“It’s not, but—” he snapped his fingers, “—we aren’t alone in this. Sharon and I saw two men standing inside the tree line last night watching the same scene unfold as us.”
“Hiding?” Melinda asked. “Humans?”
Cooper nodded. “Yep.”
“Did you know them?” She looked at Sharon, who had lived in the area her entire life. Cooper realized even though he hadn’t recognized the men, he didn’t know ten people in town yet.
Sharon shook her head. “Never seen them before. I can tell you they were taller than average. Dark hair, one short cropped. One in need of a cut. It touched his shoulders. Huge. I would remember if I’d ever seen them before.”
Melinda chewed her bottom lip for a second. “Maybe there’s hope then, others who are willing to stand up for what’s right.”
“What about protesters?” Jackson asked. “If we got enough people interested and concerned about the possibility of a bigger quake, maybe we could get the government to shut them down. I mean, it doesn’t matter if a quake is what we’re looking at or not.” He looked toward Cooper. “You said yourself the epicenter is under the fracking site. That should be enough to convince people to call for an injunction.”
Cooper’s mom nodded. “I can call the women I work with and rally them to spread the word.” His mother ran a support group that many women in the Native American shifter community attended to help foster higher tolerance of other races. After twenty-seven years in exile caused by bigotry, Joyce was an expert.
“I bet Jazmine would be willing to rally some families through her preschool. That would hit the non-shifting Natives,” Jackson added.
“I’m sure Mary would do the same with non-shifting whites,” Laurie said.
Sharon nodded. “That just leaves the shifting Caucasians, and my family will handle that easily. There aren’t a lot of them. They can spread the word through the lodge and the sheriff’s office.”
For the first time in a few hours, Cooper thought they might actually have a plan. “Great. If you ladies wouldn’t mind handling that, the three of us will head back to the fracking site and my office to see what we can figure out.”
Mimi hmmphed in satisfaction when he spoke, and he fought the urge to chuckle. If his grandmother thought they needed to return to the fracking site, then by God they would.
Chapter Seventeen
Isaiah tapped his foot, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy he felt. “I spoke to Dad earlier.”
“Yeah, what did he say?” Wyatt lowered his binoculars and faced his brother.
“He’s working on a few angles. He recognizes the importance of intervening here, but he also doesn’t want us to get caught.” Already, Isaiah was concerned about who might have seen them lurking around the fracking site. They had backed deeper into the forest, but that didn’t mean they could go completely undetected for days on end.
“What if we send an anonymous message to the people living in the nearest town? I think that’s Cambridge, just south of here.”
Isaiah nodded. “That could work. Though I’m betting they already know. Dad said there’s a group of seismologists who recently stationed themselves at the junior college. Surely they’re working every angle.”
“Is there anything we could do to thwart this fracking site? Chase them off without anyone being wiser?”
“I’ve thought of that. If the damn drills weren’t running twenty-four/seven, we could just sneak onto the site and disable their efforts in some way. Too bad we not only don’t want to be seen, but planting explosives would only make the situation worse.” Isaiah shook his head as he continued to watch the dozens of men running around like little worker bees. Unfortunately the queen bee was the only one who had any idea of the risks being taken. If any of the men pumping water into the earth’s crust was aware of the level of danger they were in, they would run down the mountain and never look back.
At least Isaiah hoped that was the case.
Then again, people could be stupid. Greedy and stupid. There was no telling what mankind would do for a buck. Even the small quakes felt in the area in the last few days had done nothing to slow down this fracking site. They had simply waited out the tremors and gone back to work.
»»•««
Jackson thumped his fingers on the steering wheel of his SUV and tipped his head to peer out the windshield for the millionth time. He was impatient to see two wolves pop back out of the tree line.
They’d been gone over an hour.
Watching his two mates shift into gorgeous majestic wolves had been amazing. Both Sharon and Cooper were dark brown, their tones similar. Cooper was larger than Sharon, but assuredly not more agile because of it. When they turned and took off into the dense forest along the side of the mountain, he’d been in awe.
Driving what he jokingly referred to as the get-away vehicle had seemed like an important job, and it was in a way, but his leg had started bouncing about twenty minutes ago, and he wondered what would happen if they didn’t return.
He’d been in contact with them several times telepathically, and he knew they were approaching, but they hadn’t taken the time to explain anything in great length.
Finally, the two of them popped back through the tree line and bounded toward the SUV.
Jackson blew out a breath in relief. He opened the door and hopped out in order to swing open the back door, where his two mates had stashed their clothes.
He kept his gaze on Sharon while she shifted back. She was gorgeous in wolf form, but more so in her human skin. As soon as she stood naked before him, he took her in his arms, blocking her path to the SUV.
She smiled up at him. “Freezing here, human.”
He grinned back. “I didn’t force you to get naked, wolf.”
“But you are preventing me from getting dressed, Wolf,” she shot back, emphasizing his last name, which seemed to be quite comedic to the two of them.
Jackson kissed her nose and stepped aside, even though his cock was stiff from holding her softer body pressed against his front. As he turned, Cooper was already pulling on his jeans. “What did you guys find out?”
Cooper’s brow was furrowed. “Not as much as we would have liked. The drills are running full speed with all men on deck. They don’t stop for weekends or holidays or even nights. Hell, they don’t stop for earthquakes, either.”
Sharon shrugged into a tank top. “That’s not the interesting part, though. There were two spirits hovering around the site. To the best of my knowledge, no one has come upon two in the same location before.”
“Huh.” Jackson handed her a pair of jeans as she finished pulling up a pair of panties that made him want to drool. “What do you think it means?”
Cooper grabbed his T-shirt. “It means get the fuck off this mountain before you all die.”
“Are you sure?” Jackson asked. That wasn’t more information than they already suspected.
“No,” Sharon said, “but what else could it mean?” She climbed into the backseat of the SUV and put on her tennis shoes while Cooper rounded to the front passenger door.
Seconds later they were all inside, and Jackson pulled away from the service road. “I’m not sure I like being left behind. It’s unnerving worrying about you two.” He glanced at Sharon in the backseat as she pulled a thick sweater over her head, concealing her breasts and making him bite his lip to keep from protesting. At least in her tank tops he could see the contour of her fantastic tits and the swell of her nipples. They rode high and firm even without a bra, and he’d come to realize she often went without.
Cooper chuckled. “Ah, thanks pal. I feel so warm and fuzzy knowing you care.”
Jackson shot him a glare. “Ha ha. You know what I mean.”
“It’s very rare for people to bother wolves in the forest. We aren’t a threat to humans, and if they spot us, they usually assume it’s because they’re invading our habitat,” Sharon informed him.
“Can you tell if anyo
ne else is a shifter?”
Cooper nodded. “Yes. We can scent them, even from a distance. And no one was at that site today. It would almost be easier if they were, but no such luck.”
“So now what do we do?” he asked as he turned onto the main road leading back to Cambridge.
“Let’s head to my office at the college. I need to check in with my colleagues and see if they’ve discovered anything new monitoring the tremors.”
Sharon groaned and leaned her head back. “At least let me nap on the way there. It’s the most boring place on Earth,” she teased.
Jackson was actually fascinated by the idea of seeing Cooper’s equipment at work. Accountants by day who moonlighted in the occasional logging investigation didn’t normally see anything quite so exciting. Although he had to admit to himself that after the crazy fires last November that cleared out several acres of land north of the property owned by Cooper’s family, he’d seen enough weird shit to last a lifetime.
Too bad he was proven wrong in the last twenty-four hours, having reached a new all-time record for weird. The insanity of the infractions he’d investigated at last year’s logging site made a whole lot more sense now that he understood he’d been dealing with wolf shifters and their collective intuition when it came to warning him about the site and his safety.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter, remembering how Amanda’s two mates had come to him, first to advise him about probable violations, and then to warn him of possible danger.
For the rest of his life he would forever be suspect of any warnings he got from folks around him. Were there other shifters out there besides wolves?
Cooper chuckled softly next to him, peeking back to make sure he wasn’t disturbing Sharon. “There are no other shifters. At least none we are aware of,” he whispered.
Jackson shot him a glare. “Get out of my head, Cooper.”
“You’re an open book, Wolf. It’s more like you’re projecting your thoughts than an actual invasion of your privacy.”
Jackson pursed his lips and tried to empty his mind for the rest of the drive.
When he pulled into the parking lot of the junior college, two men were loading the back of a van with equipment in the spot next to him.
Sharon sighed from the backseat as she opened her eyes. “Already?”
Cooper ignored her and jumped down from the front seat while Jackson watched, his gaze following the men standing behind the van.
Jackson opened his door, but didn’t bother getting out of the SUV. He listened to Cooper question the guys for several minutes.
Sharon remained still also as if sensing it would be prudent to leave Cooper alone for a moment.
Cooper spoke to the two men. “What’s the plan?”
“I met them yesterday,” Sharon communicated silently with Jackson. “They work with Cooper.”
Jackson nodded. Made sense now.
The taller man spoke to Cooper. “There’s been a lot of activity at several of the seismic stations to the north of here. We split up into two groups to go check on the seismometers.”
Cooper nodded. “Good idea. I just got back from the fracking station near the epicenter myself.”
“Shit. Did you find anything else out?”
“No. Just spying.”
“Dude, have you slept at all? You need to rest for a while. We’ve got this part covered. We’ll call in a few hours when we get to the stations.”
“Sounds good. Keep me informed.” Cooper shut the left rear door while the other man shut the right.
Jackson stepped down from the SUV and opened the rear door for Sharon as the van drove away. “Everything okay? I don’t know a damn thing about earthquake research, but it sounded important.”
Cooper headed toward the building that held his temporary office while talking over his shoulder. “Standard stuff. Not shocking. We sometimes have to go check the seismic stations, especially when there’s a lot of activity. Make sure everything is still working properly.”
“I see.” Jackson followed Cooper, feeling waves of stress pouring off the man and wondering if it had to do with their mental connection, or if he would have felt the same general unease under the same circumstances yesterday.
He set a hand on Sharon’s back as they entered the building, but only after glancing around to make sure no one was looking. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he pondered the implications of sleeping with two people. By the time they stepped into Cooper’s giant work space, his hands were fisted at his sides in balls.
“What’s the matter?” Sharon asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.” Trying to shake off the feeling of concern for the future, he didn’t make eye contact with Sharon or Cooper. Instead he feigned interest in the equipment lining the sides of the room and wandered down the row of machines and computers, seeing nothing.
“Jackson.” Cooper stated his name as if it were a command, a call to stop and turn around.
“What?”
“Your emotions are all over the place. What just happened?” He shut the door to the office space with a soft snick, leaving the three of them alone in the room on a Saturday afternoon when realistically Jackson knew very few people were milling about.
He shrugged. “Not a big deal.”
Sharon approached him and grabbed one of his hands, forcing him to acknowledge how his fingers curled tightly into his palms. She tipped her head back and pressed her chest against him until he met her gaze.
He knew he was frowning. He couldn’t stop it. “What?” The one word was defiant, and he almost cringed at the tone of his own voice.
“You tell me. I’m at a loss.”
He glanced at the closed door, suddenly self-conscious that anyone could walk in at any time. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” Cooper asked, strolling across the room slowly.
“Face the public. I mean, I know we talked about this briefly. I get that both of your families are involved in similar relationships, but I’m not from this world. I’ve never slept with a woman and then pretended to be something less with her in public.”
She nodded. “I understand. And it’s not less weird for us, trust me. We’ve just seen it before is all. We’re more used to it than you are. So, if you’re asking how we handle things in public, we mostly don’t. We tend to avoid being demonstrative in crowds of humans. It’s not as awkward when we’re with shifters, but with humans we’re careful.
“There are a lot of people who are aware we live in threes, and many of them aren’t polite about it. But we’ll do the best we can. Just try to keep in mind that as soon as we’re in private, we can let loose and be who we are.”
She shrugged and then continued. “Try to think of it like other relationships. It’s not like you’d have sex with someone in public. And think of your sister. I’m sure Jazmine exudes no overt interest in Mary when they’re in public. It’s part of a game lots of people play, humans and shifters.
“There are so many reasons why people might fake less interest in public, especially in this area of the country. Hell, you’ll catch flak from humans and shifters for mixing with me because I’m white or Cooper because he’s mixed. That’s ridiculous too, but we cater to it anyway to keep the boat from rocking.”
He smiled while she gave him her little speech. “How did you get so smart?” He unfolded his hands and set them on her lower back.
“Fifth kid in the family. Lots of experience.”
Cooper chuckled as he stepped behind her and set his hands on her hips just above Jackson’s. “Me too. I know it’s freaky weird—”
Jackson interrupted him. “Freaky weird doesn’t begin to cover it. I slept with this woman just hours ago. I want to touch her in public. Hell, I want the world to know she’s mine.”
Her face turned red as he tipped his gaze down to look at her instead of Cooper. She whispered her next words. “That makes my heart race, Jackson. And I know how you feel. Cooper does too. T
hat’s how we’re wired. We feel deeply. Fate makes that happen. We mate for life, and we mean it with our entire souls.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me ever, because I know,” she set a hand over her chest, “in my heart, how you feel about me. How you feel about Cooper too. I don’t care about the rest of the world. I only care about the three of us and what this means to us.”
“Trust me,” Cooper added, “we’ll learn to adapt over time and take full advantage of every instance when we can be together. If the world were a perfect place, I would love to be able to sandwich Sharon in the middle of a crowded dance floor and grind into her from the front while you do so from the back, but the world isn’t perfect, and we have to make concessions along the way. Don’t stress so hard about it.”
Jackson glanced behind Cooper, wondering if someone would walk in on them even now and find him and Cooper plastering a very sexy Sharon between them.
“I locked the door,” Cooper said.
Jackson flushed slightly. “Of course you did.”
Sharon set her hands on his chest, flattened her palms, and smoothed them up until she reached his face and cupped his cheeks. “I’m flattered you’re cognizant of your environment while itching to reach for me. Channel that. Use it when we get to a private location.”
“Like now,” Cooper muttered, lowering his face to kiss Sharon’s neck.
Jackson’s blood pumped faster when Sharon made a soft sigh and let her eyes flutter shut. Her mouth fell open. She was so fucking hot.
It should unnerve him that another man was kissing her. Touching her. Making her squirm with need.
It should. But it didn’t. In fact, it gave him the opportunity to watch her without being so directly involved in her pleasure that he too was lost to the sensations.
This was one of those moments.
Sharon grabbed his biceps and dug her fingers into his muscles. She leaned forward, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed his lips briefly.
He was lost to her.
As usual.
Lost and out of control.
Never mind they were in a public building at the junior college.
Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) Page 12
