The pup squirmed her hips and kicked with her back feet. Her sharp back claws met Lauren’s wrist, but instead of tearing, the animal stopped and lowered her feet. Enchanted, Lauren lifted up the tiny creature and held it in her arms.
“Hi,” Lauren murmured. “Aren’t you sociable?”
The pup nosed her jaw and began to lick her face. It tickled. Lauren giggled and held her farther away.
With the way it squirmed and moved, Lauren would have heard it before. The young animal must have been placed there just now. Lauren looked up, searching the surrounding area for any sign of the men.
They had been there, mere feet away from her, not making a sound and not revealing themselves. At least, one of them must have. They always moved silently. They left gifts for Lauren, yet hadn’t shown themselves. Why couldn’t Lauren see them?
“Hello?” Lauren called out, starting to feel spooked. If one of the hunters was so close, why didn’t he come out and talk? Why give Lauren gifts, only to run away? “Please answer? Jasper? Greg? Zander?”
There was no reply.
The puppy flipped over in Lauren’s arms and planted its massive paws on Lauren’s shoulder to nip at her ear. The little love bites didn’t hurt, but they tickled something fierce. Lauren’s anxiety vanished, and she dissolved into laughter and dropped to the forest floor as the pup pinned her.
Judging by her paws, one day she’d be just as big as any of the wolf-dogs. For now, she was tiny, lovable, and perfect, which was good, because Lauren couldn’t imagine being pinned and nipped at by anything like a full-sized wolf.
“Hey, hey,” she scolded gently. She grabbed the pup and lifted it from her chest. It kicked its paws like it was swimming through the air, and Lauren chuckled. “You’re silly, aren’t you? You’re going to be quite a vixen.”
The pup made a noise somewhere between a yip and a growl. Lauren snorted. Holding it in the air, she used her core muscles to sit up, then tucked it close to her chest once more. Aunt Lori was decidedly not a dog person, and would never let her keep a dog, much less one that looked like a wolf, but she couldn’t leave the young dog alone without its mother in sight.
Maybe Jade would know what to do.
Using her free hand, she pulled out her phone. Thankfully, there was plenty of charge. She had no idea what hours Jade had at her summer job so she typed out a message:
R U at the library?
Damn. Charge yes, but no signal. Lauren would have to wait a while to send it.
With the puppy in her arms, Lauren rose to her feet.
Jade had lived in Beaumont all her life; her family had lived there for generations. If anyone knew where to harbor a wolf-like baby pet, Jade would.
And maybe, just maybe, Jade might be able to tell her what the hell went on in these woods.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“What the hell is this thing?” Jade poked the creature between the eyes. It blinked and squirmed and gnashed its teeth, and Jade drew her hand back. “Rabid husky mix?”
Fortunately, Jade was at home. There was a no dogs rule in the library.
“No.” Lauren hesitated. They sat in Jade’s backyard around the patio table. Lauren still held the pup to her chest. “It’s a wolf-dog. Well, that’s what I’m calling it.”
Jade looked at her, eyebrows raised, and laughed. The sunshine glistened in her bleached-blond hair, and she leaned forward on an elbow, jaw resting on her fist. “No. Really. What is it?”
“It’s a wolf-dog,” Lauren insisted. “I found it in the forest. I went out there after the old lady told me she'd given my summer job to her granddaughter.”
“You, my friend, have officially lost your mind.” Jade leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “But then again, I guess we’re all mad here. Beaumont does things to a person. How did you get her away from her mother? Don’t wolf cubs stayed close to their mother for ages?”
“Well, it isn't a wolf; it’s a dog. I can’t name the actual breed, but I’ve seen them fully grown, though, and they’re beautiful. They look powerful and wild, but they’re well trained and obedient.”
Jade sighed. “Then how did you get it? You didn’t steal it?”
Lauren considered it a good sign when Jade appeared to accept the pup as a type of husky dog and not a wolf.
Not wanting to push things too quickly, Lauren chose her next words carefully. “I didn’t lure it away from its mother or steal it. I was out walking through the woods, and I found her with her collar already fastened.”
“So someone else is out there looking for their lost puppy right now. Or are they stealing wolf cubs and turning them into pets?”
Perhaps Jade hadn't completely accepted the dog-as-a-dog idea just yet.
“All right. So the plot thickens. I’ve got a few questions, and the first is, why come to my place after all of this went down?” Jade picked up her soda and took a sip. “You’re not going to accuse me of getting out and stealing baby dog-wolves?”
“No,” Lauren said. She shook her head. “Not at all. And we’ve already established she isn't a wolf pup. She’s a dog. A breed that looks a bit foxy, that’s all.”
Jade’s glass clinked against the glass tabletop. “Then what’s going on? Why are you collecting stray dogs and bringing them here?” Jade frowned.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” Lauren admitted. “Aunt Lori isn’t a dog person.”
“Is she a wolf person?” Jade arched a brow and chuckled, before leaning forward and looking serious. “Because there’s a difference, Lauren. Even with a collar, it looks like a wolf to me.”
Lauren pursed her lips. She ran her fingers through the puppy fur, savoring the softness. It was different from the coarse fur on the older dogs. She wondered how long it would be before the pup matured. “I know. I know.”
“So why didn’t you leave the animal in the woods, then?” Jade asked. “You could've taken off the collar and let it go. It’s a wild animal. It may be a baby, but I’m sure it’d find its way on its own. Mama wolf is probably looking for it right now.”
“She’s not,” Lauren said.
“And you know that because…?”
“Because this dog is a gift for me.” Lauren’s voice trembled. When she said it out loud to someone else, it sounded insane. “I know it,” she added, which only made it worse.
Jade fiddled with her drinking glass. She tucked her legs up onto the patio chair and gazed distractedly into the depths of her drink. Lauren watched as she processed everything she’d heard. They’d been best friends for a while, and there were very few things they kept from each other, but Lauren wasn’t sure how much she could share before Jade called her out and wrote her off as crazy.
“Okay,” Jade said softly. She looked up from her drink. “So, what and how much did you have to drink before you wandered off into the forest alone and find a wolf cub.” Her eyes opened a little wider. “Were you alone?”
The puppy yawned her tongue curling and stretching as she did so. She settled onto Lauren’s lap and closed her eyes. Lauren let her sleep. “If it’s any consolation, I sound crazy, but I can’t help it. So much has happened in the last couple of days that I’m just… overwhelmed.”
“I figured since you didn’t show up at all the other night. And you've practically been on radio silence.” Jade lifted her cell phone and waved it back and forth. “I got your text, then nothing. Mom said your aunt called to ask about where you were. Did you get in trouble?” Before Lauren answered, Jade's eyes widened again, something occurred to her. “Did you get laid?”
“Um…”
“Who? I need every last detail.”
“No. I mean, I’ll give you details, but I didn’t get laid. And yes, I got into trouble. Big trouble, but nobody knows. Except for Stevens and Co., and they don’t know the half of it. Aunt Lori was all over me, wanting to make sure I wasn’t with Odelia the other night, I guess you heard about the accident. I don’t dare tell her that I went with them into the forest.
As if I’d ever choose to hang out with them.” She snorted in disgust.
“Well, I never imagined you’d sit in my backyard with a wolf cub sleeping on your lap, either, but here we are.” Jade shrugged. “It’s a crazy world. So why don’t you backup and explain from the start? Tell me what happened.”
“It’s…” Lauren reached for her drink, doing her best not to disturb her new pet. “The other night, when I was supposed to come here after my later shift, Odelia, Jill, Jason, and Rhett cornered me. They forced me into the woods by the football field. Then they tied me up with rope and left me.”
“Shit.” Jade’s bottom jaw fell, her mouth hung open, and she looked at Lauren with concern. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish.” Lauren took a sip. She smiled despite herself. “They tied me up so tight that I couldn’t move. Left me for dead. While I was trying to figure out how to get out, a pack of wolves appeared out of the forest and surrounded me.”
“No way.”
“They turned out to be dogs, actually. I’ll get to that. Anyway, these…people appeared.”
“Men? Women?” Jade looked riveted. “Are they the people collaring the pups? This is like a soap opera. God.”
“No.” Lauren laughed and her face flushed as she remembered the men. “They, um…they were only kind of…three hot dudes.”
“Only, kind of, three hot dudes? What the…? Lauren? Did they do anything to you? Like, do we need to call the police?” Jade’s eyebrows wrinkled with concern.
“No, Jade. Listen. They had…an air about them. Like they looked big a scary, like members of a gang, or something. Wild members.” Lauren shook her head. “I wish I hadn't said that.”
“Too late, honey, I heard you mention wild members and I need full details.”
“I'll get on to that later.”
“I'm keeping track of stuff coming later, just so you know. So far we have dogs and members.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Even though they looked like a motorcycle gang, in leather not denim, they had an air like nobility, like they were regal. I couldn't understand what was happening. I know it sounds crazy, it felt like they might even be magical, but at the time it was dark. They cut me loose, and I should’ve ran, but I didn't. It was like how I imagine moths feel at night when they see a light—an instant kind of pull you can’t shake, no matter how hard you try. And one of them, well…he kissed me.”
“Okay, screeching on the brakes here.” Jade held up her hands, palms toward Lauren. “Seriously, what did you take? Because I might want some.”
Lauren scowled. “It wasn’t a hallucination, Jade.”
“I’m sorry.” Jade shook her head. “I couldn’t help myself. Go on. I can’t wait to find out how this ends.”
“They told me to sleep, and I did, just like that. When I woke up I was in this kind of…hut, I guess. There was a bed frame lined with sheets and soft woolen blankets, and a few dogs were sleeping on it with me. That’s when I figured out they were dogs, not wolves or foxes. And there was a fire burning in the middle of the room in a pit. It looked like someone lived there, or at least visited it occasionally because there were pots and pans on a makeshift shelf. But no one could’ve lived there. It was too basic.”
“Like a logger’s cabin or something? It sounds unreal.”
“It was.”
The pup kicked in her sleep and made a noise in her throat. Lauren smoothed a hand down her back to reassure her.
“The stranger who kissed me came back looking like a real man, no black pointy hat or wizard's cape. No clothes either.” Lauren dropped that into the conversation and continued without giving Jade time to comment. “He brought me food and wine, and sat on the bed next to me.
Jade held up a hand. “Just to make sure I've got this right. A naked man brings you food and gets into bed with you. Naked.”
Lauren nodded.
Jade’s hand went down and she nodded. “Great, carry on.”
“Afterward, the other guys came in.”
“Oh my god, this keeps getting better and better.”
Lauren laughed. “I knew you'd enjoy this story.”
“So much. Please continue. And tell me first are they naked too?”
“No, not at first. They don't have tops on and the one guy has big silver rings through his nipples. Later the other dud removes his leather pants and I see he has his cock pierced.”
“You are killing me, Lauren. Was it a Prince Albert?”
“No. I've no idea. I didn't get a good enough look. It was just a flash of metal.”
Jade shook her head and remained silent.
“They didn't tell me much. When I asked where we were, I was told, ‘home’ and ‘the mountain.’ Apparently, they’ve changed their names. They used to be called Casper, Alex and Gregarious, or something like that, but now they’re called Jasper, Zander and Greg. Greg is the one with the pierced nipples and the same old name. They told me all this as if I should understand what they were talking about, but I didn't. I had no idea what happened between the time when they freed me from the tree and when I woke up in a bed. When Greg left to get me some water, I ended up falling asleep between the other two, and I woke up in the forest.”
“Oh. My. God. Now, just to be quite clear, did you have any kind of sex with any of them? Because I missed that bit. Do we need to sort out emergency contraception? Or report a rape. I’m here for whatever you need, Lauren.”
Lauren shook her head. She'd have liked to. Her body warmed and her face reddened.
“Drugs,” Jade said sagely. “Not even once. Twice. Are you sure nothing, um, happened to you?”
“I swear, I wasn’t high! And I've not been assaulted. Not by them, at least. And not sexually.” Lauren rocked forward, disturbing the cub. It woke and hopped down from Lauren’s lap to shake itself off, then wandered across the deck and settled in a beam of sunlight. “When I woke up, the bread and cheese Jasper had brought me before were still there, in the same cloth bag.”
“That’s not really good evidence,” Jade argued. “I’m not saying you got high on purpose, but let’s assume for a second someone spiked your drink. There are probably some things that did happen. Maybe some guy found you out in the woods while he was tripping, and the two of you had a midnight adventure. And the two of you made out”—Jade grinned and waggled her eyebrows—“although it’s a shame you don’t know who it was. It’s plausible. Maybe he went and got the food and left it with you after wandering off when you tapped out.”
“No.” Lauren ran her hands down her thighs and squeezed her knees. That wasn’t it. Jasper wasn’t a hallucination. Too many coincidental things had happened for it to be a hallucination.
Lauren still felt his lips on hers and smell his masculine scent. That wasn’t fake. It couldn’t be.
“Well, what makes you so certain it wasn't drugs?” Jade asked. She settled back in her chair, and Lauren watched as she looked her over. “I’m not trying to tear you down—I’m trying to be rational.”
“I know,” Lauren said. She frowned. “What I feel is irrational, but I’m sure it’s real. I can feel it but I can't explain it. It’s like… it’s like something woke up inside me that I’d forgotten existed. Besides, since then, they've been leaving me presents. First, there was fish left waiting in ice on the porch, and then this leather pouch, and now the puppy… All of it’s from them.”
Jade nodded. She folded her hands across her flat stomach and looked skyward. “Funny you should mention the whole ‘forgot it existed’ thing. I mean, I can’t say I believe a hundred percent some supernatural being visited you, but…”
“But?” Hope welled in Lauren’s chest. Maybe coming to see Jade had been the right choice after all. “But what? Tell me.”
“I know a lot of somethings.” Jade winked. “But I think I know a certain something that fits in with what you’re saying. When I was little, before my grandma passed, she told me stories about how Beaumont used to be, way back when.”
“What do you mean?” Lauren asked. “Back before electricity or something?” Lauren glanced at the pup. She’d curled up in the sunshine, the white color of her coat dazzling in the light.
“Well, technically yes, but even before then,” Jade chuckled. “Before it was officially a town, there was a small colony here in Beaumont where they worshiped the forest or went into the forest to worship nature. I can’t recall the exact details. I remember Grandma telling me about a weak spot between worlds. They were like portals to different dimensions that’s how I imagine them, but she didn’t use those words. I got portals from twenty-first-century gaming. Anyway, strange things were passing in and out of the woods, sometimes only there for a little while, but sometimes things came to stay.”
“You’re kidding.” Despite everything she’d witnessed over the past few days, she found Jade’s story hard to believe. “A weak point between worlds?”
“Hmm. Kind of like when you wear out the knees of your jeans or the sleeves of your hoodie. You know when fabric gets so thin you can see through it? Or maybe so threadbare there are holes? Apparently, Beaumont is kind of like that.”
Lauren’s discomfort didn’t wane.
“You don’t believe me?” Jade said plainly.
“You don’t believe me,” Lauren countered.
“Fair enough.” Jade shrugged. “I mean, it was just stories my grandma used to tell. I figured they were made up fairy tales, the kind of thing you’d tell your grand kids when they are over visiting. I didn’t think much of it at the time. And I’ve watched a helluva lot of sci-fi since then, so those stories have probably merged with my memories. But her stories included gods and goddesses with magical powers coming into our world from time to time through the forest portal.”
“Did they?” Lauren looked Jade over. Jade had a particular sense of humor, and sometimes Lauren couldn’t tell when Jade was bullshitting her for a laugh. With the situation so confusing, Lauren was even more at a loss than usual. “What did she say?”
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