Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance (18 page)

insane if I have to wait any longer."

She could feel his large hands gripping her hips, and then

that intense but pleasurable pain of sharp teeth digging the

flesh of her back. The swollen and heated flesh between her

legs throbbed to feel his stiff erection slip into her and bring

her to heaven like he'd done before.

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She was so aroused and wet that when his engorged

member drove up into her from behind, it caused little pain at

all. Laura thrust her hips back, pushing him even further into

her throbbing wet hole.

With his large hands firmly grasping her hips, he impaled

her with his rigid flesh again and again, his rough lovemaking

sending her into spasms of erotic sensation until she felt her

release spill from between her legs onto his thrusting

member.

His reaction was immediate—he stiffened and flooded seed

within her waiting body. With his fire spent, he rested his

head on her back without separating their flesh.

"Laura ... I have never loved like this before," he

whispered.

His tenderness caused her heart to swell painfully and she

wished for the words to tell him of her love.

He kissed her skin softly before separating from her to lie

in the grass. He seemed to avoid looking at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm.

He didn't answer, and he wouldn't even look at her.

"Do you regret making love to me?" she whispered.

He turned sharply in her direction. "Never! I could never

regret the sweetness that you have brought to my life."

"What then?"

"It's nothing." He smiled as he was getting to his feet.

Justin straightened his clothing and held out his hand to help

her up.

"I have to go now."

"No, Justin, not yet," she pleaded.

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He gave her a sad, haunting smile. "I have to go now, but

I will see you again."

"Justin, I cannot let you walk out on me like this again."

Tears glistened in her eyes.

He took her hands in his. "Laura, go home to your people

in New Mexico. You are not safe here any longer." He kissed

her once again before leaving.

Laura watched him disappear into the trees and emptiness

consumed her. She could not keep herself from calling out to

him.

"Justin, wait!" She started down the path that he had

taken.

"Take me with you!"

There was no response and no sign of him anywhere.

Her heart felt like heavy stone in her chest. Justin had

done something that no one else had ever accomplished—he

had taken control of her emotions. Laura was not so sure that

she liked the feeling. Being without him left a void deep

within her. Even worse than that was that the deeper her

feelings became, the less she saw of him. Maybe that was the

deal? Maybe he wanted to keep it strictly physical?

Justin watched Laura from a clump of trees—watched her

as she called out his name. Every fiber of his being wanted to

reach out to her, but he knew that he could never let himself

do it.

He had known from the beginning that he could never take

an outsider as a mate. Even if he defied custom, it would

never work. If she knew ... if she knew what he really was,

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the love he had seen in her eyes would turn to revulsion, and

that was something he could never bear to see.

Justin knew he should never have touched her, but his

longing for her had been too great to deny. Visions of Laura

had haunted him for years in his dreams, but to find her ...

love her ... and then let her go—how could he ever do what

he knew must be done?

The note had been taped to her front door—an urgent

message from Jessup to return to the office as soon as

possible. For the life of her, Laura could not think of what

could be so urgent. Considering the past couple of weeks, it

could be anything.

There was another car parked next to Jessup's black truck.

It seemed vaguely familiar but she just could not place it.

Swinging the door open wide, Laura rushed in, frantic of what

might have happened. Any words she had been about to say

evaporated before leaving her lips.

Kenny and her grandfather stood there looking at her as if

she were a ghost.

Her eyes rested on her grandfather. "Grandpa ... what's

this all about?"

"I think it would be better if someone else explained." He

pointed toward the shadows—to a man whom Laura hadn't

noticed before now.

The man who stepped forward wore his graying hair in two

thick black braids. His dark eyes were sharp, seeming to miss

nothing.

He held out a dark, leathery hand to Laura. "My name is

Albert Two-Bears of the
Oglala
. Your grandfather asked me to

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come here with him and help convince you to return to New

Mexico."

Laura's mouth dropped open.

"What?" It was the only word she could utter.

"Let's sit ... Laura." Kenny gently took her arm and led her

to a chair.

"I knew that you would have thought I was only a senile

old man ... if I had tried to tell you myself," Busby tried to

explain to his confused granddaughter.

"Tell me what?"

"Laura, what do you think of the clear-cutting that Duccini

is doing?" Two-Bears asked.

Laura lifted her hands in a gesture of helplessness. "If the

decision were mine, I would not do it, but it's not."

"If you were a traditionalist, do you think the destruction

of your home would make you angry, very angry?"

"Yes," Laura answered with a whisper.

"
Sungmanitu
is from the Lakota dialect. Do you have any

idea what it means?"

"Yes, I have been told it means wolves."

Two-Bears took a deep breath. "Well, there is a reason

why they are called that."

Laura eyed him curiously, waiting for further explanation.

"Many years ago, it was discovered that these people

practiced what we know as shape-shifting. That alone isn't

such a bad thing, but they were different. They were cold-

blooded killers and dangerous to anyone but their own kind."

Laura was shaking her head in denial. "This is just some

old story with no relevance to the here and now."

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Two-Bears smiled cynically. "Is it just some old story or is

there always some truth to legends?"

Laura's eyes showered him with angry sparks. "That's

completely ridiculous. I do not believe in werewolves and

spooks. This is something that my grandfather and I have

always butted heads on. I happen to know that shape shifting

is a matter of the mind's state, rather than a physical

change."

Laughter flickered in Two-Bears' eyes. "Is that so? Have

you ever done it?"

Laura shook her head.

He continued. "How do you explain the mass of murders

around here in recent weeks?"

"I think someone in Beaver Creek is using scare tactics to

keep our crews on the run—and that's all there is to it."

Dismayed, Busby shook his head. "Girl, you are being

foolish to look the other way. Why you are being so stubborn

I do not know, but you are walking the dark path."

Throughout the conversation, Clyde Jessup had been

quietly absorbing the information, but now he cleared his

throat to get their attention.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Laura. I'm an open-

minded person about a lot of things, but people turning into

bloodthirsty animals, well that's a little much for me to

swallow."

Kenny came to Two-Bears' defense. "In our society this

isn't uncommon and Laura knows full well that is so. I don't

understand why she's denying the possibility?" Kenny peered

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at Laura, but she turned away to avoid having to look into his

eyes.

Kenny continued. "We have witches whom we call

Skinwalkers. They have been known to change into animals

when their purpose requires it."

Jessup could no longer hide his amusement. "I'm sorry,

people, but I think these Indians are taking advantage of this

old story to scare the heck out of people in the hopes that

Duccini will pull out."

Two-Bears looked at Busby and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry old friend, but if they insist on being foolish ... we

can do no more."

"Can you tell me more about the
Sungmanitu
?" Laura

asked him. She seemed to be opening up—if just a little.

Two-Bears smiled at this small victory. "No one knows how

long ago the
Sungmanitu
appeared among the people. It is

unknown where they came from and they never said. They

were Lakota in every way ... except one. They had the ability

to become one with the animals. They could walk amongst a

pack of wolves, play with a grizzly and talk to the birds."

Two-Bears paused to catch his breath. Everyone in the

room waited in silence for him to continue.

"Well, as the story goes—one night—about midsummer, a

small raiding party led by a warrior called Dark Moon decided

to take shelter for the night with the
Sungmanitu
, but what

they saw that night chilled their blood."

"The warriors approached the camp unnoticed. A huge

bonfire blazed in the middle of the encampment.

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"They saw these creatures—half man and half beast. The

creatures were dancing around the fire and making all sorts of

unearthly sounds. Then, right before their eyes it happened—

the creatures completed their transformation. There was no

evidence left to indicate that these animals had once been

human. The warriors left as quickly as they could, never being

seen.

"That was the story they told when they returned, and

from that time on—the
Sungmanitu
were never welcomed

amongst the other Lakota bands. It had become clear why

their enemies were always mutilated, looking as if they had

been half eaten.

"Soon the
Sungmanitu
disappeared and it was never

known what had become of them until three-hundred years

later. That is when it was discovered that they were here—in

the Shadow Mountains." Two-Bears' voice was grim as he

finished his story.

Laura's smile was patient but strained. "That is a very

interesting story, but I just can't believe it. I have spent time

with some of these people and they just don't seem like

killers to me, let alone werewolves."

"You mean to tell me that you find nothing at all strange

about them?" Two-Bears was disbelieving.

Laura opened her mouth, but words failed her. How could

she deny that she had found them strange in many ways?

Two-Bears read this and much more. He could somehow

tell that her interest in the
Sungmanitu
had become personal,

very personal.

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His eyes sent her a message—a message her heart must

ignore.

Beware of the beast.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Laura sat next to Kenny in his beat-up Nova. It sputtered

and bogged down as it labored to make it up the steep incline

on the road to Acton where they were going to pickup

groceries.

"Get the feeling that we should have taken your vehicle?"

He gave her a lopsided grin.

"I can't believe you took this thing all the way to South

Dakota ... and then here!"

"Oh well. It was something that had to be done." He

shrugged.

"Come on, Kenny. You haven't fallen for any of that

superstitious nonsense have you?" Her voice held some

amusement.

"I wouldn't be too quick to pass judgment, Laura. There

have been a lot of disappearances and murders—haven't

there?" Kenny took his eyes off the road long enough to look

over at her.

"I'll bet if you look into the history of this area, you will

find that these are really not uncommon occurrences," he

added.

Laura knew he was right, since she had already checked

the facts, but for some reason she kept the knowledge to

herself. "I can't leave anyway. The police want me to stay

around for a while." She was unable to keep the irritation out

of her voice.

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"Laura ... no one is going to make you do anything." She

had wounded him. The pain was clearly painted in his boyish