Read Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance Online
Authors: Lorraine Kennedy
heard him call out her name.
Justin watched her leave, making no move to stop her
when she refused to acknowledge his calls. His stomach
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
knotted with the knowledge that he had hurt her badly, but it
was really for her own good.
Sighing, he moved away from the door once she was out
of view. There was something about this woman that drew
him like a moth to a flame, but she was a desire that he could
not allow himself to indulge in.
He'd had many lovers, but Laura could not be one of them.
He wouldn't let himself use her in that way, for it was a
certainty that they could never have anything more. If she
knew the truth of the
Sungmanitu
she would be repulsed, and
that was one thing he could not bear to see in her beautiful
eyes.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
Laura's emotions were in turmoil as she made the drive
back to her cabin. What was it about him that touched her
emotions in ways she had never known before? The desire he
aroused in her was frightening, to say the least. She'd had
lovers in the past, but none had come close to affecting her in
the way that he did.
Thoughts of the past couple hours jumped to the front of
her mind and Laura wondered if it had all been some kind of
hallucination, like that woman in the middle of the road. She
had just come to this conclusion when she glimpsed
something to the side of the road, in the woods.
She hit the breaks so hard that the Bronco nearly skid into
the trees. By the time she brought the car to a stop, Laura
wasn't even sure what it was that she had seen. It had been
something different—something that didn't quite belong. Had
it been a movement she'd noticed, or something else?
Leaving the car, she started into the woods. Right away
she become aware of the flattened brush and broken trees.
Maybe this had been what caught her attention? Her
subconscious had alerted her to the differences in the
landscape.
It appeared as if someone had driven right through the
woods. Laura followed the path of destroyed brush until she
came to a large beaver pond. With a deep sigh, Laura started
back up to the road. The sun was nearly down and she didn't
want to get caught out here in the dark.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
This was probably no more than a party site for local kids.
Four-wheelers had made the path, and there was probably no
more to it than that. No mystery here, she concluded.
From the corner of her eye she noticed something in the
brush and she stopped to examine it. The object was so
severely damaged, that at first it was unrecognizable. As she
looked at it more closely, Laura saw that it was a briefcase, at
least what was left of a briefcase. The leather had been torn
to bits.
Kids using their four wheelers to come down to the pond
could explain the path, but Laura doubted there were many
kids who would have a need for a briefcase. She bit down
hard on her lip, turning the problem over in her mind. It was
then that she noticed the torn and scattered paper in the tall
weeds. The paper looked as if it had been put through a
shredder.
Somewhere behind her a twig snapped. Laura brought her
hand up to stifle a scream. She quickly started moving up the
path, taking the briefcase with her.
Brantic City was shrouded in darkness. There was no
movement, no sound, just complete darkness. Laura
downshifted into second, taking the dirt road slowly. The
Bronco's headlights barely penetrated through the blackness
and dust. After coming to a stop in front of the saloon, Laura
waited—watching and listening. All was still.
As soon as she'd gotten back to the Bronco, she'd tried to
call the sheriff, but she couldn't get a signal. Obviously she
wouldn't have cell phone service for as long as she was in the
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
area, as she'd been unable to get reception, no matter where
she tried.
Leaving the engine running, Laura walked to the pay
phone and quickly dialed the sheriff's number. It rang twice
before dispatch picked it up.
"I need to talk with Sheriff Moss." Laura spoke softly into
the receiver.
"He's not on duty. Can someone else help you?"
"No, but will you please let him know that Laura Ellison
needs to talk with him as soon as possible? It's urgent."
Disappointment came through in her voice.
"Sure will! He'll get your message first thing in the
morning, ma'am," the woman assured her.
Laura hung up the phone. The wind had picked up,
bringing with it a chill to the night air. Walking back to her car
Laura's thoughts were in a whirl. She was convinced that
there was something very wrong here. The darkness had
never really bothered her before, but tonight it did. Whenever
the wind began to die down, a strange fog gathered. She
made the drive back to her cabin in record time.
Not until she was safely inside the cabin, did she feel
secure again. The only thing to do now was wait and talk to
the sheriff in the morning. Not that it would do any good, but
it was better than doing nothing.
After running a bath, Laura stripped off her clothes and
sank into the soothing hot water. Closing her eyes, she let the
tension flow from her body. She had run up against dead
ends since her arrival and was beginning to think her
presence here was accomplishing nothing.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
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The wind still howled outside the windows, but Laura could
hear something distinctly separate from the wind. She kept
her eyes shut, not moving a muscle. There it was again, just
outside the window, a low—angry snarl.
Laura rapidly finished her bath and left the room. Wrapped
in an oversized towel, she padded barefoot across the
hardwood floor to the living room. Going to the portable
stereo that she'd brought with her, she put on a CD. The
comforting sound of a hundred harmonizing instruments
floated through the cabin.
In the bedroom, she picked up a comb and ran it through
her wet ringlets. Removing the towel, she gazed into the
mirror at her thin shape. Feeling a little whimsical, Laura
found herself wishing that she possessed just a few more
curves.
Bending down to retrieve a pair of panties from the
dresser, her eyes caught movement just outside the window.
Cautiously, she went to the window and pulled back the thin,
transparent curtains.
Furious yellow eyes stared back at her from the darkness
beyond. Laura screamed, and in her panic to get away from
the window, she tripped, falling to the hard floor. Sharp pain
coursed through her arm and she could taste blood where her
teeth had gone through her lip. It took several moments
before she could get back to her feet.
Movement was painful and she found it difficult to get into
her robe. Laura left the room as quickly as she could. At that
moment, she wished that she had opted to stay in Acton. Did
she dare leave the safety of the cabin and try to get to her
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
vehicle? Even if she made it to her office, whom would she
call in the middle of the night?
Jessup might come and take a look around, but he would
be none too happy about being woken to comfort a hysterical
woman—even if she had seen a wild animal creeping around
her cabin. No, she decided it would be better to just wait until
morning and call someone then.
Having made the decision to wait, Laura went back to the
bedroom to slip into a flannel nightgown. She made a point to
double-check the windows and doors. Just to be sure they
were secured.
The cheerful chirping of birds managed only to irritate her.
Laura carefully dabbed makeup on her sleep-swollen eyes,
hoping to take on the appearance of some normality. What
little sleep she had managed to get had been filled with that
woman's wicked, accusing voice.
Laura made sure all the doors of the cabin were locked
before leaving. The last thing she needed was for the creature
to get inside. The drive to the office took only moments.
Jessup was busy with someone on the phone.
While Laura waited for him to end the call, she
straightened the paperwork on her desk. Several moments
later, he hung up. Laura noticed he seemed a little agitated
this morning.
"Did those guys from Rock Springs show up?" she asked.
"Yeah ... about an hour ago. I take it you couldn't get
anyone from Acton?"
She shook her head. "Nobody there wants anything to do
with working out here."
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
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"Figured as much," he muttered.
"By the way, where is the work site? I haven't seen it yet."
"About two miles north of Beaver Creek. They're not
cutting there yet. We are still in the process of moving from
the B.L.M site that they have been working on."
"I haven't been that far up there yet, but I wanted to try
and get there today."
"If you do get up there, tell them they are to start cutting
the Beaver Creek land on
Monday, and they need to be ready." Jessup brought a
hand up to rub his tired eyes.
"Before we settle it with the
Sungmanitu
?" Laura was
surprised.
"Yeah, big man Duccini's orders. It's costing him too much
money to sit around and wait." Jessup's disapproval was
evident in his voice.
Laura shook her head. "He better hope he doesn't end up
with a big mess out of this. I can't even find out who's in
charge up there."
"All we can do is follow orders, so just keep trying," he told
her as he stood up and walked to the window. "I'll tell you
one thing though; if things get too messy I'm pulling out of
this one. Something about this whole situation stinks."
"What do you mean?" Laura knew how he was feeling, but
wanted to hear his ideas.
Jessup squinted his eyes against the bright sun outside the
window. "The man that negotiates the contract is gone. The
man that signs the contract is gone too. I smell a rat."
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
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"I have been thinking the same thing since I arrived,"
Laura commented.
"Yeah, and we're just the dumb suckers caught in the
middle." He walked back to his desk and sat down.
"What about that Injun friend of yours? Why don't you try
working through him?"
Jessup didn't notice the way Laura had stiffened at his
reference to Justin. "I'm part Navajo," Laura told him, letting
him know that she didn't appreciate his reference to Justin's
race.
"No disrespect intended," he told her in a voice full of
apology.
Laura smiled to let him know that she understood. "It's
okay."
"Well . . . at least now I know why they sent you up here
to talk to the
Sungmanitu
." He chuckled.
Laura's smile vanished. "I think they may have made a
mistake. From what I can tell, they are Native American, but
different from any I have ever come across. As far as Justin
goes, he is barely an acquaintance. I have only talked with
him a few times." Laura hoped he didn't notice the blush that
spread to her cheeks.
The phone rang and Jessup snatched it up from Laura's
desk. "Duccini, Jessup speaking."
He was silent as he listened to whoever was on the other
end. "Yeah, she's in. One moment please." He covered the
mouthpiece with his hand. "It's the sheriff," he said as he
held out the phone to her.
"This is Laura."
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"I received your message this morning. What's going on?"
The sheriff's voice was smooth and professional.
"I found a briefcase that I think might have belonged to
Mitchell. Can you come out and take a look at it?"
"What makes you think it belonged to Mitchell?" he wanted
to know.
"Just a hunch." Laura found the amusement in his voice
grated on her nerves.
"I see. Well, I will get out there as soon as I can, Miss
Ellison."
"And when might that be?"
"I really don't know. Right now I have other cases that
take precedence, but it won't be much longer," he reassured
her.
"There is one more thing." Laura spoke quickly before he
could end the call. She told him about the animal outside her
cabin on the previous night. At this Jessup looked up from the