Wolf Creek Sheriff (Texas Pack 4) (Prequel) (Wolf Creek Shapeshifters)

C
opyright
© 2016 by Jo Ellen

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

“
D
allas 911
, what’s your emergency?” Stephanie asked calmly while staring at her screen as her fingers rested on her keyboard. The caller started shouting before she could get the last word out. That wasn’t unusual. Most people did not listen since they were too upset and wanted some type of immediate help.

The majority of calls to 911 were not real emergencies; they tended to be along the lines of upset citizens that did not know where to turn. Stephanie didn’t care either way, her job was to help the person at the end of her line. Whether the caller was abusive, screaming, crying or simply overly excited, she knew how to get the details she needed from the caller. If they were screaming and not listening to her, she used one of the techniques she’d learned as a newbie. By lowering her voice to a whisper, the caller usually stopped yelling so that they could hear what she was saying. After hearing the gist of the caller’s complaint, Stephanie relaxed and attempted to get the persons attention.

“Ma’am, getting a bad haircut is not an emergency,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie’s co-worker, who was sitting at the console beside her, snorted. Yeah, this was not unusual, but it did make her day a little less stressful.

“But, it’s horrible! It’s not even close to what I asked her to do!” The caller was in tears at this point.

“I understand Ma’am, but this is a civil matter, not a criminal one,” Stephanie told her. “I cannot send officers to arrest your stylist, even though you consider this a crime.”

Stephanie was finally able to disconnect once she convinced the woman that this was not a police matter. She logged out and laid her headset on her desk, happy to be off after a twelve-hour shift.

Her four-day weekend was here, even though it was a Wednesday. For her, it was the weekend. Too bad she didn’t have anything exciting to do except her laundry.
Wow, I live such an exciting life, not.

Rolling her chair back, she grabbed her purse out of her drawer. “See y’all Monday.”

“Hey Steph,” her co-worker, Jenny called out. “Where was that beauty shop? I want to make sure I don’t go there.”

Stephanie was just pulling the door open to leave the dispatch center when she turned back, laughing and making a face at her friend. She waved her off, “Don’t worry, it wasn’t in your neighborhood.”

Turning back and stepping towards the hallway, she collided with the man standing on the other side of the door.

“Oomph.” Her breath pushed out her lips as the man she bumped into put his hands on her waist to steady her.

“Hey darlin’, you okay?” Colin asked, looking down at the dark haired beauty.

H
e’d been looking
over his shoulder and talking to another officer when the dispatchers’ door opened and she stepped out. If he hadn’t grabbed hold, she would have landed on her ass. He froze. His fingers tightening on her waist as he felt an invisible pull tightening around them as if placing them in a private bubble. He sniffed the air, amazed when his wolf almost howled out loud in recognition. His mate! His! And she smelled like waffles, his favorite food, well, except for steak. What canine didn’t love steak? He stood there in a stupor, waiting on his mate to speak while a goofy grin spread across his face.

S
tephanie looked up
, way up at the man she had her breast pressed against. She wasn’t short, she considered herself to be quite average at 5’6”. Not too tall, not too short. But he was well over six feet, and gorgeous. There was not another word for it. Handsome was too blah in his case with those dimples indenting both cheeks. Life was not fair, who gets dimples, blue eyes, blonde hair, height, and a body she could drool over for hours?

She was pushed from behind when the door softly closed behind her, smashing her against him even more. She felt the heat burst like frigging rays of sunshine on her cheeks. Life really sucked sometimes. With her dark hair you would think she’d have a nice olive skin tone, but no, she had to be blessed with white skin that looked like she’d been housebound in the artic for months on end.

She put her hands on his chest, trying to move him back so she could get some breathing room. What the hell? Was she really this weak? He didn’t move. Like a house on a solid foundation, he stood firm.

Colin stepped back, giving her a little breathing room while he watched her, taking in her embarrassment. “Hey, sorry about that. I wasn’t paying attention.” He did not want her to be uncomfortable around him as he found her blushing adorable.

“Uh, yeah, no problem,” Stephanie choked out and went to step around him. He moved, blocking her.

He would not let her escape. His need to be with her and take care of her overwhelmed him. “Hey, you’re a dispatcher? I bet you have some interesting stories.” Lame Colin, real lame, but if it kept her from walking away, he didn’t care.

Stephanie pulled herself together, feeling stupid for standing there ogling the man. She was articulate, educated, well rounded. Used to dealing with all kinds of emergency situations. Hell, she’d worked with police and firemen for years and could bull shit with the best of them. But this man made her feel like she was defending her thesis with absolutely nothing relevant to add.

Colin rested his hand in the small of her back, propelling her along to the break room he’d been in earlier. He spoke as he herded her where he wanted. “My name is Colin and I’m here for a seminar.” He pulled one of the plastic, hard chairs out in the empty break room and waited for her to sit.

Stephanie sat, wondering why she was acting so out of character. Her mouth was usually way ahead of her thoughts, which got her into trouble many times. There was just something about him that pulled her in and made her want to get to know this guy.

“Stephanie,” was all that came out of her mouth.

He waited expectantly as she stared at him. He wondered if she felt the same magic he did.

“Well Stephanie, would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?” His grin made his dimples cut deeper into his cheeks.

God, she adored dimples. She rested her chin in her hands with her elbows propped up on the table. “You are so pretty.”

Colin blinked before his boisterous laughter filled the room. “Why thank you, darlin’.”

She dropped her head to the table, banging her forehead on the hard surface. Where was that proverbial hole when you needed one?

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie lifted her head and brushed her hair back. “Can we start again?” She held her hand out. “Hi, I’m Stephanie and not nearly as ditzy as my recent performance may have lead you to believe.”

Still laughing, Colin’s hand engulfed hers. “I’m honored to meet you and may I say, you are so pretty.”

Stephanie relaxed, laughing as he gave her words back to her.

“So, will you?” Colin asked.

She rested her elbows once again on the table, eyebrows raised in question. “Will I what?”

Colin sat across from her, not wanting to crowd her too soon.

“Dinner? I’m not from Dallas so if you say no, I’ll be eating alone in my hotel room.” His mouth turned down, sad and dejected.

“Hmm, and you have no friends here either, I’ll bet. Poor man, lonely and friendless in the big city.” She tsk’d, shaking her head in sympathy. “Since I’m known as such a giving person, I’ll take pity on you and accept your invitation.”

Another officer came into the break room and slapped Colin on his back. “Hey man, good to see you! I heard you were in town. Let’s go have a drink and catch up.” He nodded to Stephanie, oblivious. “Hey Steph.”

That was the problem when you worked with a bunch of guys who had known you forever. They stopped seeing you as a woman and saw you as one of the guys. Tom was simply clueless as to the vibes between Colin and Stephanie.

Colin stood and shook Tom’s hand. “Hey, good to see you. Sorry man, I’ve got a date,” Colin said, nodding at Stephanie.

Well, at least she could now relax and not worry about him being a serial killer. Her stranger danger alarm was not going off and Colin did have friends in the Dallas Police Department. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a serial killer either, though. Ted Bundy had friends and looked normal also, she recalled. For all she knew he could have a basement full of bodies. Wait, not in north Texas. Almost no one had basements. She shook her head, tired of the one person conversation in her head.

“Do you have a basement?”

Colin’s look of confusion had her slapping a hand over her mouth.

“Um, no. Why do you ask?”

Stephanie sighed when she realized she had probably set off his “crazy person” alert. Her huge smile was probably not as reassuring of her mental state as she hoped.

“No reason. So, where do you live?” Hopefully she could move him along from her previous question and keep him talking. She waited patiently as he watched her with a look of contemplation.

He finally answered. “East Texas, in a small town called Wolf Creek. I’m the sheriff there. It’s about an hour drive from Dallas.”

Damn, she was hoping he lived closer, maybe in one of the suburbs around Dallas. She could do a one-night stand kind of thing, couldn’t she? No long-term commitment. He was probably a player, anyway. No one looking like him wanted a permanent girlfriend. God, she hadn’t done a one-nighter since her college days. But he would be so worth it, like a fond memory she could savor in her old age. She was only twenty-three and her college days weren’t that far off. She laughed quietly and saw him look at her quizzically.

“Oh, umm, nothing important.” She waved him off knowing she needed to get out of her head or he would be running away as fast as he could. “Well, I should get home and get ready for our date. Do you want to pick me up or meet me somewhere?”

Colin wished he knew what was going on in her head, that small laugh had him really curious. “I’ll pick you up. Tom mentioned a good steak place if that works for you.”

“
H
ey Lisa
, I’ve got a date.” Stephanie had called her best friend as soon as she’d gotten home. She thought it was kind of pitiful that going on a date was something newsworthy.

“Cool! Where’d you meet him?” Lisa asked.

“At work. He’s here for one of those police seminars. I don’t know which one, didn’t ask, don’t care.” Stephanie had been to many seminars and always thought they could be cut down to two or three days instead of a full week. Too many instructors liked the sound of their own voice. Although she had to admit, there were some classes that were really informative.

“Does he have a basement?” Lisa asked with a smile in her voice.

“Shut up, bitch.”

Lisa was laughing, the sound traveling through the cell phone with perfect clarity. “You asked, didn’t you!”

Stephanie sighed in resignation, her friend knew her so very well. Sheepishly she replied, “Yeah, but I moved the conversation along so hopefully I didn’t set off his cray-cray radar.”

“I guess we’ll know for sure if he shows up for your date,” Lisa replied.

“Gosh,” Stephanie said, sarcastically. “You’re very reassuring.”

“Aw come on, Steph. Once he gets to know the crazy, paranoid, everyones out to kill me part of you, he’ll think that’s an endearing part of your personality. Now tell me about him,” Lisa demanded.

“I’ll give you the details later, but let me say, he is a beautiful man. Not in the ‘beautiful soul’ sense, I don’t know him that well. But in the, ‘Oh my God, he is gorgeous,’ way. You should see his dimples, I could write flowery poetry about those alone.” Stephanie sighed.

Lisa laughed, “Take a picture with your phone and send it to me tonight. I’ll live vicariously through you while I sit here all by my lonesome.”

Stephanie giggled, ending the call so she could get ready.

S
tephanie ran
her hands down her lavender sundress, nervously making sure the back wasn’t tucked into her panties. She loved twirling around her bedroom like a little girl in her Easter dress. The skirt would fan out and then gently fall into place against her thighs, making her feel like a movie star standing in front of the paparazzi. Her three-inch heels were an exotic dancers dream and would make her look more statuesque standing next to Colin with his basketball team height.

Hearing a knock at her door, she gave one more glance in the mirror before hurrying to greet her date. She couldn’t remember the last time she had butterflies dancing in her stomach in excitement for a date. There was something about him, some invisible aura that made her want to throw her inhibitions aside and agree to whatever he wanted of her. Stephanie usually did as she pleased, not worried about her friends judging her as they were more than likely to encourage her to take a chance.

Glancing through the peephole, she felt her heart race seeing him standing there looking like a blonde Greek god. She rushed to open the door with almost frantic urgency, as if afraid he might disappear from her doorstep.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly.

Colin grinned. “Hi.”

H
e was thrilled
to see her again; comfortable now that she was near him. His wolf quieted down inside him, which was a great relief to Colin. He’d felt like he was babysitting a two year old who didn’t understand why they had to wait. Waiting was not something his animal half liked to do, unless it was lying in wait for its prey.

He watched as Stephanie grabbed her purse and stepped over the threshold, locking the door behind her.

Colin had only seen a small portion of her apartment from the doorway before placing his hand in the small of her back and guiding her to his truck. He hoped he would be getting an invite inside when he brought her home, but knew she probably would not let him stay with her over night. That thought had his wolf snarling inside and he calmed his wolf by promising to watch over her whether he was in or outside her apartment. Had she been a shifter, there would have been no question, they’d have already been mated.

Colin spoke of his home on the drive to the restaurant, making the small town sound idyllic.

“I have a small cabin set in the woods that I plan on adding on to in the near future.”

Meeting his mate moved his timeline up. The small two-bedroom cabin was fine for his needs, but not big enough for the family he planned to have. His dreams for the future now centered on this one woman, his mate. He felt a deep satisfaction settle into his soul and couldn’t wait to take her to his home.

His forehead wrinkled as he focused on how he would explain himself to her. How do you tell someone who thought shifters were a myth that they did exist? And that she would be changed into one after they mated when he walked her into the magical waters they protect for the Faery Queen? He had no clue.

“It sounds lovely. I’ve always lived in the city except for my college days. I went to Tarleton State in Stephenville and found I liked the small town atmosphere. Although we did have a Walmart,” she said, smiling.

“I ended up at UT Austin. Hook em’ horns!” He grinned while holding up his index and pinkie finger that every Texan knew represented his school.

“
W
hat do
you do in your down time?” Stephanie picked up her wine and waited.

She’d eaten one of the best steaks she’d ever tasted and sat back in her chair pleasantly full.

The quiet chatting going on around her lent a quiet hum as she waited on his answer. She felt a light buzz from the wine and was thoroughly enjoying her companion. He didn’t monopolize the conversation and seemed to be really interested in her.

Sitting back in his chair, he exuded confidence and calm. He seemed so laid back, as if nothing got to him. She tried to imagine him slamming a suspect against the wall and cuffing him but couldn’t quite see it. She’d bet he was slow to anger and not one of those hot heads that was easily annoyed.

“I like to hunt. My family owns a lot of acreage and it’s something we all enjoy.” His secret grin frightened her a little.

She gulped. “Um, gun or bow and arrow?”

Or did he chase women through the woods before taking them down? Maybe he was a serial killer hiding behind his badge. There would be no one to stop him as he was the law there. Her breathing became erratic as she puffed in and out.

Colin reached across the table, grabbing her hand. “Stephanie? What is it?”

She calmed as he slowly rubbed his thumb across her pulse. This was ridiculous. She had an entire story built around her crazy delusion. Why did she always do that? Every person she met was a serial killer just waiting to harm her in some horrible way. Might as well tell him now before this went any further so he could walk away, no harm, no foul.

Taking a deep breath, “I imagined you were a serial killer intent on setting me loose in your woods and hunting me down before killing me.” Now she waited for him to shake his head and leave the crazy lady sitting at the table all alone as she caught her breath.

He laughed. His laughter boomed through the room and he actually wiped tears from the corner of his eyes before catching her gaze and laughing even harder.

Stephanie looked around the room and hunched her shoulders in embarrassment, feeling their heavy stares on her back.

Now she was getting a little peeved; it wasn’t that funny. Reaching over, she poked him with her butter knife. “Stop that! Everyone’s looking at us,” she whispered furiously.

Colin looked at the small knife in her hand and almost lost it again. “Breaking news,” he said between breaths. “Sheriff killed in five star restaurant by knife wielding one hundred pound assailant.”

He wasn’t running. She didn’t know quite what to do now since most men couldn’t handle her unique brand of crazy. Wait, he said one hundred pounds? She was in love; obviously the man wasn’t good at guessing weight. But he was a trained observer. He would have to be good at describing a person when he put out an all points bulletin. She was so confused.

Colin reached for her hand and gently set the knife aside. “Baby, I don’t mean to laugh at you, but your paranoia is all kinds of bat shit crazy.”

She tried to jerk her hand away but he held on tight.

“Hear me out. I understand where you’re coming from with being a cop and all. But hearing that you think I could be that person is so far from who I am, I can’t help but laugh.”

She felt the heat rush from her chest to her cheeks, but being self aware, she owned her paranoia like a badge of honor.

“I prefer to think of myself as an informed citizen who’s well aware of all the bad things that could happen.” She huffed and crossed her arms, giving him an elegant nod to show she understood his limitations in comprehending the evil that could be lurking everywhere. He lived in a small town, obviously nothing horrendous ever happened there.

Colin grinned, flashing those dimples once again. “Baby, you are adorable.”

She gave up. He was happy in his delusion where everyone lived in harmony. She would just have to educate him on how the world worked.

Colin stroked the back of her hand. “I know there is evil in the world, but I know there are a lot of good things going on too. I deal with the bad, good, and everything in between. One thing you need to know about me is that I am a protector. You have no need to fear anything, anymore. No one will get past me to get to you.”

Stephanie pulled back, warily. “Whoa dude. This is a first date and you’re getting really intense, really fast.”

Colin raked a hand through his hair, releasing her hand. “Sorry about that. I tend to be over protective when it comes to women. No matter how strong a woman is, men will always be stronger. I’m talking physically, not mentally. That’s a whole other conversation. Relax Stephanie, you’re safe with me, that’s the point I’m trying to make. Albeit badly.”

With a small whoosh of breath, her shoulders released the tension she’d been holding on to.