Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) (18 page)

Carlie and Adam turned toward Cooper and shook his hand as well. “Cooper. Welcome,” they both stated in unison.

One of Sharon’s brothers cleared his throat and lifted a hand on the other side of the room.

Sharon lifted onto her tiptoes and whispered in Jackson’s ear. “Griffen.”

“Got it.”

Griffen spoke. “Thanks for being here, everyone. I know this is a clusterfuck, but we need to organize and make a plan.” He turned toward Cooper’s mom. “Joyce, can you update us on what you’ve gathered today?”

Joyce stood from her perch on the couch. “I spoke with dozens of women today from my support group and convinced them of the danger we’re in. They weren’t a difficult group to crack. Most of them have known Mimi all their lives and respect her. They know her history is usually spot on. They will speak to their husbands and get as many of their friends and neighbors to the meeting at the high school Monday night.”

She turned toward Laurie and nodded. Laurie brought everyone up to speed from her efforts. “Melinda and I visited the biology team from the junior college earlier. We went in wolf form and didn’t let anyone see us. Their work doesn’t appear to have anything to do with the unrest of the land, but we saw a spirit hovering around them nevertheless. Undoubtedly they’re in danger from being isolated so far from Cambridge. Not shocking.

“I’m not sure what we can do to convince them to come down from the mountain. They have to have felt the tremors and be informed, but it’s not as if Melinda and I could have shifted and seemingly popped out of nowhere to warn them of some mysterious danger based on our intuition.

“Also, I spoke to Mary and Jazmine this morning. They were going to call every family whose kids attend their respective preschools. Hopefully they can appeal to the younger families and get as many of them to show up Monday night as possible. That covers a large population of both the Native Americans who attend Jazmine’s school and the citizens of Cambridge who attend Mary’s.”

Carlie stepped up next. “I spoke to every Caucasian shifter I could think of in the area. Hopefully they too will spread the word and rally their families and friends.”

Jackson watched as Cooper made his way toward Griffen as he spoke. “Good. We’re going to need as many bodies present as possible.” He lifted his face and grinned halfheartedly as he stopped walking. “Sorry.” He lifted a hand to give a vague wave. “I’m Cooper Hamilton. I know I haven’t met all of you yet.” It was eerie to realize most of the family didn’t know Cooper any more than they knew Jackson. Just because he was a shifter didn’t mean everyone had met him. He’d only arrived in town on Tuesday.

Several people welcomed him.

And then he continued. “I have a team of four men out checking the machines that monitor seismic activity now. But I’m convinced the fracking station just north of here is causing the series of small quakes we’re experiencing.”

“And you don’t think we’ve seen the end of it,” Griffen stated.

“Not a chance. If this pattern continues, we’re bound to see something much larger in the coming days. It’s imperative we get that fracking station shut down as soon as possible.”

“That’s not the end of it, though,” Joyce added. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. The woman knew things.

Jackson shuddered and wrapped his arms around Sharon, clasping her hands in his in front of her.

“Seems unlikely,” Cooper agreed. “But at the very least, we’ll be saving the lives of all the men working that station. It’s bound to suffer tremendous damage.”

“Then what do we do?” Adam asked. “Suppose we gather as many people, shifters and humans both, on Monday night and force the hands of the authorities to shut down the fracking site, what happens next?”

“We hold our breath and wait,” Melinda said, joining her mother in the center of the room. “All I can say is that my gut tells me this is serious. The unrest I feel is overwhelming. I’m sure I can say the same for my mom, Laurie, and Mimi.”

“Where’s Mimi?” Sharon asked.

Melinda turned to face Jackson’s side of the room. “She wasn’t feeling well. We convinced her to stay home. I’m sure it’s the same thing the rest of us are feeling. She’s been pacing around her home all day. She’s exhausted with worry.”

Sharon nodded, and Jackson could feel her pulse increase where his thumbs were settled on her wrists. Obviously Mimi was a respected member of the entire community, and no one wanted to hear she was so distressed.

Jackson hadn’t met the older shaman before that morning, but she had seemed frail and aging to him. He hoped it wasn’t serious. Perhaps she got that way whenever there was a spirit sighting.

He glanced around the room at the variety of faces, all with the same goals. These people were family. It didn’t matter if they were white or red or shifters or humans. They were bound to each other by love and blood, and apparently Fate.

He smiled as he realized this was his family now too. His own parents would never understand this, and it would be a long time before he would even consider telling them, but he knew in his heart this large group would be his family from now on. Only a few of them were strictly human. But that didn’t matter to a single member. They were one. They would fight as one. And he was with them.

He blinked away his wandering thoughts and glanced down at Sharon as she squeezed his hand. “Your parents live in Sojourn, right?” She must have read some of his thoughts.

“Yeah, but I don’t see them often. They aren’t the picture of sweet, kind, loving people. And they certainly won’t understand this new development of mine.” He tried to smile, knowing it was half-hearted.

She leaned in closer while Cooper spoke into Jackson’s mind from across the room.
“You have us now. Forever.”

Jackson’s face flamed as he lifted his gaze to meet his other mate’s, emotion making it impossible to form words. But he didn’t need to. Cooper shot him a knowing smile, and Sharon held him close.

It was enough.

“Where’s Cooper?” Sharon muttered into her pillow, trying to turn her face toward Jackson. She felt his presence even before she was fully awake. She also felt Cooper’s absence.

Jackson stroked a finger down her cheek and smiled. “That’s just weird.”

“What is?” She smiled back as she flipped over onto her back so she could see him better. Everything ached deliciously. The sun wasn’t up yet, but she knew it was early morning.

“Your strange psychic abilities.”

“You mean Coop? That’s not psychic. That’s scent.”

“Scent?” He stared.

“I can smell you both from a great distance. His scent lingers in the condo, but he isn’t here.”

“Ah.” He grinned wider, obviously fighting a laugh.

“What?”

“And you think that’s less weird?”

She shrugged and wrapped her hand around his neck to haul him down for a kiss. “It’s not strange to me.”

He nibbled a path across her top lip and then the bottom before leaning back again. “He went to the office of course. I think that man is obsessed with his job. We may never see him often.”

She lifted both eyebrows. “At least when he isn’t here, we can find ways to get to know each other better without his highhanded method of directing every move.” She was teasing, but on the other hand, it was a fact that the dynamic between Jackson and herself would be different when they were alone.

A wide grin spread across his face. “So very true.” He wove his fingers into her hair and let the strands fall through them. “So soft.” His gaze moved to her mess of curls.

She couldn’t imagine anything about her untamed hair could be considered soft at that moment, but she enjoyed the feel of his hands running through the strands.

“He does have a way about him,” Jackson commented.

“Yes.” She took the opportunity to study Jackson’s face while he stared at her hair where it haloed around her on the pillow, mostly his doing.

He could be serious at times, his brow often furrowed in concentration. She imagined he got consumed in his work when he was at his computer pushing numbers. The side job as a local logging inspector was almost incongruent.

“Why do you do it?”

“Do what?” he asked.

“Work two jobs?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I couldn’t decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I didn’t. I chose to get my accounting degree in order to make reasonably good money and then took the job with the logging association in order to get fresh air and tromp around in the woods. Seemed like a win-win to me.”

“And it doesn’t now?”

He met her gaze. “Now I have these two mates to consider. It’s probably overkill working that many hours.”

Good. She was worried both her men would work night and day and she’d never see them. At least Jackson had considered that problem.

“I get a very serious vibe from you two,”
Cooper said into their heads.

Jackson flinched, which didn’t shock her. He wasn’t even close to being used to their telepathic abilities.

“Just talking. How are things there?”
Sharon responded.

“No changes. My team is sleeping in shifts here in the office while we watch the seismic activity.”

“I do not want your job,”
Jackson added.

“I so do not want yours either,”
Cooper tossed back.
“Please spare me the numbers.”

Sharon giggled.
“You’re surrounded by numbers. I saw them when I was there.”

“Yeah, well I don’t have to add them together,”
he joked.
“Okay, got to get back to work. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“No promises.”
Jackson lowered his face as he spoke into their minds.

Sharon closed her eyes as his lips met hers gently. Somehow she knew she was about to make slow love to this human mate of hers. Nothing with the intensity of yesterday.

And she wasn’t wrong. Jackson slid his hand up her thigh, over her hip, and across her belly. When he reached her breast and cupped it, he leaned down to take her nipple into his mouth. He wasn’t rough or hurried. He licked her as if she were a delicious ice cream cone. “Cooper isn’t kidding,” he whispered into her chest. “You do have amazing tits.”

She giggled, squirming beneath his touch. “They just came that way. I don’t get much credit.”

He smiled against her nipple, releasing the tip and then blowing against it until it pebbled further.

“Jackson…” She sighed as she spoke his name and spread her fingers against the back of his neck.

His cock pressed into her thigh, and he nudged her legs apart with one of his to wiggle it between her knees.

A slow sensuous torture began that made her gradual ascent to the edge of sanity all the more delicious. By the time he reached between her legs to gather her arousal, he’d kissed and nibbled nearly every inch of her torso. Her skin burned with need. Goose bumps rose to the surface, and she moaned as soon as he stroked a finger through her folds.

“So wet for me, love.”

“Mmm.”

“So hot.”

She didn’t comment.

Couldn’t.

When he eased his body between her legs and slid into her, he grabbed her hands with his, threaded their fingers together, and stretched them over her head. His gaze met hers and held it. As if in slow motion, he made love to her, sliding in and out with no rush. Every pass drove her toward a peak she knew was going to send her tumbling even deeper in love with this man.

He smiled. “For a wolf, you aren’t blocking well.”

She cringed. What had he gathered from her wandering thoughts?

“I’m falling in love with you too, Sharon. Every second I sink deeper.” His words were punctuated by lazy thrusts of his cock. “One day. How is that even possible?” he muttered.

She licked her lips. “It’s a wolf thing.”

“Good thing my last name is at least Wolf.” He dipped his face and sucked a nipple between his lips. When he bit down gently on the tight bud, she arched into him. He laved the distended nipple several times and then did the same to the other breast.

She gripped at him with her pussy, willing him to remain inside her for eternity.

But there was no way to put off the inevitable for very long. The mating was too new to prevent her senses from being overwhelmed with the need to orgasm.

The feelings were no different for Jackson. After only a few minutes of silently staring into each other’s eyes, they came together on a long satisfying sigh.

Jackson eased out of her and snuggled into her side. “Sleep awhile longer, love. It’s early.” His fingers threaded into her hair again, and he kissed her cheek sweetly before falling back into slumber.

For a long time, Sharon watched his face, easing her head back several inches to get a better view. In slumber he was so peaceful. His eyes relaxed, the lines that often drew them together gone. His mouth parted slightly. His face was in need of a shave that undoubtedly hadn’t happened the morning before when he’d returned to them confused and exhausted.

Eventually she must have dozed also because the particular tone of her phone ringing jerked her out of sleep.

Jackson was already leaning across the bed to reach for the nightstand when she turned toward him, trying to rouse herself.

He handed her the phone, and she glanced at the caller ID before connecting. “Melinda?” It was early. The sun barely peeked around the edges of the blinds.

“Sorry to wake you. I’m at Mimi’s. Something’s terribly wrong. She’s unresponsive with a weak pulse. I’ve called an ambulance.”

Sharon bolted to sitting. “Oh no.”

Jackson set a hand on her lower back and stroked it up to her neck as he sat upright next to her.

“Yeah. I had a weird feeling. And usually we can connect to each other. We’ve been able to communicate between the four of us for a while now, even in human form. Me and Mimi and my mom and Laurie I mean.”

“Yeah, I think I might have known that.”

“Anyway, she wasn’t responding. I had a bad feeling. So I came over here right away.”

“Is anyone with you?”