Big Bad Bite (11 page)

A black crew cab truck pulled up and parked
next to Jenna while she was still skimming the article. The door
opened and the motor was still running when a familiar scent hit
the air. Amy. Looking up, Jenna smiled at the wide grin lighting
her face. Was she always this perky?

“Ready to go, girl?”

“You bet. Here, can I put my paper in your
truck?”

“Go right ahead. You’ll have to give me all
the fun details of your little adventure later.”

Throwing the paper onto Amy’s passenger seat,
she slammed the door shut and took off down the road towards Bolton
on her bike. Twenty minutes of serious back roads later, they
pulled up to a small shack that apparently served as a guard house.
Amy stopped her truck and spoke briefly to the guard who looked at
her before waving them both through. Jenna wasn’t sure what to
expect her first time on pack lands. A Dracula style mansion? Caves
with dens to hide in? What she found instead was kind of homey. It
was like a little community. Very similar to your standard
residential neighborhood except instead of paved roads, they had
dirt roads that left much of nature untouched around the
houses.

The houses were of varying sizes, some single
story ranches and other’s two stories. Probably to accommodate
different sized families. Amy kept driving through the winding dirt
roads that led further back into the woods until she had put a
slight distance between them and the houses, before pulling into
the driveway of a large two story cabin style home. There was a
small cabin tucked off to the side of the larger house that looked
as if it might have two rooms to it, with a black GMC Yukon parked
in front. Jumping out of her truck, Amy hopped over to her like a
little bunny, her arms thrown wide. Excitement glittered in her
brown eyes as if the whole world was her buffet, and she was the
hungry wolf come to gobble it up. It was a voraciousness for life
that Jenna could respect. Envy even, since she was starting to come
to terms with the fact that despite her best efforts, she had been
hiding from the world her entire life.

“This is home sweet home, Jenna. Isn’t it
beautiful? I love it here.”

Jenna stood and turned in a circle, admiring
the peace and quiet of nature surrounding Amy’s home. It reminded
her of the woods in the state protected forest behind her Mama’s
home. Her wolf was already begging to be released so they could run
uninhibited through the new land. Turning back to Amy, she rubbed
her hands together in excitement.

“Come on, let’s go running. It’s been forever
since I’ve been somewhere new.”

Grabbing her by the hand, Amy dragged her
behind the house to the edge of the woods. “We can strip here and
go.” Starting to lift the hem of her shirt up from her stomach, she
saw Jenna’s hesitation. “What’s wrong?” Her bright red brows
furrowed in confusion.

Glancing around to the back of the house,
Jenna felt stupid for the overwhelming sense of shyness. “The guys
won’t see, will they?”

Giving an understanding grin, Amy took her
shirt off and laid it on the ground. “Adam and Clay are in meetings
in the house for pack business. They have been all morning. We’ve
still got hours before they even come up for air. I know you’re
used to being alone, but I swear it’s just us right now. No biggie.
And I promise not to take any naked pictures of you for my photo
album.”

Throwing a swat at her shoulder, Amy dodged
out of the way before Jenna could hit her back for the sarcastic
comment. “Smartass. Alright, I get it. I’m being stupid. Let’s
go.”

As Amy finished pulling off her shorts and
underwear, Jenna walked to the back side of the closest tree for a
smidgen of privacy. Not to mention she needed to hide the fact that
her shift would be a little different from Amy’s shift. No need for
any awkward questions to come up. Peeling off her jeans, tank top,
and undies, she left her bandages for last, ripping the annoying
medical tape off of her skin. Amy had already dropped to her hands
and knees, beginning to shift. Much like the memories of Uncle
Owen’s shifts, she knew Amy’s bones and muscles would crack and
strain in gruesome angles before settling into her wolf form. It
would also take her more than twice the time it did Jenna to shift.
Her body melted with fluidity into a sudden rush of muscle and bone
rearrangement, until she was on four paws, peeking through a small
hole in the bush to watch as Amy finished her transformation.

Amy lifted her head over the brush to peer at
Jenna. She was as stunning on four legs as she was on two. While in
human form she sported a cap of bright red hair, in her animal form
she showcased the marking of your typical grey wolf. The majority
of her fur was covered in differing grey tones, but she had white
markings under her eyes, cheeks, and muzzle. Her chest, underbelly,
and legs were white as well. Amber eyes shimmered with
mischievousness as she padded over to Jenna.

Looking her over, it was easy to see that Amy
was almost a head taller than she was in this form. With at least
thirty more pounds of muscle than Jenna had. They were polar
opposites in the looks department. Jenna knew from staring in the
reflective waters of a river near Mama’s house that her eyes were
the same ice blue that they were in her human form. Her coat
translated to the same jet black hair that her human form had, as
well. At nighttime, she could easily blend into the background as a
mere shadow, she was so dark. They gave each other the curious
sniffs that all canines indulged in on their first meeting and then
Amy did something that positively floored her. She nuzzled Jenna’s
face and neck with her head in a sign of affection.

For the first time ever, her wolf’s soul felt
accepted by another of her kind. As Jenna stood there basking in
the emotions that acceptance arose, she totally missed the paw Amy
used to jokingly smack her muzzle with. They tore off into the
trees seconds later for a game of wolf tag. The feel of the
unfamiliar dirt beneath her paws was heaven. Jenna chased Amy as
they zigzagged around trees, over fallen logs, and then eventually
to a small stream where she barreled her into the gray wolf,
yelping as she bumped the wound from where the bullet had grazed
her.

Amy nudged at her ribs where the six inch
wound was before licking it tenderly. Jenna thought it was a gentle
reminder for her to take care of herself. Walking into the small
stream, she plopped to her belly and let the water flow around her
to cool off her overheated fur. It was so peaceful here, basking in
the glory of nature with all of its gifts. Rustling a few yards
away caught her attention. Scenting the air had her mouth watering
in anticipation. Deer. Amy caught the scent of her interest and
they quickly got up to follow their noses to the prey. The two of
them separated to circle around the unsuspecting animal as it stood
grazing on the grass. As Jenna crouched to the ground readying
herself for the attack, a strong breeze blew by giving their scents
away to the doe.

The doe leapt away and Amy gave chase.
Following directly on her heels, they both chased the doe for miles
as it frantically zigzagged away from the two wolves pursuing it.
The prey was trying to outrun the predator. In its hysterical
confusion though, it made the mistake of turning sharply and almost
directly into Jenna’s path. Thrusting her body into an enormous
leap, she landed heavily on the deer’s back, throwing its body to
the ground. Amy circled around and latched onto its throat, shaking
savagely until its windpipe was crushed beneath her strong jaws and
the doe’s body lay unmoving on the ground. In quiet content, the
two of them lay there sharing their meal. Only leaving after they
were sated and their bellies were full from the kill. After a quick
clean up by the stream, they dozed in the midday sun under the
shade of the forest’s tree line. As their two furry bodies lay
overlapping each other, the wonderfully new sense of belonging
continued for Jenna. Whether she chose this pack or not, she
sincerely hoped she got to keep Amy as a friend. Somehow, she had
managed to wiggle her energetic little self inside Jenna’s
long-time impenetrable defenses, which seemed to make sense to both
the human and the wolf.

Sometime later, Amy’s cold nose nudged Jenna
awake. Slightly groggy from her nap, she blindly shoved herself
bodily to four paws and went to follow the gray colored wolf as she
lead the way back towards the cabin. The trees started to become
familiar shortly before they trotted back to where they had left
their clothes piled on the ground. The only problem was, their
clothes were no longer there. Amy shifted back to her human form,
while Jenna circled the area looking for her things.

In a frustrated huff, Amy yelled, “Clay! Damn
you, bring us back our clothes! This is not funny!”

Booming laughter came from somewhere in the
house as Amy started muttering curses. Pushing her hair out of her
face in clear frustration, she turned to look back at Jenna’s pitch
black wolf form, “Come on, Jenna. You can shift back in the house
once we get to my room. I’ll find what Clay did with your clothes
and bring them to you. He’s a damn annoying prankster. You’d think
after pulling off the same joke since we were teenagers he’d be
over it already.”

Amy stomped across the yard to the back of
the house giving small frustrated whines as Jenna padded along
behind her aggravated companion up the stairs and through the back
door. Once inside the open and airy home, they found their clothes
dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the living room floor. She
picked hers up with her mouth as Amy pointed out the small bathroom
that she could change in, off of the living room and near the front
door. Amy was already halfway dressed and told Jenna that she would
grab some fresh bandages by the time she reached the door.

Entering the small half bathroom that held
only a sink and a toilet, Jenna nudged the door closed with her
nose. Shifting back, she used the hand towel hanging next to the
sink to quickly clean herself off so that she was at least a little
presentable to the rest of the world. Feeling a fresher, she bent
over to pull her clothes on only to stop short when she realized
her shirt was missing. Shit. It must still be in the living room.
Cracking the door, she called out Amy’s name. After waiting a
minute and getting no response, she stuck her head out the door and
looked around.

There, still in the middle of the floor, was
her charcoal grey tank top. She looked down at her half-dressed
self in a black lace bra and jeans, then back to the tank top in
the middle of the floor. Taking another quick peek around, she made
the decision to scoot out quickly and grab the top. What were the
chances of anyone seeing her anyhow?

She really should have recalculated those
chances.

Halfway to her shirt, she heard steps
thudding down the stairs. It sounded as if it might be several
different people, because it was almost as loud as an elephant
stomping down towards her. Leaping over to the shirt, her fingers
had just grasped it enough to yank up and clutch in front of her,
when a growl cut through the room. Jerking her head up at the
sound, she saw the last person she had ever expected to see.

Uncle Owen.

Holy shit, Uncle Owen was alive. And
here!

Bristling and angry, with the same windblown
shoulder-length black hair and grass green eyes, he stood on the
third step from the bottom, staring at her. She stood frozen to the
spot; slack jawed, and then glanced from Uncle Owen to Adam, with
Clay directly behind him. They were followed by three other men she
didn’t know directly behind them, stacked up on the stairs like
dominoes. Before her mind was able to form the multitude of
questions barreling through her brain of the whys, or how’s he was
here, Uncle Owen launched himself across the living room. Not
stopping for a second, as he scooped her up by the waist, clenching
Jenna tightly to his side. In a burst of speed and strength like
she’d never before witnessed, the front door shattered into pieces
of large splinters as he kicked it open and raced the two of them
to the cabin across the yard.

The sounds of shouting and growling followed
behind them as Uncle Owen slammed and locked the door to the cabin,
while unceremoniously dropping Jenna to the floor. Shaking like a
leaf in a wind storm from the sheer shock, her head rose to look at
the furious image of her beloved Uncle whom she’d thought dead
because of his absence the past six years.

With a sound that was more animal than man,
he snarled, “What the fuck are you doing here, Jenna? What about
the words ‘stay hidden’ did you NOT understand?”

A loud thump against the door caught her
attention. It sounded like a body being thrown. For the first time
since laying eyes on her Uncle Owen, her brain started to function.
The sounds of enraged snarls and fists beating flesh traveled
through from the outside. “What are YOU doing HERE, Uncle Owen? And
where the hell have you been all this time?”

The door to the cabin crashed open suddenly
as a body flew past them and into the living room, landing on the
other side of the couch. Adam’s silhouette filled the doorway as
Uncle Owen placed himself between her and the bloody Alpha. Rough
hands grabbed her off the floor from behind and lifted her bodily
to her feet, but not before she caught the momentary look of shock
that crossed Adam’s face as he looked furiously back and forth
between Jenna and her Uncle. But her police training kicked in
before her assailant could even let her feet touch the ground.
Dropping her shirt, because who cared about modesty when you’re
about to whoop somebody’s ass, she threw all of her force into an
elbow that slammed into the guy’s stomach. Not expecting the heavy
blow, he ‘hmpfed’ before dropping Jenna so that she landed on the
balls of her feet, giving her the chance to spring away from
him.