Haunted Sanctuary (Green Pines Sanctuary)

by Moira Rogers

  “Zack.” Eden had heard his heart rate soar every time someone mentioned Kaley’s name. She’d felt the deception, had almost been able to taste the lie in the air. No wonder she’d never been able to fool him during their childhood. “He was lying about her, wasn’t he? Are they involved?”

  “No, he wouldn’t bring her down like that.” Lorelei hesitated. “They hurt him, Eden. I mean, Zack had shit going on before—we all knew it—but this thing in Memphis? It almost broke him.”

  “This wasn’t a happy place for him,” Eden said carefully. Even brushing those memories kindled fierce anxiety in her gut, the terrifying pressure that made her feel like she no longer fit inside her own skin. “I can’t imagine what he went through, but it must have been bad to drive him back here.”

  “Now you know. As much as I do, anyway. I figured you deserve that.”

  “Thank you.” Eden shifted the box of linens to the stack going downstairs. “I need to get my dad out here. He was always the only person Zack would talk to.”

  Lorelei leaned back on her heels. “He knows, right? About the werewolf thing?”

  “About Zack? Yeah.” Eden smiled wanly. “About me? No, not yet.”

  “But you can tell him.” The other woman’s smile matched hers. “I’m a little jealous.”

  Yet another way she was lucky. “Once he gets done shaking me, he’ll probably spend his free time over here feeding you all until you hate the sight of food.”

  “It’d take a while.” Lorelei’s smile faded slowly. “Jay. How long have you known him?”

  “Four—no, five years?” Eden narrowed her eyes and tried to remember. Jay had arrived in town a few years after she’d come back from college, replacing the old Chief of Police at his retirement. “I haven’t known him well for that whole time, but he’s in my dad’s diner pretty much every day.”

  “You trust him.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Eden still answered it without hesitation. “With my life.”

  “Okay.” Lorelei looked away. “I don’t want to have to worry about his friends, but…it’s exactly the way the alphas in Memphis took over, you know? None of them were strong enough to stand alone, so they banded together. I don’t think I can help being a little nervous.”

  A different sort of pressure built inside Eden. An ache just below her breastbone, one that blossomed in reaction to Lorelei’s slumped shoulders and tired eyes. She took a step forward, then another, watching Lorelei for any sign that the woman was about to retreat.

  She started to raise her arm, but froze when she caught the slight stiffening in the other woman’s shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, letting her arm fall back to her side. The pressure became pain, glass shards in her throat, and she had to force each word out carefully. “If there’s anything I can do to make it easier for you and your friends, tell me. I’ll tell Jay to keep his friends away from the farm for a while, if that’s easier.”

  “No,” Lorelei said forcefully. “I just wanted you to know. So you could understand. But we’ll all deal with it, I promise.”

  She wanted to snarl that none of them should have to deal with anything right now. But if Eden pressed the issue, Lorelei might not be as ready to confess to other worries and fears. “Okay,” she said instead, trying to silence her newly awakened wolf’s agitation. “What about the others? Are there any in particular who need to be given some space?”

  “Mae. Without question.”

  The one who’d been stalked. Eden rubbed a hand over her arm as a chill shivered through her. “The man who hurt her. He was one of the ones who came here last night?”

  “He was.” Lorelei turned back to the box and began unpacking the rest of it, then continued matter-of-factly. “Don’t worry. He’s dead now.”

  The pressure intensified into a nagging tickle, and Eden scratched at her arm, wondering how the inside of her skin could itch. “Does she need attention? I have a friend in the next town over, someone with counseling training.”

  “That’s nice of you to think of, but I don’t think it would help. There’s so much—” Lorelei’s voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. “There’s a lot she couldn’t talk about. The worst things, in some ways.”

  The memory rose in spite of Eden’s best efforts to hold it at bay, vivid in the way it replayed itself in her nightmares. Zack, seventeen and shirtless, with the height of a man but the build of an underfed teen. She could still smell the rain, hear the thunder that accompanied each flash of lightning.

  She would never forget the sight of him, shirtless and bleeding, his back torn up by his father’s belt but already healing. The rain washed away the blood, and by morning there was no proof of the way Albus Green beat the hell out of his kid. No marks, no witnesses.

  No one but her. Gawkish, terrified Eden, nine years old and rendered mute by the promise he’d extracted from her so many years ago she couldn’t remember not having made it. The defining rule of her childhood, the Green Rule. Don’t tell anyone.

  Eden’s arm itched. Burned. She dug her fingers into her skin, the metallic scent of blood a welcome distraction from the nightmares. “I understand,” she told Lorelei in a voice that didn’t sound like hers. Too distant. Too calm.

  Lorelei’s hand settled over hers. “You’re bleeding.”

  Pull yourself together, Eden. She gathered every scrap of willpower she’d ever called hers and pushed the power of her wolf into an angry, painful knot in her chest. It made every breath hurt, but it allowed her to smile and pull her hand from her arm. “I was always bad at scratching things that itch. You should have seen me with the chicken pox.”

  “Okay.” Lorelei rose and wiped her hands on her jeans. “I need to make out that list for Jay. Do you want to come with me?”

  Eden didn’t itch anymore. She hurt, like her wolf was clawing up the inside of her skin, trying to get out.

  As long as the pain stayed internal, she could hide it.

  She leaned down and hefted the box of china. “Absolutely. Some stuff we’ll have to buy, but I might have a lot of it in my house or in storage. My mom’s family were a bunch of packrats.”

  “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

  With all of the advantages she’d been given, Eden could do nothing less. She wouldn’t allow herself to consider any alternative.

  Chapter Three

  “I’m just saying, I wouldn’t have paid for it myself.” Louis Stevens leaned back in his chair.

  Jay spared his deputy a glance as he searched through a stack of files on his desk. “It was my fault. Why shouldn’t I pay for it?”

  “It’s a service vehicle, that’s why.”

  “We’re underfunded, Lou.” And the detached door, deep scratches and bullet holes were better dealt with by another werewolf. “Besides, my guy down in Dyersburg knows his shit. He’s kept my old truck running this many years.”

  “That is impressive.” Lou snorted and swiveled his chair from side to side. “At least the deer got a happy ending.”

  “She’ll live to graze another day.” Jay straightened and stretched his back. “Are you sure you and Baker’ll be able to handle it for a week without me?”

  “Heck, yeah.” Lou reached for his coffee. “You going to actually do something exciting with your time off? Baker thinks you spend your vacations studying how to be a better cop.”

  “I’m helping a friend move.” It was as close to the truth as his coworkers would get. “I’ve got a few projects to work on around the house too.”

  “That’s grim, man. No wild parties? No exotic vacations?” Lou grinned over the rim of his mug. “No sexy librarians?”

  Obviously, Jay hadn’t hidden his interest in Eden as well as he’d thought. But he was bound to be spending time with her around town, so better to get it out of the way now. “I’m thinking of asking her out, so keep your eyeballs to yourself.”

  “You got it, Chief.” Though he tried, the deputy couldn’t hide his smirk. “So if y
ou two hook up, can you get her to forget my late fees?”

  “Return the movies on time. Problem solved.” Jay found the file he wanted and snatched it up.

  Lou eyed the folder. “You’re not taking work home, are you? Sort of defeats the purpose of a vacation.”

  “Nah, it’s something personal.”

  “If you say so.” He rose and held up his cup. “I’m getting more coffee. You want some?”

  “No, I’ve got to run. Thanks, though.” The bell above the door jingled as Jay pushed through it. The morning sun stung his eyes, and he dropped his sunglasses from the top of his head down onto the bridge of his nose as he made his way to his truck.

  He slid behind the wheel and took a bracing breath before flipping open the manila folder. Inside lay a patchwork picture of anger, violence and resentment.

  The first reports were spotty, neighbors phoning in disturbance calls when Albus and Kathy Green’s arguments devolved into screaming matches. Eventually, the complaints coalesced into a steady stream of reports—most made by Eden’s mother against her brother-in-law.

  The file also told Jay when Kathy Green had left her family. Her departure marked the beginning of a clear pattern of neglect for Zack. Fights at school, a shoplifting complaint from the local grocer where the boy had been stealing food. Notes regarding an investigation by Child Protective Services.

  What could they have found? Even a viciously beaten young werewolf would heal in less than eight hours. No bruises, no marks, nothing to hint at the pain.

  Jay had seen a different sort of pain in Eden’s eyes—the helpless kind that came from knowing.

  His cell phone rang. He answered it absently, his eyes still fixed on a transcript from a 911 call. “Ancheta.”

  Eden’s voice spilled out in a terrified whisper. “Jay? I need help.”

  He straightened and tossed the file aside. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t breathe. I can’t—” A raspy noise followed by a groan. “I was in a budget meeting and I lost my temper. Just lost it, and I feel like I’m being torn up from the inside.”

  His hand trembled, and it took him two tries to shove the key into the ignition. “You’re at the library?”

  “Yes. In my office. I had to use my cell phone and earpiece to call you. I broke my office phone when I picked it up.”

  “Don’t move, and don’t open your door. I’ll come up the back exit and get you, okay?”

  “Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Jay.”

  He pulled out onto the street. “Don’t thank me. Just breathe, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She let out a choked little laugh. “My coworkers have to think I was drinking at lunch. I acted crazy.”

  “Stress.” Jay slowed at a red light, and was just about to roll through it when it turned green again. “They’ll chalk it up to you working too hard.”

  “Maybe.” Eden’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Or they’ll find out Zack’s back in town and blame it on him.”

  “I won’t let them do that. Anyone who has a problem with your family can come to me.”

  He had to listen to a few of her short, pained breaths before she spoke again. “Is there something wrong with me? Should I be able to handle this?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with you.” But she would need to hear more. “Some people handle the transformation like it’s nothing, and other folks never get a handle on it. You’re doing good, Eden.”

  “I’m not doing enough. Lorelei… She hurts, Jay. She hurts so much, and I’m not helping. I think that’s why I can’t breathe. I’m so angry.”

  Jay cursed silently. There was precious little he could do for Eden from behind the wheel of his speeding truck. “It’ll be better once the full moon is past.”

  “Okay. Okay, I can make it that long.” Something clattered in the background. “I can even—”

  “Eden?” His phone beeped as it dropped the call, and he threw it on the seat with a vicious curse. “Fuck.”

  He should have kept her with him. He should have warned her that maybe she should stay out at the farm, take some time off. Anything to keep her from hiding in her office, cowering like a hurt animal.

  He’d fucked up, and now he could only hope Eden didn’t suffer for it.

  He pulled onto the narrow street behind the library and braked hard, his truck coming to a halt with a shuddering screech. He couldn’t go up the side stairs without someone seeing, so he jumped up, grabbed hold of the ladder to the fire escape and pulled it down.

  The noise must have roused Eden. By the time he reached her window, she was struggling to open it, her teeth cutting into her lower lip as she concentrated on turning the locks like it was the hardest task she’d ever set for herself. “I broke the phone,” she said as she eased the sash up with shaking hands. “I’m afraid to touch anything.”

  No time to climb inside, not with her eyes so wild and her skin burning. Jay grasped her hands to his chest. “Look at me, Eden Green. Now.”

  The command stirred her wolf. Power gathered beneath her skin, all that wildness finding a focus in challenging him. Eden’s gaze snapped to his, her blue eyes already melting to glowing gold.

  He cupped the back of her head and dragged her mouth to his.

  A growl worked up her throat, low and warning, but in the next second her mouth opened under his. She slapped both hands to his shoulders, dragging him closer.

  Arousal, intense and instantaneous. Jay took the invitation of her open mouth, sliding his tongue over hers before nipping at her lower lip. She whimpered and tilted her head, chasing his tongue with hers. Her fingernails dug into his back as she pressed against his chest.

  Her nipples were hard. Without thinking, he cupped her breast through her shirt and rubbed his thumb over the taut peak.

  She moaned and arched her back, pushing her breast closer to his hand. Her mouth tore free of his, and she dropped her head back, offering her throat in a moment of unrestrained hunger.

  Jay leaned in and shuddered to a stop a heartbeat before closing his teeth on her skin. “Eden.”

  Her breath whistled out through her teeth. “Oh my God.”

  Too far. Too much. Belatedly, he snatched his hand away. “Sorry.”

  “I should be.” Shivering, Eden dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “But that was a very efficient distraction.”

  He’d meant it to be, before the taste of her had overwhelmed his better sense. “Good,” he muttered. “That’s good.”

  Her shoulders shook with her restrained laugh. “Do you, uh, want to come in? This is a little Romeo and Juliet right now, and that doesn’t tend to end well.”

  “Got it.” Her hair was soft, and he couldn’t resist stroking his fingers through it. “Want to get out of here?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “God, yes. I can’t concentrate, I’m exhausted…”

  “If I’d explained all this better, you might have called in sick.”

  Eden eased back and gave him an amused look. “How long have you known me?”

  Long enough to know she took about as many days off work as he did. “Fair enough.”

  “I’m stubborn to a fault, I know that.” She turned, slipped on her jacket and dumped her cracked cell phone into her purse. “But I try to learn from my mistakes.”

  “Still, maybe you and Zack should talk to your father tomorrow instead of this afternoon.”

  “Maybe.” She eyed the office door, then him. “Are you spiriting me out the window?”

  Her barely concealed glee drew his first real smile since finding out what had happened in Memphis. “What, you want to sneak down the fire escape like a teenager?”

  She actually blushed as she swung her purse over her shoulder. “It would be the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done in my life. And probably the most romantic too.”

  “Then come on.” He grasped her hand. “We can head to the farm, or even go hide somewhere. Lady’s choice.”

  T
he sparkle in her eyes faded a little. “Going to the farm would be the right thing. They need help more than I do.”

  That dimming light made his chest ache. “That’s crap, Eden. What do you need?”

  “I need to help them.” She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed one hand against her chest. “Yesterday, when I was in the attic with Lorelei… God, the shit that’s happened to them. I could feel her pain like it was my own—worse, even. I don’t want to feel it again, but…” She opened her eyes and gave him a helpless look. “I need to fix it for her.”

  “It’s what being alpha is about,” he whispered. “But you can’t fix things for her any more than I can. Any more than we can fix Zack.”

  “Alpha?” She rubbed at her breastbone with her fingertips, as if the ache lingered. “Is that what I am? Like you and Zack and Kaley?”

  There were a hundred shades of it, a thousand ways to feel the power and responsibility of the relative position. “You need to take care of your pack.”

  “I do.” She took his hand again and rested her knee on the windowsill. “I can’t hide. I have to meet Zack and my dad. Zack needs it.”

  And the longer they waited to tell Austin the news, the worse he was bound to take it. “Your dad does too.”

  “Yeah.” She slipped out the window to stand next to him on the narrow fire escape, so close she only had to sway forward to lean against his chest. “Will you stay close by, in case this happens again?”

  It felt selfish, even if it was practical. “We should plan on staying together for the next few weeks—if you’re okay with that.”

  Her fingers tightened in his shirt. “I should have gone home with you last night when you asked me. I don’t think I slept at all.”

  “So now we know. Your place or mine? Or the farm?”

  “Not the farm,” she said quickly. “I don’t know if I’d sleep much better out there, even with you around.”

  “My house?”

  “Sure.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder once and sighed as she pulled away. “Want to go over to the diner now? It’s a little early, but I’m hungry.” She made a face. “Again.”