by Anne Kane
Jack nodded. “Their mother left them when they were young, and it seems like their father neglected that part of their education. Trina had no idea what I was talking about when I asked her to bond with me. I think she was humoring me right up until she felt the bond settle over us. I know she tried to explain it to Nikki, but apparently she wasn’t entirely successful.”
“Not entirely successful? Hell, Nikki thought she was agreeing to casual sex! Well, it’s done, and I have no intention of releasing her even if I could.” Wolfe glanced over to where the two sisters were talking. “I know we’re perfect for each other and she truly cares about me, but she seems to think that she’s not good enough for me.”
“Yeah, their mother really did a number on them when she left.” Jack shook his head sympathetically. “Nikki is dead set against any kind of permanent relationship. She deliberately dated guys with commitment issues all these years just so she never has to deal with it. I think Trina got off easier because she was so young. She barely remembers her mother. Nikki would have been five or six, so she took it hard. It’s tough when you think your parent doesn’t care about you.”
“That explains a lot.” Jack pondered what he’d learned. “She thinks she’s inherited some sort of bad mother gene from her mother, and she’s terrified to even try to live a normal life.”
“Exactly!” Jack grinned. “And those girls have a stubborn streak a mile wide. I’m happy I’m not in your shoes. Trina is already talking about children. As soon as this dance season is over, we’re going to try for our first.”
“Congratulations! You’ll make great parents.” Wolfe slapped Jack on the back, genuinely happy for his friend. “And being an aunt might convince Nikki that her fears are unfounded.”
Todd got up from the rock where he’d been sitting and wandered over, looking like a sad lost puppy. Wolfe gave Jack a short shake of his head, warning him to change the subject.
Todd looked from one to the other. “So do you guys have any ideas about my sister? I know I should have paid more attention when she first came to me, and I feel like this is all my fault. I need to find her.”
Looking at his woebegone expression, Wolfe felt guilty about his earlier suspicions. The guy was just worried about his sister, and his social skills weren’t great at the best of times. He hadn’t been stalking them. It was just the newness of the mate-bond that tweaked Wolfe’s nerves.
“Let’s get the girls and see if the five of us can’t come up with something.” Wolfe put his arm around Todd’s shoulder. “You can tell us everything you remember.”
“What’s up?” Nikki gave Todd a friendly smile, but Wolfe could feel her attention focused almost exclusively on him. Her heart leapt at his proximity, squashing any thoughts of jealousy. She might not be ready to admit it, but their bond was based on more than convenience. He just needed to give her time.
“Todd’s going to tell us everything he remembers about his sister’s disappearance, and hopefully we’ll come up with something positive for him to do.” Wolfe sat down on a bench hewn out of a single piece of oak, pulling Nikki down into his lap. She surprised him by snuggling in contentedly instead of putting up a fight.
On the other side of the clearing, Jack raised his brows, the beginnings of a smile curving his lips. Wolfe glared at him, daring him to say anything.
He turned his attention to Nikki. Comfortable?
Yes. You?
The little minx wriggled her bottom suggestively, causing his shaft to harden, and Wolfe retaliated by sliding his arm around her, his hand splaying over her belly possessively.
“So tell us about your sister.” Trina sat beside Jack, her hand resting on his leg. Wolfe envied them their easy intimacy.
Todd sat on one of the stumps placed in the circle. His lanky legs stuck out at an awkward angle from his body, making him look like a hastily assembled doll. He clenched his hands on his lap and a look of anguish spread across his angular face. “She’s been gone for almost two months now, but I didn’t notice until I tried to contact her last week. She called me back in June with some story about guys following her, but I didn’t think it was serious. I told her it was all in her head, and that she’d be fine. She was pretty; it was probably just some guy noticing a good-looking girl. No big deal.” He gulped, tears shimmering in his eyes. “I just got a new job, and I didn’t want to take the time to go down to San Francisco and check it out.”
“Tell us about this doctor you mentioned. If he seriously wanted her to join his research project maybe he sent the man to convince her, or to do a background check on her and see if there was some way to convince her to change her mind. When did he approach her?” Nikki’s voice had a soothing quality to it, a gift of her selkie heritage. Wolfe wondered if she knew what she was doing or if it was instinctive.
“She met him at one of those charity fundraiser things for the symphony. He introduced himself as Dr. Kvordic, but I’m not sure if that was his real name. She said he had an accent, European, maybe German. She thought he looked distinguished. He told her he knew what she was, but he wouldn’t expose her. He wanted her to go back to his lab with him so he could study her and understand her heritage. He promised her a good salary but said she’d have to sign a confidentiality agreement because his work was so sensitive, and she wouldn’t be able to contact any of her friends or family for the duration of the contract. That part made her nervous so she turned him down. She said he was nice about it when she said no. He didn’t threaten her or anything, just gave her his business card and said to get in touch if she changed her mind. It sounded like a legitimate offer, so she didn’t make a big deal out of it. She only mentioned it to me because I asked if she’d had any luck finding a new job after the mill laid her off.”
Jack leaned forward. “Do you have the number he gave her?”
Todd shook his head. “No. I looked around her apartment after I realized she was gone, but she must have thrown it out. I couldn’t find anything. I did some research on the internet though, and I found a Dr. Kvordic who used to teach at U Vic. He had some unproven theories on supernatural beings who live amongst us disguised as humans. He wanted U Vic to fund a research project to identify and catalogue the supernaturals. They refused of course. Academia is full of stuffed shirts who don’t believe anything that hasn’t been proven for hundreds of years. They tried to get rid of him, citing mental instability but he had tenure, and they couldn’t build a strong enough case. Then about eighteen months ago, he suddenly resigned his tenure and disappeared. No one’s seen him since. I have no idea if he’s the same guy or not.”
“Sounds like it might be.” Wolfe looked around the circle. “Any of you know anything about this guy?”
Nikki and Trina shook their heads, but Jack hesitated.
Wolfe tilted his head. “Yes?”
“This might be nothing, but there’s a rumor that a group of European businessmen are planning some sort of world coup. It sounds a bit far out, rich people setting up some superheroes to take over the world scenario. The interesting thing is, they’ve been siphoning big money from their companies and no one knows where it’s going. One of them had a little too much to drink at a bar in Copenhagen one night and was bragging about the secret army of super-soldiers they’re building. His companion hushed him up pretty quick and hustled him out of there. The fact that they didn’t just stay put, and laugh at him, points to it being at least partly true. Maybe they’re recruiting supernaturals to fight for them.”
Wolfe frowned. “It would have to be a pretty small coup. There aren’t that many supernaturals in the world, and our talents are pretty specific. We Druids can Dream Walk and manipulate the natural world, but we don’t have the size to do well in hand-to-hand combat. The werewolves have the size and aggressive instinct to be fighters, but they lack the ability to formulate a strategy. Dwarves take the concept of lack of teamwork to a whole new level. Wouldn’t take much to neutralize the lot of us. In order to build an army you’d ha
ve to have over fifty percent of the supernaturals cooperating and the chances of that are slim to nil. Hell, you can’t put a werewolf and a dwarf in the same building without them trying to kill each other. They’ve been at odds for centuries. There’s no way you’d get all of us to fight on the same side. We tend to have serious trust issues.”
“True.” Jack shrugged his shoulders. “But there’s probably a kernel of truth in there somewhere.”
“Usually is,” Wolfe conceded. “We need to look into it further. I’m not sure this has anything to do with the men we saw at Nikki’s house, but I’ll pull in some IOUs and see what I can find out.” He looked over at Todd. “Any chance your sister would volunteer for some kind of military operation?”
Todd shook his head. “Not Sasha. She’s tiny and never really been very healthy. Hard to picture her as a soldier.”
“She might be some sort of intelligence backup. It’s worth looking into.”
Todd nodded. “Anything’s worth looking into. Sasha’s my only family. Our parents died in a car accident about five years back. I should have paid more attention to her. It was my duty to look after her.”
“What about the man she thought was following her? Can you tell us anything about him?”
Todd shook his head. “Not really. She said she noticed it a couple of times, when she was out shopping or job hunting. She’d catch a glimpse of the guy, and half an hour later, she’d see the same guy in a different part of town. When she tried to make eye contact, he’d duck into a crowd and she’d lose sight of him. Then she’d see him again, watching her from across the mall. She didn’t really describe him, just said he was creepy. It really spooked her. She had deadbolts installed on her doors, and one of those security systems.”
Jack laid a comforting hand on Todd’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her for you.” He looked at Nikki. “And we’ll make sure we keep you safe. Until we know what’s going on, you don’t go anywhere alone. Anywhere.”
“I think that’s my line.” Wolfe’s voice had an edge to it. “I appreciate your help and concern, but she’s bonded to me whether she likes it or not. I’ll look after her.”
Trina looked at Nikki and rolled her eyes. “Men. Sometimes they remind me of the roosters on that farm we used to visit, puffing out their chests and trying to impress the hens with their bravado.”
Nikki looked at Wolfe, and broke into peals of laughter. He’d never heard such a beautiful sound. He grinned at her. “Well, I sure hope you’re impressed.”
She grinned at him. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should fluff up your feathers a bit.”
Smart-ass! But he grinned back at her.
“Can I get in touch with you in the real world?” Todd stood up and stretched his scrawny arms over his head. “I need to get back soon. I’m working tonight, but I’d really appreciate knowing if you find out anything.”
Wolfe hesitated. No one knew the location of his tree house, and he’d just as soon keep it that way. Besides, it wasn’t as if it had a street address. Turn left at the big birch and walk until you see a lightning-struck pine was as close as he could get. “Give me your phone number and one of us will be in touch when we find something out.”
Jack gave him an assessing look but didn’t say anything. Wolfe knew he’d have to answer for this when Todd left. He wasn’t sure why, but he just wasn’t comfortable with Todd knowing where to find him.
“Sure.” Todd looked embarrassed. “I know you don’t know me or anything, but I really appreciate this. My sister is all I’ve got.”
You’re making him feel bad. Nikki’s reproving voice echoed in his head.
Too bad. Your safety comes first. Besides, neither of our houses are safe right now. I’ll let him know what we find out. I promise.
“We’ll keep in touch. I promise.” The soothing tone of Nikki’s voice seemed to relax the young man. He gave her a grateful smile.
“Thanks. Now I really have to go. Bye.” Turning, he tripped over an exposed root, catching himself at the last moment before he crashed to the ground.
Wolfe wasn’t sure when he’d seen a more clumsy man. Todd took the term geek to a completely new level.
Be nice! Nikki shifted on his lap, and he winced. He had the hard-on from hell, and her warm bottom wasn’t helping it any.
Todd’s face turned red, and he mumbled his goodbyes again before rushing off into the forest.
“That’s one strange young man.” Jack shook his head. “I’m not sure what he’s going to do if we don’t find his sister. He’s so sure it’s his fault. I wish there were something more we could do for him.”
“How does he manage to Dream Walk?” Wolfe stared at the spot where Todd had disappeared. “He’s not a Druid or I’d be able to feel him.”
“No, he’s a warlock on his father’s side but he’s not very strong. He can Dream Walk and do a few parlor tricks but that’s about it. He’s really feeling helpless to do anything about his sister.”
“Just enough talent to know what he’s not capable of.” Nikki shook her head and Wolfe could see the sympathy in her eyes.
“Hopefully we’ll find Sasha and everything will be okay. If he hadn’t contacted her for a few months, it is possible she picked up one of those contract jobs up in the mines in Northern Alberta. Lots of people from the interior are doing that right now. The money is good enough to tide them over until something opens up back home. Would explain why her apartment hasn’t been touched. She might be planning to come back to it in a month or two.” Trina turned to her sister. “So how much longer can you stay? I’ve never seen you this comfortable in the Dream World.”
Nikki glanced up at Wolfe. “Depends on Wolfe. I’m leaning on him pretty heavy.”
“Aahhh. I should have known.”
Wolfe smiled. Just to hear her admit it sent a warm feeling through him. “We have some time left. Now that Todd’s gone, I need to know about that vision you had about Nikki. Did you see anything that could help us identify who’s after her?”
Jack put a protective arm around his wife. “Careful, bro. Trina doesn’t like to talk about her visions much, and I won’t be having you upset her.”
“It’s okay.” Trina patted Jack’s hand gently. “He’s right. They need to know.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, my visions aren’t always clear and this one is shrouded in so many symbols that I don’t understand.”
“Do your best.” Nikki gave her a sympathetic look. “We appreciate whatever you can tell us.”
Trina paused, gathering her thoughts. “Nikki was somewhere I didn’t recognize. There were a lot of glass walls, and stainless steel. I don’t think I saw anything natural like grass or trees so she must have been inside somewhere. She was in pain, surrounded by creatures I couldn’t quite see, but I sensed they were evil. She was dashing back and forth as if she were trying to escape, and then a big silver wolf jumped in and stood between her and the creatures. Every time one of them tried to get to her, the wolf blocked them.” She glanced at Wolfe. “That’s why I called you. I have no idea if the wolf represented you or if it’s just a coincidence. As for who or what is after Nikki, I have no idea. There were at least six creatures tormenting her, and one who seemed to be directing the attack. I think the one directing the attack is the one you need to worry about. The rest were just following orders. That’s about all I can tell you.”
Wolfe shifted uncomfortably. The same foretelling. Exactly. He could almost hear his grandfather echoing Trina’s words.
“What’s wrong?” Nikki stirred on his lap.
He gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Nothing. It’s just that I’ve heard this before. My grandfather was a Druid, a Cosantoir from the ancient Celtic line. Sometimes he would go into a trance, and when he came out of it, he’d describe a vision that he’d had. Although sometimes they were hard to decipher, every single one of them came true. He called them foretelling. When I was twelve, he had a foretelling, and it was the same vision your sister just de
scribed. He said the silver wolf represented me and it was my destiny to save a mystical being from her foes. He didn’t know what the mystical creature was.” He squeezed her tight for a second. “He never mentioned me having an emotional connection to the creature I rescued, but I never doubted that someday his vision would come to pass. It wasn’t until now that I connected Nikki to the foretelling. I’ve been so busy concentrating on our bonding and keeping you safe that I just didn’t think about it.”
Trina nodded. “Being bonded takes a bit of getting used to. I had no idea your grandfather had the same vision. That is rare, not to mention just a little scary.”
“It is. But it confirms your suspicion that Nikki is in danger.” Wolfe traced a path from Nikki’s shoulder to her wrist with one finger. “It also justifies my decision to bond with you.”
“Nice try.” Nikki tossed her head. “You just said you hadn’t connected the two visions until now.”
He couldn’t help the grin that curved his mouth. She wasn’t about to let him get away with anything.
“We really don’t know anything more than we did before.” Jack brought the subject back to Nikki’s safety.
“Nikki will just have to stay at my place until we figure out what’s going on. I’m going to look into Todd’s story. Sasha and Nikki are both selkies which makes it one hell of a coincidence.”
“I can’t stay at your place indefinitely.” Nikki shifted in his lap. “I have a job.”
“You’re between contracts at the moment. Don’t try to pull that crap on me.”
“How do you know that?” The mutinous set was back on her face.
“Superlative detective work.” She raised her brows and he chuckled. “Trina told me you were up at the cabin because you had a few weeks’ vacation. Hence, you’re between contracts.”
“And the agency is going to get suspicious when I suddenly disappear off the face of the earth.”
