“I can’t wait,” I announced, hopping to my feet. “That werewolf had better look out because I’m totally coming for it.”
“Lycanthrope, Charlie,” Chris chided.
“Right. I’ll get right on committing that word to memory.”
“Do that. I don’t like it when people think we’re kooks. Crazy people look for werewolves. Scientists look for lycanthropes. Get it right.”
3
Three
The flight to Michigan wasn’t long – a little less than two hours, to be exact – and even though Chris and Hannah seemed excited to be getting back on the adventure train I couldn’t help but notice everyone else seemed rather reticent.
I chose a seat in the back of the jet so I could conduct some research on werewolves without looking like a dolt – all my knowledge came from movies, after all – so I expected to be alone for most of the flight. Imagine my surprise, then, when Laura decided to sit with me.
“Are you looking at porn?”
Laura waited until we were in the air to comment. The Legacy Foundation has its own private jet, which made trips more comfortable, and meant I could search the internet to my heart’s content on the Wi-Fi.
I slid a dark look to Laura, who held up a small compact and stared at her reflection so she didn’t see my glare, and shook my head. “I’m researching lycanthrope sightings in Michigan.”
Laura stiffened before lowering her mirror and shooting me an incredulous look. “Are you serious?”
“Last time I checked.”
“But … .” She broke off, wrinkling her nose. “You don’t really think we’re going to see a werewolf?”
“I believe Chris wants us to use the word ‘lycanthrope.’” I hated how prim and proper I sounded, but I didn’t back down. “As for seeing one, I would be massively excited if that were the case.”
“Uh-huh.” Laura didn’t look convinced. “Well, I hope you and your werewolf have a good time together. I think it’s good you’re going to focus on that. After what happened in Texas, I was worried you were going to start focusing on Jack. That would be a mistake.”
I wiggled in my seat but somehow managed to keep my face impassive despite the fact that her words jolted me. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Laura snapped the compact shut and pinned me with a weighted look. “I came over here to play nice and ease you into my way of thinking, but I’ve decided you’re too slow for that.”
“This is your way of playing nice?”
Laura ignored the question. “I don’t really like you. I don’t think that’s a secret.”
“Do you like anyone?”
Laura pretended she didn’t hear my question. “After what happened in Texas, I was forced to do some soul searching.”
“Did you find yours?”
This time Laura scowled at my feigned incredulity. “Don’t push me right now. I’m trying to do the right thing by you, even though it goes against every fiber of my being.”
I didn’t bother to hide my eye roll. “Whatever. I don’t really care why you’re here. I’m trying to actually work, so if you could move things along that would be great.”
“Good. We understand each other.” Laura let loose a smile that set my teeth on edge. “After the disaster that resulted in me almost dating a murderer in Texas – I still can’t believe Zach was evil and I’m seriously reconsidering my screening process when it comes to meeting new men – I’ve decided that I need to set my sights a little lower.”
“Oh, I can’t remember where I heard it, but I think it’s illegal to date animals,” I drawled. “You can adopt a cat, but dating a dog is out of the question.”
My sarcasm clearly didn’t make Laura happy. She flicked me between the eyebrows, causing me to rear back. “Stop being you,” she ordered. “I don’t want to hang out with you any more than you want me to. But I have something to talk to you about, and I need to get it out of the way before we land.”
I ruefully rubbed the space between my eyebrows and glared at her. “What do you want, Laura? I’m already sick of this game.”
“I just want you to know that I’ve decided that Jack and I deserve another go.” Laura’s voice was smooth, like liquid gold, although the statement caused my blood to run cold. “That means you can’t hang around with him. I don’t consider you competition, but you’re going to seriously slow my efforts with that wide-eyed ingénue thing you do, and I don’t want to deal with it.”
I was flabbergasted. “I’m not standing between you and Jack.”
“Oh, I know.” Laura gave her manicure a good stare before shaking her fingers and returning to the conversation. “But you tend to get in trouble, which means Jack has to run to the rescue. I don’t like it, but it’s in his nature. I want you to stop doing that.”
“I don’t want Jack to run to my rescue.” That was true. I preferred the idea of being a self-rescuing heroine. Laura wasn’t wrong about me finding trouble, though. Apparently the ability was etched into my DNA. “As for you and him, I thought you’d never really dated. I heard that you wanted him but he didn’t want you.”
Laura turned haughty. “Everyone wants me.”
“Everyone but Jack, apparently.”
Laura narrowed her eyes until they were nothing but glittery slits. “You don’t want to push me, Charlie.” Her tone was frigid. “I only came over here because I thought it was the prudent thing to do – the nice thing, really – and I didn’t want you to get hurt when I decided to implement my plan.”
What was that supposed to mean? “Why would I get hurt?”
“I see the way you look at Jack. You have a crush on him. Everyone knows.”
Even though I didn’t want to give Laura the satisfaction I could feel my cheeks burning and knew I’d flushed red. “I do not!”
“You do. I find it adorable because you’re a geek and he’s … well, he’s not. I just want to make sure that you stay out of the way, because I’ve got something planned for him and you’re not invited to the party.”
“Oh, there’s going to be a party?” I swallowed hard as I tried to regroup. “I don’t have a crush on Jack.”
“You do. Everyone knows. It’s fine.” Laura waved her hand imperiously, as if she were the queen and I her handmaiden. “It doesn’t really matter. I just want you to know that your presence will not be necessary when Jack and I officially start dating. Do we understand each other?”
I had no idea how to respond. “Sure. I can guarantee I don’t want to hang around with you and Jack.”
Laura slowly got to her feet, giving me a pitying look before shaking her head. “As long as we understand each other. You need to stay out of my way. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”
“The only thing I want to get in the way of is a lycanthrope.”
“And the sad thing is I think you believe that.” Laura made a clucking sound with her tongue. “Have fun with your werewolf. I know I plan to have fun on my end.”
I watched her sashay down the aisle, my molars grinding when she pretended to drop something and bent over in front of Jack. To my surprise, Jack didn’t as much as look at her. Instead, his eyes were focused on me as Chris nattered along at his side. Jack’s gaze was piercing, something clearly on his mind.
He simply stared, leaving me wondering exactly what was going on in that busy mind of his.
WE LANDED AT A DIFFERENT airport. I wasn’t surprised – Michigan is a big state, after all – and within thirty minutes we were loaded into two Jeep Grand Cherokees, headed toward a hotel located between Midland and Bay City. That was the extent of the information I knew about the area.
“There’s not much here,” I noted from the back seat as I stared out the window. “It’s pretty much flat forestland.”
“What were you expecting?” Jack asked from behind the wheel. He seemed intent on the road, even though, Laura, from the passenger seat, kept asking inane questions that he deigned to answer with the fewest words possib
le.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Hemlock Cove had hills and water. This is just … blah.”
“Michigan is one of those states that can be more than one thing,” Jack explained. “The southeastern portion is urban. Everything else is rural. There are different types of rural, though.”
“I think Michigan is a dumb state,” Laura offered. “I much prefer a sunshine state – like Florida or California … or even Hawaii – because Michigan gets snow and I hate snow. How about you, Jack? Do you like sunshine states?”
Jack clearly wasn’t expecting the question, because the look he shot Laura was one that reflected dumbfounded confusion. “Um … Michigan is fine. I like all the rivers and trees. I happen to like seasons, too.”
“Not me.” Laura was prim as she showed off perfect posture and rested her hands on her knees while offering Jack a pretty smile. “I like places where it’s okay to wear a bikini year-round. I look good in a bikini.”
Jack blinked several times in rapid succession before looking to the rearview mirror in an attempt to meet my gaze. All I could do was shrug before turning back to the window. When Laura announced at the airport that she was riding with Jack, the other members of our group scrambled to climb in the second vehicle. That left me to ride with them, even though I was certain (especially after our plane discussion) that was the last thing Laura wanted. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I pushed it out of my mind.
“How far is the hotel?” I asked after a beat.
“Close. It’s right down the road here,” Jack replied. “It’s supposed to be one of those log cabin deals.”
Laura pushed her bottom lip into a sultry pout. “Does that mean there’s no spa?”
“I definitely don’t think there’s a spa,” Jack replied. “It shouldn’t matter, though. We’re here to do a job.”
“We’re here to look for a werewolf,” Laura corrected. “But they don’t exist, so this will be a waste of time.”
“You don’t know they don’t exist,” I argued. “They could be real.”
Laura snorted. “Can you believe her?” She jerked her thumb in my direction and smiled seductively at Jack. “There’s a sucker born every second, huh?”
Jack stared her down for a long moment before speaking. “She’s right. You don’t know that we won’t find … something.”
Laura balked. “But you’re usually the first one to laugh at Chris’s werewolf talk.”
Jack didn’t back down. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t something to discover here.”
“But … .”
Jack shook his head, firm. “Part of our job is keeping an open mind. You should keep an open mind, Laura.”
I couldn’t stop myself from getting involved in the conversation. “Yeah. You should keep an open mind.”
Laura snapped her head to glare at me. “Perhaps you should shut your mouth and go back to staring vacantly out the window. I think we’d all enjoy that.”
I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Absolutely. Your wish is my command.” I barely managed to contain my smirk as I focused on the foliage blurring on the other side of the glass. Perhaps Laura’s determination to snag Jack – a man who hated her more than I did – would turn out to be fun after all. There were worse ways to spend a day than watching Laura act like an idiot, after all.
THE HOTEL WAS NOT what I’d expected and I couldn’t hide my dismay in the lobby as I tried to avert my eyes from the multitude of animal heads mounted on the wall. I felt as if they were staring at me – the deer with their glass eyes, the wolf with his snarling snout and the bear with his sad grimace – and I felt mildly guilty for their deaths even though I obviously had nothing to do with them.
“It kind of makes you want to eat nothing but vegetables, huh?” Jack asked, sidling up to me and regarding the wolf with a sad smile. “I bet he was beautiful back in the day.”
“You mean before they shot him and stuffed cotton in his neck and made his nose do that thing it’s doing?” I challenged. “Yeah, I’ll bet he was beautiful too.”
Fred Pitman, the hotel owner, caught us staring and beamed as one of his workers ran Chris’s credit card and gathered room keys. “Nice, huh? Shot him myself.”
I couldn’t decide if that was supposed to impress me. “What was he doing when you shot him?”
“Wandering through the woods hunting for prey.” Fred, who looked to be in his fifties and did that thing where he combed his hair over a bald spot and pretended that it looked normal, puffed out his chest. “He didn’t even see me coming.”
“That hardly seems fair.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized how they would be received. “I think it’s only fair if you give the wolf a gun, too, and then see what happens. That sounds more sporting.”
Fred made a derisive sound in the back of his throat as he folded his arms over his chest. “Let me guess … you’re a vegetarian.”
I immediately started shaking my head. “I’m not. I eat meat. Sometimes I wish I could be a vegetarian, but I like a burger too much to go without one for the rest of my life. I simply don’t understand the point of killing this wolf.”
“Hunting is a sport.”
“It doesn’t seem sporting.”
“Well, it is. It’s a sport I’m good at.” Fred swaggered out from behind the desk, ignoring everyone else and focusing solely on me. “Hunting is the sport of kings … and by that I mean actual kings did it. I killed every animal you’ll see mounted in this place.”
I couldn’t hide my horror. “There aren’t animal heads in the rooms, are there?”
The woman behind the counter – I think she introduced herself as Harley – offered a sympathetic smile. “I’m afraid so.”
Ugh! That was the last thing I wanted to hear. “Well … great.”
Jack rested a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “You must have one room that doesn’t have a head in it.” He flashed a smile for Harley’s benefit because she seemed the helpful sort.
“No, they all have heads.” Harley risked a look at her boss before pasting what could only be described as the world’s fakest smile on her face. “They look over you while you’re sleeping.”
“Yeah, I think that’s what Charlie is worried about.” Jack’s expression was rueful as he snagged my gaze. “Just remember they’re already dead and not really staring at you.”
“I’ll do my best,” I sighed. “Maybe I’ll sleep in the bathtub or something.”
“The werewolves won’t be able to get you there,” Laura supplied. “Maybe you should turn on the water while you’re in there and see if you can join the animal heads in the great beyond.”
Jack glared at Laura. “What is your deal? You’ve been in a mood since we left the office.”
Laura adopted an innocent expression. “What makes you think I’m in a mood?”
Jack didn’t get a chance to respond because Fred decided it was time to take over the conversation. “Werewolves, huh? I bet you guys are here to look for that missing couple.”
“What do you know about that?” Chris looked eager to change the subject. “Have you heard reports of lycanthropes in the area?”
Fred was puzzled. “What’s a lycanthrope?”
“Werewolf,” Jack supplied. “Do you have a lot of werewolf legends around here?”
“Oh, we definitely do.” Fred enthusiastically nodded. “I’m looking to find one to add to my wall.”
My stomach twisted. “A werewolf would be half human,” I pointed out.
“That’s why I’ll only kill it when it’s fuzzy and hunting.” Fred was blasé … and deathly serious. “It’s not against the law to kill an animal … and a werewolf is definitely an animal. I go out hunting for one at least once a week. I think I’m getting close to finding one.”
I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “And what about when it’s a man? What about the people who love him or her, the ones left behind?”
Fred shrugged. “If it didn’
t want to die, it shouldn’t have become a monster. It’s not rocket science.”
“No, definitely not.” I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and spared a glance for Jack. “I already hate this one.”
Jack was sympathetic. “You’ll perk up when we get to the scene.” He lowered his voice as he leaned forward. “This guy has been hunting for years and never killed a person. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Do you see that head over there?” Jack jerked his chin in the direction of the bear. “He says he killed all the animals, but there’s a tag on that one, just under the chin, that suggests he bought it in Canada.”
I brightened considerably. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “Not everything is what it seems. You need to remember that.”
He didn’t have to remind me. I was a prime example of exactly that. For now, I was merely happy that Fred didn’t appear to be the famed hunter he claimed.
“I’ll remember.” I forced a smile. “Let’s drop off our stuff and hit the woods. I’m dying to see this campsite.”
“There you go.” Jack returned my grin. “Now you sound like yourself. We’ll take twenty minutes to get settled and then go. We want to take advantage of the light.”
That was, thankfully, something we could all agree on.
4
Four
Jack already had Millie and Bernard, our equipment manager, secured in his Jeep when I walked out of the hotel. He grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the passenger door before I realized what was happening.
“My vehicle is full,” he announced. “Laura, you’ll have to ride with Chris.”
Laura, who had apparently been distracted when Jack carried out his maneuver, made a face. “But … .”
“I’m sorry.” Jack shrugged as if signifying weakness and regret. “I’m full.”
“I could ride with Chris,” I offered, keeping my voice low enough so only Jack could hear. “I mean … if you want her to ride with you.”
The Werewolf Whoops Page 3
