Shapes of Autumn (Boxed set, books 1 - 5)

by Veronica Blade

  “I never heard of wolves in the area. Coyotes maybe, but not wolves,” Trevor said. “Can anyone else backup Jeff’s story?”

  “Not that I know of,” Maya said. “Apparently, it was only the two of them. Jeff said they were camping.”

  “And drinking, no doubt.” Trevor’s mouth set in a hard line.

  “Maybe Daniel wanted some alone time,” I said. “And Jeff was too drunk to remember where Daniel went, so he made up a story to save his own ass. Or maybe something else happened and Jeff is covering it up by blaming it on an animal.” I didn’t think it was a wolf to blame. Certainly not my wolf. He’d never attack a human or he would’ve already hurt me.

  “What did the police say?” Zack asked.

  “Jeff called them right away. By the time they got there, Daniel was long gone. They searched the woods and couldn’t find a body or any evidence of foul play. For now, they’re assuming it’s a prank and waiting to see if Daniel shows up.”

  “His parents must be going nuts,” I said, thinking of Mr. and Mrs. Austin and what pain they must be going through with their son missing.

  “I can imagine,” Maya agreed.

  “Jeff’s parents have loads of money and influence,” Trevor said. “Daniel’s too. I bet they’ll make sure it’s the sheriff’s top priority.”

  Could a wolf really have gotten Daniel? Maybe there were other enormous wolves in the forest. After all, he came from somewhere, right? He could be part of a pack of oversized wolves. Weirder things have happened. I was proof of that. “Did Jeff say what color the wolf was?”

  “It wasn’t black, Autumn,” Zack said quickly.

  I turned to him, staring. “What makes you think I thought it was black?”

  “Well…” He stared at the table. “Uh…”

  “Your ex-boyfriend gets attacked by a wolf and you two are debating what color it is?” Maya narrowed her eyes at me, then Zack. “Seriously?”

  “It’s pointless to talk about it at all,” Trevor added. “There was no wolf. You know how big it’d have to be to drag someone Daniel’s size? I don’t think so. I’m betting Jeff and Daniel were playing some dangerous games and things got out of hand. We’ll probably never know what really happened, because Jeff and Daniel’s parents are rich enough that anything damaging to their family’s reputation would be covered up. In any case, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Daniel again.”

  Zack waved his hands. “Stop. Too much speculation. Ten bucks says Daniel shows up at school Monday denying there was ever an incident involving wolves.”

  Trevor grinned. “I’ll take that bet.”

  The plates arrived and the subject was dropped.

  Had my wolf attacked Daniel? Or was there some rabid wolf around? Maybe Zack was right and I shouldn’t be in the woods alone, especially if the new wolf was as big as the black wolf.

  I set the napkin in my lap, aware of Zack’s eyes on me. Slowly, I picked up the burger and took a dainty bite. I chewed, swallowed and took another.

  The sauce was scrumptious, the pickles divine. I immediately went for another bite, moving the meat around on my tongue, reveling in the juices. I took note of the tomatoes and onions, grateful I’d ordered it with everything.

  I got lost in the flavors, the people and things around me vanishing. Mmm. So good. As I opened for another bite, my gaze landed on Trevor and Maya. They were staring at me, their jaws slack and their eyes wide. Beyond them in the next booth, the occupants had twisted around to gawk at me. I closed my mouth and forced my hand to set the burger down. “What’s wrong?”

  “Uhm…” Maya averted her eyes and mashed her lips together. The group at the next table behind Maya and Trevor were still ogling me.

  I raised my brows and my voice to reach the eavesdroppers. “What?” I asked them. They quickly returned to their own meals.

  Zack put his own burger aside and twisted to face me. “You were growling and making other… feral noises.”

  Maya nodded in confirmation, her eyes still big.

  On my list of life’s most humiliating and awful moments, this would be at the top. But they didn’t need to know the depths of my embarrassment, so I rolled my eyes and faked confidence I didn’t have. “Oh, is that all. Geez, you act like I’d grown an extra head. Lighten up, guys.”

  Trevor and Maya laughed and I returned to my food, but made a point to set the burger down and make conversation between bites. It took all my concentration to remember we were in a public place and not slip into another world.

  When Zack pulled up in front of my house, he tossed Trevor the keys. “Take care of Maya. I’ll walk home.”

  He could’ve stopped home first, then let Trevor drop me off like last time. Hmm. I waved goodbye and took my time walking to the front door in case my hunch was right. Zack had something to say. Or do. My shoulders tensed, then I shook it off. Yeah, right. As if he would kiss me. Surely, if a guy planned to make a move on a girl, he wouldn’t act weird and distant all night. Even a guy totally inept with girls knew you had to try to impress them.

  I heard the Jeep drive away.

  “Autumn.”

  I spun to face him. “What’s up?”

  “Good burger, huh?” He studied me.

  I laughed. “Yeah, it was great. Thank you.”

  “Are we shopping tomorrow?” He took a step closer.

  What did he want? I backed up with an eerie feeling. “If you’re up for it.”

  He nodded, his face expressionless. “What time?”

  “How about first thing in the morning?” I imagined having all day to shop. With Zack. Yum. “Nine?”

  “I’ll pick you up.” Zack smiled, but it was strained. He held out his hand. “I’ll unlock the door for you.”

  Body language said he wasn’t trying to hook up with me. So, what was up? Total gentleman or serial killer? If he meant harm, I could put up a good fight. My instinct told me, though, Zack wasn’t a creep. I dropped my keys in his hand.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you mind if I come in?”

  “Uh, I guess not.”

  Once he unlocked the door, he swung it open and stood in the doorway. I squeezed past him as his nose neared me and he inhaled.

  “You did it again.” I shot him a dark look, my hands on my hips. “Do you know how weird it is to have some guy constantly sniffing you? You have a fetish or something?”

  “Autumn…”

  “What? Spit it out already.” The anticipation was making me crazy. His proximity was not helping. Sadly, I was getting worked up enough that I really wanted him to kiss me.

  “You don’t smell like other people,” he whispered.

  I froze, a blind fury brewing. “Excuse me?”

  He backed up. “I mean, you don’t smell like a normal person.”

  “Your clarification is not flattering.” Here I was, feeling foolish and love-struck waiting for his goodnight kiss, maybe even a make-out session, and that’s what I got—an insult? Oh, I wanted to wring his neck. I wanted to pound on him, smash him to itty bitty pieces. “You convince me to go out with you guys, ignore me all night, then insult me? I smell not normal? You’ve been rude before, Zack De Luca, but this beats them all. I’d like you to leave. Now.”

  He stared at me like he was surprised. Or confused. He’d told me I stunk. Did he expect me to get turned on, because my smelling offensive made him irresistible?

  “Autumn, that’s not what I meant.”

  “So I do smell normal?”

  “Well, no—”

  “Out.” I glared and pointed to the doorway.

  “Wait. Let me explain.”

  “Is English not your first language?” I growled, my jaws clenched.

  He held up both hands in surrender and backed away, through the door and down the steps. I slammed the door and peeked out the window. He was still staring at the house.

  Damn it. I was so furious my arms and legs trembled. My stomach twisted up and I wanted to howl at the sk
y. I bolted upstairs to change into my running clothes, needing to get out before I exploded.

  Dressed, I flew down the steps. With my hand on the doorknob, I stopped. Zack hadn’t said I smelled bad but that I didn’t smell like a normal person. Strange choice of words. When I kicked him out, he looked stunned, not angry. Did he know something about me? If so, what?

  And how the hell did he know about the black wolf?

  Closing my eyes and inhaling deeply, I took a moment to calm myself before peeking out the window. Zack was gone. I needed to talk to him, but pounding on his door this late and waking his mother wasn’t an option. She needed her sleep. Besides, whoever answered might assume I came for a booty call. Unacceptable.

  I would go for my run, email my parents, then get to bed. Tomorrow, I’d have plenty of opportunities to grill him.

  Or kill him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I raced to the meadow, my head swimming with thoughts of Zack and freaky scenarios. Impossible things were happening with my body, so how could I believe those kinds of impossibilities belonged only to me? Someone, somewhere could be going through the same thing. Maybe even Zack.

  Earlier at Bigger Burgers, he hadn’t seemed shocked like the others over the rumor of Daniel and the wolf. Plus, his sense of smell was awfully good and he seemed unusually strong for his age. In fact…. he behaved eerily similar to my black wolf and I couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d joked a few days ago about actually being a werewolf.

  Was it possible he was a werewolf? Could werewolves exist in real life?

  I stood immobilized in the center of the clearing, balling my fists. No, there were no such things as werewolves. Trevor’s theory was probably right and Jeff had made up the story to avoid getting into trouble. Or he had an alcohol induced hallucination.

  Or maybe my special abilities gave me an unusual scent and Zack had a very good sense of smell. It could be as simple as that. I closed my eyes again, feeling nature around me and inhaling the fragrance of moss and pine.

  Yes, that’s it. Zack was a normal teenager and there were no creatures that went bump in the night.

  I sensed him before I saw him. He came into view, my black wolf, approaching me slowly. About a yard away, he sat in front of me.

  “You didn’t attack Daniel, did you?”

  He whined and lowered his belly to the ground.

  “No, of course you didn’t.” Such a strange creature. My mind reeled, but I was tired of thinking. I needed to get on with my run and get home to bed. “Race you around the meadow?”

  I took off, darting along the trees that bordered the clearing. After a couple laps, I dashed through the forest and leaped as high as I could. I soared, skimming the top of a tree and landing on the other side of it, then rocketed back to the clearing and skidded to a stop several feet from the wolf.

  He hadn’t moved. Standing on all fours, his ears stood straight up, tail down, eyes trained on me.

  Holding out the back of my hand for him to sniff, I slowly moved toward him. He nearly touched my hand, blowing out quick breaths and warming my skin. I held very still as he edged even closer, dragging his wet nose up my arm and around my waist, circling me. Then he stood on his hind legs and laid a gentle paw on my shoulder, burying his muzzle in my neck and hair.

  Holy crap. I had a wild wolf all over me.

  He sucked in a long breath and exhaled at the back of my neck. I imagined that’s how Zack would sniff me. If I let him. Chills danced on my skin and tranquility washed over me as I ran a hand over his shoulder, my fingers reveling in his silky fur.

  I stared at the wolf who was still eye level with me. “Oh my God.”

  Zack was not a werewolf, damn it. He wasn’t. It was absurd to consider such a thing. Having super-human strength was one thing. Morphing into a completely different form was absolutely preposterous.

  I stepped back and created distance between me and the wolf. “I have to go,” I mumbled, backing further away. Once in the trees, I hit the dirt at a dead run.

  † † †

  At nine o’ clock sharp the next morning, Zack rang the doorbell. He wore jeans and a work shirt, his sleeves pushed up, hair messy. He’d never looked better.

  I flung the door open and folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  His mouth curved up. “Talk about what?”

  “What I smell like. Besides, by now, you already know.” I took in a slow, deep breath. Yeah, I’d wanted Zack to explain himself last night, but since my most recent encounter with the wolf, I already suspected I was going insane—I didn’t want it confirmed. Not just yet anyway. “We’ll car shop and when we’re done for the day, we’ll go our separate ways.”

  “What will I tell my mom and Aunt Cara when they ask why you declined their dinner invitation for tonight?” He smiled smugly.

  I could feel my eye twitch. “What’s Cara making for dinner?”

  “Spaghetti and meatballs.” He lifted one brow.

  Bastard. “Fine. After dinner, we’re done.”

  He gave me his lopsided grin, displaying the lone dimple. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah.” I grabbed my purse and we jumped into his car. “What’s with the shovel on the back of the Jeep?”

  “Never know when you’ll need to bury a body.”

  I stared at him.

  “I’m teasing, Autumn.” He gave a quick laugh. “These vehicles are made for off-roading. Sometimes you need to dig yourself out of a ditch.”

  I could totally picture Zack doing something like that, all rugged and manly. “Doesn’t seem to be helping you dig yourself out of the pile of crap you fell in last night.”

  “If you’d let me explain—”

  I held up a hand. “Not necessary. Really.”

  At a stop sign, he held up a piece of paper, then set it on the dashboard and drove again.

  “What’s that?”

  “The address to a car I thought we’d check out. It’s close by.”

  “What kind?”

  “Mustang.”

  I made a face. “A muscle car.”

  “I guess so. They’re not known for being great on gas, but they’re not too bad and the miles on this one are low.” Checking to make sure the road was clear, he switched lanes. “Give it a chance. You never know what you’ll like unless you try.”

  Several minutes later, we pulled up to a curb. A small yard artfully crowded with lush shrubbery and colorful blooms surrounded a little brick house. I’d been uneasy about buying a car from a private party, feeling safer getting something from a dealership that checked and rechecked their cars for quality. In theory anyway. My worries dissipated as I inhaled the fragrance of the flowers. Anyone who put this much care into their garden wouldn’t neglect a car, would they?

  We knocked and moments later, a gray-haired man opened the door. He was so old that you could no longer tell his age. Seventy? Ninety?

  “Mr. Peters?” When the man nodded, Zack continued. “Hi, I’m Zack. We spoke on the phone earlier this morning?”

  Wow. Zack must have called before he came to my house. Calling that early on a Sunday? Impressive.

  “This is Autumn. She’s the one looking for a car.”

  The man smiled, but his eyes seemed sad. “Hang on. Let me get the key.”

  Mr. Peters returned and took his time leading us to the side of the house. He held out a remote and the garage door slowly opened.

  I couldn’t see what was under the cover. The old man shuffled over to the rear of the garage and lifted a corner of the giant stretch of gray cloth.

  “Let me help.” Zack hurried over to the other side and, inch by inch, they unveiled a silver convertible Mustang.

  There had to be something really wrong with it, because it was too pretty to be within my budget. Freakishly high miles or a missing engine?

  Mr. Peters popped the hood and disappeared behind it with Zack, who fired off questions. I had no idea what they were talking
about, so I amused myself by examining the body. The top was already down and I could readily see the interior, which appeared clean. Circling the car, I noted the shiny rims and glossy paint. In the bright morning sunshine, I saw a sprinkling of chips in the paint. My Taurus was riddled with that sort of thing, most likely caused by spraying gravel. You couldn’t miss them. On the Mustang though, it wasn’t noticeable unless you examined it closely.

  “What year is this?” I asked.

  Zack peeked out from behind the hood. “It’s five-years-old.” He vanished again.

  I slid behind the driver’s seat and poked around. It had forty-two thousand miles on it. Working my way back to the front and under the hood, I listened as Zack asked about the engine modifications and horsepower. Mr. Peters replied, but his words meant nothing to me. Zack seemed impressed, nodding and raising his brows.

  “Can we take it out? We’d like to drive it to make sure she likes it. Then me, to see if it’s sound.” He gazed down at the engine. “Although I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

  “Why are you selling it?” I asked.

  “It was my son’s. He loved this car.” The man’s eyes moistened, his gaze dropping to the concrete floor of the garage, chin quivering. “He doesn’t need it anymore.”

  Zack just stared without speaking.

  His son must have died. Or something else terrible. How awful.

  “No need to look at me like that, young lady. It’s not all bad. My son left me two wonderful grandchildren.” Mr. Peters patted my hand, then slowly moved several feet to the passenger side and got in. “C’mon. Let’s take this baby for a spin.”

  I lagged behind, tugging on Zack’s arm. “How much is this thing?” I hissed.

  “You’d been saving up for a car before your parents chipped in, right? Use some of that.”

  I gasped. “What? You dragged me out here for a car over fifteen?”

  “Sshh. He’s selling it for exactly fifteen, but I know some of your money is going to the shop. I was hoping to negotiate, but now I know something happened to his son, it would feel wrong.” He nodded toward the driver’s side. “Come on. You’re up first.”