Wolf's Soul (7 page)

Callum collapsed on the floor with his hands in between his legs.

“Not so tough now, are you? Stay where you are if you don"t want your brains—if you have any—all over my floor. I"m calling the cops.”

“You don"t want them involve in this, Marisol.” Callum sat back on his heel breathing hard. “Mark was my friend. I"ve known him for years. He was a good man, good friend of my clan, and I know he was a good father, too.”

“Friend? Not once that he mentioned you. If you"re looking for him, you"re looking at the wrong place. He"s resting at the Evergreen Cemetery.”

“I already know that.”

“Oh, I forgot. You know things,” she said. Her words heavy with sarcasm.

“Marisol, I was at the cemetery when he was buried.”

“Yeah, right. You"re the tallest and biggest man I"ve seen in my whole life of living here. I"m not blind. You, Mister Dyrdek, was not there.”

“I was. You would have seen me if you were looking at the right spot.”

67

“And where would that right spot be? Beside the cherry tree where dogs like to stop, sniff, and pee?”

Callum just stared at her.

He looked as though he was debating whether to answer her question or not. She decided to make it easier for him. “Why are you here if you know that my father isn"t?”

“Because I made him a promise.”

Marisol kept her eyes on Callum. It must have been the lights, but she thought a shadow of sadness crossed his face. A twinge of guilt for hurting him stabbed at her heart. “What kind of promise?”

“To keep you safe.”

68

Over the rim of his half-full glass, he sat on the chair and watched Marisol from across the dining table. Except for the barn and Mark"s clinic, he"d never been in this part of this house. It was cozy and homey, smelled of dish soap, bread, pie.

Everywhere he looked, signs that a woman lived here was evident. He loved it. The woman presently sitting across from him, however, was not a typical homemaker.

Man, she was one nasty fighter. His elbow still throbbed and his cock…Damn, her knee took the breath out of him.

His brain forgot that she was on an attack mode and forgot to defend himself when he stared at her eyes and felt her warm lips barely touched his lips.

Fuck, even while avoiding her hits, he had an erection. What the hell was wrong with him?

Marisol had been staring at him the way a kid would when looking at a bearded woman on a carnival. He wished he could read her right now, but he promised not to read her mind in exchange of a microwavable chicken potpie as small as a saucer. He should have bargained for a dozen of those damn things.

Right now, he could eat more.

69

“You said you knew my dad. Why did he never mention your name then?

Not even once.”

“Maybe there was no need for it.”

“Or maybe you"re lying.”

“What would I gain from doing that?”

“A free place to stay, food, clothes. You tell me.”

“He was a friend who saved me and more…animals. I would never abuse his friendship. Mark was the best vet there was.”

“I know about the animals he saved. But nothing about you. Dad and I used to talk about our days, how many pets he cured and released in the woods, how many pots I broke. He never said anything about saving a man.”

“I wasn"t a man when he saved me.”

Marisol"s eyebrows shot up. Her eyes were rounder than the beer bottle caps. “Oh,” she said. “Ohh,” she repeated in a tone as if finally understanding something. “I see.” She tapped her fingers on the table obviously thinking. “Were you a man when you attended Dad"s funeral?”

“No.”

“Ah, that explains why I didn"t notice you. Still, with your size…What, are you over six feet?”

“Six feet, three inches.”

70

“Right. With your height, I would have noticed you. But then I wasn"t really looking at everyone present. Dad saved you, you say?”

“Yes.” Damn, he wished he could read her thoughts right now. He didn"t like the way she was nodding to herself as if she was talking to herself and coming up with a conclusion. And he had a feeling her conclusion was wrong.

“Have you been in my dad"s clinic before?”

“Twice.” Marisol had never seen him because Mark made sure she was busy in her Bisque It store. Mark wanted to protect his daughter. He said the less she knew about his work the better. It was why he only came here when Marisol was not in the barn.

Marisol chewed her lower lip. “That explains why you were in the clinic.

You"ve been there before. You knew how to get in. He showed you where we hid the extra key. I get it.”

Oh fuck! He wasn"t hearing her thoughts but he had a pretty good idea now about what she was thinking. “Look, Mark was a good friend and a doctor. When I said I wasn"t as man—”

“You don"t have to explain. And don"t you worry, Callum, I am an open-minded person. Believe it or not, I have friends in the pottery business who are like you. My father"s personal business and your sexuality is not of my— ”

71

“The hell! Your assumption that I am talking about my sexuality when I said I wasn"t a man is way off.”

“My assumption is way off? I found you naked in my dad"s clinic, you knew each other and you were not a man when he saved you. Dad never mentioned you.

Not once, Callum. Anyone in the right mind would jump to a conclusion that you are…Oh my god! Was Dad really a…a, uhm…”

“What?”

“It makes sense now. Dad never dated anyone since Mom died. And it"s because…Oh Dad.”

“What? My foot, woman. You could drive any man to lunacy. Say what you want to say and stop forming your own answers before you hear everything. What was it you were asking about your dad? If he and I were, were—”

“Never mind. You must be his secret and you will stay a secret. Dad"s private business was his. And I don"t want to think about it. Maybe someday, I"ll think about what you told me.”

“Wait, what exactly did I tell you?”

Marisol waved her hand dismissing his question. Man, she was irritating.

“Right now, all I want to talk about is why my dad asked you to keep me safe and you said you know how he died. How? The doctors couldn"t even figure out who or what caused the bites on his neck and shoulders.”

72

Callum wanted to know what conclusion she came up with about his sexuality, but kept his mouth shut. There were pressing issues they need to talk about. His sexuality wasn"t one of them. Although his ego was squirming right now. “This will take all night.”

“I"ll fire up the coffee pot. Better start talking. You aren"t leaving this house until you tell me all you know and then—”

“What?” Callum grinned.

Marisol narrowed her pretty eyes at him. “Then we are going to the police.”

“I already told you. There"s no need for them to come.”

“That"s for me to decide.”

The tight smile she gave him indicated it was the end of the conversation.

Callum helped clean up the table. He noticed she saved the scraps on the familiar deep dish and filled the terracotta bowl with water.

“I"ll take this to the barn. Can I trust you to behave and stay where you are?”

“You still think the wolf will show up?”

“He"s hurt. I don"t know how he managed to leave the clinic without leaving a trail of blood. He might come back. ”

The worry on her face had him sighing. “Don"t worry about him. He doesn"t need that.”

“How"d you know?”

73

“I told you, I know things.”

“You sound like Shelli. Deputy Smithers" wife. In this town, she"s the number one gossip she could put tabloid magazines to shame. She knows who"s going out with whom, what her neighbor ordered from Sears, and who"s pregnant even before the woman started showing. And I bet, she already knows about you.”

“Worried you"ll be the center of the gossip in this town?”

“I"ve been subjected to harsh gossips. So yeah. Thanks to you.”

The gossip was nothing compared to what she"d be facing soon. “I wouldn"t worry about it. And don"t worry about the wolf. He"s fine.”

“For some reason, I have a feeling you have something to do with his disappearance.”

Callum smiled. She looked so worried and disgruntled at the same time that he wanted to kiss her frown away. Standing close to her, he noticed the top of her head nearly reached his chin. Without the fire in her eyes, she looked vulnerable and fragile. And deceiving. She could bring any man or in his case a Shape-shifter on his knees. Marisol possessed all the womanly charms and softness and could render a man speechless just by looking into her eyes. Like right now. It was hard to think when she was this close and staring at him. She was so damned appealing.

Callum felt his body stir. Damn, he was physically reacting to the woman he promised to protect. If this continued, Marisol would need protection against him.

74

How was he going to correct that? He took the bowl from her hand. “Sit down.

Please.”

“All right. He might not eat the scraps anyway. He is such a picky wolf.”

As soon as Marisol sat down, he took the other chair. This was better.

Sitting down, he could hide his growing erection. “Maybe if you gave him cooked meat on a plate he might eat it.”

“I might offend him if I do that.”

“Why?”

For the first time, Marisol gave him an easy smile. “Well, would you eat your food in a dog dish?”

His heart started pounding as if he ran for miles and miles. Her whole face lit up when she smiled. And lord, her eyes were so enchanting. Callum squirmed in his seat. He"d better get a hold of himself, he mentally reminded himself. He wasn"t a teenager anymore, for fuck sakes.

“Would you, Callum?”

“Would I what?” Even to him his voice sounded hoarse.

“Eat on a dog dish.”

Callum shook his head. If she continued smiling and staring at him like that, he might just eat her. In a most pleasurable way he knew.

75

“Of course not,” Marisol continued. “I think it"s the same way with the wolves. They"d rather eat using their dog dish and not plates. Oh wait. Maybe the wolf is used to eating carcasses in the wild that"s why he snubbed my food. He"s a wild animal after all.”

Carcasses? Callum didn"t know what to say to her reasoning so he just shrugged his shoulders and changed the subject. “How do you want to do this?

Like a question and answer type of thing?”

“Sounds good. Let me start with, why my dad thought I need protecting.

From who?”

“From the ones who killed him.”

“Who are they?”

Here we go.
“Shape-shifters.”

“Oh dear.”

Her reaction was exactly the kind he expected. “Mari, I am not kidding.”

“Did I say you are?”

“You don"t have to. No, I didn"t read your mind. Your oh dear and rolling of your eyes says you think I"m bullshitting.”

“Couldn"t help it.”

“What I said is true. The Shape-shifters killed Mark.”

76

“Forgive me, but unlike some people, I am not a big fan of Sci-fi"s. So it"s kind of hard to digest your story.”

“I"m not just telling you a story. By the way, Shape-shifters fall under the category of paranormal. Have you heard of them?”

“Yeah. Hollywood movies. I"ve seen shows about them. Humans changing into different forms like werewolves, bear, hawks, rats, worms, snails or snakes.

Fiction stuff.”

He"d never seen or heard of a movie with snails or worms Shape-shifters. He bet it would be hilarious to see one. “Atos and his clan are not. They are as real as they can get.”

Marisol raised one brow mockingly. “Are you sure you"re not on something?

Meth users, once addicted would start seeing—”

“I don"t do drugs.”

“Hash, ecstasy pills, cough syrup?”

“No.”

“Dementia?”

“For the love of humanity, Mari. I am neither a drug addict nor crazy.”

“Alright. Are you a frustrated writer who got rejected numerous times so you"re going around telling your story instead?”

“You are one incorrigible woman.”

77

“Sheez. Who"s talking about paranormal shit here? And why are you calling me Mari. I didn"t give you leave to shorten my name.”

“You don"t like it?”

Marisol raised one dainty shoulder. “Well, I kind of like it.”

“I wish you"d like my paranormal shit story as easily.” He hunched over, his arms resting on his thighs.

“It would take a great deal of persuasion before anyone believes a story like paranormal stuff. Anyway, you"re saying about this Atos?”

What a rambler. She was better than a couple of loud squirrels fighting for an acorn. She"d be a wonderful company on a long lonely night. “Atos is a powerful wolf.”

Marisol leaned forward. “Like Padfoot. Harry Potter"s godfather?” she whispered and wiggled her eyebrows. Her eyes danced with merriment.

Callum let out a defeated sigh. “If you don"t take this conversation seriously, Marisol Saint James, I"ll leave.”

“Can you blame me? I"m a big fan of historical romance movies like Pride and Prejudice. Now those stories are real and believable. If you tell me that this Atos is the reincarnated King Henry the VIII, I"ll believe you. But Shape-shifters? Man, that"s just crazy stuff written by overly imaginative authors. Some made a gazillion—”

78

“Mari!” Callum snapped his fingers. Damn, what a chatterbox.

“What? I"m just saying there are authors out there selling crappy books.”

“Okay, but Atos is not a character in a book. He"s a real Shape-shifter.”

“And he killed my dad?”

“He killed Anna, too.” That did it. Laughter in her eyes disappeared like a bubblegum that popped.

“You knew my mom.”