s grin, she ran and ran until she could run no more. Even a lope or a jog failed her. Sides heaving, she let herself crash to the ground. Lying there, panting and trying to catch her breath, she refused to even glance at the shade of her visitor.

  Because she knew what came next. Shifters always became aroused when they changed back to human. Most times, unless they were with an agreeable party, they ignored it. Usually when a male and female shape-shifted alone, consent and desire were implied.

  Shock rippled through her as she realized what she wanted. She wondered if he felt the same. But if he did, how would that even work with a ghost?

  There, on the rock where she’d left it, her nightshirt. She’d run full circle. The time had come.

  With a groan, she initiated the change back to human. This time, the shift went slowly, as her beast felt reluctant to relinquish the form. It hurt. A lot. Yet even so, her body tingled with pleasure.

  And desire.

  Foolish, foolish girl. Always wanting something she couldn’t have. And even if she somehow, miraculously, could, doing so would be too dangerous.

  Ignoring Tyler for her own peace of mind, not wanting to see if he’d remained wolf or changed back too, she got up slowly, wincing at her sore muscles and aching bones. Snagging her oversize T-shirt off the rock, she dropped it over her head. The soft material rubbed against her pebbled nipples, making her bite her lip.

  Despite her exhaustion, her entire body buzzed with want. She knew if she turned and faced him, she’d lose what little control she had and make a fool of herself.

  Frustrated, she kept her eyes straight ahead, praying he didn’t decide to materialize in front of her, and plodded back to the house. Once inside, she headed straight back to her bedroom. A quick glance at the clock showed she still had over an hour until sunrise, so she crawled beneath the sheets and hoped for sleep.

  Instead she lay there burning.

  At some point, she must have drifted off. When she next opened her eyes, yellow sunlight streamed through her window. A quick glance around her bedroom revealed she was alone, so she stretched and smiled. She’d done it. Resisted temptation and spent time in her lupine shape.

  Being wolf had been good for her. More than that. Freeing her wolf brought perspective to the craziness that had been her life for the past two—now three—days since Tyler had shown up.

  Now she felt as though she could accomplish anything. She could do this. Not only that, but she would succeed.

  As if thinking of him had summoned him, Tyler appeared in the doorway. Still as wolf, his ghostly fur shimmering in the lemonade light of morning.

  Studying him, she realized he was beautiful. Large and strong and powerful, his silver fur gleaming. He padded closer, and she noted his eyes still looked the same, shining with i
ntelligence and humor. Awed, her chest tight, she thought he might have been the most beautiful wolf she’d ever seen, bar none.

  At the thought, guilt hit her hard. She shouldn’t think that, couldn’t. David also had been a striking wolf, with his glossy black pelt and compact, muscular body. David should always have been the perfect wolf to her. Not Tyler, a man she barely knew.

  While she watched, the ghostly wolf shimmered and faded away. A second later, a man stood in its place. A naked man, fully aroused.

  Heat shot through her. She dragged her gaze away, but not before she noticed the size of his massive arousal. She’d only thought she’d faced temptation the night before. Desire consumed her. She felt it coursing through her blood like an electrifying drug. Her harsh, uneven breathing testified to how turned on he made her. One look from his smoldering eyes, and she nearly came. As she bit back a groan, her body tingled in response.

  So did her guilt. Again. She shouldn’t be fighting the urge to climb all over him, but she was. Worse, she could barely restrain herself from taking the hard length of him into her— No.

  “Put some clothes on,” she barked, her voice raspy and wobbly. “You’re a ghost, so make some materialize. Now.”

  He knew, damn him. He raked his eyes over her, slowly, seductively, making her clench. Then, as she continued to glare at him, he slanted a look at her, part mischief, part smoldering, before waving his hands. A second later and he was back in his military fatigues. Still as handsome, still as sexy, but no longer naked.

  Damned if she didn’t feel a twinge of regret. Though she could still see the bulge from his still-aroused body.

  “What was all that?” she lashed out, furious with herself as much as or more than him. “Didn’t I ask you to stop just appearing? You don’t have to shadow me every step of the way.”

  Was that hurt flashing across his chiseled features?

  As he drifted closer, she saw the way his hands were clenched into fists.

  “Anabel,” he said, the hoarse tone almost a plea. When he reached for her, she didn’t try to dodge him, well aware a ghost couldn’t connect by touch.

  But somehow Tyler did. Not a ghost, but a man, strong and solid, pulled her against his muscular chest. A shudder of raw desire immobilized her. Shocked, she froze. Unable to resist or move.

  Tyler was real. She could feel his uneven breathing, as rough as hers, and his heart pounding under his skin. While she tried to process this, he cupped her face in his large hands and covered her mouth with his.

  The strong hardness of the kiss burned her like fire, searing her to the core. This...wasn’t real, couldn’t be real, and yet as pleasure made waves inside her, she realized she could no longer fight. As his mouth ravished hers and she felt his arousal swell against her, a hot ache grew inside her, making her dizzy. Her body throbbed with passion, with desire, disbelief, a potent combination of wonder and lust.

  Heart hammering foolishly, and an undeniable web of attraction building between them, she knew this couldn’t be happening. If it did, she might have finally crossed the line between reality and insanity.

  Finally, that realization gave her the strength to resist, despite her inner protests. “No,” she said. Throat aching, she pushed against him, both with her physical body and her inner strength.

  This time, her hands went right through him, exactly as they should.

  She gaped at him, once again a ghost. “How did you...?” she asked faintly.

  To his credit, he appeared as stunned as she. “I don’t know.” His hazel eyes smoldered and blazed, pinning her. The rasp in his voice matched hers. “That shouldn’t have been possible. Unless...”

  “Unless what?” But she knew. Somehow she knew. She’d wanted him so badly she’d willed him to change from ghost to man.

  “Unless your magic made it happen.” As if he’d read her mind.

  “I didn’t do anything.” Defensive, she shook her head. Conflicting emotions roiled inside her. Longing—yes, still that—and amazement, mingled with a healthy dose of terror.

  What had almost just occurred? She didn’t understand and, apparently, neither did Tyler.

  Even worse, her entire body still sang with desire for him. She craved him. Someone who not only definitely was not David, but was a ghost.

  Body still throbbing, she took a minute to try to gather up her shredded composure. “You’re here to save your sister,” she reminded him firmly.

  “Yes.”

  “Nothing more.”

  “No.” He sounded certain.

  “Good.” They could do this. If she simply didn’t think about how Tyler made her feel, she could focus. Dena Rogers was in big trouble. And the evil warlock who had her had become aware of both Tyler’s and Anabel’s presence.

  Tyler stayed in the other room as Anabel hurried through her morning rituals. She needed to learn, to cram as much information into her brain as she could by studying the books Juliet had given her to read.

  After a quick shower, she blow-dried her hair and pulled on jeans and a T-shirt before heading to the kitchen, again forgoing her normal witchy attire. The irony wasn’t lost on her either, though for now she figured it would be best to dress like everyone else if she wanted to roam around unobtrusively and ask questions.

  Tyler waited at the kitchen table, appearing as his usual ghostly self. He watched as she approached, unsmiling, a serious look in his hazel eyes.

  Her cat, Leroy, groomed himself on the counter behind the ghost, appearing completely at ease while waiting to be fed. Contrary to his past behavior, which had involved arching his back, whipping his tail and a lot of hissing and snarling, he no longer appeared bothered by Tyler’s ghostly presence. Great. Even her own cat had become a traitor.

  Leroy blinked at her, meowing once, asking for his morning meal. Which she gave him, filling his bowl with tuna-shaped kibble before turning to attend to her own breakfast.

  A bowl of cereal, a mug of coffee and she settled in to scan through the first book while she ate. She flipped through the pages rapidly, seeing more of what Juliet had told her. Focus, focus, focus. A lot of practice exercises involving the inner self and chanting, and more talk about focus.

  Finally, bored and feeling a bit cranky, she closed the book and eyed Tyler. “Today, I’m definitely going over to the college since we never made it there yesterday. I need to talk to as many people as possible who might have been friends with your sister. Someone has to know something.”

  This time, Tyler didn’t speak. Nodding, he simply hovered a few feet off her floor, looking more ruggedly masculine than any ghost had a right to.

  She ignored her body’s twinging and aching and forced an impersonal smile. “Go ahead,” she said. “Ask. Whatever it is, let’s get it out of the way so we can start the day.”

  “Okay. First question. Do you always shift alone?” Tyler asked her.

  Whatever she’d expected him to say, that hadn’t been even close. “Yes. Oh, I didn’t used to. Back when David was alive, I did like everyone else and changed in a big pack of shifters. No one minded. But these days, they’ve made it clear I’m not welcome.”

  “Who?” He sounded outraged, making her smile.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Carrying her bowl to the sink, she rinsed it and placed it inside the dishwasher. “I’m running late. If you’re coming with me, since it’s my turn to ask a question, I’ll want an explanation of where you disappeared to yesterday after I pulled you from the darkness.”

  * * *

  As they buzzed along the road in the impossibly tiny car, while sitting next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met—alive or dead—Tyler wished she would mention the kiss. The soul-shattering, gut-wrenching, incredibly arousing, real kiss. Impossible as that sounded. Anabel must have a great deal more magic than anyone realized to d
o something like that.

  “Well?” she demanded, barely a moment after backing out of her driveway. “Where’d you go?”

  Deliberating, he sighed. There were things he could talk about and others he wasn’t allowed to. If he even tried to put voice to the something forbidden, he knew from experience that he’d find himself unable to speak.

  Where he’d retreated yesterday was one of those sacred and thus secret things.

  “I can’t,” he finally said. “Maybe it’s enough to say I went back to rejuvenate my energy.”

  She shot him a look from under her lashes, her bronze-colored eyes gleaming. “Like a heavenly spa?”

  Throat as tight as his chest, he gathered himself enough to respond to her deliberately light tone. “Sort of.”

  “That warlock who tried to crush you. I don’t suppose you happened to get a look at his face, did you?”

  “No. He was pure energy. Black, oppressive darkness. And very powerful.”

  Her sigh echoed his feelings. “I gathered as much.”

  Once they exited the main road, as they pulled onto the college campus, he directed her to the area where his sister had always parked when she went to work. “It’s close to the cafeteria,” he explained, pointing at the neatly landscaped beige brick building. “All the buildings with red roofs are part of the college.”

  “Good to know.” Pulling the key from the ignition, she dropped it in her purse. “I need to remind you again to do me a favor. Please don’t talk to me when I’m asking other people questions. Not only is it confusing, but if I forget and speak to you, everyone thinks I’m nuts.”

  “I promise,” he said, meaning it. Not for anything would he cause her the kind of hurt she’d suffered the last time they went to town. At least he didn’t think anyone in this part of town knew much about her. This area had a younger demographic, and the kids rarely went to the older part of downtown, preferring to hang out in the immediate area.

  Or at least that was what he’d gathered from the few times he’d visited Dena when he was home on leave.