Wolf Of The Past: Family Lost - A Werewolf Romance (Spirit Of The Wolf Book 1)

by A. D. McLain

  “I’m not letting you anywhere near her,” David said firmly.

  “You have no right to keep me from her. You’ve kept the truth from her for too long. I will see her, with or without your permission.”

  “So you can try that mind trick again? I don’t think so.”

  “I have only her best interests at heart, unlike you. This is a difficult time for Nicole I have every right to be with her now, to assist her in handling the transition. I should be the one who helps her unlock her abilities. I’m a blood relative. I should have been guiding her all along, after Richard and Caroline’s deaths. I would have been, if you hadn’t interfered where you had no place. She belongs with family.”

  “Don’t go spouting that bullshit with me. You never tried to be a part of her life before they died, but now you’re all gung ho to do the family thing? I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, but I’m not going to let you manipulate her.”

  “Why don’t you ask Nicole what she wants? Are you so sure she doesn’t want contact with her closest remaining connection to her family?”

  David was silent for a moment, and she felt his mind momentarily touch hers, discovering she was listening to them. He backed off, but she was aware that he remained partially connected. “If she really wants to speak with you, I won’t stop her. But I won’t leave her alone, unguarded around you, not as long as I think you’re still a threat to her.”

  David spoke to Artemis, but she knew he was also leaving the invitation to her, letting her choose whether to speak to her uncle or not. Quietly, she backed away from the gate and walked deeper into the garden, silently telling David know she’d heard his offer, but she didn’t want to talk to Artemis right now.

  She couldn’t believe how easily she’d accepted David touching her mind, how easy it had become to send thoughts and impressions back to him. Just last night, everything had seemed so impossible, and today she was accepting these strange abilities as if they made perfect sense. It was still hard to believe any of what she’d been told, but she had discovered that she wanted to believe it, at the same time. It made so many things make more sense; the way she’d been feeling lately, the reason why this house seemed so familiar. If it was true, it proved that the paranormal abilities and creatures she’d always researched perhaps did exist. It was an appealing thought and would justify her obsessive searching.

  It also meant her parents truly had died in a plane crash when she was a child. There was no hope of ever finding them, getting to know them. She would never know if they were proud of their daughter. It wasn’t until the possibility had been completely removed that she’d realized how much she’d secretly hoped for it.

  She wanted to get out of the house, drive up to Bear Mountain. She needed to see for herself where the plane crash happened. But first, she needed to get away from David. Part of her wanted him to come along with her, but another part was already pulling away from him, putting her mental barriers back in place. Nicole knew she was using the events of the previous day as an excuse to shore up her defenses. She was running away from her emotions, just the way she always did. It might not be the right thing to do, but it was familiar, and there was something comforting about familiar.

  Consequently, if she got a chance to sneak out of the house and travel to Bear Mountain… she was going to take it..

  21

  Meg crumpled the note in her fist and held it there for a moment before straightening it back out. Without bothering to read it again, she folded it neatly several times and tucked it away in her pocket.

  Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she sighed. She was a wreck, placed completely on edge by this simple note. She needed to talk to someone about it, but she loathed the prospect of doing so. All she wanted to do was put the entire event out of her mind and get on with her life, exactly the way she had before. Whoever had sent this note probably didn’t know anything anyway. It was probably some sick joke. Even if they did know anything, it wasn’t as if it mattered. It was in the past. She was letting a few words on a piece of paper have way too much power over her. After all, she’d survived and moved on. The worst part was over. What damage could a few memories do?

  Even so, she needed to get out, experience a change of surroundings for a few hours. Grabbing her address book, she flipped back to the last entry she’d made. David Coverton. From what Nicole had told her, his house shouldn’t be too difficult to find. The drive would give her a chance to clear her head, and she could check out how Nicole was doing. Grabbing her keys and jacket, she headed out the door.

  Meg drove on automatic pilot most of the way, only paying more attention as the trees grew thicker. Checking the address she had against every mailbox, she finally found a match and drove hesitantly down the driveway. The large house appeared, more magnificent than anything she’d imagined. She almost went back down the drive to check the address again, but in the same moment, she saw David standing outside, talking to another man. Even from this distance, the conversation seemed tense. When she parked the car she sat and watched the two men for a minute or two, noting the obvious hostility between them. She didn’t recognize the second man, but even looking at him gave her the creeps. When she got out of the car and approached the house, the man put on a pair of sunglasses and walked back to his own vehicle, which was parked nowhere near hers, thankfully.

  David smiled, but it was obviously strained. “Hello Meghan. How are you today?”

  “Oh, I’ve been better. I’ve been worse. You?”

  His smile brightened. “I’d say that about covers it. I’ll get Nicole for you.”

  Before he could finished the sentence, Meg was engulfed in a hug, Nicole’s arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

  “Hey you! It’s so good to see you. Let me show you around.”

  Before Meg managed to get a word out, Nicole ushered her into the house and started giving her a tour. Meghan noted with some confusion that David had remained outside. She didn’t hear the front door open and close again until they had made their way upstairs.

  “And this is my room for now. Pretty enormous, huh?” Nicole absentmindedly noticed that she could hear classical music running through Meg’s mind. Trying to ignore it, she rubbed at some dust on the dresser, distractedly, trying to get her mind under control.

  “What’s wrong?” Meg asked, closing the bedroom door behind them.

  Nicole’s eyes widened. “That transparent?”

  “Yep. Spill.” Meg plopped down onto the end of the bed and waited for Nicole to talk.

  Nicole leaned against the dresser and sighed. “To be honest, I don’t think I can explain right now. Things have been kind of crazy the last couple of days, and I’ve honestly been feeling like I’m losing my mind. There are a million things I want to tell you, but I’ve still got a lot that I need to figure out for myself. All I know is I’m really glad you’re here.” Nicole shook her head, attempting to clear the music from her mind.

  “Is this something to do with David? ’Cause I can take you back to your apartment, or even back to my place if you want to get out of here. You know you can always stay with me if you don’t feel safe alone.”

  “I appreciate it, but I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that. You remember how I told you this house made me feel that first time I came here?” Meg nodded. “Okay, amplify that about a thousand times and you have how I’m feeling right now. Do you understand?”

  “Not really,” Meg looked at Nicole apologetically. She really wished she knew what was going on with Nicole, but Nicole herself couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around it. It made Meg feel helpless, almost as if she and Nicole were strangers, instead of best friends. Grabbing the side of the sheets, she pulled them off the bed. She laid the quilt out on the floor. Nicole watched quizzically as Meg meticulously tied one corner of the top sheet to the bedpost before hooking the other side over a chair. She dragged over other random pieces of furniture to hold the other two corners. Standing with han
ds on her hips, she nodded with pride at her makeshift fort.

  “Okay,” Nicole giggled, “what’s next?”

  “S’mores,” she answered, matter-of -factly. Turning on her heel, she went back the way they came and raided the pantry until she came up with the necessary ingredients. “Plates?” she asked. Nicole looked around and began checking the cabinets until she found one. Layering out graham crackers, chocolate bars, and mini marshmallows, Meg popped the plate into the microwave and hit the timer. Nicole grabbed soft drinks from the fridge, and the two of them carried their treats back to the bedroom.

  Taking Nicole by the hand, Meg pulled her down to the floor. Together they crawled into the blanket fort. Meg poked her head out long enough grab the pillows from the bed, and the two of them began to eat. “Can I see that phone John gave you?”

  Nicole nodded and stuck her head out the blanket to retrieve it from her dresser. “What do you want it for?” she asked while handing it over.

  “I want to play ‘Breakout,” Meg answered, settling in against the pillows and tapping buttons on the phone.

  Nicole laughed. “Why don’t you just play a game on your phone?”

  Meg shrugged. “My phone needs the minutes reloaded, so I left it at home.”

  The beeps and dings of the game joined the sound of music in Nicole’s head. She plopped down on the quilt and pillows and stared up at the blanket. Absentmindedly braiding the end of her hair, she looked over at Meg, hunched over the game. “Do you think I could pull off red hair?”

  Meg raised an eyebrow and looked over. “Hmmm, maybe.” Meg pulled a compact mirror from her purse and handed it to Nicole. “Here, sit up.” Me positioned herself behind Nicole and held her hair over Nicole’s while she held up the compact to see how it looked. “Not bad. Hey, I think I saw a can of beets in the pantry. We could try coloring your hair with that.”

  “Beets? What if it looks terrible?”

  “Then, we’ll go to the store tomorrow and get you a new hair dye.”

  “I don’t know. What if it goes terribly wrong and all my hair falls out?”

  “Don’t worry,” Meg patted her shoulder. “I bet you’ll be beautiful bald.” Nicole groaned as Meg pulled her out the fort. Two hours and a few ruined bath towels later and they were done. “Voila!”

  Nicole looked in the mirror at her new hair color. It was darker than before, with red and purple highlights in the sunlight from the bathroom window. “Not bad.”

  Nicole rubbed her temples to ease her ever increasing headache. Not sure if it was the smell of the beets and vinegar or the constant stream of music playing in her head, she tossed her towel into the hamper and went back to her bedroom with Meg following. Nicole clamped her hand down on the edge of the dresser to avoid screaming in frustration as the music continued. “Meg, since when do you think so much about classical music? What is that, anyway? I think I’ve heard it before, but I can’t remember where, and it’s driving me crazy.”

  “It’s just some sonata, I think. I heard it at a concert I went to last week for one of my classes.” Meg searched Nicole’s eyes. “Since when do you hear so much of what I’m thinking, anyway? You’ve always picked up on a song or two, maybe a phrase or a few words – but this is downright eerie.”

  Nicole stared back at her in surprise. “I thought it was only because you were just thinking about music more than normal.”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve always got one song or another going through my head. Doesn’t matter if I’m watching TV or taking a test. Sometimes I think I’m living in some kind of deranged musical.”

  “Oh.” Nicole rubbed her temples, unable to speak as the music progressed into a loud crescendo.

  “She doesn’t look so good,” she heard Meg’s voice announce softly in her head. “You don’t look so good,” Meg echoed aloud.

  “I’m fine.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Meg worrying at her lower lip.

  “She doesn’t look fine. She looks like she’s in pain and she seems confused. Maybe I should go, let her get some rest . but I don’t want to just leave. I should stay and try to help her feel better. I should do something. What could I do? We could watch a movie, but I have a class… never mind, I’ll ditch. Nicole is more important.

  “Go to your class. I’ll be fine.”

  Meg’s eyes held a hint of surprise and she raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “I’m not fine right now, but I will be,” Nicole added. “I promise. I just need a little time to collect my thoughts and rest… a little time alone. I promise to call you the second I need anything – day or night,” she added before Meg had a chance to voice that last thought.”

  Meg stood up, still a little off balance from their conversation, and walked to the bedroom door. “If you say you’ll be all right and you want to stay here then that’s good enough for me. But the second you change your mind call me, and I’ll be here as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks.” Nicole hugged Meg tightly, then opened the door. “Do you want me to walk you out?”

  “Nah, that’s okay. I can find my way. It’s straight past the penguins and a right at the swan ice sculpture, right?”

  Nicole smiled at the sarcasm and led Meg down the hall. “In that case, I’ll walk you to your car.”

  She watched Meg’s car until it disappeared down the driveway, hidden from view by trees. The music faded away with her departure. When she could no longer hear the car in the distance, Nicole turned and walked back around to the garden. She still needed to decide what to do. It was getting late, but she wasn’t too worried about that the time. She’d always had excellent night vision, and she wasn’t planning to drive too quickly.

  She listened until she was certain David was busy and snuck in to the house to get his keys. Quietly heading back outside, she slipped behind the wheel of his car. A quick glance at a map, and she was on her way.

  David watched the car peel out of the driveway and shook his head. He’d been expecting this was going to happen all day. Other than their brief connection while he was talking to Artemis, he’d felt Nicole pulling away from him ever since last night. Luckily, he had a second car and a fairly good idea of where she was heading, so he waited a few minutes to avoid her seeing his car, then he started to follow.

  It didn’t take Nicole long to arrive at Bear Mountain. It was almost as though she’d known exactly where she needed to go. She stepped out of the car and a shiver ran down her spine. Thunder rumbled low in the distance. “Great,” she muttered. A storm was the last thing she needed right now.

  She followed a dirt path for several minutes, before a strange sensation drew her away from it. She pushed branches out of her way as she walked through dense foliage and made her way through what seemed to be miles of trees, until she came upon a large clearing. Most of the clearing was filled with wild flowers and weeds, except for one large spot in which very little grew. The dirt and what little foliage was present had been pressed down as if by a large, heavy weight. It reminded Nicole of the crop circles she’d sometimes seen investigated as part of a UFO sighting.

  Walking towards the area, a tremendous surge of anxiety swept over Nicole.

  A drop of water hit the top of her head, then a second, and a third. She held out her hand and several drops of cool rainwater hit her palm. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

  She turned to head back to the cover of the trees, and stumbled over something. She hit the ground hard, on her knees, sending a jolt of pain up one leg. Getting up to her feet and dusting off her jeans, Nicole glanced back at what had tripped her up.

  Light reflected from a shiny surface.

  Nicole dropped to her knees and started to dig with her fingers, but she froze when she became aware of a presence behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw David standing in front of the line of trees. He was soaked, his shirt sticking to him like a second skin.

  And so was she, she realized. Her hair was pasted down over her forehead, and her
clothes were heavy against her limbs, soaked from the rain. She shivered when the rain started to come down harder, the wind blowing it in different directions. It was growing unusually dark for this time of day, as heavy black storm clouds filled the sky.

  David walked toward her, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her shivering shoulders. “I know it’s soaked, but maybe it’ll help a little.”

  “Why are you here?” she demanded.

  “I couldn’t let you come up here alone.”

  “But why? Why do you care so much? Is it because of my father? Is that why you’re doing this?”

  “I won’t lie. My friendship with your father was initially my main motivation for looking out for you and watching over you, but that’s not why I’m here now.” He gazed down into her eyes, his hair plastered down against his skin. “I’m here because I care about you, Nicole. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind ever since that night when you bandaged my arm. Just being around you, thinking about you, makes my heart beat faster. You make me feel as if I’ve found a missing part of myself.” He pulled her close, until every inch of them was touching. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. Do you know how hard it is, for me not to rip your clothes off right now?” He almost growled the last few words.