A SEAL Wolf Christmas (18 page)

“
Bauhinia
forficate,
or
pata
de
vaca
, leaves of a flowering tree in the pea family used for diabetes mellitus.”

“Hmm, sounds like we have another mystery,” Hunter said.

Bjornolf took pictures and then emailed them to Hunter.

After a few minutes, Hunter said, “I’ll have a research botanist I know look these over and see if she can come to any conclusions.”

“Good,” Bjornolf said. “I’ll take pictures of the rest of these documents, then return the papers to the safe.”

“Do you mind if I grab a bag of a few more of my things? Some more of my clothes?” Jessica asked.

“No, go right ahead.” Bjornolf put away the papers as Nathan and Jessica went upstairs.

When he thought they were out of earshot, Bjornolf said to Hunter, “Something else that seems strange. Both Anna and I detected a very faint scent of gray wolves in the house. I checked out the whole house and found their scent in every room. It appears they were here years ago. A man and a woman.”

“Like maybe fifteen years ago or so? When Jessica was a toddler?” Hunter asked.

“Possibly.” Bjornolf glanced at the stairs. “Do you think maybe her parents actually owned this house? That this was her home all along?”

“Could be. My uncle lived here for many years, deeding the cottages along the coast to me and Meara this past year. He’s living in Florida now, but he might know something about them. I’ll call him.”

“Something else to consider,” Anna said. “What if it was combination of things? Something the Silverstones were looking into in the Amazon that the Wentworths wanted, and Dottie had seen the Silverstones’ toddler and wanted to replace the toddler she’d just lost?”

Bjornolf swore under his breath. Then he told Hunter about what Jessica had revealed to them about the family dynamics. “We’re finished here. We’re taking the kids to our cottage for a bit, then they’ll go back to the family they were staying with until the open house tomorrow night.” Bjornolf grimaced as he realized it was later than he’d thought. “Actually at this rate, it’ll be tonight. Talk to you later.”

He took Anna’s hand and walked up the stairs with her to the first floor.

Nathan and Jessica met them at the landing, two bags in hand. Nathan was smiling at them. He was glad when Bjornolf invited them to the cottage.

Jessica looked upset as she wrung her hands, then caught Anna’s eye and quickly shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.

Anna said to Jessica, “It’ll be all right. It’s not going to be the end of the world, no matter what the results show.”

Bjornolf realized it was probably getting to be time for Jessica to take the pregnancy test. They could feed the kids breakfast, see them on their way, and spend the rest of the day in bed while Hunter learned what he could about the situation.

“What do you think of all this?” Anna asked, climbing into the Land Rover with Bjornolf. Nathan was loading Jessica’s bags into his truck.

“Seems odd that Everton was getting a lot of cash for Christmas tree sales and stuffing it in a safe. The list of rainforest flora doesn’t make any sense unless it’s something that’s making them money.”

“Like illegal drugs,” she said.

“Yeah. And the deed? I’m wondering if Everton came by the property in the same way they came to
adopt
Jessica.”

“He murdered her parents and raised their daughter,” Anna said, believing just what Bjornolf had been thinking.

How could they prove it, and how would Jessica take the news if they learned the truth?

Hunter guessed it was about six in the morning when he settled on the couch in his living room to make some more phone calls. Tessa was finally sleeping soundly after another restless night, the babies kicking in her belly and giving her fits.

Hunter dialed his uncle’s number.

“Hunter. This must be important if you’re calling me at this ungodly hour. Babies come early?” Hunter thought his uncle sounded hopeful.

“No, not yet. Knowing you, you’re sitting on your porch watching the waves roll onto the beach while eating grapefruit with your highly sweetened coffee.”

Hunter could envision his uncle smiling at that. “All right, here’s a question for you. Did you know a couple of gray wolves who ran the Christmas tree farm near here? Everton’s Christmas Tree Farm? They would have been a family—a man, woman, and baby.”

“Hmm, yeah, now that you mention it. Long time ago, though. Twenty years maybe? Fifteen? They were off to the Amazon on trips all the time.”

“How do you know that?”

“They told me. They were an odd couple. They had some notion they could control a wolf’s need to shift. For those who were newly turned or who had a lot of human roots in their lineage. I bought a Christmas tree from them once. Mr. Silverstone was excited about some new finds, chemical properties of the rainforest plants he thought might help some of our kind. He told me because he recognized I was a wolf and might be also interested in a ‘cure.’ Blamed fool notion if you ask me. We are what we are. Instead of trying to change our nature, revel in it, I say.”

“So they must have been fairly new wolves. What happened to them?” Hunter asked.

“I really never thought of them after that.”

“Did any wolves work at the Christmas tree farm?” Hunter asked.

“No. All humans. The couple was kind of like me. They enjoyed not being part of pack life. So what’s this all about?”

“Looks like we’ve got a case of humans taking over the farm, due to foul play, and
adopting
a wolf baby.”

Hunter’s uncle didn’t say anything for a moment. When he did, he said, “Hell.”

After ending the call, Hunter called Shelley Campbell, a wolf botanist he’d located when he was trying to learn something about plants for a mission he’d been on. “Hey, Shelley, Hunter Greymere here. I’m looking into a situation out here on the Oregon coast that I thought you might be able to shed some light on. I’ve got some plant names and their properties I want you to look over and see if you recognize any of them. You’re not too busy, are you?”

She gave a heavy sigh. “No. Let me turn on my computer if my Highland hero will let go of me.”

Duncan grunted. “No man should be calling you at this hour, lass, unless I know him personally. Even then, he’s walking on thin ice.”

“Whatever,” she said, and Hunter listened, smiling as she left the bed, the mattress squeaking slightly.

Her computer signaled it was waking up, and he heard the Highlander with the distinctive Scottish burr say to her in a hostile throaty voice, “Who… is… he?”

She laughed. “A mated wolf friend who has twins on the way. He’s a Navy SEAL who sometimes asks me to look into botanical questions relating to his missions.”

“Tell him to hurry it up, then.”

Hunter emailed her the images of the handwritten notes about the plants.

She gasped and said to Hunter, “Where did you get this information?”

“A couple of gray wolves living out near me were investigating plants in the rain forest, and—”

“Jenna and Oliver Silverstone? The initials in the margins look like theirs. She’d make notes and he would also, both documenting who had done what by initialing them. That way if one of them made a mistake, the other didn’t get blamed for it. I haven’t seen them in years. How are they?”

Hunter nearly stopped breathing. “You knew them?”

She paused and he wondered if she realized he’d referred to them in past tense. She took a moment to collect herself and said, “Yeah, I knew them. They were the ones that first got me interested in plant biology. They were trying to find a way to stop our kind from shifting. Not so much that we wouldn’t shift ever, but just be able to control it. Especially for newly turned wolves. They had only been turned for a couple of years. Before that, they had trained and worked as a plant biologist team. Instead of continuing to look for new cancer cures, they began researching remedies for werewolves.” A heavy pause ensued. “What happened to them? They had a daughter—Jessica. She was their angel.”

“It seems they’ve disappeared. The new owners had a young daughter die, and the toddler they raised was named Jessica,” Hunter said, confirming a piece of the puzzle. “Had you ever been to their house?”

“Yeah, while they were in the Amazon, I lived there and even managed their Christmas tree farm for a few months. They had the technology down to an art. The business fascinated me.”

“The couple took their daughter with them when they visited the jungle?”

“They always took her with them. I saw them at a plant biology conference and they had the baby with them then, which is where they talked to me about taking care of their tree farm. They didn’t belong to a wolf pack. They adored their daughter. As much as they loved plants, they would never have left her with strangers. She’s okay, then?”

“She is, although it’s going to be some adjustment for her as we try to teach her our ways and how to get along in a wolf pack. Are any of these plants something that might be turned into illegal drugs?”

“One of them can intensify the effects of some kinds of illegal drugs, but neutralize others. Otherwise, no.”

“Thanks. If you think of anything else, let me know.”

“If Jessica wants to learn anything about her parents that I might know, she can call me.”

“Will do. I’m sure she will. Thanks.”

Hunter ended the call with Shelley and stared at the floor for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he called Bjornolf back and gave him all the details. Next, Hunter contacted Rourke. “I need you at the courthouse as soon as it opens. Let me know if anyone bought this property from the Silverstones.” He sent an email of the deed.

“Get right on it first thing in the morning.”

Soft footfalls padded down the carpeted hallway to where Hunter was standing in the dining room. He smiled to see Tessa wearing her gown with the woolly lambs on it.

“It isn’t even light out, you know,” Tessa said, running her hand over his chest. “You’re not micromanaging again, are you?”

He smiled and turned off his phone, then took her hand and led her back to bed. “What else did you have in mind?”

With apprehension, Anna joined Jessica in the guest bathroom of the beach cottage to study Jessica’s pregnancy-test results. If the test was accurate, Jessica wasn’t pregnant. Anna knew teen pregnancies were risky at best, and the young couple needed to get to know each other better, so the results were good news. But she wasn’t sure how Jessica felt about it.

“As long as the test worked, it says you’re not pregnant,” Anna finally said, a sense of disquiet filling her.

Jessica had been tense, but she looked ready to collapse at learning the news. Anna took her in her arms. “Are you going to be okay?”

Jessica was crying softly but nodding her head.

Anna rubbed her back in a soothing manner. “Shh, it’s going to be all right. Really.”

“Nathan kept telling me he’s happy to have the babies. He’s going to be upset with me.”

“No. You’re both going to be fine. You’ll share mated life together. Enjoy being a couple before the kids come. Learn all about each other and about being one of us, and get to know the pack.”

Jessica sat down on the side of the bathtub as if she couldn’t stand any longer. “Nathan told me all about you. About how you ran away from home. How you never had a Christmas.”

Anna’s throat tightened at the memory. Jessica couldn’t know. Bjornolf… Anna should have told him already.

“I… I don’t know how you could have managed. Yet now…” Tears filled her eyes again and Anna grabbed a box of tissues and sat beside her.

“My father isn’t my father,” Jessica continued. “I think… I think he murdered my real parents. But he was good to me growing up. And now he’s in jail. I… I don’t know what to feel. Should I hate him when all I can do is think of the time he got me my first bicycle for Christmas and taught me how to ride it? How he taught me to drive my first car?”

She sniffled, took Anna’s hand, and squeezed hard. “But I saw what he tried to do to you. We thought he killed you. Suddenly my adoptive father became a monster. Did he kill the DEA agents? Others?”

“We don’t know for certain.” Anna handed her a tissue.

“But he did try to kill you. And what about my mother? Was she in on all of this?”

Again, Anna said, “We don’t know. She might have been.”

Jessica nodded, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m glad I’m not pregnant yet. I can’t imagine dealing with that when I still haven’t come to grips with being…”

Jessica bit her lip. Then she looked at Anna. “A werewolf. Nathan said that some are royals who have been werewolves for generations. They can control when they shift. I’m not one of those,” she said glumly.

“Rourke is newly turned. So is Hunter’s mate, Tessa. You’re a first-generation-born pure werewolf.”

Jessica’s expression brightened a little. “Tessa isn’t a royal?”

“No. She has trouble with having to shift, just like any of the newer wolves.”

Jessica nodded, looking as though she was at least farther along than that. She waved her hand. “I have to deal with all of this stuff about my parents, too.”

“I understand. You know what, though? You don’t have to do it alone.”

Not
like
Anna
had
to.

Jessica blotted her eyes, then her teary gaze met Anna’s. “Not like you did.”

A teen alone, pregnant, and bereft.

Something in the way Jessica said it again made Anna feel as though the teen knew about her horrible past. She couldn’t, and yet Anna felt swamped with guilt.

She should have already told Bjornolf. But it happened so long ago. Maybe he didn’t have any need to know. It didn’t have anything to do with their relationship, she told herself.

And yet what if she couldn’t have babies of her own? She knew he was looking forward to having his own offspring. She felt terrible, small, and unworthy of his love.

***

Bjornolf knew something was wrong when Anna and Jessica left the bathroom. Anna wouldn’t meet his gaze. Jessica gave Nathan a small smile, her eyes blurred with tears, and said, “I don’t want breakfast. Can we go now?”

Pregnancy? No pregnancy? What had happened?

Anna’s distressed expression shook Bjornolf up the most.

“You’ll be back later? For the open house?” Bjornolf asked Nathan and Jessica, unsure what was going on.

Jessica nodded, and she and Nathan left the house hand in hand, cuddling together. He was glad to see that Jessica seemed to be all right with whatever the results were. Anna was a different story.

As soon as Bjornolf watched Nathan and Jessica leave, he locked the front door and turned to question Anna, but he heard the back door close. He thought she’d gone outside to get some fresh air until he saw her clothes lying on the kitchen tile floor, scattered as if she’d been in a rush to escape the confines of the house, her human form, and
him
.

He should have left her alone, let her sort out her feelings, and then comforted her if she still needed a shoulder to lean on. He was quickly coming to the conclusion that he couldn’t do it. He had to take measures to help her in any way that he could, but waiting for her to resolve her own issues wasn’t his way.

First, Bjornolf punched in Reid’s number. He needed to know what Anna was hiding, and he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Time’s up, Reid. What have you learned about Anna? Anything?”

“Hell, Bjornolf. Ask her yourself if you want to find out quicker! Okay, this is what I’ve learned so far. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She moved around a lot. I haven’t found any clue that would indicate why she would have an aversion to Christmas. I’ve questioned a friend of a friend of a friend, and I think I’ve got a lead. But damn it! I’ll call you. I promise. Okay?”

“Yeah, all right.”

“Hell, you’re mating with her, aren’t you?”

“Done.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Son of gun. Congratulations. I would never have thought it. I swear I’ll get the info to you as quick as I can.”

“Thanks, Reid. Gotta go.”

Bjornolf stripped as fast as possible and hurried outside. He slammed the door closed and shifted before the frigid air chilled him too much. He could have used the wolf door, but he needed the cold for a moment to cool his heated blood.

He took off running, following her scent down the stairs to the pebble beach. To his guarded relief, he found her sitting next to a boulder, staring out at the ocean. She looked as though she wanted to be alone.

He wanted to hold her close like a human would. He wanted to ask her what the matter was.

She turned her head to see who was coming, her ears perked, her greenish amber eyes studying him.

Anna’s not wanting to share what was troubling her was killing him. But as a mate, he nuzzled her face in friendship and love, then lay down on the rocky beach next to her.

He tried to clear his mind of all the worries rushing through it, and then finally decided he wasn’t getting anywhere. He licked her face, snuggled next to her, and when she laid her head on the beach and closed her eyes, he laid his head across her neck and did likewise.

Whatever the matter was, they’d deal with it together when she was ready.

***

A noise woke Bjornolf up. Realizing that he and Anna were still on the beach in their wolf forms, he looked back at the house, wondering if he’d just imagined hearing a suspicious noise.

A crash that sounded like glass shattering had him on his feet in an instant. Anna was beside him. He was across the beach and up the stairs in several quickly pounding heartbeats. He heard the front door slam as he reached the back patio. Bjornolf raced around the house to see who was there.

A red pickup truck barreled out of the driveway, but he got the license plate number before it took off. He came back around the house as fast as he could to check on Anna. She wasn’t on the patio. He dove through the wolf door, ran across the kitchen, and saw her standing in the living room as a wolf. She was panting, her tail drooping, as she stared at the Christmas ornaments smashed all over the floor, bits and pieces of colorful chips of glass everywhere.

She looked back at him. Her eyes were so sad that he wanted to kill the bastard who had done this.

She shifted, walked back into the kitchen, and dressed as he hurried to turn into his human form and join her. Naked, he took her into his arms and said, “Anna.”

She was always so on top of everything. If one thing didn’t work, she tried something else. He’d never seen her look so devastated. He didn’t want to leave her alone for a second, even though he didn’t want to cancel the open house over this.

He had a million tasks to accomplish to set things right, and if it wasn’t for her shattered expression, he would have taken over and set matters in motion to fix everything immediately.

But no matter what, he couldn’t leave her like this.

He hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek, wanting to cheer her up in any way that he could. He noted the popcorn garland was unharmed. The tree was fine. The copper angel and wolf treetop ornament was still standing tall on the tree, watching over their little cottage. “The angel and the wolf are just fine.”

Anna burst into tears.

***

When Hunter got the distress call from Bjornolf, he didn’t know what to think. Hunter and Tessa were putting the finishing touches on their place before the open house, and
now
this. Bjornolf was ranting in a whisper. The waves were hitting the shoreline with such ferocity that Hunter could barely hear what Bjornolf was saying.

“Where
are
you?” Hunter asked.

“The beach down below the cottage,” Bjornolf said.

“Okay,” Hunter said, not used to a SEAL falling apart on him. “Say again.”

Bjornolf took a deep breath. “Someone trashed the tree decorations. Red Ford pickup.” He gave the license plate number as Hunter quickly jotted it down. “The ornaments are ruined. Anna’s shook up, and you know she doesn’t shake up easily. I’m really worried about her.”

“We’ll be right there. All right, Bjornolf? We’ll tend to it. You take care of Anna.”

“She’s cleaning. Not speaking to me.”

“Take care of her, Bjornolf. We’ll be right there. Ten minutes tops.”

Hunter ended the call and called his sister. Meara and Finn would meet them there. Then he called Caruthers with the truck description. The police officer would get right on it.

Hunter turned to see Tessa waiting anxiously to hear what he had to say about it. “Will you be alright alone?”

“I’m going with you. I may be having these babies any second, but I’m part of the pack, and we all help each other out during a crisis. If nothing else, I can pat Anna’s hand or something.”

“Who’s going to take care of me if you have your babies prematurely in the middle of that mess?” Hunter asked. He was serious. He didn’t know why Bjornolf was so rattled, but hell, if Tessa had her babies at a disaster scene? Hunter would have a stroke.

He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. “You can’t go like this.” He ran his hand over her flannel nightgown.

She gave him an exasperated look and sighed. “I planned to get dressed.”

***

Bjornolf was glad when the troops arrived. The women took Anna aside, and Tessa was talking to her softly. He was about to ask the cop Caruthers what he’d discovered about the license plate when Jessica spoke up.

“I know you all are looking for whoever was driving the red truck. Whoever that person was wrecked the decorations. It was Dottie Everton, aka Dorothy Wentworth, my adoptive mother,” Jessica said, both angry and upset. “I know her scent. It was her.”

Bjornolf had wondered when Jessica would finally realize she was part of the pack, even though it had to be hard for her to give up her mother like that. The woman must have followed the kids here when they left the tree farm after searching the safe.

While Anna and Bjornolf were at the beach, they’d left the back door unlocked. Neither of them thought anyone would come around the back to break into the house and destroy their Christmas.

Bjornolf had smelled the woman’s scent earlier at the Evertons’ house, but he didn’t know who the woman was. He was glad Jessica had revealed the truth. It would take time for Jessica to feel wholly part of the pack, but she’d made a nice start.

“The truck is registered to her husband, but with that additional information, we’ll know to arrest her for breaking and entering and destroying private property,” Caruthers said, taking pictures of the damage.

With that settled, Bjornolf and Rourke cleaned up the rest of the mess. Hunter was in the kitchen preparing wassail and apple cider. The police officers—Allan Smith and Caruthers’s wife, Greta—were busy trying to track down Everton’s truck.

Nathan and Finn had gone to the store to pick up more Christmas decorations that would match the ones that were ruined. With the Christmas tree lights and the outdoor lights on, a fire flickering at the hearth, and the smell of apple cider and wassail simmering on the stove, the place was soon ready for the open house.

Meanwhile, Anna, Jessica, Tessa, and Meara were all clustered in the master bedroom, talking behind closed doors. Except for Anna, who was still wearing all black from the clandestine visit to check out Everton’s safe, all the ladies were dressed in sparkly Christmas sweaters, ready for the open house. They were just a little early before the rest of the pack members arrived.

Bjornolf was dying to know what was going on. In the meantime, Rourke began laying out the case they were building on the coffee table. Copies of everything they’d found in the safe and other documents that Rourke had brought with him, including a transcript of his interview with Helen Wentworth, were spread out for everyone’s perusal.

With one more long glance toward the master bedroom, Bjornolf began to look over the documents again to see if he’d missed anything.

“Courthouse records show the tree farm still belongs to Oliver and Jenna Silverstone,” Rourke said. “Roger and Dottie Wentworth didn’t purchase it.”

Bjornolf nodded, concentrating on the paperwork when he heard the women laughing in the bedroom. He glanced up at Hunter, saw a hint of a smile in his expression, and realized then that everything would be all right.