by V. Vaughn
When I catch up to my friends, I discover they bought firewood, strands of tiny lights to adorn our campsite, and T-shirts with the park logo to commemorate the trip. Chelsea drives us toward our spot. Alisha presses her face to the window and says, “Look at that!”
We pass a site with a wooden covered wagon painted in bright colors. An array of colorful clothing that seems to match the wagon sways in the breeze as it hangs from a line. Jayden announces, “It’s a fortune-teller.”
“Oh, cool!” says Alisha. “We’ll have to go.”
Chelsea parks in a location next to the woodlands, and I notice a sign near a path into the forest. “We’re right next to the hiking trail,” I say. The familiar scent of the rich earth that wafts through the RV’s vents is a pleasant scent for my wolf nose.
“Nice,” says Alisha as she peers out the window. “I’ll use that path for a run tomorrow.”
I remember the warning from the clerk. “When I checked in, I was told not to take the trail to Walkers Peak, so stay away from there.”
“Why?” asks Jayden.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. But I don’t think I want to find out the hard way.”
“Gotcha,” says Alisha as she picks up her beer to take a drink. “Now who else is going to see the fortune-teller with me?”
“Uh-uh,” says Chelsea. “Those women freak me out.”
Jayden closes her eyes and holds her hand to her forehead. She speaks in a deep voice. “I see a fire. Best friends are talking when suddenly—" She lets out a dramatic gasp and opens her eyes to grin at us. “Firemen come along with big… Very big…. Hoses!”
Alisha spits out her beer, and I groan as Chelsea and Jayden laugh.
“Hoses?” asks Alisha. “That’s kind of scary when you think about it.”
“So are fortune-tellers,” says Jayden. “I’ll stay with Chelsea while you waste your money.”
I’m not sure I want to hear about how I’m going to be a strong single woman and all that crap witches tell me that’s supposed to make me feel better about being mateless. But I know my best friend really wants to see the woman, and I’m not about to let her see a witch alone, so I stand up and say, “I’ll go with you.”
Our feet tap lightly over the dirt as we make our way down the road. I ask Alisha, “What do you want to find out?”
“The usual—when I’ll find love. What about you?”
“I want the winning lottery number.”
Alisha smacks my arm. “I think you should ask about love too. The last time we did this, she said you weren’t ready to know.”
I’d forgotten about that, and I shrug. And I hate that hope fills me when I know it’s futile. “Fine. I’ll ask about when I’m going to find love too.”
When we get close to the gypsy wagon, a woman with wavy hair almost down to her knees is standing with her hands clasped in front of her as if she’s waiting for us. She’s in a peasant skirt and blouse that look as if they could use a good washing, and the odor coming from her accosts my strong sense of smell as I fight the urge to vomit. The authentic witches have a different idea of hygiene, but at least I know they tell the truth.
“Come,” says the woman. She leads us behind her wagon to where a simple fire is burning. A large pot with its contents bubbling is on the grate.
Alisha smiles at me in a way that makes me think she’s excited that this woman might be authentic. She rushes over to the pot to peer inside. “Oh my god!” She grins at me. “Bones!” She turns and asks the witch, “Is that a potion?”
I chuckle because I recognize the faint scent, and before the woman can answer I say, “It’s chicken soup.”
The fortune-teller squints at me in annoyance. “You here for supper?” She lets out a huff. “There’s only enough for one.”
“Oh! No,” says Alisha. “We both want to know about our love lives.”
The woman stares at Alisha and puts out her hand, and I notice dirt under her fingernails. I say, “I’ve got it.” I reach into my pocket, because while the witch is a bit over the top, I’m sure she’s the real deal. The old woman says, “No. I don’t take your money.” She gives Alisha the once-over. “Both for free.”
Alisha glances at me, and I shrug because I’m not about to tell her the witch probably knows I’m a werewolf and able to see through her act she puts on for tourists.
“Okay,” says my friend.
The gypsy grabs Alisha’s hand, and the old woman’s head tilts back as she closes her eyes. She snaps her head back down as her eyes pop open. “He’s good for now. Get a calculator.”
Alisha gasps. “Logan?”
The woman rolls her eyes as if Alisha asked a stupid question and turns to me. She takes both of my hands, and her bony fingers squeeze hard enough to hurt. “Juliet.” She cackles and turns to her wagon. I notice a cat lift his head when she says, “Henry, you were right.”
Alisha and I exchange confused glances before the woman grips my fingers tighter to get my attention. “You have a Romeo.” She drops my hands, reaches into the pocket of her skirt, and pulls out a small bottle of clear glass that appears to contain an amber liquid. The woman presses it into my palm. “Take this.”
The bottle is unusually cool in my hand as I recall the story of Romeo and Juliet and how she took a potion to appear dead to get out of an arranged marriage to someone other than her true love. But when Romeo found her, he thought she really was dead and killed himself, which caused Juliet to kill herself too when she awoke. I ask, “Am I supposed to drink this?”
The woman shakes her head. “It will save him.”
“Who is he?”
Now she rolls her eyes at me as if I’m supposed to know. She shoos us away with her hand. “Free time is over.”
As we walk away, I frown and try to sort out what I just heard, and I gaze at the bottle in my hand. The contents have left a brown residue on the glass which makes me wonder how long the witch had it.
Once we’re far enough away, Alisha whispers, “I think she was right about me, but what she told you was strange. Do you think she believes the cat talks?”
I let out a dry laugh as I gaze down again at the tiny bottle in my hand. I’m tempted to pitch it into the garbage, because for all I know, the witch was testing me. But when a tiny shiver runs down my spine, it makes me stick the vessel in my pocket instead. “I don’t know. Does she expect to me to carry the potion around until I bump into my dying Romeo?” I chuckle, but it’s hollow, because the bottle suddenly feels warm against my thigh.
Alisha frowns at me. “She said it would save him. I think she’s talking about Roman.”
I snort. “Right.”
“You never know… she did know your name without being told.”
She did. I shake off the feeling that the gypsy might have been right after all and place my hand on my pocket to make sure the bottle didn’t magically disappear. My uneasiness makes me wish I hadn’t gone to the fortune-teller after all.
A tightness forms in my chest, and I feel trapped in the same way I have in past relationships. I always seem to be attracted to a werewolf who is all about dominance, and that means instead of being by his side, I’m supposed to follow behind him. No thanks. Saving Roman isn’t a responsibility I want, because I have no doubt it would end up with me being the loser. Again.
When we get back to our campsite, I take on the task of building the fire so we have nice coals to cook over later. The logs clunk together as I drop them in the pit, and I squat down to arrange them better.
A faint howl sounds in the distance, and my primal side is trembling with the possibility of finding a mate. I glance at my friends to see if they heard it. Alisha and Chelsea are arguing about how best to hang the lights, and I decide they couldn’t detect it with their human ears. But my wolf heard it loud and clear. I sigh because this isn’t going to go well for me either way. I gave up on the idea of a mate a couple years ago, and I’m not about to sneak off to a jamboree in search of another s
exy werewolf and get my hopes squashed like a bug one more time. And even if I did, how would I explain it to my friends? Either way, my wolf is going to make my human miserable with all the horny males around. She’s got a one-track mind.
I grab the newspaper Alisha bought with the sole purpose of using it to start the fire. The inky paper crumples, and it’s a hard ball before I realize what I’ve done. I loosen it up a bit before I shove it under the wood, and the sulfur odor of a match tickles my nose as I strike it. I may need to drink heavily tonight in an attempt to dull my senses. Once I’m sure the fire will stay lit, I get up to find the vodka.
The aroma of something cooking in butter with garlic follows Jayden as she emerges from the RV, and both lighten my mood. She holds plates full of cheese, fruit, and crackers, and I grab some food as I pass by her to go make a strong drink. When I’m inside, I also mix a weak one for Chelsea and grab two more beers for the other girls before I go back out.
I enter the tail end of a conversation, and Chelsea says to me, “Alisha got a text from Alex. The guys are coming for dinner tomorrow night and bringing steaks.”
My skin tingles with excitement before I convince myself it’s really dread. I say, “Sounds fun,” and stick my hand in my pocket. The potion sends an electric current through my fingers as I grasp it and wonder who my Romeo might be.
Three
After a meal that Jayden managed to make in one pan over the fire, I’m stuffed. I toss a new log into the embers and crouch down. Air whooshes out of my lungs as I blow so flames will catch, and the fire crackles in response. I glance at my friend who is sitting comfortably in her chair watching me work. “Jayden, you continue to amaze me with your cooking skills. If the family thing doesn’t work out, wanna be my wife?”
Alisha says, “Agreed. I never expected all that food mixed together would taste good. Even Chelsea ate it.” Chelsea is all about food islands on her plate and is used to our teasing.
“I have to admit that was really yummy,” says Chelsea. “What’s the trick?”
“Butter. Lots of butter,” says Jayden.
Sweat trickles down my forehead from the heat of the fire, and I remove the oversized fleece I tied around my waist in case I needed it to ward off the night chill. I glance over at Alisha, who is always cold. She borrowed a flannel shirt to put on over her T-shirt, but I bet she’d like more covering. I ask, “Do you need another layer?”
“I’d love one.” She reaches out to take my jacket from me. The zipper rasps as she tugs it up to her chin and holds her hands out to the heat of the flames. I step away to cool off and gaze out at the forest. The sky is at the edge of the darkness that will soon envelop us, and I hear the faint howl of a wolf again. A tiny shiver of desire races down my spine, and my wolf begs to be let out to explore the possibilities. Maybe I can take a quick run later tonight to check things out. I shake my head at my lack of willpower.
Jayden interrupts my thoughts. “I think it’s time for gourmet s’mores.”
I turn to give her my attention. “Gourmet?”
“Yup. I packed fancy imported chocolate and my homemade marshmallows.”
Chelsea says, “She even bought sugar cookies at the grocery store to use instead of graham crackers.”
Alisha says, “Oh! And we have the most delicious chocolate liqueur ever to go with them.” She grabs the flashlight and clicks it on. “I’ll go find some roasting sticks.”
I make my way inside the RV with Chelsea and Jayden to help gather what we need. Chelsea gives me the task of pouring everyone an after-dinner drink while she and Jayden take care of the food. Ice cubes thud as I drop them into short plastic cups, and Jayden says, “I’m so glad we’re doing this. It’s like college, only we have more money now.”
Chelsea says, “Yeah, but all that means is we buy more-expensive liquor.”
I recall the time we decided to go to the ocean for the weekend and thought we could camp on the sand. After we were kicked out of the state park, we ended up squished in my pickup in a store parking lot for the night because none of us could afford a hotel room. I say, “And we have an RV instead of sleeping in the back of my truck.”
I take a sip of my drink, and creamy sweetness coats my tongue. Chelsea grabs a cup from the counter, and the door clicks when she opens it. She holds it while we go back outside.
Alisha should be back by now, and when I don’t see her, my wolf senses perk up. I listen to see if I can figure out where she might be. When I don’t hear anything, I say, “I’m going to go help Alisha find those sticks.”
The flashlight is cool in my hand when I grab it to make a show of being human, and I step into the area where Alisha went. I call out her name a few times before my heart begins to beat faster. I’m deep enough into the forest now that I’m tempted to shift into a wolf so I can run and have full use of my senses. “Damn it, Alisha. Where are you?” I recall how she managed to get lost on our tiny campus the first week of school. Her lack of directional skills is legendary, and I really shouldn’t have let her come out here alone. “Alisha!”
“Juliet!”
Relief floods my body when I hear her voice, and I relax as I turn at the sound of my name. “Alisha, stay where you are, and just look pretty!” I love to tease her that she’s too beautiful to know how to read a map.
Leaves rustle and dead branches snap under my feet as I plod toward her.
She calls out, “Juliet, Juliet, wherefore art thou?”
I chuckle and tease her right back. “Hold on, Romeo, I’m on my way!”
“But Juliet, I’m not sure how much longer I—” She lets out a scream that makes me run as panic rushes through me.
I find her in a small clearing and see a wolf has her in his sights. Alisha’s eyes are wide with fear, and she’s frozen in place as the wolf stares at her. Her flashlight is on the ground and illuminates the area enough that the animal is visible. She whimpers, “Juliet?”
My wolf prickles at my skin to be let out, but I really don’t want to shift in front of Alisha. I’m not about to let some wolf hurt her, either. I speak softly. “Hold still. I’ve got this.” I gaze at the magnificent male between us as he walks slowly around Alisha. His coat is dark and shiny, making it shimmer beautifully when the thick muscles ripple with his movement. He appears to be checking her out as a potential mate, and if this weren’t dangerous for my friend I might be jealous. Alisha whimpers as he completes his circle, and I bet she thinks he’s deciding which body part to eat first.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” I say as my momentary attraction makes way for annoyance.
Now she squeezes her eyes shut in terror, and I’ve had it. The wolf knows she’s afraid, and he’s toying with her. I stomp over and get in his face. “That’s enough!”
Alisha lets out a yelp when he pushes past me to stick his nose into her fleece-covered stomach and sniff. Jerk. He’s so caught up in his mating lust he doesn’t care that she’s having a minor stroke from fear. He couldn’t be more of a typical horny male if he tried, but I know how to get back at him. I say, “He likes you. Pet him.”
“Wh-What?”
The wolf is still sniffing around her as if he’s confused. “Go on,” I say.
Alisha lifts her hand, and it hovers over his head. “Nice wolfie,” she says in a shaky voice. My friend doesn’t actually touch him, though, and that’s probably good, considering he’s got to be pissed that she’s treating him like a dog. I can’t help my grin when he snarls and turns to me.
But now he might have switched to laughter because his gaze makes me tremble. He really is incredible and so sexy. Damn it. My wolf is practically crooking her finger at him with the scent of my arousal, and when he shoves his snout into my crotch to take a deep breath, my knees buckle. No! I refuse to be sucked into another game. Just like all the others, I’d be good for a few quick rounds of fun, and then when I get attached to the guy, a true mate would come along to steal him from me. I grit my teeth and speak through t
hem. “Seriously?”
The wolf backs away and growls at me. Alisha lets out a small squeak when his sharp teeth are revealed, but she doesn’t have a reason to be scared. He just let me know he’s interested and intends to act on it. I let out a huff of irritation, because that’s not happening. “Relax. I’m sure I smell good, but—” I stop speaking when the sound of twigs snapping and brush rustling from something moving quickly in the woods draws my attention. Out of nowhere, a wolf flies through the air toward me.
Oh, crap! I don’t want to shift in front of Alisha, but for a split second I think I’ll have to until the dark wolf intervenes. He slams into the side of the one trying to attack me and quickly manages to tower over it and latch his jaw onto its neck in a show of power. I notice the wolf on the ground is female, and she’s stopped moving and submits. She glares at me as if, somehow, I’m her problem, and when the male wolf releases her, she runs away.
The dark wolf lets out a low growl and swings his head toward me. I gaze at him as he crouches, and my chest is tight with a rush of desire for him. He protected me, and god help me, it was really hot. I say, “Thanks. We’re going to go now.”
He tips his head at me, and while this event is just another day in the werewolf world, it’s different for Alisha, so I turn to deal with her. I grab the flashlight Alisha dropped and hand it to her. It shakes in her grip as I take her arm lightly to tug her along as I begin to walk. I pretend what happened wasn’t a big deal. “How did you end up all the way out here?”
She glances over her shoulder and back at me with her brow knit in confusion. “Um. You know me and directions.” She lets out a nervous laugh and moves quickly now that we’re out of sight of the wolf. She stumbles and catches herself before she says, “Perhaps I wasn’t the one that should have been searching for roasting sticks in the woods.”