Wolf Hills (15 page)

Not Jason. He’d put aside his own wishes. Sally knew good and well, though he hadn’t really spoken of it, that he’d planned to fuck her in the woods earlier that afternoon when he’d taken her to that gorgeous spot by the waterfall. Meeting up with Steve Redstone had altered his plans and he hadn’t complained. Even a vague report of possible danger to his Pack had sent him off to check, his own pleasure denied.

Sally had felt the urgency. Her instincts had kicked in too, but she couldn’t be certain whether it was Steve’s words that had set her on edge or if she was merely picking up on Jason’s mood. She was sensitive to him in ways that surprised her. Usually, it took her a while to warm up to people. With Jason, she’d been able to gauge his moods with ease since they’d first met. His open manner hid a deep thinking, deep feeling man. She saw under the devil-may-care façade and had gained insights into the man beneath.

For certain, she’d never slept with anyone she’d only met the day before. Sally wasn’t that kind of girl. It took her weeks to get to know a man well enough to want to risk herself that way. Sex was an emotional thing for her and she’d been hurt in the past by trusting the wrong man. With Jason, she’d thrown caution to the wind. She still didn’t understand what it was about him that called to her on some basic level. Some cavewoman sort of level that didn’t need pretty words or wine and roses. It only needed him. Naked, preferably.

Sally laughed inwardly at her own thoughts. Here she was, faced with thankful parents and her mind was wandering all over the place. Probably because she was incredibly uncomfortable with all the praise and thanks being heaped upon her.

“Like I said, Jacob, I was happy to help. Colleen is a special girl and you can be proud of the way she handled herself. I’ve never seen someone pop a bullet out of their leg and then manage to get themselves home.”

That comment brought the other couple up short. It was as if they suddenly remembered they weren’t talking to another werewolf. Laura’s eyes widened and Sally could see the sparkle of tears forming in them. Jacob’s grip tightened slightly before he released Sally’s hand.

Chapter Seven

“That a human would come to the aid of one of our kind is something we never expected,” he said gravely. “You’ve made us think, detective. Frankly, we’ve grown so fond of thinking we’re the next best thing to invincible, that many of us underestimate your people. We don’t consider your strength a match for our own—either your fighting abilities or your emotional depth. In one day, you’ve managed to turn all that conceit on its ear.” Jacob grinned at her, showing sharp teeth and a twinkle of respect in his gaze. “I never thought I would ever meet a true female Alpha who wasn’t a shifter. I stand corrected.” Jacob put his hand over his heart in a small salute that touched Sally deeply.

“You saved our little girl,” Laura added. “We can never repay you.”

Sally stilled her words by putting one hand on Laura’s arm. “I don’t do what I do for fame or fortune. Being a cop is who I am. Doing the job and helping people—humans or shifters or whoever—is my reward. It was
my
honor to be able to help. Truly.”

“You’re a special lady, detective.” Colleen’s mother was tearful when she leaned in and gave Sally a grateful kiss on the cheek.

The couple turned away and went to their daughter, helping her settle comfortably back on the couch. Jason stood a few feet away, an expression of pride mixed with affection on his handsome face. It made her heart clench a bit to see. She thought she knew him well enough—even on such short acquaintance—that she could read the truth behind his eyes. That he should feel such things about her so quickly, meant more than she could say.

Despite the almost animal lust she felt for him, his opinion mattered. The sex was great and she didn’t want to deny its power, but the man himself made her want more. She knew she couldn’t have it, of course. She was human. He was the Alpha wolf of his Pack. They came from two totally different worlds and she was scheduled to go back to her regular life in a handful of days. Now was all they had and she planned to make the most of it.

She took his arm when he offered it, and went with him outside, claiming her temporary space behind him on the giant motorcycle. After only a few hours, she felt comfortable there. Almost like she belonged. But she knew that could never be.

He drove slowly down the lane to the road and then back toward Carly and Dmitri’s farm. It wasn’t far as the crow flies, but by road it took almost half an hour. Night had fallen by the time they arrived and Sally could feel Jason’s reluctance to let her go. She felt the same pull toward him, but she had come here to see her friend and get to know Carly’s new husband. It would be selfish in the extreme to spend all her time with Jason. She should be glad he would occupy her days while her friends slept.

It had actually worked out pretty well for her. If not for Jason, Sally wouldn’t have much to do all day. If not for the fact that her friends were—incredibly—vampires, she probably wouldn’t have any daylight hours to herself. A normal human visit usually involved lots of sightseeing, eating out, and talking. There would still be talking and Jason would take care of the sightseeing, but food would no doubt be scarce in a house owned by vampires. There was a lot Sally had to learn about Carly’s new life.

Carly met Sally at the door, having heard the motorcycle rumble up the drive. Dmitri was behind her, his gaze scanning the horizon in case of trouble. His vigilance put Sally on edge and the events of the afternoon came rushing back.

“Are you all right?” Carly asked, concern in her voice as Sally walked up to the door. Jason was a warm presence behind her. “We heard about what happened with those hunters.”

“I’m fine, Carl. Please remember I do stuff like that for a living.” She did her best to make light of the situation. It had been kind of tense for a few moments, but as far as she was concerned, it was part of the job. Even if she wasn’t technically working, or even eligible to work as a detective in this state.

“Do you expect further trouble?” Dmitri demanded of Jason in a low voice as they were ushered inside the house.

Jason’s expression was hard to read but Sally saw his tension. “Hard to say.”

“Come in and sit down. I had some of the kids go out and stock the kitchen, so there’s dessert and wine. I heard you were having dinner at the Pack house.” Carly winked at her with a sly grin. No doubt she already knew about her tryst in the office with Jason too.

True to her word, there was a pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream set out on the coffee table. A bottle of deep red wine sat beside it, already open and being allowed to breathe. Dmitri poured for all of them while Carly sliced up two servings of cake. One was gigantic, which she set in front of Jason, and one was more normal-sized, created especially for Sally. The disparity brought a smile to her lips as Carly winked again.

Oh yeah, Carly knew all about the afternoon and there’d be hell to pay later. She’d want details. Sally wasn’t even sure how she felt about the day herself just yet. Carly would make her talk. And talk. And talk. She’d be lucky if she got any sleep at all.

In a way, she looked forward to it. It had been far too long since she’d shared girl talk about men with one of her best friends. Far too long.

When they’d all been served, Dmitri got down to business. “Now, what can you tell me about these hunters?”

“Two were arrested,” Jason reported. “The local cops are going to keep them overnight because of Sally’s involvement and willingness to press charges. That’s something we never had before.”

Sally was confused. “Why wouldn’t the police help if your people were being threatened?”

“It’s not that they wouldn’t. It’s more the fact that we’ve never really asked them,” Jason admitted, scratching the back of his neck as if uncomfortable with the idea. “Our society has survived mostly by separating ourselves from humans.”

Hmm. She hadn’t thought of that.

“I guess I can understand. But in this case, I’m here and I was a witness to a crime. I won’t get Colleen or any of your people involved, of course. My testimony should be enough.” She looked worried as she realized that Jason had been involved as well. There was no avoiding the fact that he needed to give a statement if her charges were to proceed. “And yours. Sorry, Jason.” She bit her lip as she looked at him.

His thumb reached out and released her lower lip gently, lingering for a moment until she remembered that they weren’t alone. Clearing her throat, she leaned away from him. His pull was almost magnetic. She had to find the strength of will to resist. At least in public. A knowing smile greeted her when her gaze shifted nervously to Carly. Damn. The interplay hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“It’s okay. I know those officers. Believe it or not, I joined the Chamber of Commerce in town a few years ago. I thought it would help us expand our businesses so we could keep more of our young people employed locally. The Pack had been losing young members for a long time before I took over. I’ve been working at changing all of that. Part of my strategy has been to mix more with the local population, whether it be human or vampire or whatever.”

“Who were the officers?” Dmitri asked.

“Bell and Horace. Both good men, in my opinion. They’ll be on duty tomorrow when I take Sally in to make her formal statement. I asked.”

“Good.” Dmitri nodded, his expression concerned. “I’ve met both of them during safety briefings at the university.” He turned his attention back to Sally. She felt the impact of his dark gaze as if it were some kind of laser beam, pinning her in place. “What did these hunters look like?”

“There were four of them, but only two actually discharged their weapons.” Sally went on to describe the two younger men who hadn’t fired, then went into more detail about the two shooters. “There was one funny thing that I saw as they were loading the guy who’d been up in the tree. He had a tattoo on his wrist. I think.”

“What kind of tattoo?” Dmitri demanded, his tone eager.

“I can’t be certain, but it looked familiar.” Sally turned to Carly. “Remember a couple of years ago, I got into trouble for making a mistake on one of my reports? It was back when I was doing a stint with the hate crimes unit.”

“I remember. Something about you putting some kind of mark in your report that wasn’t on the guy. The other cops hassled you for months, teasing you about seeing things.” Trust Carly to remember the hazing that had hurt more than the reprimand.

“Yeah, it was this tattoo. On the inside of the wrist, over the pulse. A round thing with a design inside. I saw it. I really did. But when the perp died in the hospital and they examined the body, there was no tattoo. I saw him when they admitted him and made my notes from a combination of the doctor’s observations and my own. I saw the tattoo and wrote it down along with everything else. But nobody else seemed to be able to see it. Just me.”

Both Jason and Dmitri looked alarmed.

“And this is the same thing you saw today? The same design?” Dmitri asked.

“I think so. I only saw it for a split second out of the corner of my eye, but it looked about the same as I remember.”

“Can you describe it?” Dmitri leaned forward, pulling a pad of paper off the end table and taking a pen from his shirt pocket.

“It’s round, about an inch in diameter. There are two concentric circles about a quarter inch apart with strange symbols inside the ring. In the center, there’s an inverted V.”

“Can you draw an approximation?” Dmitri handed her the pen and paper.

“Sure. I’ll give it a try. It won’t be perfect, though.” She set to work, noting the frown lines on both men’s faces. It didn’t take long. She drew what she could remember, mostly from her examination of the guy in San Francisco. As she handed it over, both men bent over the small drawing.

Dmitri’s expression hardened and she read recognition in his eyes. He knew something.

“What is it?” Jason asked Dmitri. Sally’s ears perked up. She wanted to know too. The damn thing had caused her a lot of trouble.

“In days of old the
Venifucus
used to mark their lower level minions with this kind of symbol. Something like this, anyway. But what you recall, Sally, is close enough to make me worry.”

Jason cursed under his breath.

“
Venifucus
?” She’d heard the word from Jason but didn’t really know what it meant.

“A group dedicated to destroying all those on the side of light,” Dmitri clarified. “Once upon a time, they were led by a sorceress named Elspeth. She was defeated and banished, her power dispersed to the farthest realms, but lately there has been evidence that some of her followers are trying to bring her back.”

“Each Pack Alpha or Clan leader is answerable only to the Lords of the Were who set down the overall rules for were behavior,” Jason explained. “Every generation, a set of identical twins is born to one of the were Clans or Packs under special circumstances that mark them as the next Lords. They share a single wife between them and she is always a priestess of the Lady. The current Lords are wolves named Tim and Rafe, and they live not too far from here. Their wife’s name is Allie.”

“A while back, several attempts were made on Allie’s life by a magic user who was finally caught and dealt with,” he went on. “During the capture, he revealed that the
Venifucus
had not dissolved centuries ago when Elspeth was defeated. The Lords sent out warnings to all Packs and Clans about the possibility that there could be more trouble. Since then, there have been a few incidents around the country. I just didn’t expect they would bother my Pack. Especially not this way—hunting children.” Jason’s lips firmed into angry lines.