Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance (15 page)

He started thrusting his rigid erection into her heated

flesh, at first she felt that he would rip her open, but the pain

passed and she found herself swept away as he franticly

plunged into her. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she

pulled him into her depths as far as she could, relishing the

pain of him using her wet sheath to satisfy his craving.

As he moved within her, Laura's own need reached its

peak, and she could take it no longer. Raking his back with

her nails, the night shattered into a million fragments.

Simultaneously, she felt his searing flesh pulsing within her.

His growls turned to vicious snarls. The sensation of his

throbbing orgasm was enough to send sensation rippling

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through her body once again, and she relished the feeling of

her tight flesh milking his rock hard member for the hot seed

that was exploding within her.

Drowning in his love, her mind never registered his blazing

yellow eyes.

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The morning's soft light covered her like a golden blanket.

Rushing water reached out to pull her from a deep sleep.

Finally, it was the feeling of displacement that brought her

fully awake.

Shades of black were stripped from her memory as bits

and pieces of the previous night returned. The first detail that

slipped into her thoughts was the cold emptiness beside her

and the awareness that she was alone.

The memory was surreal and hard to place in the world of

reality. Had Justin made love to her last night or had it all

been a dream? The longer she thought about it, the clearer

the memory became, bringing with it a feeling of total

contentment. Justin's tenderness had turned so savage in the

heights of their lovemaking, but he had sated the fire within

her like no man ever had.

She rose to her elbows and took in the beauty of her

surroundings. The reflecting sun lent the illusion of a million

tiny diamonds dancing in the spray of the waterfall. Though a

woolen blanket sheltered her nakedness, the moisture in the

air chilled her. She made an attempt to rise, but her knees

were too weak, and she stumbled.

Laura wondered sourly why she felt as if she had

consumed a large amount of alcohol the night before. On a

couple of occasions she'd had the misfortune of drinking too

much champagne and the next morning had felt very similar

to this.

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As soon as the dizziness passed, Laura struggled into her

clothes, stopping abruptly when her jeans made contact with

her thighs, sending tendrils of sharp pain through her body.

Laura swayed when she saw the ugly teeth marks that had

turned to angry black bruises. Between her legs she was very

sore. This eliminated any doubts about the wild night of sex

that she remembered. But the bite marks?

Had Justin done this?
She could not quite grasp the elusive

memory.

Scanning her surroundings, Laura attempted to find a clue

as to where she was from Beaver Creek. There was only one

trail leading away from the waterfall leaving her no choice in

which way to go.

As she walked through the thick pines, Laura became

increasingly angry. How could he have made love to her and

then left her there in the woods all alone? Never had someone

treated her so disrespectfully. Blinded by unshed tears, Laura

pushed her way deeper into the shadows of the pines. She

made up her mind to find him and thrash him like he

deserved. Afterwards she would walk away and never see him

again.

"Hello!" The voice of a girl called out to her.

Laura froze—her eyes seeking the source of the bodiless

voice. An instant later, she saw the little girl hidden in the

shade of a large pine tree—not too far from where she stood

on the path.

The owner of the voice could have been no more than six

or seven years old, and reminded Laura of a little waif. The

girl peered up at her through large, dark eyes. Her shoulder

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length black hair appeared to be tangled and knotted, as if

she had been hard at play.

Her smile was disarming, and when the little girl stood up,

Laura could see that her small feet were cracked and dirty, as

if she had been walking barefoot on the hot desert floor.

"You look very sad." The little girl gave Laura a half smile.

"Yes, I guess I am." Laura tried but was not very

successful.

"Why are you sad?"

"I'm really not sure." A single tear crept down Laura's

cheek, her pain threatening to burst forth. "I think it is

because someone I know did something that was not very

nice."

"Justin?" The girl's eyes widened questioningly.

"Do you know Justin?" Laura asked, completely forgetting

to answer the girl's question.

The girl said nothing, but just nodded.

"What's your name?" Laura asked.

Dark eyes stared at her silently, but a second later her

little feet closed the distance between herself and Laura.

"I bet you have a really pretty name." Laura bent down so

that she could look into the girl's eyes.

"My name is Rosa." The girl held out her tiny hands to

Laura.

In the same instant that she grasped the little girl's hands,

Laura felt something close to an electrical shock flood through

her body.

The darkness of Rosa's eyes pulled at her and she felt

herself slipping into them, losing touch with everything

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around her. She was falling ... plunging into obscurity. When

the world ceased spinning, she found herself in a large

clearing, darkened by the night. A full moon filled the sky, but

its silvery light was unsuccessful in penetrating the dense fog.

The mist seeped through her skin until she had become

one with it. Her sight cleared and she could make out the

erratic, but graceful movement of the things before her. Their

dance was hypnotic, but what were those things?

Slowly, the mass of movement took on individual shapes—

the shape of cats, and wolves. But they were huge and

deformed—their features shifting and changing as they

danced. Their eyes! Laura could not hold back her screams

when she saw into their eyes.

Their eyes seemed to have captured the light of the moon

and were burning with murderous lust. Blood dripped from

their snarling fangs.

"This is their true essence ... Laura." Rosa sounded far

away.

Laura opened her eyes to find herself alone. The morning

was as bright and beautiful as it had been a moment before,

but Rosa was gone. Looking around, she tried to spot the girl,

but there was no sign she had ever been there.

Shaking her head, Laura tried to clear her thoughts. Maybe

she had imagined the whole thing? Possibly something left

over from the drug they had given her the night before. She

was certain now, that she had been drugged.

A wave of misery washed over her anew.

How could he have done it?

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She continued on to Beaver Creek, and upon finally

reaching the town she found it completely empty. Laura

looked for any sign of life as she made her way to her truck.

Though she couldn't see anyone, she was overcome with the

feeling of being watched.

The truck was exactly where she had left it the night

before. Digging into her pants pocket, her fingers grasped her

keys. She quickly got in and started it up. An overwhelming

need to flee Beaver Creek took hold of her and she began to

shake.

The wind whisked through the trees, creating an eerie

moaning, while whirlwinds of dust danced in the dirt road, as

if they could block her escape.

Laura slowed the truck as she approached Justin's cabin.

It, too, appeared to be deserted. Leaving the engine running,

she knocked on the door but all was silent. She tried again

and received the same results.

Disappointed, Laura got back in her Bronco and started

home.

Laura bathed and dressed for work. A glance at the clock

told her that she was already very late. Jessup was not going

to be happy with her. This would be the second time that she

strolled into the office late.

Entering the dimly lit office, she braced herself to receive a

tongue-lashing.

"Jessup!" she called out, but her only answer was the echo

of her own voice.

"Jessup, are you here?" Laura began searching the trailer.

She found only emptiness.

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She frowned, thinking how odd it was for him to be gone

this time of day without forewarning her. Maybe in Brantic

City she would find someone who might know where Jessup

had disappeared? Tinges of uneasiness descended on her,

and she hoped that Jessup was not going to be among the

Duncini casualties.

Outside, the day was already heating up and inside the

truck was even hotter. A breeze wafted through the window

as she drove, helping to cool her. Before long, Laura rounded

a hillside and Brantic City came into view.

Something was wrong!

It appeared as if the whole community had gathered

outside the Nugget Saloon and several police cars lined the

street in front of the old building.

Laura was forced to park a distance from the saloon. She

headed toward the mass of people, spotting Jessup in the

midst of conversation with one of Duccini's employees.

Laura tapped Jessup on the shoulder.

"Where in the blazes have you been? We have been

looking for you all morning!" Anger glistened in his eyes.

Taken back, Laura answered. "It got so late last night that

I stayed in Beaver Creek," she told him, hoping that her blush

didn't reveal too much.

Fortunately, Jessup was too caught up in other things to

give it much notice.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, not much, just a couple of the locals were found

mutilated, that's all." His irritation with her came through in

every word.

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"I'm sorry. I'd have let you know if I had known I'd be

staying over," Laura apologized.

His big hand came up to slap her on the back. "Since there

seems to be some crazy nut around here, I suggest you stay

closer to home from now on. We were just worried about you

... that's all."

"What on earth is going on around here—people

disappearing and popping up dead? I feel like I've walked

onto the set of some B movie." Laura wondered how all this

could really be happening.

Jessup took Laura by the arm, leading her back to her car.

"By the way, your grandfather called this morning and he

sounded very upset. He demanded that you leave here

immediately."

"I guess I should try and call him." Laura slid into the

driver's seat of her Bronco.

A spooky feeling gnawed at her insides as she looked into

her rearview mirror and saw Jessup watching her drive away.

For the third time that day, Laura listened to the endless

ringing as she waited for someone at the trading post to pick

up the phone. Sighing, she hung up. It was very unusual for

no one to be at Glass Mountain in the middle of the day.

The day dragged on and Laura continued to call the

Trading Post at least once an hour. The result was the same

each time. It was just after five in the afternoon when Jessup

finally made it back to the office.

"You okay?" His forehead wrinkled with lines of worry.

"Yes," Laura answered, though she was not altogether sure

that she
was
okay.

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"You don't look so well," he commented.

Laura looked away, hoping that he would not read more in

her face than what she would want him to.

"Things are crazy in town. The sheriff mentioned that he

would be around to talk to you soon. He seems to think that

you know more than what you are letting on."

Laura groaned and rested her head on her desk.

"Did you talk to your grandfather?" His voice was

sympathetic.

"Nope," Laura told him, feeling as if she didn't even have

the strength to raise her head and look at him.

"Maybe you should go back to your cabin and get some

rest? I think you need it,"

Jessup told her.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll do that." Laura tried to

smile, but failed miserably.

"Go ahead, not much to do around here right now