He complied, his pelvis crashing into hers with greater force. Through the kiss, her hands, her legs, she felt his muscles tense. Casper was on the verge as well.
Pulsing collisions became frenzied beyond cadence. Trina felt she might be shaken apart. She gripped him, longing for it. Something inside her went off like a bomb. She felt Casper’s back arch, lifting her off the ground. She was filled with liquid fire.
Casper cried out, his member pulsing even larger inside her tight grip. Overwhelmed, Trina gave in to the earth shaking orgasm. For a moment, everything went dark. She came to, Casper’s weight on her. One hand played with her hair. His breath was a bellows.
“Oh, wow,” she managed. Trina kissed him softly.
“Yeah,” was all he said.
She touched his cheeks, feeling the cooling sweat, the sandpaper beard. Trina was unable to look away from his beautiful, strange features, limned by moonlight. Until his expression changed.
“What is it?”
Casper rose on one arm. His brows lowered, eyelids shut. “Someone’s coming.”
A second later, Trina heard the snapping of a twig in the dark woods. She sat up, grabbing her clothes. “Is it Ben?”
“I don’t think so,” Casper said. Without bothering to clothe himself, he moved into the screen of trees.
Trina put herself back together. She was glad they had finished shooting her parts earlier. It wouldn’t do to go on TV with sex hair.
After a few moments, Casper returned. He slipped into his briefs. “Someone was out there, but they’re gone now.”
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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Trina scanned the area with a night vision camera. Casper put more trust in his own enhanced senses. He knew with certainty someone had come up on them in the dark, even if that person had been downwind. If he hadn’t been so distracted…
Light rain hissed through the foliage, diluting the scent, but he could smell wolf bitch, even if the odor was faint. “We’d better put the cameras away,” he said.
She took the phone from her coat pocket, checking the time. “Yeah, I’m sure we have enough.”
“Hope we remember where we put them all,” he said.
Trina stared into the dark woods. “We’ll find them.”
Casper nearly tripped over the one he had set on the ground. He lifted it, noting it was still running. Before he put it in the case, he saw that there was no data card in the slot. That was strange.
Ben lumbered into the now-muddy clearing, encumbered by his gear. His head darted around like a bird’s as he put equipment in cases. Casper approached him—the man looked spooked.
“What’s up?”
The big man pursed his lips. “There’s something out here. I can’t quite figure out what. I caught something, but it’ll have to wait for review.”
Casper rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel it, too. Like someone watching us.”
Ben nodded. “If there was a lot of high EM, you’d expect to feel that. But there isn’t out here. I have my detectors filtered down to record only the magnetic field of the planet. Very low frequency. Even so, there’s manipulation in the field that I can’t explain.”
“You really need to get laid.” Casper shook his head.
Ben cut his eyes to Trina, who was bent over one of the cases. Before territoriality made Casper angry, the big blond frowned. “She really likes you, Casper.”
Casper wanted to sigh. He knew.
“I know the two of you are together. Much as I like her, I’m an honorable guy. I know when to step back.”
At this, Casper nearly laughed out loud. Ben was no competition for him. Even so, the man seemed so sincere, he put a cap on his mirth and nodded. “Thanks. Since I smell the bear on you, and you ain’t dumb, you probably understand my dilemma.”
Without even looking nonplussed, Ben took a breath. “I’ve kept it a secret all my life. But if anyone can sniff us out, it’s Trina. Especially here. It seems like this is a shifter community. Probably why I’m so attracted to the—”
He stopped short, gazing up at the nearest tree. Casper followed, seeing a squirrel sitting on a branch. It stared at them, unmoving. Ben removed one of his ghostbuster gadgets and pointed it. “Do you see it?” he whispered.
Casper saw concentric lines in white against the dark screen. He recognized them as magnetic fields. But just below the gawking squirrel, the lines converged. He scowled at what looked like the shape of a man drawn in magnetic lines.
“You see it, too?”
Casper nodded.
“Good. I thought I was going crazy.” The squirrel shook its little head and bounded up the trunk. On the screen, the image returned to random concentric lines.
It brought to mind the government campaign advertised on TV, radio and billboards to report any strange animal activity. Something to do with rabies, Casper thought. But that squirrel, so still, so watchful. It didn’t appear rabid, but it did appear very strange. He told Ben about it.
“Yeah, I did notice that campaign when I arrived. It’s everywhere, for Pete’s sake. You think it’s connected?”
Casper shrugged. “I assumed it was the government looking for shifters.”
“I got lots of hacker friends. Let’s see what they can find out.”
“What are you guys up to? I’m all packed up.” Trina wandered over, avoiding Casper.
Ben put the device in a big case and snapped it closed. “Okie dokie, let’s get out of this rain.”
It was a few moment’s work hauling the cases back to the vehicles. Casper loaded up Trina’s SUV.
“I think that was a bad idea,” Trina didn’t face him as he closed the hatch.
“I think that was a lot of fun. We both wanted to. We’re making the most of our time, remember?”
She got in. “Yeah, I’m with you there. Just don’t make it impossible for me to leave, okay?”
***
He watched the trucks drive off, leaning on his own, Trina’s words in his brain. Casper had to be careful. From his observations, Trina fell into things by chance and flowed with them. He couldn’t have her flow into love with him, as she had with all other aspects of her life. In his own mind, he walked a tightrope, wanting her to stay, needing her to go. Had he taken a misstep?
Given how light he felt, he wanted to say no. He was drawn to her like no other woman in his life. The two of them making love had been inevitable. Casper had no regrets. At least, not right now.
Strange forces around the dead clearing called to him. The pack had ranged all over the national forest, yet had never come across this spot. Was there a danger here? In human form, he could call up his animal senses. But he needed more, a wolf’s nose and snout, the brain to sort it out. Certain that Ben and Trina were gone, he shucked his clothes.
Twisting his neck, rolling his shoulders, he brought the wolf out, gray and brown fur jutting from his skin, face elongating, limbs and spine ratcheting into opposing angles. A lupine shape loped through the woods toward the clearing.
The world expanded. Sleeping animals and birds surrounded him, nocturnal animals on the prowl became evident to his keen sense of smell. Cloud-shrouded moonlight became as bright as day to a wolf’s vision. In the horror movies, animals often sensed the presence of the paranormal before their doomed human companions did. He wondered if this would hold true.
At the edge of the clearing, his hackles rose. Definitely, he felt an odd sensation, but nothing he could pinpoint. Rain and wind washed away the animal scents of bear and wolf, of sleeping and stalking beasts. The pack was under orders not to shift. What the hell was going on?
Casper could detect no answers to his questions. He ran back to his truck, shook off the water, and dressed. The clearing was definitely weird, but was it weird enough to keep Trina around? He hoped not as he drove home.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
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Trina was too exhausted to move the cases out of her SUV. She’d been robbed before, but they hadn’t taken the camera gear. Screw it. Her eyes were crossing, she was so tired. Not to mention sore. She and Casper had put muscles to work that she hadn’t used in a while.
Why had she made love to him? Other than the obvious; his physical beauty, the slightly slanted eyes, the six pack abs, the little divots of muscle at his hips. Trina didn’t think she was that shallow. Nor did she think she was a slut. The man had responded to her with kindness in a town that seemed just plain mean. His blunt resolve, softened by his dorky sense of humor, had reeled her in from the get-go. Maybe she just needed something physical to abate her anxiety. She was still anxious about falling for Casper. Even if she didn’t want to, she understood that things in life happened whether they were convenient or not, and you just had to roll with them. If she kept her chin up, something good would come of it.
In the bedroom, she moved to pull down the shades. Darting figures caught her attention. Two small animals chased each other in the yard next door. Who lived there? Didn’t Casper say it was his brother Sheridan? She rubbed her eyes. The playing animals looked like wolf puppies. Could that be right? Trina didn’t think wolves lived around here. It’s a great place to raise pups—I mean, a family. Casper’s words played in her head.
When she looked again, she saw only a back lawn frosted by moonlight. Wind blew across the grass, making waves. Clouds scudded across the moon, throwing a blanket of darkness. She closed the blinds. She was too tired to do more than undress and crash.
Before she knew it, morning light slatted through the blinds, muted by the overcast sky. Trina stretched herself awake. There was evidence to review. After a quick shower, she put on a pot of coffee. She grabbed the camera cases out of the SUV and collected the data cards. One was missing. That was weird. She had carefully labeled each one before the investigation. Checking her list, she saw it was one of the static cameras. She thought about it, wondering if it was the one Casper grabbed to shoot some B-roll.
Trina checked her intro footage. Everything was in frame and not too shaky. Her makeup looked good. Then it was time to check the bread-and-butter—the cameras rolling on the clearing. Five cameras—no, wait, one missing—four cameras running for about two hours. She sat at the monitor, put the cans over her ears, and watched.
She couldn’t think of anything more boring that watching nothing happening in the woods. Unless it was nothing happening in a house. Well, a lot of this job was boring. She lived for those few, brief moments of discovery. Unfortunately, after viewing the first two cameras, there weren’t any.
Pouring fresh coffee, she decided to give her eyes a break. She unplugged the cans from the laptop and plugged them into Ben’s cassette recorder. Adjusting the headphones and the volume, she closed her eyes and listened. The tape hiss was loud in her ears. She preferred digital recorders for just this reason.
Nothing came from the EVP session. The tape rolled on. She heard herself giving direction to Ben and Casper, and their replies. To keep busy, she loaded the next data card in the reader to watch another camera angle. Then, quite clearly, she heard a voice.
“See you… Get out.”
Trina sat up straight. This wasn’t the usual, half-buried sounds she usually got. Noting the number on the counter, she rewound the tape and listened again. When the words sounded again, she stopped the tape. It was neither Casper’s or Ben’s voice she heard, although it was definitely male.
She found the camera that had been set up nearest the cassette recorder. It took some math to figure out at what time the voice came through. Trina swapped the headphones back to the laptop. No sound was heard on the video recording. But at the same time the tape recorder picked up the voice, the video image pixilated for just a second.
Trina sat back in the kitchen chair. Maybe they had caught something in the woods.
***
Casper woke much later than usual. A pleasant soreness wracked his hips and back when he stepped into the shower. Water running hot, he found himself singing “That’s Amore.” Shaved and dressed, he headed downstairs, whistling the same tune.
“Have mercy,” Scarlet stood in the kitchen, fists on her hips. “You had sex with her.”
He didn’t allow his face to reveal his surprise. “That’s none of your business.”
“Like hell, Cass. You think I don’t talk to the others? They’re freaking out that she’s still around, snooping, and you’re sleeping with her. She has to go. Why are you leading her on?”
Casper ignored her, walking into the office for a cup of coffee. Scarlet followed him.
“You’re heading for a heartache, sugar.”
He sipped. “It’s a short-term thing. We ain’t in a committed relationship.”
“Can the state commit you for stupidity? Is it in the DSM-5?”
It didn’t surprise Casper that Scarlet had undergone some psychotherapy. He was relieved to hear footsteps on the back porch as he didn’t have a snappy comeback. His relief was short lived. He let Trina in, her smile lighting up the room. Today she dressed simply, silky top and jeans. Still, he could hardly take his eyes off her.
She gave him a big hug. “We caught some evidence last night,” she said, voice breathless.
Casper hugged her back, giving Scarlet a smirk. “Good enough for the show?”
“It’s gonna be the best paranormal show ever! Come see when you get a chance.”
She let him go and hurried back out. At the French doors, she turned back. “Oh, by the way, are there wolves living around here?”
Feeling a little rocked, Casper could only shake his head.
“I believe we’re too far west of wolf territory,” Scarlet interjected. “Not enough wide open spaces.”
“Why do you ask?” he managed.
“Last night before I went to sleep, I swear I saw wolf puppies in the yard next door. Your brother’s house.”
Sheridan. That fucking idiot. Casper managed to keep his features still. “It was probably coyotes. We have a lot of those around.”
Trina shrugged. “Could be, I guess. Will you come over soon?”
“Sure,” Casper said. “I’ll be there in a few.”
Scarlet folded her arms and gave him the hairy eyeball.
“I told that moron no shifting while she’s here.”
“Seems to me that woman doesn’t need to look hard. Any day now, a shifter will just roll into her lap, and we’ll all be screwed.”
Casper took out his phone and swiped the text function. “I want you to order the materials for the Carstairs renovation. ASAP. Add ’em on to the apartment materials.”
“We’re going ahead with the bathroom remodel?” Skepticism angled her features.
“Yeah. I got a text. Go on, Scarlet, get to work.”
He found the group text and sent a message to his brothers. They needed to meet.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Casper knocked on the door to the in-law apartment and let himself into an argument.
“For Pete’s sake, Trina, this is the Holy Grail of paranormal investigation.”
She stared at her laptop monitor. “It’s a cool visual.”
“It’s more than that! If another investigator can repeat the experiment, we can prove that there is a link between EMF and paranormal activity.”
“How do I sell the narrative, Ben?” Trina put her hands on her thighs. “I don’t even understand what’s going on. The viewing public isn’t that smart. They aren’t going to buy that you can see ghosts with a thing based on an Etch-A-Sketch.”
“Magna Doodle!”
“Whatever. We aren’t shooting a documentary for “Nova.” It’s great to have the science, but this is a show about finding ghosts.”
“But that’s what these are!” Ben’s face lost conviction. “I think. Maybe.”
“Okay, explain it to Casper
, then.” She fiddled with the computer. “I’ll find the actual evidence.”
Ben turned his computer so that Casper could see it. “This is EMF data compiled by visualizing animation software.”
Casper was already lost. What he saw on the screen looked like a rainbow fog fading from green to orange. “Go on.”
“What you see is background electromagnetic radiation, generated by the Earth. Super low frequency waves.”
He took a step closer and saw that the cloud was actually formed of a moving grid of fine, multicolored lines. These moved in concert, occasionally showing a bulge here, a circle there, the image relatively steady.
“Watch what happens at oh-two-thirty-two.”
Casper noted a time stamp running at the bottom of the screen. As the counter reached the appropriate time, a shape appeared in the net of lights. For a moment, the lines conformed around it, making a shape like an animation cage figure. Then, the shape turned black.
Casper squinted. What appeared to be a human figure strode through the EMF, a black shadow blotting out the rainbow net. After a few steps, it vanished, only to reform closer, on the left side of the monitor. “So that’s a ghost?”
“Yes. I think so. Maybe. What it actually is, is a sag in the EMF. The farther the lines are apart, the darker it looks, and the weaker the field. That figure is draining the electromagnetism, not just moving through it.”
He pursed his lips. “That is a cool visual.”
Ben threw up his hands and stared at the ceiling.
“Here’s the good stuff.” Trina punched a key on the laptop.
Casper heard the three of them talking, setting up cameras, feet crushing the damp loam as they moved. He remembered it from the night before. It was just after the EVP session.
“See you…”
His jaw dropped. The voice was clear, the speaker unknown. He knew he should have heard it last night,. Wolf ears could hear a deer pacing through loam a mile away.
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