Her Lone Wolves

by Diana Castle

  “Well? What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “Are you like Caleb?”

  He nodded. “And so is Everett.”

  “And that's the secret you've been keeping from me?” She laughed nervously. “And here I was thinking the three of you were drug dealers or terrorists when you’re actually werewolves.”

  “How do you know we're not drug dealers? We could be drug-dealing werewolves.”

  Jane was about to answer, but then she saw the teasing light in his eyes. But darkness soon replaced that light. “Being what we are is terrible enough without adding criminal activities to the mix, don’t you think?”

  “But how…why...?”

  She stopped. She didn’t know where to begin with her questions. She was still struggling with the knowledge that there were men who could turn into wolves and that one of them had done so right before her very eyes.

  Avery rubbed the side of his face. “I'm not sure where to begin. Everett said we were supposed to keep you in the dark about what we are. But that was before…” He stopped, more than likely recalling the scene he’d walked into. “It can't do any harm now to tell you everything.”

  “Were you born like this?”

  He nodded. “Our parents were shifters. That's what we call ourselves. We're all members of the same Clan.”

  “Clan?”

  “What you would think of as a wolf pack we call Clans. Not necessarily related by blood but part of a group led by the alpha.”

  “And Everett’s your alpha?”

  Avery nodded. “We’re all that's left.”

  “Where are the others?”

  “Gone. Dead. Most were shot.”

  “Shot?”

  “In wolf form. After the ban was lifted against killing wolves in this state, a lot of us were killed off that way.”

  “Why didn’t you leave?”

  Avery looked surprised. As if she’d asked him to cut off his hand. “Leave? Why? This is our home.”

  “So the three of you are all that’s left?”

  He nodded. “Naomi was the last female.”

  “Naomi?”

  “She was killed last year. We never found her body. Just blood.” Pain flashed across his face. “I imagine some hunter’s got her pelt hanging somewhere in his lodge.”

  “Her pelt? But didn’t she turn back human?”

  A sad smile curved his lips. “That’s only in the movies. When we die we r in whatever form we were at the time of death.”

  So much for all those movies she’d seen.

  He grimaced. “It was her own damn fault. She was always reckless and wild. Like Caleb. She liked tweaking Everett’s nose. I think it got into her head, being the last female shifter. Normally, we’d all have our own mates. Naomi should have been Everett’s alone. She was an alpha female so they had to be mated. But he was forced to share her or risk us, or I should say, Caleb constantly challenging him for her.”

  “Share her? You mean sexually?”

  “Yeah.” He looked embarrassed then he shrugged. “Like I said it went to her head. She liked playing us against each other. Anyway, after she was killed, Everett just kind of closed up. I don’t think it was because he was in love with her. He and Naomi were like oil and water. Watching them two fuck was like watching two porcupines having sex. Prickly as hell. But she was Clan and she was the last female. Without her....” Avery shrugged and looked glum. “...we’ll die out. No more pups, get it?”

  She nodded.

  “We're a long-lived race. Not only do we age slower we also heal faster. We’re immune to most diseases. None of us has ever had a cold or the flu. But if we're damaged enough, whether from a bullet or some other injury, we still die. And we still need young if we’re not to die out altogether.”

  “How old are you?”

  His smile was gently teasing. “How old do you think I am?”

  “You look like you’re in your early twenties. Twenty-three?”

  He laughed, but softly. “I’m fifty-seven. So is Caleb. Everett’s seventy-one.”

  “But...that’s incredible. And you’ve lived up in these mountains all that time?”

  “Yeah.” He tilted his head. “I have to admit, you’re taking it all rather well.”

  Her eyes widened. “I am taking it well, aren’t I?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I am. I suppose I shouldn’t be so calm about it.” She almost told him about her dreams. About the Wolf-God and the strange urges she sometimes had about sex and, most especially, about this part of the country. This wasn’t her first trip to these mountains. She’d been here before. She’d always felt drawn to this place, though she could not have said why.

  “What about your family?” she asked. “What happened to them?”

  “My father was killed on a hunt. By an elk. My mother died giving birth to my sister. She was stillborn.”

  “I'm sorry.”

  He shrugged. “It's the way of things. That's why Everett is the way he is. He blames himself. For everything. For all the deaths. He’s the alpha. It’s his duty to protect the Clan. But the world changes and when men hunt with high-powered rifles and shoot from helicopters and make laws that say one day you can’t kill a wolf and the next day you can...”

  He shook his head. “When we shift there are places where it’s safe to run as the wolf. But those are fast disappearing because more people are moving up here. That's why he went out after Caleb. We always run together. We weren’t due to shift until later in the week.”

  “Due to shift? You mean, like when the moon is full?”

  He nodded. “I wish we had the power to shift whenever we wanted to. You know why?”

  She shook her head.

  Avery looked solemnly over at her, his hazel eyes grave. “Because I wouldn't shift at all. I hate being the wolf. But not Caleb. He loves it. We don't remember much when we shift, but we remember enough.”

  “What about Everett? Does he like being the wolf?”

  Avery stared at her. Long enough that Jane began to feel uncomfortable. Then he broke his gaze and sighed. “Don't know. Sometimes I think he hates it. But then, sometimes…” He shrugged. “I just know I don't like it.”

  He looked over at the window. Jane followed his gaze. It was still snowing.

  “During the week before the moon becomes full,” he went on, “is when we're most vulnerable to shifting prematurely. Certain things can trigger it. Too much stress. Intoxication.”

  “Orgasms,” Jane said, her cheeks burning. She and Caleb hadn’t had intercourse, but she had brought him to climax by stroking his cock.

  Avery nodded.

  Jane still found it difficult to believe she’d seen what she had, but she certainly hadn’t imagined it and she wasn’t dreaming. Caleb had turned into a wolf right before her eyes and, apparently, had done so because the two of them had been messing around. She should have followed her instincts and not gotten intimate with him. None of this would have happened and she would still be ignorant as to the true nature of the three men.

  “What's going to happen to me now that I know?” she asked.

  Avery nervously rubbed his hands and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Not sure. You and Caleb...” He released a hard breath. “You two shouldn't have done that. At least not this week. Caleb certainly knew better. But I guess it was bound to happen.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you like Caleb. Don’t you?”

  “Well, I wouldn't exactly say I like him.”

  “But you two were—”

  “That was more like lust,” she said, interrupting him. “Anyway, if truth be told, I like you better.”

  Avery smiled. “Really?”

  She nodded, returning his smile. She did like him. Of the three he’d been the nicest and most considerate towards her. “It's just that…” She lowered her head and looked down at her hands where they lay clasped in her lap.

  “What?” he gently asked.

&n
bsp; She lifted her head and looked over at him. “I get these feelings sometimes. When I’m around men I tend to—”

  The front door flew open. Wind and snow swirled in. Everett stomped inside, snow coating his hat and coat. He slammed the door behind him and walked over to Jane and Avery, who both rose from the couch.

  “I couldn’t find him,” Everett said, silencing Avery’s questions with a brusque gesture. He took off his hat and coat and gloves, tossing them on a nearby chair. Then he went over to the fire and warmed his hands. As he did so he glared at Jane.

  “We have to find him,” Avery said worriedly. “If he’s out there running by himself...”

  “I know,” Everett snapped but he was still scowling at Jane.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” she said. “I didn't know what the three of you were.”

  “But now you do,” Everett said tersely. “And because you do you’re a threat—”

  “To the Clan,” she said. “Or what’s left of it. Avery told me all about it.”

  Everett shot him Avery an angry look.

  “Thought it best to tell her since she.....” He shrugged.

  Everett turned away and stared moodily into the fire. “Doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Jane didn’t like the sound of that. “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you're not leaving.”

  “Oh, no, I am so leaving. As soon as the way’s clear back to town. I have a life and I'm going back to it. Even if I did tell someone what I’d seen here do you honestly think anyone would believe me? They'd locked me up in an insane asylum.”

  “You'd be surprised what some are willing to believe,” he replied.

  “I don’t hang around the kind of people who believe in UFOs or the Loch Ness monster.”

  Everett turned back to her and scowled. “None of that is real. We are. And I can't take a chance on letting you leave here knowing what you know about us.”

  “I'm not going to stay here. You'll have to kill me first.”

  “Don’t' think I haven't thought about it.”

  “You don't mean that, Everett.” Avery quickly turned to Jane. “Trust me. He doesn't mean that.”

  “He does mean it. He's wanted to kill me since the moment he laid eyes on me.” She glared at Everett. “I'm no threat to you. It's all in your mind.”

  “You are a threat,” he said. “Now more than ever.”

  Avery moved next to Everett. “We can talk about what we're going to do with Jane later.”

  “There's nothing to talk about,” she said. “I'm not staying here.”

  Avery ignored her, his attention focused squarely on Everett. “We have to find Caleb first.”

  “What did you think I was doing out there? But the storm’s gotten too bad. We won’t be able to track him.”

  “Not as men we won’t,” Avery said.

  He looked over at Jane and it dawned on her what he meant. She took a step back. There was no way she was going to be a part of him or Everett turning into wolves. She hadn’t known what Caleb was before. If she had, she wouldn’t have gone anywhere near him.

  “Jane, please,” Avery said, “we have to find him. He's out there alone. Even if he finds a Clan of wolves, he still needs us to look after him. It's as I told you. He likes being the wolf too much. “

  She shook her head. “I can't. I won't. Can’t you just...I don’t know...masturbate or something?”

  “You seemed willing enough with Caleb,” Everett said, his lips curling scornfully.

  “That was different. I didn't know he was going to turn into a wolf.”

  “I know it's a lot to handle right now, but we don’t have a lot of time,” Avery said. “Please, Jane. He’s my brother.”

  “Don't beg her,” Everett said. “If she's afraid to help us—”

  “I'm not afraid,” Jane said hotly. “It's just that...it’s complicated.”

  Everett snorted. “No it's not. You non-shifters just like to make everything complicated.”

  Jane frowned. “Maybe it's not complicated for you. But I'm not a werewolf.”

  Everett looked keenly over at her. “Are you sure about that?”

  Chapter Nine

  Jane blinked in surprise and wondered if perhaps she’d heard Everett wrong. “What do you mean am I sure? Of course I’m sure. I’m not like you.”

  Everett turned to Avery. “I thought you said you told her everything,”

  Avery looked guilty and refused to meet his or Jane’s eyes.

  She glanced between the two. “I don’t understand. Told me what?”

  Everett’s dark blue gaze swept lazily over her body. “About sex.”

  “I know about sex,” Jane replied hotly.

  “No, about shifter sex,” he replied.

  “What about it?” she asked, although a sudden feeling of apprehension began to move through her.

  Everett looked over at Avery, who turned to her. “I told you about Naomi. Remember?”

  Jane nodded then glanced at Everett. A shadow passed across his face at the mention of the female shifter’s name. “You said she was killed.”

  Avery nodded. “And I told you that during the week of a full moon, we’re more susceptible to shifting.”

  “Yes. That stress or drunkenness or even an orgasm could bring on the transformation.”

  Avery cleared his throat. He glanced at Everett who only frowned darkly at him. “Well, what I didn’t tell you is that we can only shift into wolf form through orgasm in the presence of another shifter.”

  “I don’t understand,” but even as Jane said it a frightening realization was starting to grow within her.

  “Tell her,” Everett said, his voice firm.

  Avery released a deep breath. “We can only shift as a result of sex when we’re with another shifter.”

  “And you think that because Caleb shifted when he was with me that I’m....” She shook her head. “That’s impossible. I’ve never changed into anything. Except a clean pair of clothes.”

  “Are you sure?” Avery asked.

  “Yes, of course I’m sure,” she replied, her voice sharper than she had intended. “I think I would have known if I had turned into a wolf.”

  “You’ve never woken up somewhere with no idea how you got there?” Avery asked.

  She glanced at Everett. He was watching her intently.

  “No, I haven’t,” she replied uneasily. She didn’t like the way he was staring at her.

  “What about your dreams?” Avery asked.

  Jane tried to swallow in a throat that had suddenly grown tight. “What about them?”

  “Are they unusually vivid or strange?”

  “Well, yes, but who doesn’t have strange dreams.”

  “What do you dream about?” Avery asked.

  Jane felt embarrassed as she was aware of Everett’s penetrating gaze on her, but it seemed important to them.

  “I’ve had dreams about a man who was a wolf or a wolf who was a man. I’m not sure which. He...it...was in a cave and there were all these people around and they were singing or chanting. And the man-wolf was having...” she stopped and swallowed “....sex with all these women.”

  Everett and Avery looked silently at each other.

  “What?” Jane demanded, the feeling of anxiety now hollowness in her stomach. “It was only a dream.”

  “When did these dreams start?” Everett asked.

  “In high school. At least that’s when I started have the...um...the sex dreams. When I was younger I used to dream about wolves running in the woods. But it doesn’t mean anything. They were only dreams.”

  “Where were your parents born?” Everett asked.

  Jane blinked at the suddenness of the question. “My parents? They were from St. Louis.”

  “Were?”

  “They’re both dead. My father died of a stroke. My mother developed cancer not long after.”

  Everett exchanged a meaningful glance with Avery. Then he
turned back to her. “I’m sorry, Jane.”

  “It’s alright. I’ve...I’ve learned to live with it.”

  “What were their names?” Everett’s voice was softer, gentler.

  “Albert and Grace Evans.”

  “And they were born and grew up in St. Louis?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you an only child?”

  “Yes, but what does that have to do with any of this?”

  Avery suddenly snapped his fingers. “Jane, were you adopted?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes, I was.”

  “And do you know who your real parents were?”

  She nodded. “They died in a car accident. I was only a baby.”

  Everett suddenly took her by the arms. She looked up at him, surprised at the glowing intensity in his eyes. “Jane, this is very important. Who were they? What were their names?”

  She hadn’t thought about her real parents in years. She’d found out she was adopted when she was a sophomore in high school. She’d happened across the documents about her adoption when she’d been rummaging through her father’s desk looking for a pen.

  She brought the evidence before her parents. Her adoptive parents. At first, they didn’t want to discuss it, dismayed that she had found out. But when she pressed them on it, they finally told her about the accident that had killed her real family and about how the authorities tried to find any other living relatives, but were unable to. It had hurt, at first, knowing she wasn’t really their daughter and that they had kept that secret from her. But over time the pain had gone away. But not the awareness that once she’d been someone else’s child and a part of someone else’s family.

  Everett shook her, bringing her attention back to him. “Jane, what were your real parents’ names?”

  She gazed up into his eyes, but this time she saw only concern in their dark blue depths.

  “My parents told me the only identification found in the car was a birth certificate. It was mine. It had my parents’ name on it. My mother’s name was Heaven. My father’s Elijah. Elijah Monroe.”

  Everett let go of her arms and stepped back, an expression of stunned surprise on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  ”Elijah Monroe was a shifter, Jane,” he said. “A werewolf. Like us.”