Wolf Hills

by Bianca D'Arc

  “Yes, we’ve all been turned. You’re the odd man out, Sal. As usual.” Carly tried for humor, but Sally could read the worry in her eyes.

  “Odd wolf, if these guys are to be believed.” Sally sipped her drink, tempted to chug it for the alcohol if it wasn’t for the slushy ice. Chugging anything ice cold would give her brain freeze and she didn’t want to deal with that on top of everything else.

  “Whoa there, pretty lady.” Jason took the glass out of her hands and placed it back on the bar. She wasn’t happy about it, but she let him. She had learned early on to pick her battles. “Level heads are best for this kind of conversation.”

  “Give me a little credit.” She shot him an exasperated look but argued no further. “So when were you all planning to tell me the big news?” Sally asked Carly accusingly. “I can’t believe you hid this from me for so long.”

  “It wasn’t really by choice. There is a strict edict about telling regular folks about all this. Punishable by death, Sal. None of us wanted to take that chance. But now that we’re all…” She made a helpless gesture with her hands, at a loss for words, apparently.

  “Now that you’re all immortal,” Sally supplied. “You are immortal, right? That part of the legend is true?”

  “Yes, Detective,” Dmitri answered with a nod. “I’ve searched for Carly for hundreds of years. Now that we are together, I hope we can share centuries of wedded bliss together.”

  “Hope? You don’t know for certain?” Worry edged into her mind. Worry for her friend.

  “There are a few things that can end us. We have some vulnerabilities. Especially the newly turned. It is my duty and pleasure to teach my mate how to protect herself and to keep her close to my heart and under my wing.” Dmitri looked down at Carly with such love, Sally had to look away. Would anybody ever look at her like that? She doubted it. She wasn’t lovable. Her youth had taught her that.

  “Sunlight? A wooden stake through the heart?” she asked, wondering aloud.

  “And silver,” Jason added. “Silver isn’t very good to either of our races.”

  “Why?” Sally turned her questioning gaze on the werewolf leader.

  “It’s poison,” he answered simply. “Shuts our systems down.”

  “Wine can reverse the effects for us,” Dmitri added. “Wine is one of our few ties to the sunlit world. Grapes flourish in the sun and capture some of that energy in their essence.”

  “Which is why Lissa’s husband owns a vineyard, I suppose.” Sally was making interesting connections. The idea of such creatures existing alongside humanity was both shocking and tantalizing.

  “Carly always said you were quick.” Dmitri bowed his head as he complimented her.

  “So you really can’t go out in the sun anymore, Carl?” Sally moved a step closer to her friend.

  Carly shook her head, placing her hand over Dmitri’s. “I don’t really miss it. Not when I’ve got Dmitri. He’s showing me all kinds of things about the night.”

  “I bet.” Sally couldn’t help the lascivious wink she gave her friend. It was so easy to accept all this because of the undeniable happiness she could see on Carly’s face.

  For that matter, all their newly wedded friends were blissfully happy. Sally had seen it for herself during their monthly get-togethers. Sure, none of them really ate anymore and the dinners had turned into outings for drinks, but they were the same old girls she’d gone to college with. Same senses of humor, same love of laughter.

  “I can’t believe you all hid this so well. And here I pride myself on my investigative skills.” Sally shook her head.

  “It was for your protection, Sal,” Carly said earnestly. “Besides, we knew we couldn’t keep it from you forever. We’d all reached the decision to tell you. We figured this trip would be the perfect time, since you’re on leave from work and have time to assimilate the information. I just hadn’t figured on telling you tonight.”

  “Sorry, Mistress,” Jason offered sheepishly. “But the moment I caught her scent, I knew she belonged among us. As you know, wolves can be…impetuous, at times.” His charming grin did a lot to alleviate her annoyance. This Alpha wolf really had a way with women.

  “I’ve still got two weeks of vacation,” Sally broke in. “What were you planning to do with me during the day? You can’t go out in the sun, right?”

  “That’s part of the reason I had planned to break it to you quickly,” Carly agreed. “I’m still so new to this, I’m not functional at all during the daylight hours. My employees,” she gestured to the crowd, which was still watching unabashedly, “have been kind enough to adjust their hours to mine somewhat. They start work in the afternoon and continue until I get up at sundown. We work together for a few hours and then call it a night. You’d be amazed how well the business is going with them on board. We’re getting so much done.”

  Sally could see her friend’s enthusiasm. Carly had always been passionate about her work. At least at first. In recent years, she’d been a little burnt out, if Sally were being honest. It was good to see that energy back in Carly’s expression. Dmitri and the werewolves had done that, so maybe there was more to this than met the eye.

  “We all get up late, compared to normal folks,” Jason cut in. “It’s safest for us to run at night, even way out here in the middle of nowhere. We tend to stay up late and sleep in during the morning hours. Not because we have to, but because it’s more fun that way.” He winked and that devilish charm that was never far came to the fore once more. “I’ll be honest and say that our arrangement with the Master and Mistress here is unique. Most of the Other races don’t get along all that well, but Dmitri and I have had an understanding for many years. Carly and her willingness to help our Pack with jobs and friendship has helped even more. I doubt there’s a Pack or Master closer in all the States.” He shrugged. “It works for us. Just don’t ever expect other bloodletters to be as accepting of your wolf heritage.”

  “Except for our friends, of course,” Carly put in. “Though I’m not sure anybody ever realized you had werewolf blood before. I wonder what the boys will make of that.” She grinned as she stroked Dmitri’s hand where it rested over her arm. “They’ve been hatching all kinds of theories about why we’d all gravitated toward each other in the first place. Apparently we’re quite the oddity.”

  “Not the first time I’ve been called that,” Sally quipped. “And probably not the last.”

  “It would be my honor, Detective, to show you around during the day when your friends must rest,” Jason offered. “I could help you learn a bit about your forgotten heritage and show you the local sights. I offer you the hospitality of my Pack.”

  From the way the others in the room went utterly still, Sally figured there was something more to his words than a simple offer of a tour guide. She had a lot to learn about werewolf and vampire culture if she was going to keep her friends. To put it simply, the women she’d bonded with during college were as close to her as sisters. They were the only ones who had always accepted her for who she was and never tried to change her to fit some other expectation. She loved them like family. They were her family—the only family she’d ever known—and she didn’t want to lose them. Not ever. She’d do whatever it took to keep them as close as they were. If that meant embracing the werewolf lifestyle, then so be it. The least she could do was learn what it was all about.

  “I accept your offer of hospitality,” she said formally, noting the reaction of the others. A collective sigh was released around the room and she thought maybe something significant had just occurred. She’d have to learn more about them before she could fully understand.

  “Excellent.” Jason grinned and winked at her. “Then we’ll leave you to talk these momentous events over with your friends for the remainder of the night.” He straightened from his casual lean against the bar. The other wolves began to gather themselves as well. “Thank you for inviting us to your party, Mistress. We had a great time.” He leaned down to kiss C
arly on the cheek, seeming to enjoy the way Dmitri bristled as he drew near. They might be friends, but the wolf seemed to like tweaking the vampire when he could.

  “Thank you for coming, Jason,” Carly replied with a chastising smile for the werewolf. She turned away from him to say goodbye to her staff, the lesser wolves who worked for her. Dmitri followed suit, leaving Sally alone for a moment with Jason.

  He wasted no time, moving right into her personal space. His head dipped closer to hers and she read his intention to kiss her clear in his expression, which was hot enough to melt glass. Sally gave in to temptation and allowed it. She wanted to know what he would feel like, closer to her, his lips on her skin, and a room full of people should have been a safe enough place to test the waters.

  But what she’d expected to be a simple kiss on the cheek, like the one he’d given Carly, turned into a full-on lips-to-lips meeting. How he managed to counter the deliberate turn of her head she’d never know, but that was the last thought she had for some time as his lips claimed hers.

  Forget glass. His kiss was hot enough to melt steel. Hot lava raced through her body as his strong lips met her softer ones. Damn. The man could kiss. And as far as kisses went, this one was pretty tame. He kept his tongue to himself until the last minute, leaving her with a last lick over her pursed lips, making her want more. And more. And more.

  She wasn’t sure she’d ever get enough. Her body followed his as he drew back, just an inch or two, but it was enough to make her snap out of the trance he’d put her in with a simple kiss. She drew back and tried to reclaim her composure. For all that had been thrown at her in the last half hour, she thought she’d been handling things rather well. Until a minute ago. And that killer kiss.

  Damn. She’d have to watch herself around Jason. He was too charming for his own good in a rough and tumble way that really appealed to her. He wasn’t urbane like Dmitri, but he had that same coiled power that made her belly clench with need.

  “I’ll come for you around lunchtime,” Jason promised as he drew away from her.

  All she could do was nod, still reeling from that kiss. Had Carly seen? She’d find out as soon as the rest of the party left. If so, chances were Carly would never let her live it down. Sally wasn’t the type to give a strange guy free reign.

  Dmitri and Carly saw the last of their guests out. The moment the door closed, Carly turned around and leaned against it, her gaze pinning Sally in place near the couch. She’d begun to pick up some of the trash left behind, though the wolves were remarkably neat. It had been an attempt at derailing the coming inquisition that had died before it even began. Sally sighed and dropped the napkins in a small trashcan under an end table, then flopped on the couch in defeat.

  “So…” Carly began, leaving her post by the door and walking toward Sally in a slow stalk. “You and the Alpha?”

  “Jason?” Sally tried to inject just the right note of scoffing surprise into her tone. She knew she had failed when Carly just kept staring at her, one eyebrow raised in challenge. “All right, so I think he’s cute. It’s not unheard of, you know. Every man in here tonight was a ten on the scale. You know that.”

  “Cute? Your friend thinks an Alpha wolf is cute?” Dmitri seemed unable to help himself from interjecting. Carly shot him a glare and he backed away, out of the room, still chuckling to himself.

  “He does have a point, you know.” Carly gestured toward the retreating back of her husband as she sat on the opposite end of the wide couch from Sally. “Werewolves are dangerous. Oh, they were on their best behavior tonight, but some wild things go on out in those woods. And Jason didn’t get to be Alpha of a Pack that size without shedding blood in the process. They fight to decide who leads. He’s not the cuddly puppy he tried to make you think he is. Seth is one of the younger wolves, still fuzzy and soft. He’ll probably be an Alpha one day, if what Dmitri tells me is true, so he was strong enough to show you the battle form, but those baby blues are deceptively adorable in his wolf face. He can run and hunt with the best of them. All in all, he was a good choice to demonstrate the change to a newcomer they didn’t want to scare off, but you should see Jason change.”

  “You’ve seen it?” Sally was immediately curious and a little jealous.

  “He was the first werewolf I ever met. He came to the house to see Dmitri and I think he saw us…um…through the window. We were…uh…in the middle of…something.” Carly’s blush was a dead giveaway and Sally started to laugh.

  “He saw you having sex?” Carly’s blush only got deeper at Sally’s words. “Why, the little Peeping Tom,” Sally marveled with a grin. “So you got to see him shift? Was he naked?” Sally sounded just a little too eager to her own ears, but Carly didn’t seem to notice, still caught in her own embarrassment.

  “Dmitri knew what would happen, of course. He brought a towel out with him to the yard, where Jason was waiting for us in wolf form. I got an eyeful as he shifted shape. He took his time bending down to retrieve the towel and wrap it around his hips. Trust me when I say, that man is huge all over.” The blush reasserted itself on Carly’s cheeks. “And when he’s a wolf, he isn’t nearly as cuddly as Seth. Jason is the kind of wolf you back away from slowly. He’s fierce.”

  “Says the woman whose husband is a vampire. Seriously, Carl,” Sally leaned toward her friend, her concern edging out over her dazed, all too female reaction to the werewolf. “Are you okay with this? Really?”

  Carly touched her hand where it rested along the back of the couch. “Definitely. I love him, Sal. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. He’s it for me. And I know he feels the same about me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I know my own mind. You see, there’s something different about vampire mates.” She shifted, a little uncomfortable. “We actually share our minds. I know exactly what he’s thinking and he knows what I’m thinking.”

  Sally sat back, nonplussed. She thought about the ramifications of such an arrangement. It would probably be both reassuring and a little annoying.

  “He hears what you think? Like all the time? Is he listening in right now?”

  “No. It’s controllable. Except during times of great stress or distraction.” Carly blushed again and Sally had a pretty good idea what she meant. “It wasn’t at first, of course. We learned how to deal with it as we went along. We’re still learning. But we’ve gotten to the point where we can shut the connection to a slow trickle instead of a flood. It was really overwhelming at first—especially for me. Dmitri has lived a very long time and has some amazing memories to prove it.”

  “I bet.” Frankly, Sally was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that Dmitri had been alive for many of the events she thought of as history. It would take awhile to come to terms with that.

  “You know, you’re taking this a lot better than I would have expected.” Carly watched her as if she was studying her. Sally didn’t like it.

  “Hey, it’s not like I haven’t seen some weird stuff on the job. I even have a few secrets of my own.”

  “Really?” Carly sat forward, playful in an instant. “Do tell.”

  Sally laughed. She’d always enjoyed Carly’s zest for life. That energy had been missing from her friend for a long time. It was good to see her as she used to be.

  “You look happy, Carl. And full of life, which is weird, considering you’re undead,” Sally joked.

  Carly slapped at her arm. “I’m not undead. Sheesh! That word gives me the shivers.”

  “So what really happened? How’d you end up a vampire?” Sally really wanted to know. It seemed so incredible, yet the proof was sitting there on the couch, opposite her.

  “Well, I’d already met Dmitri. I knew pretty soon after meeting him what he was. There was really no way to hide it from me after we’d become lovers. And I was okay with it. I knew he’d want me to change eventually, but we both figured we had plenty of time to make those decisions. Possibly years. Then I got i
nto a car accident and almost died. I still am not used to driving on ice and snow. I was a goner, but Dmitri stepped in and saved my life. He made me into a vampire a bit sooner than I would have chosen, but it really doesn’t matter. In the end, I know I would have chosen to stay with him forever. The wreck just sped up my decision. And it was a decision. Even as I lay in that hospital bed, Dmitri asked me first before acting. If I had said no, he would have let nature take its course. And then he would have followed me. I know this with certainty because I know his thoughts and his heart. We are One now.”

  “Wow.” Sally sat back in her seat, impressed by the seriousness of Carly’s words. Finally, Sally broke the silence. “I’m just glad to see your old spark back. Carl, you were heading for a meltdown. You hadn’t taken a vacation in years and you seemed to have lost your zest for living. I’m glad Dmitri brought that back to you.”

  “You have no idea. He’s been good for me and I know in my heart I’ve done the same for him. He wasn’t the smiling guy you met before. He was…I guess brooding is the best word. Quiet, dark, handsome as sin and brooding. All the co-eds were worshiping at his feet. They still do, of course, but he barely notices. He only has eyes for me.” Carly batted her eyelashes playfully as she said the words, but Sally knew there was more than a grain of truth in them. Lucky girl. “Now that you’ve distracted me enough, let’s get back to you and the Alpha. I was serious before, Sal. That guy is dangerous.”

  “I’m not a fool, Carl. I can handle him. I’ve handled worse in my time as a cop.”

  “Maybe bad-guy-wise, but I don’t think you’ve ever dealt with an Alpha wolf who wants, without a doubt, to get into your pants. Even I could see that.”

  Sally thought about it for a minute. “Would that be so bad?” she wondered aloud, daring to share her innermost thoughts with one of her oldest friends.

  “Detective Decker, I’m appalled,” Carly teased. “And maybe a little jealous. Or I would be, if I didn’t have such a fantastic man of my own. To be honest, I don’t know enough about wolves and their mating habits. I could ask some of the girls who work for me, but the overall impression I got is that they’re pretty free with their favors until they find their mate. The first time I met Amy, she’d just come from a tryst in the woods with Jason and counted it as a favor. She said he’d taken pity on her and that after that night she’d be a lot more popular with the more attractive males in the Pack.”