The Wolf Who Played With Fire: New Adult Paranormal Romance (Cry Wolf)

by Sarah Makela

  With the door locked, I turned to see Selene standing there. I dropped the keys, confusion weighed on my chest. The bell on the door hadn’t gone off to alert me of anyone entering the shop. Plus, I’d been sitting right there.

  She stared expectantly at me as if she’d been waiting for me to notice her. “Well, have you thought about my offer to help you?”

  I leaned the crutches against a shelf, then backed away a few steps from Selene. Fear skittered around in my stomach like creeping crawling things. Why hadn’t I heard her?

  “Mia, it’s impolite to not answer when someone’s talking to you.” She strode toward me with that feline grace.

  My mouth opened and closed as words tried to form in my throat, but I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. I took another step away and my back bumped a wall.

  She stopped in front of me, extending her hand with its red claw-like fingernails. She scraped one of them over my cheek, from my eyebrow down to my lips, then she slid it down over my lower lip, closing in until I was sure she would kiss me.

  “I need more time.” The words rushed from my mouth, causing our lips to barely brush.

  Rolling her eyes, she leaned back just a little. “There’s not much time left. Sooner than later, I’ll need a response. Don’t let Jessa stand in the way of you becoming all your grandmother wanted you to be. You wouldn’t want to disappoint Rose, would you?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, hating the uncertainty running through me. Selene was trying to make me second-guess Jessa. But the way Jessa had reacted to my mentioning the other witch made a tiny part of me wonder if there was a grain of truth to Selene’s words.

  I opened my eyes to respond. But Selene was gone.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ethan

  The checkpoint had the same uneasy feeling as yesterday. Security was usually strict but flowing easily. Now it was sluggish and stressful. Even the gate seemed to struggle when it rose, as if hesitant to let me back on base.

  Rookies ran a lap along a trail most of us knew like the backs of our hands. At least they seemed oblivious to the tension building around them. My wolf circled inside my head, constantly on alert due to the uneasy feeling in the air. A few sergeants I passed focused on a movie discussion, but their hearts weren’t in it. No usual puns or bad jokes.

  My thoughts turned increasingly broody. I didn’t notice at first, but my upper lip had inched up baring my teeth; the wolf wanted to growl his frustration. I needed to regain some control. If I’d had space, I would’ve gone running, but the time spent helping Mia had made that impossible.

  Before reaching the office, I cooled down enough to loosen the worst signs of the wolf’s anxiety. It wasn’t so much the baring of the teeth, but the minute differences one might look for. My nostrils flared, taking in the scents, and my ears ached with the need to catch every faint whisper to warn me of an oncoming attack. I still had a lot to learn from Chad.

  The office was quiet. Some of the morning duties were suspended until further notice. My lieutenant simply directed me to stay nearby until further notice, with gear on. My spine tingled, adrenaline flowing through my system.

  Preparation for battle was easy, the actual wait and readiness was tense. The routine of putting my gear on took my mind away from the furry aspect of my life. This was familiar; this was known and good.

  Within minutes, the rest of the squad gathered around. Each took only a moment to greet one another before starting their dance with the equipment.

  We sat together for half an hour, not saying much other than a whisper here or there. Our captain arrived with a small leather briefcase cuffed around his left wrist. One by one, he and the lieutenant called us into an adjoining room. It wasn’t long before it was my turn. I headed to the room and stood at attention.

  “Sit down, Ethan. Let’s be brief. There is a situation taking place that is escalating quickly. To contain it, we’ve been requested to provide some manpower. What I’m asking is that you read over these documents. Once they’re signed, you’ll be transported to a site where you’ll be properly briefed,” the captain noted evenly. His eyes were stern and voice grave. Whatever it was had set him on edge.

  I glanced through the stack of papers. “Security clearance requests, NDA’s...” I lifted my gaze to him. I had served under him, and I knew the slight level of lenience he allowed his soldiers. I had a little room to be direct.

  “I know. It’s not usual. But like I said, we’ve been asked for our assistance. We don’t run this operation. The request came from high up, so don’t question it. They didn’t tell me who is in charge. But we are called to serve,” the captain said, handing over the pen.

  With a few strokes of the pen, I signed the documents. The lieutenant simply opened the door, and I left the room. What was I getting myself into? The thought of calling Chad entered my mind, but I wouldn’t have time to do it before we left.

  Walking outside, I spotted a mercenary standing beside one of our Humvees. He wore a black uniform and had on proper gear, but it was arranged differently. Nodding to me, he simply pointed to the last vehicle. Guess they weren’t paid enough for small talk.

  I climbed into the last Humvee to find two of my fireteam already there. Both wore a slightly concerned look on their faces. During our deployment, the conflict, our enemy and our job had been clear. Now we didn’t really even know who we were working for, or better yet, why.

  The small convoy took off after a while. Questions formed in my mind, but they were quickly shattered when the driver turned on the radio. The scenery sped by to the sound of 80s hard rock music.

  * * *

  The off-site location we arrived at was an old warehouse. The three-brick-thick exterior was plain but sturdy with a heavy wall between the outside and us. An entrance and loading dock was defensible and easily secured. To the amazement of our squad, the office even had a small kitchenette.

  Once we arrived, the atmosphere slightly relaxed. The silent mercenaries who had let us in showed us around. So far, everything seemed standard. Only when we asked about the assignment did the merc get frosty again.

  I headed upstairs after a while, finding a set of lockers and an area for bedrolls. It wasn’t much, but it did beat some of the places I’d had to sleep. However, I most regretted being without Mia for the remainder of the assignment. The lockers prompted me with my routine and I went to work on my gear.

  Non-essentials and personal items went into the locker, leaving my backpack light and easy to carry around. I doubted I needed extra rations with me, so they stayed behind too. Here and there, the rest of the squad meandered up to check things out and prepare. Equipment maintenance, weapon oiling and cleaning, followed by ammunitions check were essential menial tasks, but we knew it was worth it. Whatever our mission would be, we’d be ready.

  It wasn’t until late afternoon when we were ordered downstairs. A stocky bald mercenary stood next to a slender man with glasses, who gave the standing orders. It was mostly the usual. Not telling family about the location, and no calls until after work. Absolute denial about actions and activities involving the Army onsite. Movement to onsite would be in an enclosed van to prevent knowledge of location. The list went on for a while. While we weren’t on duty, things were pretty relaxed. Onsite, we were rookies again and would follow all orders without question.

  Our duty was to protect the location and if needed, prevent assets from leaving there by whatever means necessary, including deadly force. No one in, unless authorized by security; no one out, except through security. No talking and no phone calls; radio silence unless otherwise stated. Meals were to be eaten off-site.

  Everything seemed standard.

  At least we weren’t guarding an ammo dump. People I could handle. Something that might explode with little to no warning made me nervous.

  The skinny man finally finished giving the orders and posted a schedule on the wall. Five overlapping six-hour shifts. It was still blank. Without hesitation, I wro
te my name into the first slot and grabbed my gear. There was only a half-hour window before my shift would start. The sooner I was done, the sooner I could get out and call Mia.

  I was teamed up with two newer faces—Horn and Fredricks—I hadn’t spoken with either man much, and one of the mercs joined as our fourth. Looking around the room, almost everything was as it should have been. The only odd thing was the mercenaries. Still, as long as we were all on the same side, I didn’t care who they were.

  The front door opened, and Baldie, the silent mercenary, signaled for us to follow him. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable being ordered by signal commands only. While most disliked having a person yell at them, it usually meant they cared enough for you to not mess up. My thoughts were interrupted as Baldie held up his right fist in the air, a clear sign to stop.

  Out front was a blue utility van parked by a loading ramp. The doors were open, revealing impact seats and harnesses. They needed to keep the location a closely guarded secret, so they were using refurbished vans for the job.

  Were they concerned about anyone knowing the Army was involved, or did they simply have something they were hiding?

  At the command from Baldie, I entered the van and sat. Once everyone was ready, the doors closed leaving us all in pitch-black darkness then a fist banged against the van twice. The engine turned, and before long, we were on our way.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Mia

  I glanced down at my cell phone again. After the incident with Selene, I wanted Ethan here more than ever. I wouldn’t allow myself to be afraid of her, but I didn’t like the way she’d touched me.

  Plus the way she’d come into the shop without me even hearing or seeing her approach freaked me out. If I’d had my car, I would’ve just left. While I could’ve called Jessa and told her what happened, after last night I didn’t know if I wanted to deal with her.

  Instead, I waited for Ethan. It was thirty minutes after he typically got off work. Normally, he might even be home by now. I knew, because I’d spent some time with Nolan before when Ethan had gotten off from work, so I had a rough idea when he arrived home.

  Maybe I shouldn’t be getting too crazy. Something might’ve come up, but I couldn’t help the fear lurking in my chest. I’d checked my phone for any news, and I didn’t see anything about incidents at the base or large traffic accidents. Still, he could’ve had a report or mission he needed to do, and the shop wasn’t closed yet. I still had about an hour to go.

  I ran my hand through my hair, taking a few more deep breaths. Keep calm. Keep calm. It’ll be okay.

  Time ticked by so slowly, and I browsed the web on my phone knowing I’d never get back to the book I was reading. Knowing Ethan wasn’t here when he should’ve been put me on edge.

  Online women’s articles on ‘How to be a Better Lover’ weren’t exactly what I needed either, because those reminded me of Ethan too.

  Finally, I pulled up my email, deciding I’d sort through it and keep an eye on my cell phone’s clock every few minutes. After about an hour, there was still no sign of Ethan, and now I was freaked.

  My heart raced. I positioned the crutches under my armpits and hobbled to the door. But I didn’t see him anywhere. What should I do? Even if Jessa wanted to help me, she couldn’t.

  She was worse off than me, and she wasn’t happy about me being with Ethan in the first place. She might mouth off that he could have given into his wild side and run away, or whatever else.

  I thought about stepping outside and walking around to see if he’d just parked out there so as not to bother me. But I couldn’t leave the shop unattended.

  No, I doubted he’d just sit in the car while I was in here. He’d told me he would be here. My mind rolled out different scenarios, and I bit my lower lip. Unless the Pack had called another one of their crazy meetings. He’d been off to one the other night after I’d dropped by at Nolan’s, so it was possible he’d been summoned to another. Wouldn’t he have said something? Like he’d be late?

  I called his cell phone. He couldn’t take calls at work—but he wasn’t supposed to be on base right now. Besides, I needed to know.

  His phone went straight to voicemail. “Ethan, where are you? I’m worried. You’d said you would be here when you got off work, and now the shop is closing. Please call me.”

  I’d give him five minutes while I did a little bit of tidying up, but then I needed to call someone else like... Chad. He’d know if the Pack had an emergency meeting planned. But I’d still need a ride home.

  My brother better not decide to be a lazy jerk and ditch me for his girlfriend again, because that would leave Mom and Dad, and I didn’t want them to give me a lift.

  Unless I asked Chad... but, just, no.

  After I’d gotten everything ready for the morning, I grimaced at the fact nearly fifteen minutes had gone by and still no word from Ethan.

  My heart sank in my chest. Oh, no. I couldn’t handle this anymore. I needed to know what was happening. I couldn’t just sit back and wonder whether he was all right, or if he’d been in a car accident. Maybe I should’ve been checking with the local hospitals instead of cleaning up the shop.

  No, he was almost a werewolf, and werewolves were resilient.

  I dialed Chad’s number, hoping he’d pick up, even though I wasn’t sure whether he’d do so if he saw my number. However, he answered on the first ring.

  “Yeah?” he said, sounding sleepy as if I’d just awoken him from a nap.

  “Chad, have you heard from Ethan?” I wouldn’t sugarcoat this. I didn’t want to chitchat, not after our last conversation. He’d intimidated me, and I wouldn’t take any crap from him, not when I needed his help.

  “I’m not his babysitter. You’re probably not happy with the female werewolf thing, but you two need to work that out.” Metal clanged in the background, and he grunted in pain.

  I huffed. “You’re not understanding me here. He was supposed to pick me up from work, but he’s not here. I’m worried about him.”

  Chad was proving to be less than useful. Maybe I should’ve saved my breath and just called Nolan. He might have heard from Ethan, but yet that didn’t feel right to me. I found it hard to believe Ethan would contact Nolan but not me when he knew I needed him to drive me home.

  “Did you try calling his cell?” Chad asked, as if I’d never think to do something like that.

  I let my silence answer him.

  “Fine. Let me make a couple calls, then I’ll call you back. Just don’t get your panties in a wad. There’s probably a rational explanation for this.” He sighed, and the line disconnected.

  If I wasn’t using my older brother’s old crutches I would’ve been pacing the shop, but instead, I went back to the stool and sat down. My eyes were glued to the phone, ready to pounce when it started chiming out my dubstep beat.

  Within a few minutes, Chad called back. “Bad news.” He sounded like he didn’t want to say more, but he couldn’t just call back and say there was bad news without actually telling me what that was. “There’s a new Pack meeting, so I’ll talk to you later. Maybe I’ll know more then.”

  “No! You’re not going to do this. You can’t.” It didn’t matter what he or any of the other wolves thought of me. What mattered was something had happened to Ethan, and if I didn’t help find him... My heart hurt, and I slammed my fist against one of the bookshelves, cringing as pain shot through my hand. “I need to know what the bad news is.”

  “No one has heard from him, and there were some strange murmurings going around at the base. Our contact wonders if the government is involved in a problem we’re currently facing.” He grunted as if upset with himself for saying that much.

  Wait... didn’t Ethan mention a missing person incident within the Pack?

  “Pick me up. I need a ride home.” Silence extended over the phone line. “Please, Chad.” While I could’ve asked Nolan, I wanted to know what else Chad knew, and one of the best ways to do that was by
talking face to face.

  Then again, maybe I could get into this Pack meeting wherever it was. I had to help. I could be useful.

  “Don’t you have someone else who can take you?” He sighed, sounding truly frustrated.

  “If I did, do you think I would be asking you?”

  He groaned. The words hit their mark. “Fine, where are you?”

  “I’m at the magic shop. I know you’re familiar with its location since you came in the other day.” I held my head up a little, happy to have at least one thing over him. “Besides, you’re less stressed due to the potion I crafted. You owe me.”

  “How do you know I’m feeling less stressed?” He huffed, as if shaking away the thought I might be in his head. “And I paid you for the potion with a tip.”

  If he was still stressed, he wouldn’t be taking naps this late in the day. The potion I gave him caused a person to be sleepier than normal due to its relaxing qualities. If he was taking it during the day, he’d have the desire to sleep more.

  I gave a fake laugh. “Really? That’s what you’re going to say? You know, I have my ways of becoming a much bigger pain in the ass than I’ve been. You need to trust that I can help.”

  “Whoa, wait just a minute. I’m taking you home from work. No one said anything about you helping to find your boyfriend. You’re in way over your head, girlie, especially with that limp you’ve got.” He sneered. “Just give me twenty minutes, and I’ll be there. But you’re going straight home.”

  I sank my teeth into my lower lip as I put away my cell phone. If he thought I’d flop over and take it, then he had another thing coming. No one knew where Ethan was, but since we had a connection, I could find him.

  If I’d been thinking clearly earlier, I might’ve tried scrying for him, but knowing he might need my help and that the werewolves didn’t know where he was lit a fire inside me.