by Jane Jamison
“Good.” He moved away from her. “Go ahead. Touch them if you want to.”
Instead of running, she reached out her hand. She had to touch them. Maybe if she did, the illusion would break apart and she’d wake up from a bad dream. The one who was Tyler padded forward and placed his head against her palm.
Their fur wasn’t as soft as she’d expected it to be. Then again, how would she know what a wolf felt like? Derek came to her other side and rubbed his head against her leg. She went to her knees and realized how much smaller she felt next to them. Their chests were wider than their human chests had been. They would’ve dwarfed regular wolves.
As she skimmed her hands along their backs, they enclosed her between them. The power from their massive bodies flowed over her, warming her. Still, she felt no fear.
“They’re beautiful.”
Evan’s snort said he didn’t agree. At least, not as much. “I suppose you could say so. It must be the human and dog love thing that makes you think so.”
She could see that. Yet she suspected it was more than a little jealousy fueling his comment. Standing up, she kept her hands on top of their heads. “I don’t understand. Why are they werewolves and you’re a vampire?”
“I got lucky.”
Was there a flicker of longing in his eyes? She wanted to push him, sensing there was a story behind his glib answer. For now, however, she had enough to try and understand.
“I still can’t believe this. I saw them change into wolves.”
“It’s a lot to take in. Don’t push yourself. Take all the time you need.”
He’d said more to her today than he had since meeting her. “What about you? Show me you’re a vampire.”
A slight shiver wafted through her at the sound of the word. Vampire. Strange how the idea of Evan being a vampire bothered her. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was the human-dog connection that kept her being afraid of Tyler and Derek. There was no instinctual bond to a vampire. “Show me.”
“Are you sure? I don’t change as much, but sometimes humans have a harder time accepting vampires than they do men who can change into furry doggies. Again, the human-dog connection.”
Derek and Tyler both growled, the vibrations of the sounds rumbling into her palms. “I don’t think they like you calling them doggies.”
“No, they don’t.” For one of the few times she’d ever seen it, he gave her a full smile.
“Okay. I’m ready whenever you are.”
“You’re taking all this better than I expected. Even with my—” His smiled dimmed. “Anyway, let’s hope you keep doing that.”
His body didn’t shimmer. Instead, his transformation was so fast she didn’t have time to prepare herself.
Gone was the soft smile.
Gone were the dark eyes.
Gone was the handsome face.
Instead, two vicious, saliva-dripping fangs flashed.
His jaw dropped open, farther than should’ve been physically possible.
Red eyes flamed.
His facial features contorted into a horrible, purple-veined mask.
The chill she’d felt earlier burst into full-blown terror. Her memory of Evan was gone. Instead, all she saw was a monster.
Unthinking, she ran, fear giving wings to her feet. Rushing to Evan’s horse, she pulled her body into the saddle and grabbed the reins. Without looking back, she spurred the horse into a full gallop.
* * * *
“We always knew your ugly mug would scare our mate off.” Tyler rolled his shoulders, working out the last of the transformation back to his human form.
“Fuck off.”
Although Evan hadn’t shown any emotion in his voice, Tyler could feel the anger emanating from his cousin.
“Yeah, cousin, we had it made until you vamped out and scared her off.”
In an uncharacteristic loss of control, Evan whirled to confront them. “I told you two to fuck off.”
“Take it easy, cuz, we’re only joking.”
“This isn’t a joking matter.” Evan had regained control of his outburst. “She accepted you two fast enough, but not me.”
Tyler could almost hear the added “never me” his cousin hadn’t spoken out loud. As a rule, mates of werewolves were faster to believe and accept them for what they were. Because of their frightening appearance, vampires had a rougher time. He had plenty of jokes he could’ve made, but now wasn’t the time.
“Don’t worry. She’ll calm down and remember it was you under that Halloween mask.”
Who knew Derek had so much humor in him? Tyler jumped between his cousin and his brother. “He’s kidding, Evan. Consider the source.”
Evan’s eyes still blazed red as he stepped back. “What do we do now?”
“Like I said. She’ll calm down soon enough once she has time.”
“Tyler’s right. We give her some space, and she’ll come around.”
Evan, however, didn’t look as though he agreed. “And if she doesn’t?”
Tyler didn’t even want to think that way. She had to come around to accepting all three of them. They’d planned on sharing a mate. If she wanted only one or two of them, then she’d break their hearts. How could he ever choose between the cousin he loved and the woman he adored?
“Then we’re screwed.” Derek kicked out in anger, knocking the leg out from under the table. Food and drink spilled to the ground.
“I should’ve kept her here. I should’ve known she’d take off.”
“Yeah, you should have. Plus, you’re faster than we are.”
Evan opened his mouth wide, showing his fangs, and launched himself at Derek. He hit his cousin hard, his hand around Derek’s neck. Derek growled and let his wolf rise to the surface.
“Stop acting like assholes, you two. It’s not going to do any good to tear each other apart.” When they didn’t listen, Tyler shifted enough to bring out more strength. He forced his body between the two and shoved them back. “Knock it off. We have to think about Emeline.”
Evan backed away, his eyes returning to their usual color. His fangs retracted into his mouth as he ran a hand over the back of his neck.
The fur that had sprung up along Derek’s jaw disappeared. “What if she decides she doesn’t want us? What if she decides to leave us and Fate behind?”
“She’ll stay.” He nodded first to Derek and then to Tyler. “She has to.”
* * * *
Werewolves. Vampires.
Are they here?
Emeline glanced out the window of her cottage and searched for any sign of the men. They’d texted her the past couple of days but hadn’t come to her home. Strangely, she was both relieved and hurt that they hadn’t done more to get in touch with her. Which was an insane way to think. Now that she knew they weren’t the crazy ones, she was wondering if she was the victim of a mental illness.
But she was as sane as they were. After thinking about them over and over again from the moment she’d hopped onto Evan’s horse, she couldn’t deny what she’d seen. The myths about vampires and werewolves being real were true.
Did she leave Fate and the men behind? Could she keep what she knew a secret? Or did she owe an obligation to her friends and neighbors to tell them? But who would she be telling? Another vampire? More werewolves? Was she surrounded by them and not even know it?
What am I going to do?
She had to do her work. Until she could come up with an answer to her question, she’d keep taking care of Miss Charlotte. Not only did the older woman need her help with chores and companionship, but she also needed her to sort out the truth behind her finances and Neelson.
At least the research she’d done, studying Miss Charlotte’s money accounts, had drawn her mind away from her own problems. But then, what she’d found had created yet another problem. Although she couldn’t prove it—yet—she was sure Neelson was stealing from her employer. She’d keep digging. Deserting Miss Charlotte now wasn’t an option, no matter how many supernat
ural beings were in Fate.
Checking once more to make sure the coast was clear, she darted out of her small home and hurried across the lawn to the main house. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a voice that grated on her nerves.
“Now, Miss Charlotte, you just let me handle everything.”
Damn it. Neelson’s here.
“Miss Charlotte, are you all right?”
Neelson pivoted around to face her but didn’t replace his sneer with a smile fast enough. “Emeline, how nice to see you again.”
“Do you two know each other?” Miss Charlotte waved at Emeline. “Hello there, Margaret.”
Margaret was one of Miss Charlotte’s friends who had passed away a year earlier. Today was one of her bad days, which made Neelson being there even worse. “It’s Emeline, Miss Charlotte. Remember me?”
Instead of taking a seat on the sofa next to the sweet lady, she took a stance in front of the door. “What are you doing here, Neelson?”
His fake smile died, and the sneer came back. Apparently, he didn’t like that she hadn’t called him sir or Mr. Neelson.
“My reasons for being here are a matter between my client and me, Emeline.” The smile came back and, like earlier, lacked sincerity. “Where are Evan and the boys? I’m surprised you aren’t with them.”
“I work for Miss Charlotte.”
“Oh, right. I just assumed now that you’d found three men willing to take you—” He put his fingers over his O-shaped mouth and feigned shock at his slip. “Excuse me. To take care of you. Good for you, standing on your own two feet. Tell me. Do you frequent the hallway of The Wolf’s Den a lot? If you do, I really should go there more often.”
Her palm itched to slap him. Her attention lowered to the manila folder full of paperwork. “You didn’t sign any papers today, did you, Miss Charlotte?”
“Again. It’s none of your business.”
She lowered her voice, unwilling to hurt the older woman’s feelings. “Neelson, you know she’s not in her right mind today. You’ve got to be pretty low getting her to do business right now.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He patted Miss Charlotte on the arm. “She’s never been better.”
Better for you to manipulate her, you mean.
“I want to see those papers.” She held out her hand and lifted her chin in defiance. One way or another, she’d prove he was a slime ball.
Neelson’s chuckle made her want to throttle him. Instead of answering her demand, he bent low and spoke directly to the older woman. “Miss Charlotte, I’ll come back next week with more papers for you to sign, all right?”
Miss Charlotte frowned and dismissed him with a quick flick of her hand. “Don’t bother me now with your nonsense, Earl. Can’t you see Margaret came by for a visit? Pour us girls a little drink, will you?”
“How can you let her sign anything when she thinks you’re her deceased husband?” Or was it mate? Did Miss Charlotte know about werewolves?
“I’ll be going now.” His narrowed eyes met Emeline’s. “But I’ll be back next week. Until then, I suggest you mind your own damn business.”
“Miss Charlotte’s wellbeing is my own damn business.”
“Goodbye. Y’all take care, ya hear?” Like a roach running from the bright light, Neelson scurried out the front door.
Emeline heard him whistling as he headed toward his Cadillac. He was no good. Even if she hadn’t looked through Miss Charlotte’s paperwork that had been lying around, she would’ve known he was a lowdown, dirty scumbag.
“Margaret, aren’t you going to have a seat and tell me all the gossip? Not that I’m one of those kinds of women, but a little chat between us girls never hurt anyone.”
“I’m coming, Miss Charlotte.” Emeline’s heart hurt. Not only was Miss Charlotte’s mind going, her money was being stolen right out from under her nose.
Not any longer. Not if I can help it.
* * * *
The next day, Emeline couldn’t take it any longer. She felt both guilty and vindicated by what she’d found the night before. Seeing Neelson talking with Miss Charlotte during one of her bad spells had been the final straw. Knowing it was wrong, but without coming up with another way to help her friend and employer, she’d rummaged through Miss Charlotte’s paperwork and located the login information to all her accounts. What she’d found had proven she was right about Neelson.
He was skimming money off Miss Charlotte on a weekly basis. Most of the time he’d taken only small amounts. But those withdrawals added up fast. Before long, he’d leave the poor woman without any money to sustain her.
Fate had a sheriff. She’d met Drake Hardwick a few times. Judging from those meetings, as well as what she’d heard around town and from Raven Reynolds, Drake was a man she could trust.
Taking a steadying breath, she stepped inside the small jailhouse situated at the end of town. In the time she’d been in Fate, she’d never seen the lights on, but when she’d asked around, a few people had mentioned that Drake had “office hours” a few days a week. On those days, he’d act like a modern day Solomon and listen to disputes between one neighbor and the next, recommending a course of action that usually had more to do with common sense than with actual law. Today was one of those days.
Sure enough, Drake was seated behind a huge, scarred desk, his feet propped on top as he swiped his hand over a tablet. He looked up at her in surprise.
“Drake, I need to talk to you.”
“Sure thing, Emeline.” He glanced to the right and back of her. “Does this need to be a private discussion?”
She should’ve sensed their presence, but she’d been so nervous about showing Drake what she’d found that she hadn’t. Turning, she found Derek, Tyler, and Evan seated in old wooden chairs.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” The men were more handsome than the last time she’d seen them. They leaned forward, intent on her.
“Is it about Miss Charlotte?”
“So they told you about my suspicions?” Emeline wasn’t sure whether she should be irritated that they’d taken action without her or pleased that they’d wanted to help.
“Yeah.” He nodded at the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
Was she going to get lectured for butting in? “Neelson’s cheating her out of her money.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You do?” She shifted around to see the others. “Did you know?”
“We found out a few minutes ago.” Derek’s gaze met hers and held. “After we told him about your suspicions.”
“I’ve been looking into the matter for a while.” Drake held out his hand for the envelope she held. “Can I see what you’ve got?”
“Sure.” She wanted to ask him what information he’d found but stayed silent.
It only took a minute or two for Drake to look at the paperwork and nod his head. “It’s a damn shame anyone would take advantage of Miss Charlotte. A damn shame.”
“Is there enough there to bring charges against him?” She glanced at the other men again. Was it time to tell them her secret? Having been an attorney, she knew exactly what charges they could lay on Neelson, and she ached to be the one to do so. But she didn’t have a license in Georgia. That and the fact that Emeline Newsom wasn’t her real name made getting legally involved impossible.
“How’d you get hold of this information, Emeline?”
She didn’t want to confess, but if it would help Miss Charlotte, then she would. “I logged into Miss Charlotte’s accounts. It didn’t take an accountant to see what Neelson’s doing.”
“Did you do this with or without Miss C’s permission?”
He knew how she’d answer. She could see it on his face. “Without.”
He didn’t skip a beat at her admission. “Mind if I keep this?”
She wasn’t sure. “I don’t know. How about answering my question? Do you have enough evidence against him?” Even if all they could do was to s
top him, that would be enough. But sending him to jail would be even better.
Drake tossed her envelope on top of a stack of papers. “Yeah, but we’re not going to take him to court. At least, not the way you’re thinking.”
Had he really said they weren’t going to go after Neelson? She had to have misunderstood. “You’re not going to arrest him?”
“Nope.” Drake brought his feet to the floor. “We have a different way of doing things around these parts. We don’t need the law to make him pay.”
“But you are the law. Are you talking about vigilantism? What are you planning on doing? Tar and feather him then run him out of town?”
“Sugar, Neelson’s a shifter.”
She pivoted around to face Derek. “He’s a werewolf?” Turning back to face Derek, she asked, “Do you know?”
“Sure I do. I’m like Tyler and Derek. Emeline, I’m a werewolf, too.”
Chapter Eight
Emeline was backing up to the door by the time Evan stopped her. Spinning around, she hurried away from him to the other side of the room. She was trapped.
“By the way, that’s information I’d like you to keep to yourself. At least for a while longer.” Drake rested his elbows on the desk.
“Does Raven know?” If her friend knew, why hadn’t she told her? Yet, she hadn’t told any of her new friends. Finding out was hard enough, but telling others? People who probably wouldn’t believe her? Or people who were werewolves, too?
“The thing is Neelson’s not a werewolf, babe,” interjected Tyler.
“Then what is he?” Her gaze went to Evan. How many other people were supernatural creatures? “Is he a vampire?”
No. Not creatures. The men I love aren’t creatures. And they’re not monsters.
“Hell no. Neelson’s not a vampire.” Evan’s tone dripped with revulsion. “He’s a werecat. A bobcat to be exact.” Evan took her arm and led her back to the chair.
His touch comforted her. “A bobcat?”
“There are a lot of different kinds of shifters. Werewolves, werebears, werebirds. And even those break up into smaller groups. Fate has its share of tigers, cougar, lynxes, and bobcats, just to name a few.”
