Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (14 page)

Sex god.

White wine drinker.

Amazing gardener.

I breathed in again, completely forgetting that I'd come around here to knock on the back door when I caught the faint scent of blood. It was away from the house, out the back. I followed the path out of the garden and saw it leading down the back of the hill towards the forest. Beside the path were various flower beds filled with reds, yellows and purples. I followed the path down and came to stop between two rows of brilliant yellow sunflowers with heads the size of dinner plates. To my left they were nodding gently in the breeze, their faces turned towards the sun. On my right, half were flat on the ground, their stems broken as though something heavy had crashed through.

A fight. Two wolves fighting and one them skidded through here.

I saw paw prints in the dirt and a droplet of blood, drying and turning brown on a stem. It wasn't completely dry though which meant it hadn't happened that long ago. I lifted a leaf and saw red blood droplets underneath, still damp in the shade.

What the hell had happened here?

Again came the idea that two wolves had fought. Not just two wolves. Red and ... someone else. Red had been injured slightly but he'd won.

How could I possibly know this?

I looked around, trying to convince myself that I was just guessing from the clues available. Paw prints, blood droplets, flattened sunflowers. But I knew I wasn't guessing. I knew that Red had fought another wolf. I could feel it. I could smell the blood and the adrenaline and the fear. It had happened last night, late and it hadn't gone for very long. Maybe less than a minute.

I knew it absolutely and I had no explanation for how I knew such a thing.

I also knew something else. Red had won and he was fine.

I looked around for a few more minutes before walking back up the path towards Red's house. I went through the spectacular garden and knocked on the back door, although I knew the house was empty. When the non-existent Red didn't answer the door I decided to head home for a proper breakfast and then to go into the city. There were too many mysteries around Hot Springs and I was well and truly over being in the dark.

*

I
formulated a lot of plans on my way to the city but by the time I arrived I still hadn't decided what I should do. Donald Crisp was high on the list but would the historical society be open? There was also the matter of Millie's letter that had apparently gone astray. Or I could travel over to the Finch mansion where Red might be and try to extract some information out of him.

I parked a street away from Greasy Manna and after checking that douchebag cop wasn't around, starting searching on my phone for information. Finch. Guile. Toulouse. Birth and death records. A Toulouse mayor back in the seventies. Another in the twenties. An advertisement from long ago for Guile Carpentry.

I sat and searched for a good forty-five minutes and my results could be summarized as such:

Toulouse and Guile families had been in Hot Springs since practically the beginning of the town.

Finch had been here too, until a rash of death notices and then they vanished.

Toulouse's were involved in politics, real estate and the police force. They seemed to be always mentioned in some position of power.

I typed in Hot Springs Werewolf and while there was plenty about Hot Springs and plenty about werewolves, there was no mention of any in Hot Springs itself.

I had zoned out and was thinking about what I'd read with I was interrupted by a tapping on the window.

The cop.

I went to open the door but he put his hand on it and held it closed.

"Stay in the car ma'am. License and registration."

I let go of the door handle and wound down the window. We were in no deserted street this time. There were plenty of people walking up and down and I wasn't going to be bullied by this dick again.

"Going to charge me for sitting in my car using the web again?"

"I'm going to need to see your license and registration."

"No."

With a move that I was quite proud of, I slipped across to the other seat, opened the door and got out before he could react.

I slammed the door shut, attracting attention from people around us and then walked around the front of Boris.

I saw the cop put his hand on the butt of his gun.

"I told you to stay in your vehicle."

His voice was low and menacing and made me want to launch myself at him to tear his throat out. Do it Harper! Attack him!

I took a breath as I stepped away from him. My hands were curled into claws and I could feel my blood pounding in my head. What the hell was this? Attack a cop? Even though he was a dick that was a good way to get shot and/or end up in jail for a long time. Maybe that was what he was trying to do.

"I told you-"

"I heard you. I'm not giving you my license and registration. I'm not going to be bullied by you. I suggest that- You. Fuck. Off."

I don't know where it came from. I heard myself saying the words, my voice low and dangerous. Then the cop moved and without a word walked away. I stood there until he disappeared around the corner and then I practically collapsed. I felt my legs go weak and the shock of adrenaline running through me. I shuffled around Boris, touching my hands on him to hold myself up and then got back in the driver's side.

I sat there for a moment taking deep breaths, telling myself to pull down the visor and check the mirror.

As the cop had moved away I'd seen my eyes reflected in his glasses.

They were flecked with gold.

I took another breath and then pulled the visor down to look at myself.

Worried Mirror Harper. Standard issue eyes.

I let out a sigh of relief. I don't know why. I know what I saw. I know what I
felt
.

I started Boris and decided to go to the Post Office. I needed some mundane life to get the wild chant out of my head. The one that was telling me to chase the cop. To find him. To fight him.

*

I
spent a million years in the queue at the post office before finally reaching the front. Plenty of time to calm down, go through boredom and come out the other side. While I waited I checked the phone directory for the surname Crisp. Yup, about a thousand (a slight exaggeration but still, a lot). There goes the idea of just calling each of them until I located Donald. Once I reached the front of the queue I asked the clerk (an older woman with blue-rinse dyed hair) if there was any mail for me and was told there was none. I explained a letter had been sent from Millie and could it be lost? She went to check "out the back" and came back a few minutes later with the same response: no mail for me.

I wandered out of these feeling frustrated and wondering if my sister had said there was a letter just to stir me up. Not her usual style of joke but maybe there was some residual jealousy and she wanted me to think Millie had sent me twenty thousand dollars too.

That was Jem through and through. She assumed people cared about the same stuff she did and so tried to play them on those terms. If a letter turned up from Millie telling me there was another twenty thousand for me (which I highly doubted) then great. If not, who cares?

I went back to Boris and drove to the Historical Society to find it locked up tight. No dance so no volunteers cleaning on a Saturday morning. The window had been repaired so even if I had the crazy idea of climbing up there to sneak in, I couldn't.

I sat in the truck tapping my fingers pondering whether I should drive out to the Finch Mansion to see if I could find Red. So far my big "Trip to the City to Find Out All The Answers" had been pretty much a bust.

I decided to push on. I drove across town and out the cracked road to the mansion. When I got there the gate to the property was locked. Not a good sign. I parked on the side of the road, hopped the fence and walked up anyway. No truck. No Red. The front door was locked and there was no point breaking in.

I turned away from the door and screamed. Crazy eyes. Ana. Standing on the gravel staring at me. She wasn't in a red dress this time. She was in cargo pants and a black tank top. It showed off the muscles in her arms.

"You're still fucking my husband."

I felt my heart in my throat and the adrenaline start to rush through me. I moved away from the door and realized just how vulnerable I was. Far from home. Far from civilization and people. Far from Red or anyone else who might protect me. I doubted I could fight a werewolf and win.

"He's not your husband Ana."

She moved sideways, stepping silently. It was the stalking I'd seen from Red when he and I had walked around each other.

"He is my betrothed!"

"Red told me he changed the rules and now you're not his betrothed."

We kept moving. Ana was breathing so loud I could hear her even from a few feet away. I kept moving, heading towards the road that led to the fence, Boris and safety.

"The rules will be changed back. Stay away from him."

Just get down the road Harper. Don't escalate this. She's a werewolf. You're a big curvy girl who, admittedly, can throw a punch and if she was not a werewolf, would snap that girl in two. But she is a werewolf and you're a human. Don't escalate it.

"He's not yours. He's
mine
."

Well done Harper.

It came out at a growl at the end and I felt that same powerful surge as when I was facing off against the cop. I wanted ... something. I felt hot and wild and if she ran for me I'd smash her into pieces.

Ana started growling and I stopped moving towards the road out and around in a circle. I didn't want to go. I wanted to fight.

"Leave him-"

"MINE!"

I ran at her. I had fury bubbling up inside me and my rational site seemed to be shut down. I ran at her and swung. My fist hit her right in the eye and she toppled to the ground and then rolled backwards. In a blur she was on the other side of the clearing. She had a trickle of blood coming out of her nose. I wanted to run at her, to make the blood flow, to beat her into submission until she admitted Red was mine but I didn't get the chance. She vanished, leaving me standing there in the dust.

*

H
ome and some serious questions Harper.

So, you attacked a werewolf. One who was fast and strong and you punched her in the face, gave her a nosebleed and probably a black eye and then she ran away.

Okay, so
that
happened.

Care to explain the rage? The wild fury bubbling away that made you do that? Are you
insane
?

I didn't have any answers for myself. My hand had been hurting when I'd got back into Boris and it had developed into a full-on throb by the time I returned to the cabin. Now I was sitting on the old sofa with an ice-pack on my hand wondering if it really was time for me to leave Hot Springs.

No. I couldn't. I needed answers. And if I left, I'd be throwing away Millie's gift to me. Time to write. A job.

I thought about my work and then decided I'd spend the day doing that. If I didn't I'd be liable to throw myself another pity party or drive myself crazy seeking out answers that were very hard to find.

I turned on my laptop, wriggled my fingers (they were feeling better already) and vanished into the words.

*

T
HUD THUD THUD.

I woke up to a fist pounding on the door and knew immediately it was Red and I'd overslept. I jumped out of bed and rushed for the door before I woke up properly and realized the noise was just the wind outside and my phone alarm.

I stood there blinking until I was completely with it and then found my alarm to turn it off. 6:30pm. Red would be here in half an hour.

I'd written about five thousand words between I'd decided to have a nap and the nap had turned into most of the afternoon. I zipped into the shower and back out again before getting dressed. I was still unsure about Red (despite declaring he was MINE to Ana) but I also wanted to explore more.

My dress was red, showed off my cleavage and I paired it with black stockings and black heels. Curves were sometimes trouble but when it came to dresses, they were definitely an asset. I finished putting on some lipstick when there was a knock at the door. I composed myself in the mirror and then went to the door to open it.

Red. My cowboy.

He was in a black suit that looked amazingly sexy on him. Classic black with a white shirt. The only thing that threw the whole thing off was his cowboy hat. I glanced up at it and raised my eyebrows. He took it off and nodded his head to me.

"Ma'am."

My million questions bubbled up but I held my tongue. There was plenty of time for them tonight and nothing was going to dissuade me from getting them answered. I held out my hand to him and he took it. I stepped forward and chastely kissed him on the cheek before pulling the door shut behind me and letting go of his hand to hold my purse.

Red smiled at me, seeming to be puzzled but then turned and led the way to his truck. He opened the door for me. I stepped in, making sure I wasn't showing too much leg. As I sat down I turned to see Red's eyes had been on my ass.

"Anything I can help you with?"

He looked up at me, a brief guilty look crossing his face.

"You look good enough to eat," he replied and closed the door.

Soon we were driving down the road to town, a random country music station playing at low volume. But we were sitting in complete silence, like we'd never met before or this was a blind date. Think Harper, think! How are you? How was your day? These are things humans say to each other.

Humans. Except Red was a werewolf. Was that a type of human? Or something else entirely?

"I get the feeling you have some questions for me," Red said.

"Do you know a cop with a scar on his face?"

I don't know why that was the first one that came to mind but it was.

Red nodded and bit his lip.

"Officer Edward Toulouse. You've met him?"

"He gave me a three hundred dollar fine for sitting parked in Boris using the web on my phone. He tried again today but I scared him off. And I saw him the other night at a bar that seemed to be full of werewolves."