His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) (17 page)

I choked back the sob stuck in my throat and blinked to clear my vision. Dad was waiting. "The last eighteen months have probably been hell for you."

"Hell?  That doesn't begin to go there. First the police showed up and told me your purse and car had been found at a Laundromat. Then there was no trace of you anywhere.
Me
, my students, the neighbors, your friends and total strangers papered the city with your picture. I went on TV and begged for your return.  I offered a reward." He was really getting wound up.

Megan put her arm around his waist. 

He didn't seem to notice.  "We had that damn memorial service. There's even a gold plaque with your name on it next to your mama's headstone at
Crestlawn
Cemetery. Oh, don't cry. It's all good now." He pulled me close again. I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but it was beating no harder than mine.

Though I tried to choke back my tears, I still wound up sobbing into my father's shirt. I felt even worse for him than for me. Erik was so right about my coming home. Sean
Hannigan
deserved to know I was alive as did everyone else who'd worried about or shed a tear for me. "I have so much to tell you."

"Have you guys eaten?" asked Megan, blinking tears from her eyes. "We could sit in the dining room and talk while you do."

"We haven't, but I don't think I can just yet." I glanced toward the kitchen. "But you should finish your lunch. I know you probably have afternoon classes."

Dad shook his head. "No. I'm done with lunch and today's classes. At least let me get you something to drink."

Was he really treating me like a guest in my own home? Hoping the weirdness would soon pass, I told him I'd take a Coke. Erik said he'd take one, too.
When my father turned as if to go get them, I stopped him.
"I know where they are, Dad."

That made him chuckle and defused the situation just a little, which was what I was going for. I got the cold cans of soda from the mini fridge in the den and walked to the sectional where they were all settling in. I handed Erik his drink and popped the top of mine as I sat next to him.

The fire in the stone fireplace crackled and spit sparks. I saw that Megan, now sitting close to Dad, had some candles burning on the mantel. The room was just exactly as I remembered with the addition of some framed photos of people I didn't know. Megan's family and friends, I figured.

A quick drink helped soothe my dry mouth if not my nerves. "First off, I'm okay, as in really. Next, please let me get all this out. I know you're going to have a lot of questions, and I promise I'll answer them all. Just don't freak until I'm done, okay?"

Dad was looking more anxious by the second, but he still managed a nod.

So I took off, speed talking my way through the living nightmare beginning with my Laundromat kidnapping; going through my day-to-day life as a prisoner, my release, and my wreck; and finally ending with Erik's rescuing me. Not once did I mention the werewolves, the
Corteggio
, or The Bite. I simply said there was a national crime organization called The Arm that was behind what had happened to me.

"So law enforcement broke up this gang?" Dad asked when I finally finished.

"Yes. Well, the Houston branch of it, anyway. I'm pretty sure some branches of the gang still exist somewhere.  Yarbrough is in prison, though."

"And you couldn't have gotten word to me that you were okay?  You said you kept his books.  Did he have internet?"

"Yes, but he said he'd kill you if I tried to send a message, and I believed him."

"But why didn't you call, or text, or email, or even come home the moment you were rescued?" Dad's tone wasn't really accusatory, just curious.  And his question was actually logical considering the time it usually took to get any kind of criminal conviction in our country. He clearly thought I'd been free for months instead of days.

I purposely didn't set him straight for some reason. "Honestly? I was still scared to."

Dad had never looked so mortified. "Surely you didn't think
I'd
--"

My raised hand stopped him. "I wasn't scared of you or what you might be thinking. I wasn't even scared I might be in trouble with the law for the things I had to do. I was scared of The Arm, which I truly believe still has bad guys all over the world. I thought if I came home, they might connect the two of us and come after me out of revenge or fear I knew things that might bring them down. That could've put you guys in danger, and I wasn't having that. It was Erik who convinced me I should come here anyway."

Dad looked worried. "Then you think you're still in danger?"

"I honestly don't know. I hope not."

He sat in silence for a moment.  "I'm surprised the law didn't contact me.  You're a minor--"

"You missed a birthday," I gently reminded him.

Realization dawned.  His eyes filled.  "So I did."

"I told them I'd handle it myself, okay?"  I tried to lighten the heavy mood. "Anyway, it's all good now.  I'm here and Erik's got a rifle. If all else fails, he can protect me." I faked a laugh and glanced at my guy. "But you'll have to load it first."

He grinned. "That'll be my first priority when we get back home."

Home.
Wow, did that word have an impact on my father or what?

He went very still and didn't speak for a second, his face flushing more by the second, though probably not from anger. Or maybe it was. "So you're not coming back to Lake Village to live?"

"Not right away, at least."

"But what about your schooling?
Have you given up on
MSU
?"

"Yes. No." I sighed. "I'm not sure. I'm obviously not attending spring classes since they've already started. As for the fall, maybe I'll enroll. I just don't know yet. Everything
has changed, and I'm a little…confused, I guess.  But when I decide, you'll be the first--" I flicked a glance at Erik "--well, maybe the second to know."

Dead silence followed that and lasted for a couple of minutes. Dad's mantel clock ticked loudly in the background. I heard outside traffic and the sound of the central heat kicking on.  Wishing for something clever to say, I looked at Erik and then my stepmother.

Megan cleared her throat and came to the rescue. "I read about The Arm in the paper. Wasn't a man named Titus Leopold involved?"

I looked at her in surprise since I'd deliberately left him out of my story and had no idea that any paper would report paranormal news. Then I remembered that Titus probably led a seemingly normal life just as Yarbrough had.  Naturally their friends, customers, or coworkers who weren't in the know would wonder about them. The
Corteggio
probably reported the story to avert suspicion. "Yes. His family started it a long time ago."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I believe I read something about him online, too, and it was very different from what the newspapers reported."

That surprised me even more.
"Really?
Where?"

"One of those conspiracy theory sites."
She laughed self-consciously. "I teach modern mythology, so I try to keep up."

"What did it say about Titus?"

"That he was a Paladin or
Paladine
or Palatine--I'd never heard the term before, so I've forgotten it. Supposedly he ran a secret gang of werewolves who were really teens he'd abducted from all over the world and turned. They apparently mutinied and some kind of supernatural FBI started shutting everyone down."

Her answer was so close to the truth that I couldn't find my tongue for a second. Luckily Erik could think on his feet. "Wow. That's pretty out there."

Megan and Dad exchanged a laugh and sheepish looks. Her twinkling gaze found mine. "So you won't be shifting into a werewolf for us?"

"Not anytime soon." That, at least, was the truth. I'd played the situation by ear and decided to keep my secret for now.
Though both of them would probably promise not to repeat the mysteries I revealed, the temptation to do it before a class of curious students might be too much, especially for Megan.
"Um, walk with me, Dad?"

"Sure."

Neither Erik nor Megan commented on my exclusive invitation. Guess they both knew I wanted alone time with my dad. Hoping I hadn't put Erik in an awkward position, I grabbed my jacket and scooped up the gift bag I'd left in the foyer earlier. Dad slipped on the cardigan he'd taken from a hook by the back door. He and I walked outside and through our big back yard, which had several flower gardens in it. The winter roses had diehard blooms, and a few brave daffodil leaves were already peeking out the ground, but that was it.

I headed to our gazebo and the bench swing there. We both sat. He kicked it into motion with his foot as I handed him his gifts.
"Happy birthday and Merry Christmas.
  Sorry I missed them."

Dad just shook his head and opened the bag. He seemed to like what I'd gotten.  "Thanks, baby girl."

"You're welcome.  I'm really sorry I wasn't able to get word to you that I was okay before now.  I think I might've been a little brainwashed or something.  Looking back, I wonder why I was such a wuss."

"It's all right.  You did the best you could at the time, and I'm very grateful you're here now.  And if anyone is sorry, it's me. I let well-meaning friends influence me into having that memorial service when I should've kept the faith.  You never felt dead to me, not even for a moment."

"Maybe you were doing the best you could do, too."

"Maybe."

"I need to tell you I'm in love with Erik," I blurted as he held up the T-shirt for size.

"I guessed that. Is he the reason you're not coming home?"

"Part of it, I guess. I'm not sure if he loves me back or not, so don't be mad at him. This is all me, trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.  I've changed in a lot of ways.  I'm not exactly sure who I am anymore."

He clearly understood. "You'll figure it out.  And as far as you not coming back home…well…every dad with a daughter knows that day is coming. In a way, I'm prepared since you've been gone so long. I'm just glad it has nothing to do with Megan, who is really a remarkable young woman."

I slapped my hand over my mouth.
"Oh God no.
Do you think she thinks that?"

Dad chuckled. "Actually, she's too levelheaded for that kind of foolishness, even if she researches weird things on the internet."

Smiling, I laced my fingers with his and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I can see she's good for you."

"She was there for me during a very dark time.
Probably saved my life."

My eyes filled. I knew that dark time well. "Then I'm really glad you found each other."

"Ditto.
Now tell me about this mystery man of yours."

I spent the next fifteen minutes doing just that. And by the time we went back inside, both of us chilled to the bone, I felt pretty good about things and Dad seemed to, too.

We ate dinner with them around 6:00--steaks on the grill--and left around 7:30 after Erik gave Dad his address: 10 Willow Woods Road. It surprised me that there was one. I'd sure never seen a mail box or a number on the cabin. But every house had to have an address according to law so that emergency services to get to them if need be.  Maybe the post office had a rule, too.

Before we left, Dad gave me a huge tub of my things that he hadn't had the heart to get rid of. I was thrilled when I saw that my purse was in there. He told me my credit card was probably still good, but if it had expired, he'd have a new one sent to me. He also said he'd sold my car. I could tell he felt bad about it and quickly let him off the hook. Why on earth would he hold onto it if he truly thought I was dead?

Clearly Dad still had a lot of guilt about "giving up on me," as he called it. I assured him that I didn't blame him for trying to get on with his life. It was all behind us now.