Shifters of Grrr 2 (66 page)

Zorth pulled off the highway to take the road that would lead to the residential area that her house was located in. It was a nice neighborhood with a mix of families, seniors, and singles with comfortable incomes. Most of them fell into the middle class. She'd met a few of her neighbors and they'd been police officers, teachers, accountants, and small business owners. There'd even been a photographer who was newly divorced and had a couple kids. She'd seen an endless stream of hot hunks going in and out of the lady's door and drew the wrong conclusion. One of the other neighbors had explained they were models for the covers of romance novels. She'd briefly considered changing careers, but she had her heart set on what she was doing now.

Zorth pulled up in front of the bungalow she'd been assigned to. The house was the typical nineteen forties or so build. It had the open living room/dining room with a small kitchen and two bedrooms that shared a bath. Not so typical was the addition that had a master bath, walk in closet and laundry room. It was more than a single person needed and probably suitable for them both to use if Damon had nothing else available. It had a nice front porch and the living room had a picture window that allowed her to look out at the well maintained yard. It had well established trees, bushes, and flower beds.

She opened the door and Zorth carried his bag into the house. She didn't have one since the trip had been unexpected for her. They walked through the living room and she led Zorth to the spare room. She wasn't going to give up her lovely master bath for anyone. It had a wonderful jetted tub and a modern shower. First come first served and all that. His room was nice enough and had a full sized bed just like hers. Zorth looked at the bed and she didn't think he was impressed. He was a big dude so maybe he needed a king sized bed.

"I don't suppose..."

"The other bed is the same size as this one."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Damon will find you something better tomorrow."

"I'm sure he will. It looks like a nice place, the bed's just not big enough."

"I'll let you get ready to sleep. I'll lock the other door on the bathroom so you can have it to yourself. There's another one for my room that was added later."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome. Good night and I'll see you in the morning. Would you like the alarm set for any particular time?"

"No, I never need an alarm to wake up at whatever time I want to."

"You're lucky, sometimes even the alarm won't wake me." She turned and left feeling suddenly exhausted.

She went to the kitchen and straight to the fridge. She opened it and saw there was indeed no food but that was alright. She saw a bottle of sweet wine and pulled it out setting it on the counter. She pulled out wine glass and filled it full then put the bottle back. She took a sip and moaned in enjoyment. She carried her glass with her to her room and closed the door. She stripped naked before carrying her wine into the bathroom and setting it near the tub. She turned on the water making sure it was as hot as she could tolerate. She put some perfumed bath oil in and the scent rolled over her. It was wonderful and started the process of relaxing her so she would sleep well tonight.

The tub wasn't full yet but she got in anyway. She sipped her wine and shut off the water at the perfect time. She turned on the jets and it was heaven. When she bought a house she would make sure it had one of these or she would add one. It was just that blissfully good. She continued to sip her wine until it was gone and then she leaned back and relaxed in the tub. Her mind went over everything that had happened since Serena had taken her trying to make sense out of what was right now a muddle fuck.

Someone had known where they'd be and told Serena. There was no other way for her to come there and she'd gone straight for Harry avoiding the others. She'd already decided who she wanted and she'd known what she looked like. That spoke of too much knowledge about their team and the way they worked. She'd also known or guessed that Zorth would drop everything to come and save her. That was something she herself would never have expected. She'd personally been stunned when Zorth had busted the door open and stood there like her guardian angel.

He'd been big, strong, and pissed which made Harry happy he'd come there to deal with Serena because no one in their right mind would have wanted to go up against him at that moment. Which took them back to the question of whether Serena was in her right mind. She'd sounded reasonable enough for a kidnapper. Actually, she'd been friendly and nice until Zorth had shown up. It wasn't anything she'd said so much as the crazed look on her face that had made her begin questioning Serena's sanity.

Yes, it had been a little presumptive of Zorth to assume an ex would go to such lengths for attention or revenge after so much time had passed, but that didn't seem to be what had upset Serena. She'd been upset the second she laid eyes on him. The mystery would consume her until it was solved or the case was done and it didn't matter as much anymore. She went through everyone involved in the case and no one set off a red flag in her mind. None of the team could possibly be giving out information intentionally. That left either unintentional lapses, some kind of listening devices, or someone close to but not involved in the actual investigation. There was nothing obvious which meant they would be digging through everyone's backgrounds. She just hated having to do that but she'd admit it was necessary. They'd start with the team and work through family and friends. They'd also check out anyone who dealt with the team like council members, secretaries, and local police that were aware of supernaturals.

She must have exhausted herself beyond her ability to think at some point because she drifted off to sleep and woke up once the bath water was cold. She didn't want to get up but the water was uncomfortable at this point. She leaned over and pulled the plug and then she got up and out of the tub. She found a towel and dried herself off before slipping into some comfy purple flannel PJs with kittens and puppies all over them. They weren't sexy or even attractive but they were as comfortable as they could be.

She thought about reading just to be sure she would go to sleep quickly once she went to bed. She loved to read but she loved erotic books and that might excite her more than relax her. She carried her glass to the sink but didn't feel like taking the time to wash it. She went to her bedroom pulled back the blankets and hopped into bed. She snuggled under the blankets and must have gone to sleep right away.

Chapter 3

Arabella

She turned to look at the screen where her cousin Joey was displayed during their video chat. "I love the idea Arabella so you just run with it."

"Thanks, Joey. I'm glad you like it because I already have the campaign worked out."

Some of the other employees cast startled glances at her. She looked coolly back at them. It wasn't her fault if she had confidence in her ability to come up with good ideas and had a tendency to go full steam ahead with them. She and Joey were first cousins and had both inherited their creativity from the same source. They had their talent in common and often shared a similar point of view. They were more alike than different and that might be why they got along so well. It was really no surprise that a job at her cousin's company had been a good fit. She was lucky in that she could draw and do the writing for her campaigns as well as coming up with the concepts.

Art was her first love and she had a small but successful business of her own based on her drawings. She just needed something more right now to keep her mind engaged. Months ago she'd done something so out of character that she still couldn't believe it had happened. She'd had a one night stand with a sex god. She'd discussed it with her cousin but for once they hadn't agreed.

"So what, Arabella. If you enjoyed it I'm not sure why you didn't wait for the man to come back."

"For goodness sake. I woke up in a strange man's house and he was gone!"

"So were you pissed that he hadn't waited for you to wake, annoyed that he'd left before you did, or disappointed that he wasn't there to slake your lust on?"

"Joey, you're terrible," Arabella said with her cheeks stained pink.
 

She'd never admit it but she'd been disappointed because she'd wanted more of what they'd done the night before. Once she'd been sure he was gone, the enormity of what they'd done had hit her. She'd not been on birth control and she'd worried until her monthly had come and she'd been relieved in a way and disappointed in another. She wanted children someday and she was knocking on thirty. that wasn't old, but it was getting time for her to settled down and start a family. She had a successful business, money in the bank, and while she wasn't rich, she was in good shape.

The next step was to find a husband and have a child. The image of the blond man who reminded her of a Viking god flashed in her mind. Would she never forget him? Whenever a man asked her out, she seemed to compare them to the man she would never see again. None of them were as sexy, as gentlemanly, or seemed like they'd be able to hold a candle to his bedroom skills.

She was an organized person most of the time and she had a life plan she tried to follow. The sexy one night stand guy hadn't been part of that plan. Joey had accused her of running, but she never run from anything. She'd gotten tired of the constant reminders every time she drove past the bar so she'd taken a temporary job in a place she knew she'd be too busy to think. Joey had a new mate, a new life, and a new daughter. She was desperate for experienced help with her business which had been incredibly successful since she'd run an Alaska tourism campaign.

Arabella was only too happy to change her surroundings and it had helped, but not as much as she'd hoped it would. She still couldn't escape her memories of him at night. Every night she dreamed about him. They were hot sexual dreams but they also showed their day to day life. It was like her dreams were telling her to find him because he was essential to her happiness. Who didn't want to be happy but she was an independent woman and didn't believe a man could be responsible for her happiness. Her happiness was her responsibility.

She pulled up the project she'd been working on and sent it to Joey for final approval. She would go to the house she was renting and work from home on anything that came up. Until then she would try to draw something other than the gorgeous man that seemed to be on her mind any time she started to draw. Pictures of him covered the room she was using as a studio/office. Drawing was what she did best, but she'd even painted a picture of him that was the best she'd ever done. His eyes glowed with power and magic seemed to surround him. It made her wonder if he was supernatural or her feelings made him seem magical.

She closed up her workstation and headed out. She noticed several people taking note of her early exit. They knew nothing of her relationship to Joey nor the agreement they had concerning her work. She'd noticed some jealousy about her setting her own hours and the familiar way she talked to Joey. She didn't care, it was none of their business. She didn't need the job, she and Joey were just helping each other out for a while. Joey was giving her a place to keep busy and she was clearing campaigns for Joey at a fast rate.

She went to the garage and got in her SUV. She had a car she drove sometimes but the SUV gave her room to haul projects around and she never knew what she might have to haul home with her. Today there was nothing since she'd finished the project two weeks early. Everything had just clicked and she'd been able to work through it without a single hang up.

St. Louis was a great place to while away a few months. It had much better shopping, a great selection of eating places, tons of attractions, and family, cousins both male and female. Joey only visited sporadically running what Arabella jokingly called her
advertising empire
from Alaska where her mate was the pack alpha of the Wilde Pack. She'd considered visiting there, but she didn't want to be so far from home.

One cousin and his mate, ran the St. Louis pack and a big part of the surrounding area. Danny and Dru had helped her get settled in and she either visited them or they went out once a week. She knew they were curious about why she was here, but neither of them had asked maybe they sensed she was uncomfortable about it. They had a little one under a year old and if she wasn't mistaken, they'd be announcing another one was on the way soon. Maybe their little girl would get a brother but odds were better for a sister. White wolves tended to have more girls.

It had been an added benefit of moving here that she'd been able to spend time with other family members. She'd never been terribly social, but she loved her family and enjoyed spending time even with the most distant of cousins. Family was important and it was good to know she could count on them and she'd do her best for any of them in need.

She pulled into the driveway of the row house she'd rented from her Cousin Danny's pack. It was weird sharing walls with neighbors but she'd not had any problems with the noise yet. She suspected many of her neighbors were seniors and lived very sedate lives. The calm was good because painting, working campaigns for Joey, or even her drawing was done best when things were quiet because they required concentration.

She entered the house and dropped her briefcase on the couch. She felt exhausted probably from the restless night she'd had. She'd had her dreams of her Viking god, but she'd also had a dream where she was being a chased by a fiery haired witch. It was someone she'd never seen before and the witch caught her but she woke up without finding out why the witch wanted her and what her intentions might be.