Finders Weepers

by Belinda White

  He gave me half a smile. "Go to bed. I'm sure you've been through these countless times already. Give me a night to catch up and we'll go over them tomorrow together." He stretched and yawned. "It probably won't be long until I call it a night anyway."

  I was reluctant to sleep while he worked away, but in the end, I gave in. I went into the bathroom, cabin room number two, brushed my teeth and put on the dowdiest pair of pajamas I owned—pink flannel with purple duckies. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I relaxed. After seeing me like this, Mason may never want to have sex with me again. Not that he ever got to have sex with me the first time.

  I said goodnight as I crossed the room and climbed into bed. Mason said goodnight but didn't even glance at me. Maybe I was the only one obsessing about this thing.

  About midnight I found out just how wrong I was. I had gotten used to Jed's old-fashioned morals and had thought Mason would follow suit. When I felt his hand under my pajama top and brushing my breast, I stiffened.

  "Mason," I said quietly, forcing down a more violent response. "The couch is at the foot of the bed."

  He nibbled on the back of my unguarded neck and whispered, "But I can keep a better eye on you from here. And a better hand." As he spoke his hand got more direct, even as his lips wandered down to my shoulder. I had to suppress a shudder. "And a better mouth." He rolled me over and was on top of me, his lips pressed against mine as I felt him start fiddling with the buttons on my top. He felt—wrong.

  I tried to get out from under him, but he was stronger than his smaller stature looked like it would allow him to be. Much stronger. Gasping, I pushed him with all my strength, but he just laughed.

  "You have to give it up sometime, Taz," he said. "It really should be with me. I've got so many years invested in waiting for you."

  Now he was creeping me out, so I didn't think twice about doing what I did next. Mason isn't much taller than me, and he was stretched out over me, with a leg to either side of my hips. I couldn't get my knees up to his groin, so option number one was out. But there was just enough room for me to slip my hand between my still clothed hips and his naked privates. I slid my hand around his testicles like my mother had taught me.

  He gave a throaty laugh, thinking I was joining in. "And here I thought you were new to this."

  "I am," I said and squeezed my fist as hard as I could. He howled and rolled off me, clutching himself. I grabbed my keys and backpack and ran out the door. Mason had let Reb out then locked his doggie door. The second door had been blockaded with Mason's things. A very unhappy Reb growled and tried to push past me, to show Mason his displeasure too, but I grabbed his collar and dragged him to the Jeep. "No boy, we're leaving."

  Going down my drive, I glanced in the rear view to see Mason framed in the doorway. A few seconds later, my cell phone rang. I glanced down at it and gave the Jeep more gas. Mason's number was on the screen. He could beg for forgiveness tomorrow. Right now I just wanted to be alone with Rebel. I grabbed his fur and shook his head with one hand.

  "You're all the protection I need, fella. You and me against the world, right?" He chuffed in agreement. Then why did I miss Jed so bad? And I was pretty sure I'd never be able to fill the void left by Maggie for Reb, either. At least we were alone together.

  We made it to the junction of my small road and the main state road 46 and I hesitated, not really sure where I wanted to go. Then I made up my mind and turned right toward Spencer and the park. It was time for the Trickster to get off the fence.

  Chapter 30

  I drove through the park and headed to the amphitheater parking area. Mason and I had never been there together, and as he didn't know the park I figured he'd never find the Jeep there. Luckily, it wasn't far from where I was headed. I parked in the back part of the lot under a drooping pine-tree. Technically it wasn't a parking space, which gave me the added benefit of hiding my vehicle from any passing ranger.

  Feeling odd jogging through the park in my pajamas, I headed through the woods to the falls. McCormick’s Creek does have a small cave called Wolf Cave. It's been closed, along with other state park caves, for a couple of years now due to something called the white-nose bat disease or some such thing. There was another, much smaller cave that was virtually unknown by the skin folk. About half way down the rock stairs to the falls, a small ledge ran from the stairs to what appeared to be a hole in the rock face. Luckily the hole was just about wolf-size. Beyond the smaller hole was a narrow passage that eventually opened into a small squat room that would, just barely, allow Reb and me to sit together, provided I stayed a wolf. My emergency bolt hole. In that small room, unless it had been removed by a very small and adventurous explorer, was a small satchel containing an extra pair of jeans and a pullover shirt.

  I took a deep breath gathering in the local scents. This area of the park was deserted but for the two of us. Unless of course, a sneaky, no-scent Luparii was bearing down on us. I decided my pajamas were good enough for the coyote, so I passed the hole and kept on going. Rebel, at my instruction, stayed there. He wasn't any too happy about it, but being Alpha had its perks and one of them is the unquestioning obedience of the pack.

  My plan was to meet with Coyote one on one. No more tricks. After that it got sketchy, but then I was making this up on the fly. With Reb at one end of the trail and me at the other, if the wolf-not-wolf showed up, we would have a better chance of catching a sniff. Now that I was able to trade thoughts with my furry partner, I figured we might as well put that ability to good use. And if the Luparii assassin showed up, there was a chance one of us would see him even if we couldn't smell him.

  Crossing myself as I walked, I said a short prayer to the Creator, asking him to keep Rebel safe. With the perks of an Alpha also comes the responsibility. If anything happened to Rebel because of following my orders, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Which would probably not be much longer than his.

  More than anything, I wanted to wolf out. But whereas Rebel was safe in the hole and hidden from view, I was out here in plain sight. Even the rangers were carrying rifles in the park now, and if they lucked into getting me in their sights while I was upwind of them, I wouldn't know they were there until the bullets started flying.

  I'd been lucky to dodge bullets the past couple of times. I wasn't looking forward to testing the envelope for a third time. After all, the first couple of times, the shooters had been drinking. Rangers would be stone cold sober. Not to mention better marksmen to begin with.

  I made my way to the big rock pushing up from the creek where Coyote had laid out a table and drinks for Jed and me. Remembering the kiss at the end of the trail that day made my eyes go moist, and I had to stop for a minute. This wasn't a situation that called for feeling sorry for myself.

  Well, maybe it was, but I just didn't have the time for it right now. I'd think about Jed and the lost opportunity to cross number four off my list some other time. After all, there was always Dunwood. If I could catch him, that is. My list was getting shorter.

  Feeling far too vulnerable out in the open like this, I stepped up on the rock and concentrated my new mental abilities, focusing on Coyote. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," I called softly.

  Even though I had Called him, it startled me when the leaves began to rustle and there, standing in front of me was the Trickster, right in that empty space where no one had been a second before. I blinked. I guess I really hadn't thought it would work.

  He smiled at me. "I simply adore your sense of fashion, Luv. Not many people would take those kinds of risks you know."

  I glanced down at my ensemble and shrugged. "At least it's warm."

  Grinning, he said, "But pink and purple are not exactly camouflage in a fall woods...in any woods come to think of it."

  Damn, I hadn't thought of that. I practically glowed with a neon sign that said here I am, come get me.

  "Well, on the plus side any wolf hunters should be able to tell I'm not their prey."
<
br />   "There is that," he said. "So why did you honor me with a summons? Please tell me it's for romantic advice. I'd just love to help you out with that."

  "That's not my biggest worry right now. But as long as you're willing to help me out, how about some information on one of the killers? It may seem self-serving, but right now I'm kind of interested in the Luparii. But I wouldn't turn down scoop on the wolf-not-wolf either if you're in a giving mood."

  "Tsk, tsk, Taz," he paused as if tasting the words. "You know I like the sound of that. Tsk, tsk, Taz. Kind of rolls off the tongue, don't you think?"

  "Are you going to help me or not?"

  He gave an exaggerated sigh and placed his right hand over his heart. "Alas, that would be outside of my jurisdiction and thus not allowed. Telling you who the bad guy is would be too clearly an act of good. Lying and giving you a false name," I hadn't thought of that possibility, "would be too clearly an act of evil." He shrugged. "So I am forced to say nothing at all on that matter."

  I lowered my voice to a growl. "Anything I can do to change your mind?"

  His tinkling laugh filled the woods. "No one can force the Trickster to do anything he doesn't already want to..."

  At that moment, the woods exploded with the sound of a close-range shotgun and Coyote flew apart in bits and pieces of flying blood and muscle. If I had time before I died, I was going to throw up.

  AS I RAISED FROM TOSSING my dinner, which is now no longer my favorite, I saw a figure step forward from the trees. Mason. Not the Mason I had known and cared for over the years. I hate to say it took actually seeing him there with a shotgun still smoking from shooting Coyote to piece it together.

  Mason, the only survivor of a tragic house fire that took his entire family. Not just a brother, or a mother, or a father. An entire family. That many sacrifices would have bought a lot of power.

  Mason with the leather suitcase that smelled of fresh citrus. Hiding a scent with not one but two other strong ones. Mason who had fed me information all these years, telling me what he wanted me to know. Mason who had flown back to DC the night the skin-walker had been injured.

  Mason the Luparii, and Mason the skin-walker.

  He just stood there, giving me time to put it together. Then he laughed.

  "You should have slept with me, Tazlyn. Maybe you would have lived another night." He thought for a moment. "No probably not, but I do regret not reaching that peak of sexual pleasure before the hunt. It adds so much."

  I threw a thought to Rebel, but it bounced back. Could it do that?

  "Don't expect your faithful companion to come to your aid. Rebel is sleeping off a sedative right now." That could explain the bounce back.

  Only the loaded shotgun kept me from tearing the bastard from limb to limb. "If you've hurt Rebel..."

  "Rebel is alive only as an incentive to you. Give me enough of a challenge on the chase, and maybe he'll live another day, or at least die in his sleep. Disappoint me by dying too early, and I'll have to wake him up and have a little more fun."

  The nausea was back. Remembering all the old movies, I hoped he would take his cue from all the movie bad guys and explain his dastardly plans. Maybe that would give me time to think of something. Mason must have watched the same movies.

  "Don't expect some long drawn out speech that lasts for hours whilst I explain myself. I think you have most of it figured out already anyway. But I will give you this. It was me that killed your parents."

  I growled, so close to wolfing out I could almost feel the change upon me.

  "The interesting thing is that your mother was never the actual target. You see, I am an old school Luparii. From back in your father's early days as a hunter. Kill them all was our motto back then. When I learned that your father had married one, well, it was only a matter of time before I had to take action. And this whole setup could be seen as a test for another Luparii hunter." His lips stretched in a macabre smile that had not a bit of warmth. "Sad to say, he failed the test. Another hunt I will enjoy."

  "If your motto was kill them all, why did you become a skin-walker? Jed said a Luparii would never willingly become the very thing they hunt. You did."

  "Why should the Luparii allow the Benandanti all the power and glory? How much better the hunt when it ends in the rending of living flesh by tooth and claw." His eyes were mad. Mason had left the building. The Beast had driven him insane.

  I swallowed and tried throwing a thought farther than I ever had before. If it could reach Rose, the strongest receptor I knew, then my death would not be in vain. Silly of me to never ask if there were distance restraints.

  He held the shotgun with one hand and opened his waiting briefcase with the other. The smell of wolf-not-wolf assaulted my nose as I watched him caress the fur inside. He smiled up at me.

  "I have looked forward to this for so long, Taz. Do try not to die too early and disappoint me." He motioned to my pack with my gun still tucked away inside. "Lose the pack. Drop it right there." He smiled nastily. "Then strip. Slowly. I want to enjoy this."

  I could force the issue now and die instantly of a shotgun blast, or I could strip, change, and maybe have a chance. A Benandanti retained their human intelligence. A skinwalker's mind was one of an insane, almost mindless, creature. If I could double back and reach my pack...if not I was sure I could do more damage in fur form than in skin. It would be different if he stayed human, but this was going to be a wolf to demon fight.

  Pretty sure that he wouldn't shoot me just for speeding through the process, I undressed on the cold limestone rock, shivering in the night breeze before I was finally able to change. Once in fur form, I looked at him, waiting.

  He smiled that evil smile of his. "You do have one chance I should have mentioned before." I tilted my head, sure that it wasn't going to be a chance I would like. "You could join me. Throw off the restraints of the Benandanti and turn Melandanti. Hunt with me. We would make a fearsome team, you and I."

  I snarled, showing teeth that I wished desperately to sink into him. He just laughed.

  "I didn't think so, but it was worth a shot, even if it was a bit Darth Vaderish. So here is how it is going to work. It takes me about two minutes to strip and change, sometimes less. You have that much of a head start. Don't count on attacking me when my back is turned. I have an advanced sense of smell, too. Not to mention the shotgun." He made a shooing motion with his free hand. "Run along now."

  I ran.

  Chapter 31

  Figuring him for a lying bastard, I guessed he was lying about the two-minute head start. I figured right. Within mere seconds, I could hear him crashing through the trees after me. Desperately I wanted a look at him. How big was he? Could I take him if I made a stand? When pressed, a wolf could run about forty miles an hour. How fast was a skin-walker?

  Every hair on my body bristled as I felt him gaining on me. Tensing, I was preparing to turn and face him down when a coyote came out of nowhere and knocked me to the side of the path. As I rolled and leaped to my feet, I could hear the sounds of flesh ripping and smell the coppery odor of fresh blood. I used the few seconds the coyote's sacrifice had given me to try to get a head start back to my pack and my gun.

  My pulse raced and my lungs already burned with exertion. All I could think of was reaching the guns and changing. I didn't allow myself to wonder if I would have time to change. I just ran.

  He was behind me again. The smell of him was almost overpowering. I could hear crashing through the undergrowth, rushing toward the path on the right side of us. I felt teeth glance off my left flank just as another coyote burst onto the path, this time knocking Mason to one side. For a few seconds, the coyote followed me. Then I heard a yelp and howl of pain.

  As fast as I was, Mason was faster. I wasn't going to make it. Up ahead, the creekside shelter came into sight. Another plan came to mind. Thanks to my father, I was a martial arts whiz. If I could get to the roof of the shelter, Mason would be forced to change to make it up there. I
was confident that I could take him if we were both in skin form.

  Sheer hope gave me a burst of speed and as I heard yet another coyote join the chase, I risked a look back. Stark terror almost froze me to the spot. As it was, I stumbled, losing precious ground and time. My plan wouldn't work. Mason wouldn't have to change to follow me anywhere.

  He was a creature made of nightmares. A cross between a rabid wolf and the evil wolfman from the old B monster movies. An upright, running nightmare. The only thing that even resembled wolf was the fur. His teeth were elongated even for a wolf and his claws would rival a grizzly bear.

  I kept running for the pack. With Mason's sense of smell, I couldn't double back or he would simply cut across and have me sooner. I had to take the long way around. And he was the faster. I wasn't going to make it.

  As I felt him catching up to me again, I heard more crunching of leaves and branches. This time from both sides of the path just ahead. I was almost back to the guns. If they could delay him only a few seconds...

  The path in front of me exploded with coyotes. I didn't take the time to count, but more than three or four. They closed ranks as I flew past them, blocking Mason's path. I could hear the fierce battle and thought briefly of turning and joining the fight. Surely I could tip the balance. Even as I started to turn, I saw my pack only a few yards away.

  An instant before I started the change I heard the first rifle blast and a bullet ricocheted off the rock scant inches from my front paws. Snatching the pack up in my teeth, I headed back into the denser woods. Hoping against hope another bullet wouldn't find its target.

  As I ran, bloody and wounded coyotes ran with me, scattered by the shooter. Some of them may have drawn the fire from me, and I saw at least one fall from a bullet. Never again would I consider them annoying cousins.