Legacy Found

Chapter Nine

Breakfast had been a quick and silent affair. Shelley didn’t sense that James was mad at her, just giving her the space she’d asked him for. They’d been driving for an hour now and she had no idea how close they were to his home.

“How much farther to Wolf Creek?”

“Another hour or so.” James kept his eyes on the road. He’d seemed tense since they’d left the motel.

Shelley looked out the window and watched the world roll by. Cars and trucks whizzed in both directions, everyone with a destination. She wasn’t sure how she felt about spending time with werewolves, which was weird considering she was one.

“Are we born different or does it happen some other way?” Tom had never really told her.

James frowned as he glanced her way. “You really don’t know anything about your heritage, do you?”

She shrugged. There was no point denying it. Her knowledge about werewolves was limited to mostly hunting them. That’s all Tom and his buddies talked about.

“We’re a different species and we’re born that way. You don’t become a werewolf by being bitten. That only happens in books and movies.” James paused for a brief second before asking, “Do you know if both your parents were werewolves or if only one of them was?”

“Does it matter?” She thought about it and shook her head. “I really don’t know.” Memories of before Tom were murky at best.

“Not to me, but to some. If you have only one parent who is a wolf, the wolf can still be dominant, but you’ll be considered a half-breed. There are some purist werewolf groups who want to destroy all those who aren’t full wolf.”

“Great.” Shelley slumped slightly in her seat and wrapped her arms around herself. “So I have to worry about the hunters and these other wolves.” What she was finding out about her kind wasn’t very encouraging.

James shrugged. “There are good folks and bad folks in all walks of life, wolf or otherwise. Most will accept you with open arms.”

She was quickly becoming attuned to his moods and could feel his tension rising. There was something he wasn’t telling her. “What? What is it?”

“Females are scarce. What with infighting among packs and bounty hunters we’ve lost many of our women. Plus, there just haven’t been as many female children born this past century or so. It all adds up to more males searching for a mate.”

Shelley shivered. That didn’t sound good. She hadn’t left one bad situation only to be thrust into another one. “Maybe you should drop me off at the next town?” She was no longer sure she wanted to go to Wolf Creek. There would certainly be more than a few unattached males there.

“No one will hurt you and no one will touch you. You’ll be safe in my home.”

“How can you be so sure?” she demanded. It was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one in danger of being taken by some overzealous male.

The muscles in his jaw worked. At first she wasn’t certain he was going to answer her. Finally, he ground out. “I’m alpha. My word is law.”

Shelley sat back. She was stunned. “So you’re their leader?” She wanted to make certain she understood.

“Yes.”

Maybe that explained the sense of power, of command, that surrounded James. Was she going to continue to trust him?

The answer was surprisingly easy. Yes, she was. He hadn’t lied to her, hadn’t sugarcoated his answers to her questions. Instead, he’d laid the plain, unvarnished truth before her when it would have been easier for him to leave out pertinent facts. She wouldn’t have known any better until it was too late for her to back out.

“Okay.”

His shoulders relaxed and his muscles softened slightly. “You won’t be sorry,” he promised, his words soft and intimate in the small space of the truck cab.

Shelley’s skin began to tingle. He’d said something similar last night and she certainly hadn’t been sorry. The atmosphere in the truck became charged with sexual tension. She wasn’t ready to deal with what was happening between them. Not yet, at any rate.

She cleared her throat and rubbed her moist palms over her jean-clad thighs.

His hand reached over and covered one of hers. “Don’t be nervous. I want you, Shelley. Make no mistake about that. But I will never take what you don’t offer.”

It was a pledge. A promise. One that warmed her heart. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before returning his hand to the steering wheel.

A few more minutes passed in a companionable silence. Thoughts whirled in Shelley’s head. She realized she had a million questions and finally someone who could answer them for her.

She started with one that pricked her curiosity. “How old are you?” She had no idea just how long her kind could live.

He laughed. “Older than you, honey. I’m one hundred and sixty years old.”

“Wow! That old?”

He laughed again. “Don’t spare my ego.”

She could feel the heat on her cheeks and knew she was blushing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.” Tom would have backhanded her if she’d dared to say anything like that about him. Stop it! Those days were done and she had no idea how most men were.

That wasn’t quite true. After all those months at the diner, she knew that a lot of men were crude and could be mean, but she really didn’t know anything about male werewolves. Just thinking the word “werewolf” felt bold to Shelley. She’d buried that part of herself for so long just to survive, and had been filled with shame for what she was, that she hadn’t allowed herself to even think about her people.

“We actually live to be around five hundred, give or take a few decades. You’re still fairly young. And—” he turned and shot her a grin, “—I’m not so old.”

The grin changed his face, making it less austere and very compelling. She hadn’t known him long, but she felt closer to him than she ever had to anyone else in her life. He knew the worst about her and still seemed to like her. Perhaps her life was taking a turn for the better.

Maybe among her own people she would find some measure of peace and understanding and protection. Even if she didn’t stay she’d at least be better educated about who and what she was.

“Tell me more.” She was like a dry sponge, wanting to absorb as much as she could. Time was short.

“Well, we mature into adulthood in our early twenties. Males will make their first change into a wolf around that time.”

“What about females?” Her legs trembled and her shoulders hunched as the memories of her first change sprang to mind.

She sensed his hesitation but, once again, he gave her an honest answer. “Females come into heat around that time.”

There was that hated word. Heat. She’d hated being so out of control of her body due to some biological imperative she had no power over. Tom had always claimed that was the difference between humans and animals.

James continued, his voice low and calm. “To ensure the species survives, the female is biologically programmed to want a male at this time. She chooses one and he claims her as his mate. Once they have sex and he claims her in the way of our people, she will be able to make the change as well.”

“That’s not fair,” Shelley blurted. She was shaking now. Cold to the marrow of her bones. She’d had no choice. She knew that now. But it didn’t make what happened to her any easier to bear.

She swiped at her cheek, hating the lone tear that rolled down. Tears were weak. Useless.

James slowly eased the truck onto the shoulder of the road and put it in park. He turned to her, his gaze solemn. “No, it’s not fair.”

She glanced away, but he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face toward him. She jerked away when all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cling to him. She felt as though she was unraveling, coming apart on the inside.

“How did you make your first change? I know you did, Shelley,” he continued when she said nothing. “You knew what I meant the first time I called you a werewolf. I could see it in your eyes.”

“He captured a male and brought him back with him.”

“Who?”

Shelley ignored his question, lost in the past. “He’d drugged the male and dragged him into the cage he kept me locked in while he was gone. I had no idea who he was or what was going to happen.”

Her entire body was vibrating now. She was so cold.

“My body had been feeling strange for weeks, but now it was out of control. My skin was so hot. I ached all over. I wanted to tear at my flesh.” She was panting hard now, finding it difficult to breathe.

“The male came round eventually. He went half mad, throwing himself against the bars and howling. Howling. Howling.” She slapped her hands over her ears as though she could stop the memory.

“Shelley.” James reached for her but she recoiled from his touch. He dropped his hand on the seat between them.

She shook her head. The dark memories spewed out of her like a seething volcano that had finally erupted. “Then he saw me and everything changed. He ripped off my clothes, threw me down on my stomach and…” She looked away, unable to finish.

“It’s okay, Shelley. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I didn’t fight him,” she screamed. “I let him do what he wanted.”

James undid her seatbelt and eased her closer, tucking her face against his chest. His big hand was so warm as he cupped the back of her head. “It wasn’t your fault,” he insisted. “You were young and afraid. You had no idea what to expect. Throw in the biology factor and you did what you had to do in order to survive. But it’s not supposed to be that way.”

“How is it supposed to be?” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.

James rubbed his hand over her hair and down her shoulder, his touch easing some of her tension. He didn’t seem disgusted by what she’d done. Her breakfast churned in her belly like acid. Her entire life, that moment had haunted her.

“You’re supposed to be surrounded by family and friends. Males come from miles around to court your favor. Your parents are there to guide you and help you make a choice. Then the joining between you and your chosen mate is a beautiful and natural thing.”

She sniffed and rubbed at her face. She wasn’t really crying. Not really. James made it all sound so natural and beautiful. Not scary and ugly like what had happened to her.

“I suspect whatever tranquilizer the male was given affected him to some degree. He should have had more control.” James arm tightened around her. His heartbeat was strong and steady beneath her cheek.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does.” James sighed, ruffling her hair. “I suspect you made your change soon after that.”

Shelley nodded. “The male was tranquilized again and removed from the cage. I never saw him again.” But his final howl still haunted her. “He was killed by the hunter.”

“What happened to you?”

She took a deep breath. James’s scent surrounded her, comforting her. His calm acceptance gave her the courage to continue. “I was scared to death. I had no idea if I could change back or not. Finally, I was exhausted and the change happened. I couldn’t control it at first, but I quickly learned to.” She flinched involuntarily and forced herself to move away from James. He was kind but she couldn’t come to rely on him. She wasn’t staying. Wasn’t going to bring down the wrath of the hunters on him and his family. And they would be looking for her. Of that she had no doubt. She’d killed one of them.

“How did you get away?”

Shelley shook her head, sat back in her seat and pulled on her seatbelt. The click of the belt buckle was like a punctuation mark, ending their discussion.

James snapped on his seatbelt and put the truck in gear. After checking the traffic, he pulled back onto the highway. Shelley closed her eyes. She was done talking. The rhythm of the vehicle gradually relaxed her.

Tension thrummed through James’s body like a live wire. The things she’d shared with him were horrific. And the hunters called them animals. How in the hell had she survived all those years?

The only thing she knew about sex and mating was warped. She didn’t have any normal sexual experiences. It made him even more determined to show her the delights, the pleasures that could be found between a male and female if there was caring and respect between them.

He wondered what she looked like in her wolf form. She’d be delicate, but strong, just as she was as a human. He imagined her fur would be soft brown, her eyes dark and intelligent. He longed to see her.

His wolf was restless inside him, wanting to break free of the confines of civilization and run through the forest and mountains. He wanted to show Shelley the joys to be found in her wolf. From the way she spoke, he sensed nothing but shame for that part of herself.

He still didn’t know who had taken her or what had happened to her captor. Shelley wasn’t talking about him. Not yet. James was confident she would once she felt safe and secure.

He was determined to give her justice. Retribution. He also wanted to give her a safe home, with him.

He glanced over at her. Several tendrils of her hair had escaped her ponytail and were resting against her cheekbone. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes brushing against her pale skin.

Her head was resting against the seat, but he could tell she wasn’t asleep. She jerked every time he hit a bump in the road. No, she definitely wasn’t sleeping. He expected she was emotionally drained after their talk and just wanted to be left alone.

That was fine. For now.

Even after everything she’d told him, there was a sense of calm, a stillness about her that was peaceful. James felt no need to make conversation.

He left her pretending to sleep and turned his attention back to the road. He really wished that she would fall asleep for a while. There were dark circles beneath her eyes. She’d obviously been overworking and not sleeping well. And last night, he’d kept her busy until late, and today had been an emotional roller coaster.

Considering what she’d told him about herself, he was surprised she’d been able to let down her guard enough to sleep with him wrapped around her last night. Either she’d been totally exhausted or she trusted him on some level. He wanted to believe it was the latter even though it was more likely the former.

Just thinking about what she’d been through was enough to burn a hole in his gut. Blood pumped like acid through his veins. How anyone could do such a thing to another person was beyond him. He was no saint, but he killed only to survive. Actively capturing and keeping Shelley captive for all those years was pure evil. There was no other word for it.

In spite of the torture and trauma she’d been through, she was a gentle soul. But she also had a will of steel to come out of an ordeal like that and not be totally insane. He wasn’t sure that even he could have survived all those years of captivity.

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel and he took several deep breaths as his fury started to grow, yet again. Every time he thought about it, he wanted to strike out at her captor. But anger wasn’t what she needed from him.

“How much longer?”

It was the first time she’d spoken in a while. Her voice was soft and slightly slurred by fatigue, but her dulcet tones shot straight to his groin, making his cock stir.

The primitive urge to take Shelley home and protect and care for her was overriding all else. Once she was safe, he wanted to spend hours caressing her soft skin, learning the curves and hollows of her body and licking her from head to toe. He wanted to bury his cock in her moist, welcoming heat and hear her cry his name as she came.

“Almost there.” His voice was rough with desire. Shelley’s tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip. He could smell her arousal. Tightening his grip on the wheel, he pushed down a little harder on the gas pedal. The quicker he got her home, the better.

Jessup followed at a discreet distance. Last thing he wanted to do was tip off the guy in the truck that he was being followed. He was careful to keep several other vehicles between them at all times, hanging back just far enough to keep them in his sights. His truck was nondescript, dusty and basic black. There were hundreds of them on the roads around here.

For a moment, he thought he’d been caught when the guy pulled his truck off the road. He’d been forced to continue driving. He’d stopped about a mile up the road at a truck stop and waited, all the while praying the guy wasn’t about to turn around. Macmillan would kill him if he lost them.

His patience had been rewarded a short time later, and now they were both back on the road. Jessup had no idea where he was going or why he was following the guy in the truck. He didn’t know why the stranger and his female passenger were of interest.

It didn’t matter to him. He’d been told to follow them and he would. Soon as they stopped, he’d call Macmillan and let him know where they were. What happened then was up to the boss.

He suspected Macmillan thought they might be werewolves. Hard to tell from how much Jessup had seen. But it was worth a look. If they were human, they’d never even know anyone had been trailing them.

If they weren’t human…

Jessup grinned and sped up as the truck a few vehicles ahead of him picked up speed. It would be time to go hunting.