The Patient Wolf (Wicked Urban Fantasy #1) (6 page)

Chapter 7

As Ana approached
the main entrance to the campus shortly after her class ended at nine o’clock that night, she began to feel a nervousness she had never before experienced on her walks home.

The entrance consisted of a large stone archway that covered the two-lane street. The school’s name, University of Rivelou, was painted in gothic letters across the top. Two smaller arches on either side of the auto entrance had paved cobblestone paths running through them for pedestrian use. The arches were covered with ancient Zephirine Droughin roses. The bushes climbed over both halves of the two smaller arches, and for most of the summer turned the two pedestrian entrances into miniature tunnels of the pink petals of the old fashioned Bourbon roses. Now, though a few late-blooming flowers still decorated the branches, the leaves had begun to drop off, and those that remained had turned a deep bronze, melding with the color of the old stone arches. Ana shivered. She wasn’t nervous, she told herself. It was just that the weather had turned colder this evening. She would not let yesterday’s attacks take away her enjoyment of her walk home.

On one side of the arches the campus was brightly lit, on the other side there were just a few streetlights, and very little traffic this time of night in the mostly residential section of town. The shadows seemed to close in around Ana as she approached the archway, and, for a few moments, she considered stepping off of the pedestrian path and crossing under the larger, brighter arch designed to accommodate cars. But she shook her head and chided herself.

“How silly of me. I’m more likely to get run over by some student speeding to get home after class than to meet the boogie man, or anything else, in the sidewalk tunnel.”

She took a deep breath and headed into the arch, then jumped and screamed as a tall shadow brandishing a sword loomed at the end of the passageway.

“Ana? Is that you?”

The image of a threatening figure wielding a sword dissolved into something much more familiar.

“My lord, Chris! Is that you? You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?”

“It was time for my evening walk and I thought I’d come this way and walk you home. I’m sorry. Maybe I presumed too much. I certainly didn’t mean to frighten you.” Chris, seeming embarrassed, turned as if he would walk away, but Ana quickly put out a hand to stop him.

“No, of course not. I mean, well yes, you did frighten me, but I was just being silly. After last night, you know. I’m sure you had another visit from the police and heard about the man who was killed. So yes, though I hate to admit it, I would love to have someone walk home with me.”

As she said the words she remembered the police detective and Alexander’s accusations. But she dismissed the allegations. Her own instincts should count for something. She was tired of everyone else telling her what to think and who to believe. From her family, to Jonathan, and now even that police detective seemed to think she was still wet behind the ears. She was going to start thinking for herself and quit listening to everyone else. She felt defiant as she put her hand on Chris’s arm and she started to walk across the street.

This man seemed much too open and friendly to be hiding a killer dog—or wolf. Dogs were supposed to be a good way to meet women, but really, rescuing the woman from a killer animal seemed far too risky, when the tried and true ploy of walking a friendly dog would certainly be an easier and more effective method of introduction.

They crossed the street and headed into the old familiar neighborhood, which no longer seemed dark and threatening now that she had someone to walk with. Chris, she noticed, had a cane in his hand. That was what, in the shadows, she had mistaken for a sword.

“The cane. Please don’t tell me your leg was that badly injured yesterday.”

“No, of course not. That was just a scrape. And this isn’t really a cane, but an old German walking stick my dad picked up when he went to Europe years ago. It’s more decorative than useful if you really are hiking in the mountains, but I thought after yesterday’s experience, it was better to bring my own stick with me than to rely on finding something on the ground again.”

“I guess the attack has affected both of us. I think I’m glad I’m not the only one who still feels a little spooked after yesterday. So you do think the animal is still around?”

“I don’t know. It’s the old Boy Scout coming out in me, I guess, but better to be prepared. Particularly after hearing about Dennis Halworth.”

“That was his name? The man who was killed? How do you know? The police detective who came to see me said he couldn’t tell me his name because the next of kin hadn’t been notified.” How did Chris know the man’s name when no one else seemed to have known it all day?

“They just announced it a short time ago on the evening news. You were probably in class at the time.”

Ana, nodded, satisfied with his answer. She was suddenly tired of thinking about the attack, and everyone’s suspicions about Chris. She wanted to find something else to talk about. “I can see you as a Boy Scout, in those cute little shorts and knee socks and a sash full of badges on your chest,” she teased. “Were you an Eagle Scout?”

“Guilty as charged,” he replied with a smile.

As the conversation became general, Ana relaxed and enjoyed the light banter with Chris as they walked. Even though it was cooler than the night before, with a bit of a breeze, the moon was still full, making the sidewalks easy to navigate. And Ana was finding that having someone to talk with on her way home suddenly seemed a lot more interesting and fun than the solitary walks she had always professed to enjoy.

“Yes, I’ve always loved camping, hiking, rock climbing, the whole adventure thing.”

“And now you’re a consultant sitting at a computer all day?”

“Well, I do my share of computer work, but a lot of what I do takes me out in the field.”

What, exactly, do you consult about?”

“I solve problems for people. It’s really rather boring, and I’d rather hear about you. How do you like working at the university? And what are you studying?”

Ana didn’t notice that Chris had quickly deflected the talk away from himself and his work. They sauntered on through the neighborhood chatting about her classes and her goal of becoming a teacher within the next year, and before Ana was ready to end the interlude, they were standing on the sidewalk in front of Joe and Lindsey’s house.

“I have to go in and get Sophie. Would you like to come in and say hello?”

“Maybe next time. I’m not sure I’m ready for the third degree Joe and Lindsey would give me if I showed up in your company two nights in a row.”

Ana laughed, understanding. “They are just being protective of me. Jonathan, my ex, was a bit of a jerk right after the divorce. And knowing I could call on the Lessings throughout that time made things a lot easier for me.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining. It’s good you have such great friends right next door. Tomorrow’s Friday; I assume you don’t have class after work. How about dinner with me?”

“I’d love to, but that is the one night Sophie and I have a chance to have dinner together, just the two of us. We have a whole tradition—order pizza, watch a movie. It’s our mom and daughter bonding time.”

“I would never want to interfere with that. So how does your weekend look? I’d be happy to take both you and Sophie out to dinner.”

“She spends most of her weekend with her dad. He’ll pick her up on Saturday morning—or more likely Melanie, his wife, will pick her up. For all the fuss he makes about sticking religiously to the rules of the custody agreement, sometimes I think he does it just for show. He wants to be in Congress someday, and being an absentee dad wouldn’t look good to the voters.

“He…there I go again. Stop me before I get on another Jonathan rant. What I was trying to say is that I have from ten o’clock on Saturday morning until noon on Sunday free, and yes, I’d love to do something with you.”

“Well that’s great then,” Chris said, smiling. “I’ll just have to wait until Saturday. I’ll pick you up about six o’clock and we’ll find something fun to do.”

“Great. Well, I guess I’ll see you Saturday.”

It had been a long time since Ana had been dropped at the door by a date. She felt awkward. Should she shake his hand? Give him a kiss on the cheek?

Apparently Chris had the same doubts. He laughed nervously. “How come I feel like a teenager leaving his date in front of her parents’ house, wondering if her dad is going to come out on the porch with a shotgun?”

“Well, Joe and Lindsey are a bit overprotective of me, as I said, but I don’t think you’re in any real danger,” she smiled.

“That’s good to know. Because I’ve been wanting to do this since yesterday.” He leaned in and touched his lips to hers in a soft, slow kiss, as if he had all the time in the world; as if Mrs. Andres wasn’t peeking out her curtain to see what was going on, as if Ana didn’t have a curious eighth grader and two over-protective friends waiting just on the other side of the door.

She let go of all those thoughts, enjoying the kiss, and let her body relax. Chris must have felt the change because he deepened the kiss as she gave in and just enjoyed it. Her body dissolved against him, every thought leaving her mind as she surrendered to sensation: He tasted like coffee and mints, he felt strong and solid, and he smelled delightfully of soap and, well, man. Her knees wouldn’t hold her and she leaned against him even more, so he had to catch her when the front door suddenly opened and Sophie’s voice called out, “Hi, Mom. I got an A on my algebra test today.”

“Sophie! Come inside! Give your mother a few minutes of privacy,” Lindsey’s voice rang out.

Chris backed away a step, still holding her waist as she got her balance.

“Well, now I really do feel like a teenager caught kissing his date. How come it is turns out to be just as embarrassing to be caught by the girl’s daughter as it is to be caught by her father?”

“And you have lots of experience with that?” Ana asked, laughing.

“A little bit.”

“You’ll have to tell me all about it on Saturday then.”

“I’m sure we can find something more interesting to talk about than my teenage romances. But right now I think you’d better go in. I see the curtains twitching. And I don’t think it is just Sophie watching.”

He gave her another quick kiss on the cheek and turned her toward the door. He watched as she walked up the steps and into Joe and Lindsey’s house, then turned away, humming to himself. He hadn’t expected to enjoy his time in Rivelou so much. Coming here had been an obligation to his sister more than any real belief he would find out something useful in this small town. It had been a few years since he’d had any romantic interests in his life.

Chris hadn’t, exactly, given up on romance, he had just not pursued it. Once women found out what he did they either ran from him, figuring he was a crackpot, or they were too interested because they were more than a little cracked themselves. He wasn’t interested in women who thought he was a real life ComicCon hero. What he did was serious business.

Yes, Ana Dugan had definitely sparked his interest with her combination of guts and insecurity. She covered up her sense of humor and wit. She’d been unappreciated for far too long, he thought.

As Chris walked away, his thoughts moving from Ana to his business in Rivelou and back again, he forgot to be vigilant. He didn’t notice a dark shape growled softly to itself in the bushes beside her house as it watched him with glowing eyes.

Chapter8

The animal stayed
in the bushes and watched as Ana and Sophie, chattered happily to her mother about her day at school, crossed from the Lessing’s house to their own front porch. The door closed behind them and lights popped on throughout the house.

Do wolves think? Do shapeshifters, when in animal form, reason in the same way that they do when in human form? Or do they rely on instinct?

Whether intellectual reasoning, or animal instinct, the wolf outside Ana’s door knew it had to watch her. It wanted her. It needed her.

The lights in the house slowly went out, and still the animal crouched in the dark. He heard the back door open and he crawled along the high privacy fence until he found a crack where he could see into the backyard.

                            ~~~

Ana stepped out onto the small back deck. She wore only a terrycloth bathrobe. The moon called to her. She could ignore it no longer. It was the third and final night of the full moon.

It would be easier when Sophie was older, when she could turn with her mother. But for now, her daughter needed to be safely in bed while her mother changed. It meant Ana couldn’t often run with her pack, something she heard about constantly from her grandfather, the leader. But she would take this time to slip out of her human form and worship the moon in the way of her ancestors.

Her backyard was tiny, but private. The privacy fence was solid and high. Many of the neighboring shotgun houses had converted their attics into second floor bedrooms, but the sloping roofs meant that there were windows only on the front and back of the houses surrounding her. No one could see as she slipped off her robe, stretched her muscles and began the change.

Her legs and arms stretched and elongated and she crouched on all fours. As her ears grew larger her hearing became more acute, her nose, elongating, also became more sensitive.

Another wolf was nearby.

Was it the rogue who had killed only last night?

Now was not the time to find out. Not with Sophie asleep and vulnerable upstairs. Ana quickly returned to her human form, slipped her robe back on, and went inside locking the door behind her.

In the dark the wolf continued to watch. He could be very, very patient.