Contents
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
All Romance Books
WOLF LAKE #2 (WEREWOLF / SHIFTER ROMANCE) (c) 2014 Mac Flynn Part 2 of the adult WOLF LAKE Series
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / Paranormal Romance Due to sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
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Chapter 1
Breakfast was over in half an hour. I leaned back in my chair and groaned in satisfaction as I patted my full, but happy stomach. "Vuk, would you consider cooking for me every morning?" I asked the manservant as he stood in the kitchen.
Will smiled at me. "Vuk and I would be pleased to have you every morning," he invited.
I grinned. "Be careful what you wish for. I might eat you out of your bacon," I warned him.
He chuckled. "I highly doubt that, but even with your threat the offer still stands."
"Standing might be a problem right now," I commented. I stood and felt like I'd gained ten pounds, and all at the hips and butt. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you two were fattening me up to eat me." I expected at least a smile or a chuckle from Will, but instead I noticed a dark shadow cross his face. Vuk paused in his washing of the dishes and turned to us with a plate suspended in one hand and the rag in the other. I cringed and turned back to Will. "I'm sorry if I said something-"
"You didn't say anything wrong," Will interrupted me. He smiled, set his hand on my back and led me toward the rear door. "And I'm very glad you enjoyed the breakfast. I will be sure to have Vuk prepare the same for you every morning when you visit."
"You don't have to-burp-excuse me. You don't have to go to all this trouble. I can feed myself," I protested. Though at that moment the idea of eating my own meals wasn't appetizing. You just couldn't compare cold cereal to a warm, cooked breakfast, especially if bacon was involved. Bacon was like the Force, it had it's dark meat and its juicy white fat, and nothing beat the Force.
"But I insist. It isn't often Vuk and I are able to speak so openly with another person. We are-well, very confirmed bachelors in our way," he told me.
We stepped out onto the rear porch and admired the beautiful view of the glistening lake. "And you'll let a confirmed old maid like me into your pad?" I teased him.
He smiled and admired my face and form. "Calling yourself an old maid isn't doing you justice," he scolded.
I shrugged. "The world is full of injustice," I replied.
Will turned away from me to look at the lake, and a pensive expression slipped across his face. "Yes, the world and life are full of a very great injustices. One's life is shattered in an instant by a stupid mistake, and they travel the world hoping to fix their error only to find disappointment and despair."
I looked over his face and could detect a hint of that disappointment and despair in his expression. "Speaking from experience?" I guessed.
His voice was a ghost of its normal self. "More than I care to admit," he replied. He shook himself and glanced at me with his smile. Now I wondered if that smile was real. "You must be a witch," he mused.
I blinked. "Beg your pardon?" I asked him.
He chuckled. "You've bewitched me into speaking more about myself than I've done in many years. Not since I met Vuk," he revealed.
"How long ago was that?" I wondered.
"Seven years ago," he told me.
"It's a good thing you're not a woman. That's a long time to be a celibate talker," I teased.
"Yes, but I'm glad to break my celibacy for such a lovely companion," he replied.
I blushed and looked away to my left where stood my cabin. My face fell when my eyes fell on a familiar form hurrying in our direction. "I don't think she sleeps. . ." I murmured.
Will leaned forward and glanced past me. He sighed when he noticed Olivia headed toward us. "Will you blame me greatly if I step back inside?" he asked me.
"Run, run fast," I agreed.
Will clasped my hand in his and planted a gallant kiss on the back of my hand. "Until later," he whispered. I didn't get a chance to reply before he slipped inside, leaving me at the mercy of Olivia. I stepped off the porch onto the grass just as she scurried up to me.
"Good morning, Grace," she warmly greeted me.
"Good morning, Olivia," I returned.
She looked past me at the closed door. "Is William busy?"
"He had something to do," I replied. I didn't mention that it was to hide inside and wait until she was gone.
"Oh, well, I'm sure he's getting ready for the picnic this afternoon," she guessed. "By-the-by, have you two finished setting up the flags?"
I frowned. "Didn't Will tell you we finished it?"
"Oh no, my dear, I haven't heard a peep from him since I gave you two the flags and the map. I hope it wasn't too hard for you to find your way through that thick brush," she wondered. She must have noticed the confusion in my voice because she put a hand on my shoulder. "Is something wrong, Grace? You look troubled."
"What? Oh, no, just thinking about something. Is there anything else you needed help with before the picnic?" I asked her.
She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm glad to say there's nothing at all to finish. The food is cooking or prepared to cook, and the fireworks are waiting for the fun." She clasped her hands together and laughed. "What a wonderful picnic this will be! I am sure it will be the best by far, and you shall have a chance to meet with so many friendly people!"
"Yeah, it's going to be great," I replied. My enthusiasm was on par with a limp fish. Fortunately my fluttery friend didn't notice my lack of cheerleader spirit.
"Well, I must be going. There are still friends to see and a few ti-ki torches to put up in the park. Ta-ta!" She waved her fingers at me and hurried off to finish her master plan of fun-making.
She left me with an uneasy feeling. Will told me he'd talked to her about the flagging and our gruesome discovery, but Olivia just unknowingly disputed his statement. I turned and glanced at the closed, and possibly locked, rear door of Will's cabin and the memories of last night resurfaced. Now Will's tally had a lie and a mystery to it, and I had two options. I could confront him about his lying and hear another strange reply, or I could check out the reason for his lying that lay at the top of the cordoned off area.
I wasn't a confrontational person and I had conflicting reports about the flagging rather than anything concrete, so I opted to revisit the scene of my horrible discovery. I hurried around the side of Will's cabin and onto the road where the flags started. The hill loomed above me and I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone from Will's cabin watched. The curtains were closed as always, and none of them stirred. I started the climb.
I had the flags on the far left to show me the way and in a few gasping minutes I reached the top of the flagged area, only it wasn't the top I knew. Yesterday, because of the dead animal, we placed the flag a couple yards short of the mapped area. There hadn't been any sight of the logging road at the top, but now I could clearly see a gap in the trees about fifty yards farther up the hill.
I turned and glanced down the line of flags I'd followed. My eyes hadn't seen any sign of the animal anywhere, but it must have been there. I retraced my steps and paused at a strange clump of brush. The leaves were thick and wide, but fresh dirt shone through the gaps in the foliage. I pushed aside the leaves and saw that the ground had been turned over enough times to mimic a tiller, and the lower leaves on the surrounding plants, those that brushed the ground, were missing. I knelt down and dug my fingers into the dirt. The loose brown soil turned over
and revealed a few flakes of a dark red, dried liquid. The blood. Someone had come up here, taken what they could of the creature, and hid what couldn't be taken away.
I stood and wiped the blood on my pants. There was no way any wild would, or could, wipe their plate that clean. A human had cleaned up the mess, and I didn't need three guesses to know who. Why Will and Vuk had gone to the trouble was one question my mind couldn't answer, but it might have explained what was in the bag they dumped into the lake last night. They were getting rid of the evidence, but evidence of what? A large predator in the area? Maybe a wolf roaming Wolf Lake?
Was my blossoming boyfriend some sort of wolf nut who didn't want anyone to know about a wild beast in the area? If so, he was doing a poor job of it. The cow on the side of the road told the farmers all they needed to know except where to find the wolf. Maybe Will knew that, too, but I was getting into pure speculation territory with that guess.
Crack.
I froze. That didn't sound like my friendly neighborhood squirrel coming to meet me. It sounded like my not-so-friendly neighborhood bear coming to maul me. I slowly turned toward the source of the noise, a few yards below me, and my eyes fell on nothing. Well, there was the brush and the trees, but other than that there was nothing to catch my suspicion. Seeing nothing didn't give me any comfort. On the contrary, it brought up all kinds of horrible images of cougars laying in wait and the smarter-than-your-average-bear hunkered down prepared to give me the hug of a lifetime.
My heart thumped so loudly in my chest I wondered if it rang across the lake. I took a cautious step forward. Nothing. Another step and a twig snapped beneath my foot. That was the sound of the gun for me and I raced down the hillside to the safety of civilization. I flew from the path and stumbled onto the road. It was midmorning by this time and the lake was alive with the families and friends enjoying themselves. Never had such friendly sounds been so welcome to my ears.
I caught my breath, or rather my breath caught up to me, and I glanced back up the trail. Nothing stirred, not even a mouse. Either I'd imagined the crack, or whatever it was hadn't cared to make my acquaintance. Either way the outcome was to my benefit, and I promised myself that come the Wolf Hunt I would be safe and sound on the road.
Speaking of wolf, I looked to the lake and Will's cabin. It was dark and silent. Maybe they hadn't noticed me barreling out of the brush. I hurried into my own with the promise of a hot shower waiting for me.
Chapter 2
The shower was gleefully taken, and I stepped out in a clean pair of clothes and the nightmare of the crack behind me. There was still the mystery surrounding my neighbor, but as I thought about it I had less to fear from him now than before. He hadn't murdered someone and dropped their body into the lake, he'd just been dumping the body of a mutilated animal into the lake. You know, nothing strange, unusual, or grotesquely, morbidly freaky about that.
Who was I kidding? Not myself. Will's actions screamed weirdo, and I was fast becoming his sole source of attention. It was times like these I wished Will was gay, but that was a reality in a different universe. Mine had the heterosexual version, and he was interested in me. A blind man could see it. I sighed and shook my head. All this thinking during my vacation hurt.
The air of my cabin and the solitude were oppressive, so I slipped onto the back porch and sat down in one of the wicker rockers. My mind buzzed with thoughts of my strange, handsome neighbor and his stranger manservant. I couldn't wrap my mind around why they'd go to all that trouble for a wolf. Cleaning up the woods without a vacuum cleaner and packing the evidence down the hill was bad enough, but they must have done it during the night, too. I couldn't figure out how they'd done such a thorough job with their only light being from a lantern or a flashlight.
"Thinking thoughts too great for Man?" a voice spoke up.
I jumped to my feet and swung around to find Will standing two feet away from me. Will was partially covered by the shadows of the porch roof and I swear his eyes glowed in the faint darkness. He took a step toward me and I stumbled back. My foot caught the leg of the chair and I fell onto my rear on the hard boards.
Will hurried over to me and offered me his hand. "Are you all right?" he asked me.
"I-I'm fine. You just startled me," I replied. I ignored his hand and climbed to my feet. "What brings you here to my humble abode?"
"I would be most pleased if you would accompany me to the picnic," he explained. "It's not a requirement to bring a date, but I would be glad to have the honor of being yours," he told me.
"I-I don't know. I hadn't really-" He stepped forward and grasped my hands. I blushed and raised my eyes to look into his. They were a beautiful dark color, and they looked at me with an intense, unwavering glance. All thoughts of terror, fear-hell, all thoughts were thrown out my ears by my screaming fan girl. "Y-you're not playing fair," I protested.
He furrowed his brow. "Playing fair?" he wondered.
"Yes, you're too handsome to say no to," I replied.
He smiled and raised one of my hands to plant a soft kiss on the back. At this rate there would be piles of his lip impressions on my hand. My fan girl screamed again. "Then I'll accept that as a yes and see you this afternoon. The picnic itself starts at five. How does four-thirty work?" At that point I would have said yes to a marriage proposal if he'd asked me.
"Um, sure." My mind was a fluffy mess of fuzzy thoughts. A life-sized stuffed tiger didn't have as much fluff as my brain did just then.
"Good. The occasion is informal so I won't expect a dress," he teased.
I slyly smiled. "So I won't get a chance to see you in a suit?" I returned.
"Not this time," he replied. He released my hands and stepped back to bow his head. "Until later." He walked off leaving me with the warm, fuzzy feeling inside me.
That is until I remembered that I really shouldn't be trusting those puppy-dog eyes and that delicious pair of lips. "Damn it!" I swore under my breath. Now I was not only stuck at a picnic full of strangers, but stuck with a man who was caught blood-red handed lying to me. This evening was going to stretch all day.
The time before that flew like a bird on steroids, or an unladen swallow. Lunch came and went and the clock hands ticked onward to four, and then half past. I sat nervously on the front of the porch with my thumbs not so much twiddling as having a war between themselves. My watch told me it was three-thirty, and on the dot I heard the door to Will's cabin open. I glanced over and saw Vuk emerge, and Will behind him. There was some whispering between each other, and Vuk pursed his lips and glanced up at the sky. Will smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then turned his attention to me.
Will strode over to my porch and stopped at the steps between the gap in the railing. "I thought we might walk around the lake to the park," he suggested.
I looked up at the sky. It wouldn't be dark for at least another four hours and I was sure Olivia meant for me to stay for the fireworks. She would chain me to one of the picnic tables if I had to. "Actually, I'd rather take my car," I countered.
"Oh? Why is that?" he asked me.
"Um, bugs," I replied. A slight breeze blew across my cheek and thwarted my lame excuse.
He chuckled. "I'm sure the wind will keep them far away, and the weather is so beautiful we shouldn't waste it inside." He offered me his arm, and I stood from the wicker chair and reluctantly took it.
Will guided me up and down the road to the park. The other cabins were emptied of all but the slowest residents, and Olivia had long ago driven over to the park with her trunk full of fireworks. The noise from the crowd at the opposite side of the lake echoed across the waters and pierced our ears. I only hoped my piercing scream would be heard over all that noise. That is, if I needed to use it.
I cast a side-glance at my handsome companion. He looked straight ahead as we walked with a few cursory glances at the cabins on our right. There was nothing that screamed, or made me scream, murderer, but you never could tell with serial killers. One mome
nt you would be having breakfast with them, and the next moment they'd be having breakfast without you breathing.
"Is something wrong with my face?" Will wondered.
I eeped and whipped my head forward. "Um, nothing. Nothing at all," I replied.
"You're a terrible liar," he commented. My thumping heart and flushed face agreed. His smile faltered, as did his step. We slowed to a stop and he turned to face me. "Am I bothering you?" he asked me.
"Um, why would you say that?" I stuttered.
"Because your face is flushed and your hands are balled into tight fists at your sides," he pointed out. I hid the fists behind my back and whipped up a smile that would have scared small children and puppies.
"I guess I'm just nervous about this picnic." That wasn't a lie, it was just half the truth. "I'm not really good at interacting with strangers on non-business matters."
"Then I can do all the talking," he offered.
I raised an eyebrow. "So that means I'd have to stay by your side the entire time?" I pointed out.
Will grinned. There was something decidedly feral in his eyes that caught my attention, and my lust. I tampered down the lust, but kept the attention. It wouldn't do to get all hot and sweaty just as we were going into a crowd of dozens for a long evening of fraternizing.
"I will be glad to be your first line of defense against the inhabitants of the lake," he persisted.
I snorted. "If any of them are half as 'persuasive' as Olivia then you're walls are going to be battered to pieces," I commented.
He offered his arm to me again. "I will take that chance," he replied. I glanced wearily between his arm and his face. Both wanted me to trust him, this man who lied to me. But what was a little lie between lovers? Er, friends?
I snatched up his arm and sighed. "All right, my knight in shining arm, lead on," I instructed him.
"Gladly," he agreed.
We strode down the road and were passed by a few cars that held the last stragglers from the other cabins. The late-afternoon had a tinge of heat to it that was dampened by the cool breeze off the deep waters of the lake. The crowd at the park laughed and talked, but we walked without any hurry to get to our destination. The scent of pine trees wafted over us and reminded me of car fresheners. The good kind, not the cheap plastic ones that only lasted a few days.