Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

S edona

Four powerful men.

Four possible wolves.

Creatures who’d been brought back from the dead? That I couldn’t stomach even thinking about.

I wasn’t certain of anything at this point. The photographs and information Agent Drummand had provided only added to a list of what seemed like ridiculous questions.

Any possible answers seem implausible.

But I couldn’t get past the fact that they’d featured the Wolf family.

I’d dropped Britney off at school after packing her bag, trying not to cry when telling her she was going to have a fun couple of days with Mattie. At least my daughter hadn’t picked up on how distraught I’d been.

And I was.

How could I not be when the man I was dating and his entire family had been on a watch list for years? Possibly decades.

There were no burning conclusions, no smoking gun. But their questions fueled mine.

I glared from one to the other, my hands planted firmly on my hips.

“Yes, we have rules in our corporation, Sedona. I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” Jax’s eyes flashed. Were they more silver than usual? Were they reflective of something that should scare me to death?

Maybe.

“What am I getting at? Let me see. That the four of you are shifters. As in wolf shifters. You know, creatures of the night.”

The blond man coughed into his hand, providing one of those ‘I told you so’ looks at Jax.

Jax exhaled and glanced away for a few seconds. “Gentlemen. I think you need to give us the room. Go entertain the Italians. I’m going to be a little while. Take them out for a drink.”

“I’ll stay,” one of the men said.

“No, Riker. This is personal. Just trust me.”

Riker lifted his eyebrows and grinned as if knowingly. “Okay, brother.”

Three of them did resemble each other, although the photographs I’d been provided with had focused on Jax, the other two in the background. I’d driven through the city, stopping at a local park to regroup and reread what I’d been provided.

A couple of hours had passed before I’d accepted the remote possibility in my brain.

Creatures of the night, dangerous ones.

I could no longer shove aside or make scientific excuses for what I’d seen. There was a strange phenomenon centered within the town limits. And it had the Wolf name written all over it. I’d stayed away from the morgue on purpose because I wasn’t certain I was ready to perform additional tests. Not if it told me everything I didn’t want to learn.

The three other men seemed hesitant to walk out but finally did, leaving the two of us alone.

When the door was closed, the kind of awkward tension drifting between us was still electrifying. Jax had that kind of strange effect on me. Was it real or manufactured by…

By what he was.

I hated this more than anything. The not knowing. The questioning my judgment.

The worry that I’d made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

“What is going on, Sedona?” he finally asked.

“You tell me.”

“I’m not following you. You left the condo under the pretense that something was wrong with your daughter. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

I wasn’t necessarily in the mood to justify my actions but how strangely close we’d gotten in such a short period of time tugged at my common sense. “I had work. I was called to perform an autopsy on a second goddamn dead body who’d been mauled by some creature. Only I got him out of my building as fast as possible.”

“Why?”

What was I supposed to admit to him? I raked my hand through my hair. “Because I noticed some abnormalities.”

“Abnormalities. Interesting.”

He didn’t react in any way, not even blinking. Did the man have any other emotions but lust?

“Given it was the second one I’d performed for the FBI, I had a pretty good feeling the dead man was going to come back to life just like the first, doing anything and everything in his power to escape.”

At least I noticed his jaw was tightly clenched, which only added to his deliriously delicious sex appeal.

I had to look away for fear of falling into whatever trap he’d set for me.

Was he that kind of man, some bad dude wrapped in a ten-thousand-dollar suit?

I couldn’t risk it.

“Well?” I demanded when he didn’t immediately answer.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. You’re telling me dead people returned to life.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. I had to drag it out of the agent who forced me into servitude, but what she shared with me was also fascinating.”

“What did she share with you?” he asked, his smugness irritating.

“The FBI has been watching you and your family for years. They’re afraid of you and what you’re capable of.”

“I don’t know why that would be.”

“You don’t know why?” I jerked my iPad from my purse, fighting to get it out of the tight confines. “Let me show you.”

I brought up the information first, shoving the computer in his face. It was impossible to tell if he was bothering to read the pages that had been put together.

“If that doesn’t ring any bells, how about this?” The photographs weren’t necessarily damning except for the meeting of around fifty people held at the very park where I’d tried to figure out my life.

“What does this prove? I often meet with the employees of the corporation at different locations just to keep their minds refreshed.”

Oh, the man could lie with the best of them.

“So you’re saying you’re not some kind of wolf capable of eating people.”

He finally showed something other than boredom. He laughed. “What are you talking about?”

It was time to bring out the big guns. I jerked my iPad back toward me, my fingers shaking as I brought up the video. “Why don’t you take a look at this and tell me if I’m crazy.” This time, I made him take the device from my hand.

His jaw was still clenched, but his eyes were twinkling. He thought I was nuts. Yeah, the jury was out on that one.

But he looked.

Then he really looked, even reversing the video to watch a part of it again.

And again.

“And? What do you have to say for yourself?” My question was more of a demand.

“Why did the FBI come to you to perform the autopsies?”

Was he kidding? He wasn’t going to address the elephant in the room? At least I noticed his demeanor was entirely different. Not just concerned, but angry.

I had to ask myself if there was any reason to lie. Or should I run out of the office, moving to somewhere safe? If there was such a location. Not according to the agent.

I’d even tried to contact her again and the phone had done nothing but beep continuously. Not a good sign. “I was going to be a big game veterinarian. I guess management of the FBI thought I might be able to provide some answers.”

“And did you?”

“Are you freaking kidding me right now? I watched a man I’d dissected return to life and destroy my office. What kind of answers can you achieve from that? I’m going to run tests, but I don’t know which ones to run. Maybe I need one of those dummy books. You know the ones. How to turn a dead man into a werewolf in three easy lessons.”

His sigh was heavy, his jaw remaining clenched.

“There are some things in this world you aren’t aware of.”

“Ya think?” Yes, I got into my sarcastic moods when I was being stonewalled.

“Come back to my condo with me and we’ll talk.”

“How in God’s name do I know you’re not going to eat me for lunch?”

Jax cocked his head, allowing the lock of hair to fall onto his carved forehead. I was momentarily distracted, but got myself together.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sedona.”

“What would you call the video? Science fiction? A bad movie? What?” I jerked the iPad from him, fighting once again to drive it into my purse. Why did women always try to fit something too large inside their bag?

“A story that you need to hear.”

“You know what’s hysterical? Mattie made me get one of those tarot card readings for my birthday the other day. The girl pulled up all kinds of weird cards including death and the wolf card. She didn’t know how it had gotten into the pack of them. I take it the wolf card is included in another deck for another type of reading. She was frightened, so much so that when I went back to grill her with questions, she basically threw me out. But not before she warned me that I was in danger because of a powerful man who would come into my life. I take it that was you.”

“Our meeting was coincidental,” he insisted with absolute conviction. I wanted to believe him.

“What about the two men who accosted Mattie and me? What did you really do to them? Maybe you have some kind of Wolfen threat mechanism. Yes?”

“Come with me to my condo. As I said, we will talk.”

“I’m not a pushover, Jax. Contrary to what you might have seen, I’m a big girl who can take care of myself. Why should I go with you?”

“Other than obtaining the truth you’re determined to find?”

I nodded.

He stepped closer. Try as I might, I couldn’t back away.

“Because now that you’ve been exposed to this world, you’ve been marked.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“That means that your life is in danger and I might be the only man capable of preventing you from being killed.”

The late afternoon sun streaming in from the condo’s windows was bright and beautiful, yet I was shivering inside. While what little common sense I had left warned me about getting in a vehicle with him, the woman inside who’d shared such passion with the marvelous man had allowed me to do so.

Maybe wolves could cast spells over humans.

God. This was crazy. I was crazy. He couldn’t be a wolf. That was against everything I’d learned in becoming a forensic scientist.

“I’m not who you think I am,” Jax said. He’d given me some space, but it was time for him to come clean.

“That much I figured out. What was in the report compiled by the FBI was all true?”

He laughed and a tiny thrill drifted down my spine. “Highly embellished.”

It was his first admittance that he wasn’t normal. Were any of us?

“So you’re one of them, a murderous creature feasting on human flesh.”

“Why do you think anyone in my family would dare feast on human flesh?”

I had to face the strange results I’d found after I’d run a few additional tests. I’d hidden away tissue samples, including from the first victim’s stomach. “Because one of the victims had ingested human tissue prior to his death. That much I did capture. That meant he’d shifted into a creature before. God, I hope that was the case. If he ate another human, I can’t think about it.” I finally turned around to face him.

His face remained expressionless, but the way he was gripping his drink was telling. He was disturbed by what I’d said, angry.

But not at me.

“Sit down, Sedona.”

“Why should I?”

“Because… we need to talk. I can’t stress enough you need to have our discussion with an open mind. I also could use your help.”

“Help. How?”

“First, let me tell you a story,” he insisted.

Wine was waiting for me at the coffee table and I stared at it for confirmation I was still very human as I finally forced myself to sit down. “So talk.”

Leaning forward, he shifted his drink from one hand to the other. “I come from a long line of people capable of shifting into our true ancestry.”

“A wolf. Your body morphs into a nightmarish beast?” I was still being sarcastic all over again. How was it possible not to be?

“Not like the movies depict, Sedona. We come from a more traditional wolf, an ancient one. We were here prior to the dinosaurs, at least according to my mother and the stories I’ve heard from our oldest pack members.”

Wolves. Packs. I already had a headache. “The dinosaurs. O-kay. What about the crazy figure I saw? I found fur after the wacko broke out of the building. That video shows he was morphing into something that… that is a complete nightmare. You should have heard his howl.”

“The creatures you were forced to experience are a different kind of being. It was yet to fully transform. But from what I know, they are man killers.”

“Man killers. There are two kinds?”

His chuckle seemed inappropriate on one hand, but all I wanted to do was burst into hysterical laughter myself. “Yes. I only learned recently that a story we were told as children was true. The creatures you interacted with are more like what you know as werewolves.”

“Stop it. This is crazy.”

“Is it? Tell me about the wolf who guided you to safety as a child. You felt close to him. Yes? You were close to reading his mind as he was yours.”

“Not possible.”

“Very possible. You were being protected.”

I wasn’t certain what I could say at this point. “Protected.” Great. Now I was just regurgitating everything he said.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“That I am not certain of.”

Why did I want to toss pillows at him? Or something sharper. He was lying to me. “The one who guided me from the forest was one of your kind?”

“From what you’ve told me, yes. We aren’t killers. In fact, we almost never shift and haven’t for two decades. There is no need any longer. That was a decision made by a majority of pack members at the time.”

“Democratic vote?” I tried not to laugh.

“Yes.” He was studying me intently and I had a feeling he was searching my mind for information I wasn’t readily supplying him with.

“You’re telling me you’re totally humanized.” This wasn’t a laughing matter, but here I was laughing. Soon, I would fall into hysterics. I finally managed to take a gulp of wine, forced to keep from chugging the entire glass. I’d slipped on a banana peel and hit my head. I was dreaming this insanity. There was no other rational explanation.

“You’re not dreaming, Sedona. This is real.”

“You really can read my mind.”

I’d be damned if the man didn’t smirk and it was sexy as usual.

“Yes, I can. One of my many unusual and very helpful attributes. Most wolves within every Wolfen pack across the world want to remain human however. We live our lives like any other human, including raising a family and going to college. We take out loans and enjoy family barbeques.”

“What else can you do besides…” Fuck like a wild animal. I was completely embarrassed by my irrational thoughts. A warm flush crept up on my cheeks and I turned away.

“Strength. Vision. Hearing. What you’ve read about our keen senses is accurate. But nothing else.”

“Mostly human. I can’t buy any of this, Jax. You must understand why.”

He seemed quite exasperated that I wasn’t accepting everything he was telling me based on our closeness.

“It will take you some time. Wolfen are human except we have a gene inside that allows us to shift if necessary. Yes, there are some additional subtle differences as well.”

“You can breed with humans. Right?”

His nod was deliberate and when he cocked his head, my breath skipped.

“Why hasn’t it been bred out?”

“I will not be as technical as you are, but from what I’ve been told, our DNA takes over a significant percentage of human DNA. However, a good number of us were recently told that what you assume should happen is occurring, just very slowly.”

“Before now, it prevented extinction. A safety mechanism.” Was this suddenly making sense to me? Possibly. While I’d been freaked out after the first victim had become reanimated, I had spent time looking at the tissues. There were anomalies I’d yet to identify.

“Undoubtedly. We have survived many worldwide diseases because of our wolf DNA. But the fear is that we will be no more if the trend of mating with humans continues. It was just ruled that we were no longer allowed to pick and choose who we wanted to marry and have children with.”

“If you survive various diseases, that could help mankind.”

“Humans aren’t supposed to live forever. But yes, I’m certain it’s possible.”

“Do you live forever?”

As he’d done several times before out of frustration, Jax sighed. Was he growing bored with the conversation? Tough. “We can be killed and some die of heart disease, one human ailment that we do succumb to. I fear there will be more as time continues to go by.”

“Too many fatty foods,” I said in jest.

“Maybe so. I will repeat. We don’t eat people.”

“When is shifting necessary?” My mouth was suddenly dry because I was starting to believe him. He seemed hesitant to answer. I wasn’t certain I blamed him. What could his answer be? Oh, when the family unit gets low on food. I shuddered from the thought. “Maybe I should ask when was the last time you shifted?”

“I only do so when necessary. My brothers and I haven’t made a habit of it since we were kids. Only then did we train as required by Wolfen rules.”

Wolfen rules. I wanted to get my hands on those.

He crossed one leg over the other, resting his elbow on the armrest. There was no indication he’d shifted recently, into a wolf—my God—but I sensed he had. “Something happened. Didn’t it? You did shift.”

“Why do you say that?”

I wasn’t honestly certain why other than I sensed it. “I just know. Am I right?”

“As I told you before, you’re in danger. I was checking the area to see what we could possibly be dealing with.”

“Am I specifically in danger or everyone I know around me? Maybe the entire human race?”

“It’s possible all of humanity could be. That’s not my main focus. You are.”

“Why?”

“It’s not important.”

“You’re one infuriating man,” I tossed out as I stood once again. Pacing was the only way I could handle my emotions right now.

The last thing I wanted to do was lose my perspective on what was going on.

If I could answer that.

“Don’t make more out of this than there is,” he advised.

“Are you kidding me?” Now I was laughing. Full out loud. Bursting at the seams. “I’m a doctor, a scientist, and I’m supposed to buy this insane story about not one but two varieties of shape-shifting wolves. One prefers being human, eating biscuits and burgers, and the other finds human flesh more to their liking.”

His eyes were way too imploring. “I understand this is overwhelming.”

“Trying to figure out what to get my precious little girl who’s turning five is overwhelming. This is… nuts.” What else was I supposed to say?

A full minute passed and he was way too quiet.

“Okay, let’s assume I believe you, which I don’t, Agent Drummand mentioned you and your family might have answers as to how to stop these… flesh-eating monsters from attacking. Do you?”

“There will need to be a discussion within the packs and our council of Elders.”

“Let me guess,” I taunted. “All the packs throughout the world have a special communications system so you can Zoom each other without letting the cat out of the bag. Right?”

Oh, my God. His smile was an affirmative.

“You’ll learn more in due time, Sedona. And yes, you can ask as many questions as you need to. What are you doing with the bodies?”

“They’re gone as in gone, fleeing into the night. But I am doing tests.”

He nodded. “I hope you’ll share your findings with me.”

“I already told you I don’t think I want to learn more, but I have no choice. I was brought into this blindsided. I need some time to adjust,” I told him.

“You’re a scientist who enjoys puzzles. However, keep in mind this is my life. This is all I know. Now, the quiet sanctity of our world is being challenged. I don’t have all the answers, but what I do know from what I’ve seen and heard is that these wolves are dangerous.”

“A discussion. You’re uncertain whether or not they can be stopped.” I wasn’t really asking a question because I didn’t really want to learn any more truths.

“We will see.”

Groaning like an old woman, I dropped my head into my hands. “This is insane. I can’t say that any longer. I need to come up with another word.” He probably couldn’t understand a word of what I was saying, but tough. It had been a rough day. A rough few days. Who was I kidding?

Another horrible thought entered my mind. When I snapped my head up, I was cognizant his eyes were glowing. Nope. I wasn’t going to buy it. The change in refraction was simply based on the rays of sun, the angle, and the time of day. Nothing more.

Scientist. Remember, girlfriend?

It was getting tougher and tougher to stay on the playing field.

“Why do we have such an intense connection?” The question seemed to be one he was waiting for.

However, the dramatic pause wasn’t something I could handle for long. I was itchy all over from the creepy crawlies.

“Why do you feel the need to protect me?” I pressed. I had no intentions of allowing him to get out of answering my question. I kept my distance, fighting so many emotions deep down inside.

“Because of that connection. I care about you and the fact you’ve been sighted with me possibly places a target on your back.”

“That’s not the real answer. Is it?” I hated when he didn’t answer me right away. I dared moved a foot closer but no more. “Why?”

He slowly moved to a standing position, taking his time to walk around the end of the couch. “Because you’re my fated mate.”