Wolf Hills (18 page)

She could feel the heat of his release flood her. It felt right. Warm, exciting and intensely satisfying on a level she hadn’t expected. She’d rarely let a man come inside her. She hadn’t had sex without a condom in a long time. She knew she was out of practice, but Jason’s loving sent her to a whole other level of pleasure.

Jason collapsed over her and she reveled in the solidity of him pinning her to the bed. She loved the way he responded to her. He held nothing back. He made her feel like a femme fatale. A sex goddess.

Sally had never in her life felt like a sex goddess before. At best, she’d been a gifted amateur. Jason had changed all that.

“Sorry.” His voice was still rough. She loved the sound of it. Knowing she had done that to him. “I must be crushing you.”

“It’s okay.” She was quick to reassure him, enjoying running her fingers through his shaggy hair.

He rolled off her anyway and took a moment to position them both on the bed, spooning her from behind. Oh, yeah. Wolves seemed to like to cuddle. Sally could get used to that real fast.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” He nibbled her ear. “I didn’t mean to jump you first thing in the morning.” Amusement laced his words.

“Really? After dreaming of this all night, I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t.” She stroked the muscled forearm that circled her waist, enjoying the feel of him and the laziness of satisfaction that stole over her.

“You dreamed of me? Of us?” he asked in a hot whisper.

“Mm-hmm,” she answered in the affirmative.

“I think I like that.” Smug approval filled his tone.

“What am I going to do about the garden?” She thought aloud, hoping he might have some solution. “Your Pack members will probably tell Carly about my little ability.”

“I wouldn’t call that little. Besides, I thought she was one of your oldest friends. You mean to say she doesn’t know about it already?”

“I’ve never told anyone before. Nobody’s ever seen me do it.” Hesitancy filled her voice.

“You never questioned why or how you could make things grow?”

“Yes and no. When I was little, it was just natural. The trees and flowers talked to me. Not in words, but I understood them—better than people most of the time. As I grew older, I began to realize that other people couldn’t hear them. The other foster kids in the place I lived from when I was seven to ten years old were pretty mean. I learned not to draw attention to myself. I spent a lot of time in an old tree house, away from the other kids. The place was falling down around my ears. The Frantonis—my foster parents at the time—didn’t allow anybody up there, but I went anyway. I knew the tree would hold me up and keep me safe, away from the teasing and bullying.”

Jason’s arms tightened around her. She felt him place a gentle kiss on her temple. “I’m glad you had someone on your side, even if it was just an old tree. What you’ve said gives me an idea about what that other blood of yours might be.”

She turned in his arms to look at him. “Really?”

“It’s a little farfetched, but I think you might have an ancestor who was one of the ancient forest spirits. Not many of them stayed in this realm, but one makes her home on Pack land. In fact, she lives not far from that little waterfall I took you to yesterday. It’s funny. My first impulse was to take you to that spot, though I’ve never taken a woman there before. That patch of forest has always been my solitary refuge. The place I go when I want to think things through on my own. The Pack knows not to bother me there. But when I first saw you, I wanted to share that special place with you. I wonder if your ancestry might have something to do with that impulse?”

“I have no idea.” She was really touched by his words. That he’d want to share such a private place with her meant a lot.

“There’s one way to find out. We should pay her a visit. Maybe she can tell us for sure if your special abilities stem from that sort of heritage.”

“What kind of being is she?” Sally was almost afraid to ask.

Jason grinned. “A nymph.”

“You’re kidding.” Sally was shocked at the idea. “They’re real?”

“As real as you or me. From what I understand, there used to be a lot more of them. But like all of the supernatural races, they suffered greatly during the rise of man. They need forests to survive. You only have to look around at the sprawling cities and acre after acre of cleared farmland to realize why many of them may have chosen to leave this realm.”

“Are there other…realms?” She wasn’t familiar with his usage of the word. It sound is as if there were parallel worlds coexisting alongside each other or something.

“Many,” he confirmed. “But like humans, werefolk are pretty much grounded to this earthly realm. There are Others, though. Very magical Others, who can travel between them, and live and thrive in many places. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never actually met a Fey, but I do know they exist. One came to the aid of the High Priestess not long ago. I heard he’s been hanging out with a vampire in New York City lately.”

“A fairy? In New York City?”

Jason burst out laughing. “He’s not a fairy like you’re probably imagining. This guy is a Fey warrior. He’s more like what you would think of as an elf in the tradition of Tolkien than a Disney fairy, flitting about on tiny little wings.” He scooted away from her in the king-sized bed and stood. “I promised to deliver you to the police station today, to make your formal statement. As much as I’d love to stay in bed with you all day, we’d better get moving.”

“Yeah,” Sally agreed, getting up as well. The Pack and her vampire friends still might be in serious danger. Today was the day for answers.

She dressed quickly, stopping briefly in the attached bathroom to clean up a little while Jason remade the bad. He was very domestic for a man, she thought with a small grin. She could get used to being pampered by the likes of him.

They were out the door a few minutes later. He’d brought a shiny new SUV today. She’d loved riding behind him on the bike, but there was something to be said for the quiet inside the cabin of the SUV. They could talk while they drove into town.

Jason pointed out various sights of interest along their path. Even though he kept the conversation light and flowing, her anxiety began to build as they neared the police station. It was time to get to work. Time to find out if the danger was real or imagined. She hoped for the latter, but feared it was the former. A cold knot of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She already knew how this was going to turn out. She’d known it from the moment she’d spotted that tattoo.

Putting her game face on, Sally hopped out of the SUV when Jason opened the door for her. They’d been able to park very close to the front door of the police station, so there wasn’t much time to get her thoughts in order before they were inside, face to face with the officers who had helped them the day before. The dark-haired one was Officer Bell. The blonde was Officer Horace.

Jason shook hands with both men, and again she got the idea that they knew each other. At least in passing. She went with Officer Horace while Jason went with Bell. Their desks were in the back of the station, where they took Sally and Jason’s official statements.

Sally saw her moment when both officers stood to go make photocopies. With a quick look at Jason, she twirled the official file her guy had left sitting open on his desk and began rifling through it. Jason knew without being told explicitly to act as a lookout.

Sally found what she was looking for on page three. No identifying marks on either of the men who had been arrested. Damn. It was like the last time all over again. Only she had seen the mark.

But why? That question had bothered her for years. Why could only she see the tattoo that was plain as day on the guy’s wrist? It still bothered the heck out of her. Was she nuts? Hallucinating? Her mind playing tricks on itself? She still didn’t have any answers to those questions.

Jason moved, making deliberate noise and she spun the folder back into place. Just in time. The officers walked back into the room and to their desks. They handed copies of their statements to Jason and Sally respectively. With only a little more fuss, they were out of the police station and on their way. Sally felt both relief and dread as Jason opened the car door for her.

They kept silent until they were both tucked safely inside the SUV.

As he put the truck in gear, he began to talk, keeping an eye on traffic. Nobody could tell looking in from outside that their conversation was tense, their topic of great import.

“Did you get the information?” Jason asked without looking at her.

“Our assailants are named William Sullivan and Bartholomew Samuels. No identifying marks on either wrist.” She told him what she’d seen in the police report. “Damn. I really thought I saw it. Just for a split second, but it was there.”

“If you say you saw it, I believe you.” His confidence in her was touching but she’d been through this before.

“Even if nobody else seems to see what I see?”

Jason nodded. “Even then.”

“Why?” She couldn’t fathom why his faith in her was so strong. Not when she doubted herself.

“Because of what I saw this morning. Whether you believe in it or not, you’ve got some kind of magic in you, sweetheart. I’m not all that familiar with magic users, but I have heard there are certain things that only they can see. You might have just enough of that special kind of sight to be able to see what you think are tattoos on people marked in a more arcane way.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” The thought had never even occurred to her, though it did explain quite a bit. “So where are we going now?”

“I think it’s time we tried to find my friend, Leonora. She might be able to shed some light on the nature of your magic. She’s the most magical creature I know around these parts. Well, the friendliest one, at least.”

“This is the nymph you mentioned?” Sally wasn’t sure how she felt about meeting a nymph. It would be nice to know why she saw tattoos where nobody else seemed to, but she wasn’t sure if she really believed there was some magical ancestor in her bloodline that only the werewolves were able to detect.

“One and the same. Don’t worry. You’ll love her. She’s got a way with plants and her place in the woods is breathtaking. I’m glad you’ve given me an excuse to go visit her. I usually drop by a few times a month when I’m prowling, just to make sure she’s okay and has everything she needs. She doesn’t get into town much, though she claims the forest provides for her. Judging by what I’ve learned over the years, I suspect that’s all she really needs.”

Jason drove them out of town and up into the woods, following the same path they’d taken yesterday. It really was beautiful country and the woods were particularly lush in the area around the small waterfall he’d shown her yesterday. Not dense. There was plenty of room to walk among the trees. But everything was in full bloom, green, growing and healthy.

She had been so enthralled with Jason and the cougar who had visited them, and then worried about the hunters, she’d failed to hear the lilting melody that wafted through the trees. It was beautiful. It got louder and more intense as they passed the place where they’d met Steve Redstone the day before.

Entranced, Sally moved in front of Jason, unaware she’d taken the lead. She only knew she had to follow that sound to its source.

“Leonora’s place is back this way,” Jason said from behind her.

Sally stopped, only then aware that she’d outpaced him by several yards. Something was drawing her in this direction. She sent out a tentative query to the nearest tree. Not some
thing
, she learned to her joy when it answered back. Some
one
.

“She’s not there,” Sally told Jason. “But I know where she is.”

“How?” Jason caught up to her, his smile quizzical.

“The trees told me.” She saw his eyes narrow as though he didn’t quite believe her. “You don’t hear that?”

“Hear what?” Jason cocked his head as if listening intently, but he shook his head only a moment later.

“How do you find someone in the woods?”

Jason tapped his nose. “By scent.”

“Of course.” Sally should’ve realized. He was a wolf, after all. “All right. Well, I suppose it’s like that, only I can hear the trees whispering in the wind. The leaves shush a melody all their own. Sometimes, if the trees are active, as they are here, I can even ask them questions. Not in words really, but more like thought impulses, and sometimes they answer back. The birch over there passed my query to the pine who whispered it to the oak and so on. Like a leafy game of telephone.” She’d never had a chance to describe this to anyone before and found it hard to put into words exactly how it all worked. “When the answer flew back this way, they told me where we’ll find your friend.”

“And they told me where to find you,” came a feminine voice through the leaves. A woman appeared, her hair blonde as sunlight, her clothes dappled with the greens and golds of the forest.

Jason stepped forward. “Leonora, it is good to see you again.”

“And you, Jason.” Her smile was angelic but her gaze quickly moved from Jason to Sally, questioningly. “Who is this you bring to my glade? The trees whisper of her magic.”

“Sally Decker, a police detective from San Francisco,” Jason said formally. “She is a close friend of the new Mistress.”