10. Jesse

TEN

JESSE

The days that followed were filled with tension and unease. Our pack intensified the search for the rogue wolf that had claimed the life of the hiker up on the mountain and all the other victims as well. Every lead, every trace, led us deeper into the wilderness, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Ophelia could possibly be the one we were hunting.

Part of me didn’t want to believe it. Ophelia and I had been deeply in love once, bound by a connection I thought was unbreakable. But time had shown us a different truth, revealing her manipulative and unfaithful nature, which had shattered our relationship and left me with a bitter taste of betrayal. I couldn’t deny the possibility that Ophelia had become something darker, something dangerous. It was a painful truth to confront, one that stirred conflicting emotions within me. I had loved her once, and a part of me still held onto the hope that she could find redemption, that she could change.

Yet, even as I grappled with my past feelings for Ophelia, the evidence seemed to point in her direction. The signs were there–the talons with five fingers and an opposable dewclaw, an eerie resemblance to a wolf shifter. It was a painful realization, and I couldn’t help but hope that there was some other explanation, some other creature that had ventured into our territory. She was here, the only wolf that didn’t belong here, and that was truly unnerving. I didn’t want to accept it, but maybe that was right.

As we continued our search, I couldn’t help but hope that we would find answers soon, that the truth would come to light and dispel the darkness that had settled over our community. But deep down, I knew that the path ahead was fraught with uncertainty, and the past had a way of resurfacing when we least expected it.

Unfortunately, I found myself caught in another storm of emotions that threatened to engulf me. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t push Marie out of my mind. Her presence lingered, a constant reminder of a connection that had evolved into something more than I had ever anticipated.

It was strange to think of Marie as anything other than the cute kid I had watched grow up, my best friend’s daughter. But somewhere along the way, my feelings had shifted, and I couldn’t deny the attraction that had blossomed between us. When had it happened? I wondered if it had been brewing beneath the surface for years, hidden by the familiarity of our relationship.

Perhaps it had intensified after the loss of my wife, Belle’s mother. The void left by her absence had left me vulnerable. Marie’s presence had brought a spark of light into my life, a light that had grown stronger with time.

The guilt I felt over these newfound emotions only seemed to fuel my affection for her. It was as though my heart was drawn to the very thing it believed to be wrong. But no matter how much I tried to rationalize or suppress my feelings, they refused to be ignored. My instincts, once dormant, were now asserting themselves with a relentless force. I found myself drawn to Marie’s presence, yearning for her companionship, and struggling to keep my emotions in check.

Mike’s warning echoed in my mind from the barbeque. His words had been sharp and filled with concern, a stark reminder of the complexities surrounding our situation. I had known that pursuing a romantic relationship with Marie wouldn’t be easy. The age gap, our professional connection, and the protective instincts of a loving father were all obstacles we’d need to overcome. But Mike’s warning had cut deeper than I had expected.

I didn’t know what to do with that. I didn’t know what could happen from here on out.

Lost in my thoughts and the turmoil of my emotions, I stumbled upon a fresh set of wolf shifter tracks. Instinctively, I followed them, my senses on high alert. As I moved through the dense forest, the tracks led me deeper into the Patron’s lands, which made me very suspicious. Was there a rogue wolf here? Was it Ophelia? Or had my first instinct been right? Maybe this was one of the Blackpaw or World Walker wolves.

I pushed forward, determination guiding my steps whoever I might find. Until I found something. A wolf. A lone wolf. One with a diamond shape spread across her chest.

Shit.

It was the wolf Marie had described to me, and the one person I really didn’t want to accept. Ophelia. My heart sank as I shifted back into my human form because we needed to talk about this properly. I had to find out why she was really here.

“Why are you here, Ophelia?” I asked, my voice laced with a tinge of frustration. “What the hell is going on?”

She smiled, shifting back into her human form as well, her expression enigmatic and unsettling. “I was looking for you, Jesse,” she replied, her voice soft and melodious, as if she held secrets within her words. “I told you I want you back in my life. I will stop at nothing.”

“But why?” I offered her a one-shouldered shrug. “We were a disaster, and we ended years ago. I have been married since you. Why now?”

That might have been a mistake to admit because Ophelia’s expression darkened, her jealous side shining free. “That wife was no good. I don’t know why you married her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you here, Ophelia? Just tell me the truth. What has brought you here? Stop messing around. I’m not having it. If you don’t tell me what you’re doing here, I’m going to assume you’re behind the recent crime spree in the town. You’ll be locked up for life.”

Her smile remained cryptic, and she took a step closer, her eyes locking onto mine. “I’ve lost my pack, Jesse,” she confessed, her voice tinged with vulnerability. “I had to leave New York, and I hoped to find a new home here. With you. Because we always shared something, didn’t we? We had a great connection and now we’re both older, it might be easier.”

Her words hung in the air, a heavy silence settling between us. I couldn’t deny the complexity of the situation. Ophelia had been a significant part of my life once, and the bond we had shared had been intense and passionate. But it had also been destructive, marred by betrayal and pain. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to go back to.

Ophelia’s attempt to kiss me came from nowhere and caught me off guard, especially because we were both naked, and I instinctively pushed her away, my mind racing with a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Her presence, her persistence, and now this bold move left me feeling increasingly uneasy.

As I distanced myself from her, she reacted with an explosive fit of anger, her eyes burning with intensity. Accusations spilled from her lips like venom, and her words cut through the thick tension that hung in the air.

“Cheating on me with that blonde girl, weren’t you?” she hissed, her voice sharp and accusing. Her reference to Marie was unmistakable, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger at her audacity.

I took a step back, my frustration mounting. “Ophelia, you know that it’s over between us,” I said firmly, my voice laced with a mixture of exasperation and resignation. “That was a long time ago. Like I said, I’ve been married since you.”

But Ophelia was relentless, her eyes blazing with a possessiveness that sent a shiver down my spine. “You were mine first, Jesse,” she insisted, her voice trembling with an unsettling intensity. “You can’t just forget about me and move on. Not with her . She’s boring and doesn’t deserve you. She’s not even a wolf!”

It was then that I realized the extent of her obsession. Her knowledge of my recent interactions, particularly my feelings for Marie, hinted at a level of surveillance that was deeply unsettling. Ophelia had been stalking me, watching my every move from the shadows.

I took a deep breath, struggling to find the right words to diffuse the situation. “Ophelia, this isn’t healthy,” I said, my tone softening as I tried to reason with her. “We both need to move on with our lives.”

But my words fell on deaf ears as Ophelia’s rage intensified. She stood before me, her eyes ablaze with fury, and her words flowed like poison.

“You abandoned me, Jesse!” she shouted, her voice laced with venom. “You left me for no reason. You left me alone.”

Her accusations cut deep, reopening old wounds that had never fully healed. I had tried to move on from that painful chapter in my life, but Ophelia’s presence was a stark reminder of the past I had tried to bury.

“I had no choice, Ophelia,” I said, my voice heavy with regret. “I tried to talk to you, to make this straight forward, but you wouldn’t hear it. That’s why I had to just leave. I figured a clean break would be the best for all of us.”

She sneered, her anger unabated. “And now you’re with that human girl, aren’t you? What does she have that I don’t?”

I sighed, trying to find a way to reason with her, to make her see the futility of her anger. “Ophelia, it’s not about comparing anyone. Marie and I have something different, something real.”

But my attempts at calming her only seemed to stoke the flames of her jealousy. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a menacing step closer. Our past had left its scars on both of us, and now, it seemed, those scars threatened to engulf us in a dangerous and destructive blaze.

Thankfully, she couldn’t say anything else. A loud sound distracted us both.

My heart raced as the piercing howl of Big Ed cut through the forest, shattering the tense standoff with Ophelia. His urgent signal alerted us to something gravely wrong, and my instincts kicked into high gear.

Before I could question Ophelia further about her intentions and the unsettling encounter we’d just had, I turned sharply toward the direction of Big Ed’s howl. The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning–if this was the discovery of another fresh corpse nearby, combined with Ophelia’s presence, then it couldn’t be a mere coincidence. I would have to accept she was the killer.

Wait, I needed to get her, to stop her before I went anywhere. Just in case. I moved swiftly to detain Ophelia. However, as I turned back to where she had been standing just moments before, I was met with an unsettling sight–she had slipped away, vanishing into the shadows of the forest before I could do a thing.

Cursing under my breath, I made a split-second decision. Pursuing Ophelia right now would only lead to a wild goose chase, and my priority had to be addressing the immediate threat, whatever Big Ed had discovered.

I hurried toward the location where Big Ed had signaled us, the dread growing with each step. The forest seemed to close in around me, a silent witness to the unfolding mystery that had taken hold of our mountain community.

As I approached the gruesome scene, I could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on me. It was a corpse, mangled and lifeless, revealing the brutality of the attack. The talon-like marks and the ominous presence of the rogue wolf hung in the air like an unsettling omen.

Ophelia.

With a heavy heart, I focused on the task at hand, knowing that finding the truth behind these recent events was essential. As I examined the scene, my thoughts raced, searching for answers, and the chilling realization dawned that our mountain had become a hunting ground, and the predator was one of our own.