Wolf-Crazy

by Palmer, Linda

  "Yeah, you're my miracle for sure." His eyes filled.

  I had to look away for a second to compose myself. "Thanks for telling me." I put my hands on his shoulders and finally looked him in the eye. "Just so you know, I'd love you even if you were still a Were."

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zeke lifted me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him. His lips covered mine in a bruising kiss that made me tingle from head to toe. I kissed him back with everything I had, desperate for him to know I'd love him forever. Yeah, I was young, but I knew my heart. Always had. He was the latecomer to this romance.

  Our kisses got a little frantic, and Zeke staggered slightly, off balance.

  My butt came a little too close to the deep fryer. "Whoa!"

  Zeke immediately set me on my feet away from the stove. His eyes looked a little glassy as he stepped back, rubbing the top of his head in that self-conscious way of his. "Maybe my staying over isn't such a good idea."

  "I'll behave if you will. Now go get the meat, please, before it's well done. I like a little pink."

  "Pink. Yeah." He got the cake pan and left.

  I sagged against the counter, emotionally upside down. Should I seduce him tonight? Something told me I could. Something else told me he'd be upset about it later. Zeke wanted to do things right, and who could blame him when he'd done so many things wrong during the past year? If I truly loved him, I had to help, even if my being sensible left me frustrated.

  Was I sex crazy? Not at all. In fact I rarely gave it a thought when I wasn't with him. I think I just wanted to get as close to Zeke as I could, and I probably wanted the accompanying commitment, too. Somewhere deep inside, the little girl with the big dreams still lived, and every once in a while her insecurities bubbled to the surface.

  Dinner turned out really nice. The steaks were perfect. The fries, too. Even the salad tasted better than usual. We cleaned up the kitchen after we ate and blew out the candles as we headed to the living room. Instead of watching TV, I suggested a game of cards. To tease him, I mentioned strip poker. He chose gin rummy. We played until I caught him yawning, and then went to bed in separate rooms.

  That night I dreamed that my werewolf and I were in a cave in the mountains. We hid from someone; I didn't know who. And though I should have been afraid, I felt safe because my werewolf protected me. In fact, the whole experience exhilarated me so much I woke up with my heart pounding as if I'd run a race. I realized that the dream had looked different to me that the others. Though sharp and clearer than ever, the images had an unusual color to them and seemed to be from a different point of view--lower to the ground. Actually at Zeke's level. Puzzled, I held onto the images as long as I could, but they faded as they will. I didn't bother waking Zeke to tell him about it. What was the point when it was just another dream?

  Saturday we went to the mall so Zeke could get some Nikes. On our way home, we ate at McDonald's. I enjoyed so much just being with him, object of his attention, his smiles, and occasionally his kiss. The rest of the day sped by, quite a contrast to the week before it. I knew why. Hours seemed like seconds when I was with Zeke.

  A full moon shone down on us when we went out on the deck after a dinner of hot dogs and a check-in phone call from Mom that night. We sat together on a lounge chair meant for one. I had to turn on my side and drape my leg over his for us to fit.

  "What's the most fun thing you ever did as a werewolf?"

  "Run free. There's nothing like it--the smell of the grass and trees, the open sky, the chase."

  "Do you miss that part of being an animal?"

  He shrugged. "Maybe a little. It feels like a dream to me now."

  "And speaking of…" I told him about Friday night's.

  "So you weren't scared?" He looked pleased with himself.

  "Not a bit. I had my four-footed bodyguard by my side."

  Zeke grinned and kissed me.

  Later that night, after we'd headed to our separate beds, I sat in my window seat in the dark, staring out at the sky. I'd never seen a prettier moon, not even at Halloween when it invariably took on an eerie orange tint like a jack o'lantern. Tonight, it looked oddly red. I thought of a phrase I'd heard: blood on the moon. Curious about what it meant, I padded to my laptop in the dark and did a little research. I quickly learned it referred to something that was going to happen at the end of days. A little creeped out, I shut my laptop and went to bed. I'd just settled in when Zeke slipped into my room. My heart leapt with joy.

  But he didn't whisper the words I wanted to hear. "Get dressed."

  "Why?"

  "Just do it."

  I crawled out of bed and quickly put on the clothes I'd taken off less than an hour ago--jeans and a sparkly t-shirt. Before I could tie my shoes, Zeke was back in my room, fully dressed, himself, and shushing me even though I hadn't made a sound.

  He put his mouth against my ear. "We're getting out of here now."

  His words sent a chill right through me. I grabbed my purse and ducked my head through the strap. Zeke took my hand and led me to Dax's room. He closed the door and jammed the back of a chair under the knob before pushing me toward the only window in the room. I watched while he raised the glass, loosened the screen, and climbed out. He jumped onto a branch of the massive oak tree outside like a pro, making me wonder if he and my brother had slipped out this way before. Zeke reached for me. I eased myself through the opening, grateful for his help because of the jump that was required in order to reach the tree. He gripped my wrist and pulled. I tumbled into the air, only to be swung up and onto the branch. Landing safely astride it, I quickly scooted to the trunk, which I hugged in relief.

  Did I wonder what the heck was going on? Yes, but I trusted Zeke's full-moon instincts completely. If he said we needed to leave, then we did. I watched as he repositioned his body and lowered himself a few feet down the massive tree trunk. How he held onto it, I had no idea. He motioned for me to join him. With my heart hammering, I did. In seconds, we were in tandem. Zeke somehow got us down that tree with only one arm and my feeble help. In moments we stood safely on the ground.

  "What's happening?"

  "Weres in the house."

  A terrifying new twist. Without warning, my supper surged up into my throat, a reaction to horror I'd experienced before. I tried to swallow, but in the end puked my guts out. Poor Zeke. He was frantic even though I repeatedly assured him between gags that I'd be okay. When I finally stopped, he stood beside me in indecision for what felt like forever. "Can you run?"

  "Yes. I'm really fine now."

  Hand in hand, we loped across the yard. While he manually unlocked his car, parked in drive, I ran around to the passenger side. Moments later, Zeke backed us out and onto the street with his lights off. Was that a face in Dax's window, looking down at us? My boyfriend didn't wait to find out. He hit the gas; the car surged forward.

  Zeke didn't turn on his lights until we were several blocks away. Constantly checking the rearview mirror, he soon hit the highway.

  "Where are we going?" I asked as we sped past distant lights straight toward the mountains.

  "Cave house."

  I nodded. There could be no place safer since there was only one easy way inside. "Should I call Dad now?"

  "What can any of our parents do from Portland?"

  "9-1-1 then?"

  "They weren't in the house to rob you. They're after me, and the less the police know, the better."

  "Right."

  We got to the lake around midnight and only after Zeke doubled back a couple of times to be sure we weren't being followed. His evasion tactics seemed textbook, almost like something out of a spy movie, and watching him in survivor mode made the truth of New Orleans doubly real to me. He knew what he was doing because he'd done these things before and lived to tell the tale.

  Motioning for me to stay put, he got out of the car and scouted the area, using his super senses. I watched him, marveling that he could blend so well with the night. Just when
I thought I had him spotted, he stepped out of a shadow several yards away. Finally he returned to the car. "All clear."

  I opened the door and joined him. We ran to the house, where I let us in using the key on my ring. Though I reached to turn on a light, Zeke stopped me. I nodded agreement and began tugging together the curtains hanging over the wall of glass windows that was the front of the house. From outside, those windows reflected images of the surrounding woods and lake to anyone who approached in daylight. This made our unique dwelling blend into the scenery, and up until now, I'd love that about them. At night, however, they were nothing more than fragile glass that revealed our illuminated hideout to anyone who took the time to look. Funny how that had never bothered me before.

  Since we were both too wired to rest, I went into the kitchen and got us a canned soda to drink. I sat on the couch, but Zeke paced, clearly waiting for something to happen. Exactly what, I had no idea, so I imagined the worst even though I felt safe. Zeke definitely seemed to have a handle on things.

  But did he really? As he walked through a shaft of moonlight let in through a crack between curtains, I saw his expression. His dark eyes seemed unfocused, his gait slightly unsteady. I got up to check on him and realized he was shaking as if the cave house were cold, which it was not thanks to clever insulation.

  "Hey, are you okay?"

  "Y-yeah." His teeth chattered just as they had the night of the storm. "Delayed reaction, I think, or maybe it's just my full-moon syndrome."

  Certain he was about to have another episode like the last one, I took his hand. "Come sit by me."

  "I c-can't. I have to keep w-watch."

  "Please? I'm scared." Zeke gave me his attention just long enough for me to lead him to the couch. I grabbed the afghan folded across the back and threw it over us. Then I snuggled up and put my arms around him. "We're going to be fine. No one will find us here."

  Zeke didn't answer. We sat in silence for so long that I became drowsy. My nodding head woke me. I looked up at Zeke, who sat motionless and on high alert judging by his body language. My gaze followed his to the door. I heard the soft sound of snuffling around the sides and bottom of it. A scream built inside me. Zeke slapped his hand over my mouth to keep it there, move that seemed instinctive.

  He surged to his feet, taking me with him, and as good as dragged my rigid body toward the back of the house. I struggled to get a grip on my fear and managed to pull his hand from my face as we groped our way into the dark kitchen so I could catch my breath.

  "Are there any weapons in this house?"

  "Just Dax's old BB gun."

  "How about knives?"

  "There are some in the kitchen."

  "Then they'll have to do." He found the fridge with his hands and opened it a crack, providing enough light for him to begin opening drawers at random. Zeke pulled out every sharp thing he could grab--an ice pick, a filet knife, a couple of blades used for chopping things like lettuce or onions. He wrapped each in a paper towel and stuck them in his waistband, boot and pockets. "Do the bedroom doors have locks on them?"

  "Yes, but--"

  "We'll barricade ourselves in one."

  "Wouldn't it be better to call the police or something?"

  "Skylar, there are powerful Weres outside. Anyone who crosses them will be killed, the police included. Besides that, we can't chance the law finding out that Weres exist, which could happen if one gets hurt and shifts into a human. If the secret gets out and it's our fault, we could get into big time trouble with the Corteggio."

  "But you told Dax and me."

  "I told you. Dax's hearing it was an accident."

  "Fine, then. I won't call for help. But I don't like the idea of hiding in the house. We should go out the back."

  Zeke's eyes widened. "There's another door?"

  "Yeah. It opens into the cave, which is way larger than it looks. But what I've seen of the tunnel that will take us out is narrow, steep, and wet. We'll need ropes and flashlights."

  "Get them while I check that escape route."

  I showed him the door, which was located in a small space just beyond a curtain. He immediately exited the cave house.

  Did Dad have any rope? I headed to the pantry since there really wasn't anyplace else to look besides two tiny clothes closets. Distracted by my fear and worry, I kept forgetting what I wanted. Was Zeke okay? What if the Weres found the back entrance into the house? And why were they after us, anyway? Zeke had assured me Rick wouldn't be a threat, and his logic had made sense. Was Rick now working for Larry? Or was someone else paying him to pursue us? I thought of Ace Kensett. Melita seemed to think he might go after Zeke out of revenge. If he was as unscrupulous as Sam said and had seen the papers, maybe he'd hired Rick.

  Or maybe Rick was simply doing what he'd warned he might: coming after us on his own.

  My groping fingers found a minnow bucket and an anchor Dad used for his aluminum fishing boat. He'd made it himself out of concrete poured into an old coffee can. I finally got it to the floor, where I tried to untie the bright yellow nylon rope he'd attached to a metal loop he'd sunk into the top of it. No luck. Frantic, I located a steak knife too dull for Zeke to take and sawed through the fibers. There was about thirty feet of rope when I finally finished. I found two flashlights, one big enough to knock someone unconscious if they got hit with it, the other a small LED.

  "Skylar?"

  I looked up at the sound of Zeke's whispered call and briefly flicked on the smallest light. He motioned for me to hurry. I joined him in the cave. Aided by the beam of the big light, Zeke shut the door and began gathering rocks to stack in front of it. Though big ones would've been best, we couldn't budge most of those. In the end, we managed a stack that would deter if not prevent our being followed.

  "This way," said Zeke, taking the lead. "Don't use your light unless you have to. We might need it later." He had to duck as he maneuvered the tunnel no one in our family had ever attempted to fully negotiate. Dark and dank, it stretched before us, the rock floor a slippery incline that never ended. I heard water dripping, a sound that echoed eerily, and occasional pebbles rolling. In minutes, my back and knees ached. I could imagine how uncomfortable Zeke, so much taller, must be. Even worse were my breathlessness and my ears, which kept popping. I swallowed time and again to open them up.

  A rock under my foot suddenly shifted and rolled. I stumbled and tried to catch myself, but still did a belly flop that knocked the air right out of me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zeke got there in an instant, the beam of his flashlight bobbing wildly. "Shit. Are you hurt?"

  Unable to catch my breath, I reached out to him. He tugged me to my feet. I gasped until I sucked air into my aching lungs. "Tore my…new jeans…dang it."

  He barely acknowledged that pointless idiocy and directed the light to my lower half. "You're bleeding."

  I looked at the knee I could see peeking from the tear. "It's just a scratch." I didn't tell him that my hands were stinging like fire and probably bleeding, too.

  "Do you need to rest?"

  "I need to get out of here." I glanced around, weirded out and longing for fresh air.

  "Okay." Zeke took the lead again, glancing back frequently to see if I followed. I did my best not to limp, although my knee throbbed with every step. Just how long was this tunnel?

  Without meaning to, I soon lagged behind, and my guy, now refocused on his trek, got a little and then even more ahead of me. All at once, I stood alone in the dark. Something brushed my face. Instinctively, I yelped and ducked, my hands and arms protecting my head. Was a bat attacking? I turned on my flashlight.

  I heard Zeke splashing his way back, which meant he'd passed through water at some point. But it wasn't Zeke who burst onto the scene, it was Rick. Screaming my shock and terror, I lost my grip on the flashlight and turned to run. He grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth and effortlessly lifting my body as he darted back the way he'd come, which had to be Zeke's wa
y, right?

  Wrong. I realized the tunnel forked just ahead. At the mouth of the left bend stood Germain, holding a flashlight and obviously waiting for us. Rick motioned for him to get a move on and followed, somehow managing to keep my mouth covered even though I tried to pry his fingers free and bite them. Realizing that wasn't going to work, I made as much noise as I could, guttural squeaks that got lost in the vastness of the cave.

  I waited for Zeke to come charging after us, calling my name. Why didn't he? Seconds later, I found out when Germain and Rick stepped into an antechamber. Zeke lay on the floor, still as death with his eyes closed. All his knives were gone. Horrified, I renewed my struggle. Rick suddenly let me go. I landed in a heap and instantly crawled over to Zeke.

  I touched his face, which felt warm, and then lay my head on his chest. His heart fluttered in his chest. "Can you hear me? Zeke?" I lightly slapped his cheek and got no response. Whirling, I sat and glared up t Rick. "What'd you do to him?"

  "Gave him a taste of his own medicine."

  That did not make me feel better.

  "Why are you here? Surely you've got better things to do than harass us. Or aren't there any paying jobs for losers these days?"

  "Shut up."

  "If so, there's always your 'rich bitch' hunt to keep you occupied. Surely there's someone out there with money and no brains."