A Very Jaguar Christmas (14 page)

Demetria laughed. Not only would they have the experience of a lifetime to share with their own kids someday, but so would the wolf pup.

“I'm showering, and I'll join you for breakfast in a few minutes.” He pulled her in for a hug and a kiss first. “Sure wish we were completely free for the next two weeks.”

“No way. You'd get bored in no time.” She broke free and headed for the door.

“No way in hell.”

She laughed and left him to shower.

* * *

After they all ate breakfast, Demetria, Everett, and Junior drove over to Kat and Connor's house, with Maya and Wade following in their own vehicle.

Demetria couldn't help how apprehensive she felt about Leidolf's arrival. How would he react toward them if he knew what they were? She wanted to act normally around him. But it wasn't every day she met a full-grown wolf man. Though they tried to talk about other things that morning, all conversation returned to the issue of Leidolf's arrival and how hopeful everyone was that he knew where the boy's parents were.

When the time approached and Everett got a call from Leidolf saying he was fifteen minutes from the nursery, Demetria said, “I'm going outside.” She had to brace herself for the meeting while Connor waited on customers in the garden shop and the others were in the house taking care of the kids. Everett joined Demetria outside and rubbed her arm in a way that said he was trying to relax her, but she noted he was just as tense.

A few minutes later, they heard a vehicle driving along the private road to the nursery. A black mini-SUV appeared and continued on its way to the house.

“Are you ready?” Everett asked, and she glanced at him. He gave her a small smile. She swore he looked a little nervous too. “So what do you think? Does he know, or doesn't he?”

She watched the car park. “I'm going to guess he already knows.”

Then Leidolf got out of the car, frowning at them. He had chestnut hair that glinted in the afternoon sun, and his olive-green eyes assessed Everett first, just like jaguar shifters would check out the bigger threat. Then he glanced at Demetria and nodded a greeting.

“I can't tell from his expression. Could go either way.” Everett stepped off the porch to greet Leidolf.

Demetria followed him.

Leidolf stretched out his hand to shake Everett's, but then the wolf man lifted his head and smelled the air. Or rather, Everett's scent.

Demetria smelled Leidolf's at once too. A wolf for sure. Different than the pup's smell. But still a wolf.

Leidolf immediately dropped his hand before he shook Everett's outstretched hand. “You're not a wolf shifter.” His gaze took in Demetria, and he smelled her scent too. “You're not either.” His eyes narrowed. “What the hell is going on?”

They knew they had to smell like cats, and they'd thoroughly confused him. Humans who worked with big cats at a big cat reserve? That's probably what he assumed. And somehow they'd learned about the wolf shifters.

“Why don't you come inside and see the wolf pup and share what you know,” Everett said, “and we'll talk about this more. Customers are at the nursery now, and we should keep this private.”

Wade and Maya raced out of the house as jaguars through the cat door.

Demetria's mouth dropped open. None of them had planned this. But she guessed they'd been listening and decided to “help” out a bit. Luckily, the bend in the road kept customers at the shop from seeing the house. But voices could carry.

“We're jaguar shifters,” Demetria quickly said.

Leidolf was standing his ground, probably realizing that running for his car would be a big mistake. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were nearly black with concern as he concentrated on the male and female jaguars.

“All of us are jaguar shifters. We thought Dr. Denali might have told you. He said he was going to spread the word to the packs he knew of,” Everett said.

“He must have forgotten to let me know.” Frowning deeply, Leidolf didn't appear to be happy with the situation at all. But what could he do? They were what they were, and he and the other wolves would have to get used to the idea, just like the jaguars would about the existence of wolves.

“We weren't sure you would believe us if we told you over the phone,” Demetria said. “We wouldn't have believed your kind existed if it hadn't been for the boy shifting in front of Everett.”

“All right,” Leidolf said, sounding a little bit anxious. “Let me see the boy.”

“He's still a wolf,” Everett warned. “It's like he's stuck in that form. If it's anything like our shifter kind, children only shift when their mothers do until the child reaches puberty.”

“It's the same with us.”

They all entered the house, and Everett led them into the living room. Kat, her toddlers, and the wolf pup were out of sight.

Wade and Maya ran down the hall in their jaguar forms and returned a few minutes later as humans fully dressed.

“I don't believe it.” Leidolf shook his head as he took a seat on one of the chairs.

“Do you want one of us to shift in front of you?” Demetria asked, willing to do anything to help convince him they were for real.

“No. I know you wouldn't have trained a couple of jaguars to come out, greet me, run back into a room, and then have the two of you come out in their place,” Leidolf said to Maya and Wade.

Introductions were made all around, and Everett explained about their policing force that now included the United Shifters Force he and Demetria headed. At least they would once they solved their first real mixed-shifter case and told Everett's boss they wanted to be in charge of it.

Kat brought in her toddlers and the wolf pup.

The pup greeted everyone and wagged his tail when Leidolf leaned over to pet him. “He's not afraid of anyone.”

Which Demetria took to mean he wasn't afraid of the big cats. “No. He's learned we're all good guys. So what information do you have to share about an Arctic wolf pack?”

“I helped take down some werewolf hunters, but in the process, I came across a couple who had been recently turned. The woman's father was part of my pack for a while, having been bitten by one of my widowed females. So he was a red wolf, his daughter, an Arctic wolf. Cameron MacPherson had a PI business in Seattle. But when they tried to return, the gray wolf pack there wouldn't allow it,” Leidolf said.

“We learned about Cameron from the Seattle pack. We wondered if the wolf who turned him could be the boy's parent,” Everett said.

“I doubt it. They were an old pack. Since the boy is shifting during the full moon when he's not with his pack, I assume the mother is a more newly turned wolf. Cameron might not be his father, and the boy could be from someone else's pack, but Cameron's is the only one I know of that could fit the scenario. Since the boy was dropped off in Dallas, I would check Dallas and the surrounding areas to see if there's a PI by his name closer by. Maybe check all of Texas and the surrounding states.”

“So you don't know where the Arctic wolf pack is?” Demetria had hoped he knew but hadn't wanted to give away their location over the phone.

“No. Faith's father and his mate left my pack. I thought they intended to join Faith and Cameron, but we never heard back from them. We tried to locate them but never could. We have enough problems taking care of our pack, so unless I learn they are in trouble, I wouldn't search for them.”

“Does the boy look like he might have been Faith and Cameron's son?” Everett asked.

“He could be. They were both blonds. And from the video Everett shot of the boy before he shifted, he does look like he could belong to them. If we could, we'd run DNA testing, but without either of the parents' DNA, we have no way of telling,” Leidolf said.

“Lunch?” Kat asked. “Connor's waiting on customers.”

“I'll help make lunch,” Maya said.

“I've got babysitting duty,” Wade said. “I've been told that I have to practice at this before our own kids show up.” He smiled at Maya, then took the toddlers to the den.

The wolf pup ran back to Everett, wanting to get in his lap. Even if he wouldn't have allowed an animal on the furniture, the pup wasn't just an animal. He was human too, and a shifter would have a difficult time understanding that one part of him wasn't allowed on the couch, while another part of him was. Besides, Everett knew Kat and Connor didn't have any problem with it. Their own jaguar cubs sat on the couch when they were in their jaguar forms, though they'd been strictly taught not to scratch the furniture. Everett lifted the pup into his arms.

“I would never have thought a wolf pup could get along with a big cat.” Leidolf smiled a little.

“I think there's hope for all of us,” Everett said. “If we can just set aside our differences and appreciate our similarities, I think most of us will welcome knowing there are more of us out there.”

“I'm certain some will. Since I knew Cameron and Faith and I am a wolf, I'm willing to act as a liaison. I think we'll have better success at this if we do.”

“We'd appreciate it,” Demetria said.

Leidolf told them about his kind, how the phases of the moon affected them, and about their increased longevity. Otherwise, they were similar to the jaguar shifters, both either being born as a shifter or turned by a bite. Their offspring didn't shift on their own until puberty, and they homeschooled their kids. But the wolves didn't have an organized police force that dealt with their shifter kind. Instead, the packs dealt with problems in their territories like little wolf kingdoms on their own.

The red wolf pack leader seemed surprised that with the jaguar shifters, family was just as important as the wolves' families, but they didn't have packs like the wolf shifters.

“Now that we've made contact with you and other wolf packs through Maya's help, I suggest we return to Dallas where the boy was dropped off at the day care and see if we can track down the woman who left him there,” Everett said.

Demetria showed Leidolf the recording of the woman dropping off the boy.

“All right,” Leidolf said. “I'd like to leave right after lunch and get started on this.”

As soon as they'd had lunch and thanked Everett's family for the meal, they left for Dallas, with Leidolf following in his rental car. Demetria drove while Everett held the pup in his lap.

“He sleeps a lot on drives,” Everett said.

“Good for us. I was afraid we'd have to keep stopping to let him out to potty.” She let out her breath. “I'm glad Leidolf came, though I was worried about how he'd react to us. After the initial shock, he seems to be okay with it.” The pup began to squirm on Everett's lap. “Do you need me to pull over?”

“Hell, yeah! Something's wrong. Wait. Hell, the boy's shifting!”

Demetria hastily looked for the next exit. “Hold on for a quarter of a mile.”

“Not happening,” Everett said, and sure enough, the cute little wolf pup was now a little boy sitting naked on Everett's lap, while Everett was fumbling to get the zipper open on the boy's bag, one hand around the boy's waist to keep him secure while Demetria drove.

Normally, Everett was level-headed in a crisis, but he wasn't used to dealing with young children, and he'd never had to deal with a child shape-shifting on his lap while he was a passenger in a car.

Instead of pulling onto the shoulder of the interstate, Demetria signaled to take the next exit and merged onto the access road. She got an incoming call on her car link from Leidolf and hurried to say, “The boy's shifted. Pulling off to locate a good place where we can dress him and ask some questions quickly.”

“Okay, following you.”

Everett was glad she was thinking clearly because he was fumbling with the bag while holding a four-year-old tightly against his lap when the child should have been in a car seat. He just hoped a patrol car didn't spot them.

Demetria quickly asked, “What's your name?”

Hell, Everett should have asked that right away, but he couldn't get the zipper open on the boy's bag with one hand while holding on to the boy with the other.

“Demetria wants to know your name.” Everett assumed the boy thought she was asking Everett when he didn't respond. “I'm Everett, by the way.” He figured the boy had heard someone use his name any number of times, but just in case he hadn't…

“My name is Corey,” the boy finally said.

“What a beautiful name.” Demetria drove into the closest gas station, which had a parking area much farther away from the pumps. The nearby grassy area was perfect, so she pulled into a parking spot. Everyone was either getting gas or inside buying snacks, having parked right next to the building. So at least they wouldn't have anyone else on top of them while they took care of Corey. “What's your
last
name?” She took the bag from Everett and unzipped it, then handed him the boy's blanket to cover him until she could fish out his clothes and dress him.

“MacPherson,” Corey said.

Everett swore they both let out their breaths at the same time. Demetria smiled broadly, and Everett couldn't have been gladder to finally make a breakthrough.

“Leidolf, the wolf in the car following us, knows your parents,” Everett told Corey. “Is your mommy's name Faith?”

“Uh-huh. But I call her Mommy.”

“What about your daddy?” Demetria asked.

“I call him Daddy.”

Demetria smiled. “What's his name?”

“Cameron.”

Leidolf pulled alongside them, leaving room between the cars to help shield the view of them from the access road.

Demetria opened her car door. “I'm taking him into the backseat so he can get dressed easier.” Then she got out of the car, came around to the passenger's side, and opened the door to pull Corey into her arms.

Everett hurried to get out of the car and opened the back door for her. She set the boy on the seat, then moved inside with him. Everett handed her the bag and shut the door for her so she could help Corey dress. As Leidolf joined them, Everett quickly informed him, “He said his name is Corey MacPherson. His mom is Faith, and his dad is Cameron. Before he shifts again, we need to learn all we can.” As fast as Corey had shifted before, Everett definitely was worried about it.

He climbed into the backseat with Demetria and helped her dress Corey while Leidolf got into the front passenger seat and shut the door.

“Where do you live, Corey?” Demetria helped him into a pair of underpants and then jeans.

Corey lifted a shoulder.

“You don't know your address?” Demetria tugged a shirt out of the bag.

“We keep moving. We live in a big cabin now.” Corey spread his arms wide to show it was really big.

“Do you know what town it's in?” Everett was disappointed. He'd really believed that once the boy could talk to them, he could tell them his address and they'd be able to locate the family pronto.

Corey shook his head.

“What's the name of the lady who brought you to the day care?” Demetria pulled the shirt over his head.

“Belinda.”

“She wasn't a shifter. Did you know her?” Everett figured they didn't have much to go on without her last name.

“No.”

Everett found a pair of socks for Corey. The car was still warm, thankfully, so he wouldn't get chilled while they were dressing him. “Was there anyone with her?”

“Paddy O'Leary.”

Now
they were getting somewhere. “Did you know him before?”

Corey shook his head.

“Was he a shifter?” Everett asked.

“Nah. She was
so
mad at him. And he was
really
mad at her.”

Demetria frowned. “Why were they mad at each other?”

“I was in the trailer, and I wasn't s'posed to be.”

“Trailer? What trailer?” Everett searched in the bag for Corey's shoes and found the sneakers stuck in a fold of the bag, along with a receipt for shoes, a blanket, the bag, and toys.

“The one I sneaked into.”

He looked up at Corey. “Did she take you shopping?”

Corey nodded. “She got me coloring books and shoes and crayons. And that blanket. I told her I wanted one with wolves on it, but she said there weren't any wolf blankets. She said little kids are s'posed to have cute things on their blankets, like sheep or bunny rabbits or something. She asked what kind of a kid likes wolves, and I told her a wolf.” Corey raised his hands palms up as if to say it was a no-brainer that he would love wolves. “But then she woke me up before I was awake, and I forgot to take my coloring books and crayons.”

“Why did she get you sneakers? Didn't you have shoes?” Everett asked.

“I took them off in the trailer, and I didn't remember where I put them and she couldn't find them.”

Everett thought it sounded like him and his brother and sister when they were little. Their mom was always looking for one of their missing shoes. But she shifted so they would have to shift and use their noses to search for them too. “Okay, about the trailer… What kind of a trailer was it? A really big one?” Everett asked.

“A camping trailer. We had one once. I wasn't s'posed to be in it, and Paddy O'Leary got mad at her and said she shoulda locked it, and she got mad at him and said he shoulda locked it. Then they quit fighting, and they both looked at me and were frowning.”

Everett slipped on Corey's socks. “And then what did they do?”

Corey let out his breath. “I got hungry.”

Demetria and Everett exchanged looks.

Corey shrugged. “I ate some graham crackers and marshmallows and chocolate bars and a hot dog. But I didn't like their hot dogs. My mommy gets better hot dogs. Belinda was mad 'cuz I made a mess. Said I had chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker crumbs all over my face. Then she got mad 'cuz I made a mess on the floor and their bed. I got cold and hungry and ate on the bed. Then I fell asleep. Oh, and I got thirsty and drank some of the water, and the trailer was bouncing, and I fell and spilled water all over. It wasn't my fault.”

“It's a wonder you didn't make yourself sick eating all that stuff.” Demetria pulled a sweater over his head.

“Mommy says I can eat anything and never get sick. She says I have an iron stomach.”

They laughed.

“Okay, so what did they do after they saw you and all the mess you made?” Everett could just imagine having to clean it up. All of this was bringing back some memories.

“Paddy O'Leary said it was
her
mess to clean up 'cuz
she
left the trailer unlocked. And she said
he
left the trailer unlocked, so
he
could at least clean up the trailer and
she'd
clean me up. But he just turned around and went to the front of the trailer and kept making it move. Then he got in a big truck”—Corey spread his arms wide—“and drove off really fast. Daddy woulda said he had road rage.”

Everett finally managed to get one of Corey's sneakers on. “What did Belinda do after Paddy left?”

“She looked at me and was frowning. And then she started to laugh. And then she started to cry. And then she took my hand and led me into the house so she could get me all cleaned up. She said she never had any kids before, and she never knew what a mess one little kid could make. She said after seeing me, she never wanted a kid. She gave me a bath, and then she said she'd take me to a place the next day to play with kids. It was too late that night 'cuz they were closed. I wanted to see my mommy and daddy, and she said they would pick me up.”

“She didn't say she was going to pick you up later?” Demetria asked.

“No. She said I was a
big
mistake.” Corey spread out his arms to indicate just how big. “But she didn't tell me…” He turned to look at Everett.

Everett raised a brow at Corey as he finished tying the boy's sneakers. “What?”

“Those little cats were trying to scratch me. You smelled like them. Different. But like them.”

“We're jaguar shifters. Like you're a wolf shifter.”

“
Lupus garou
,” Leidolf said.

They had a fancy name for their kind? Why hadn't the jaguars thought of creating a fancy name like that?

Everett was certain this had all been a big mistake. For whatever reason, the woman was afraid to turn the boy over to the police and explain how he came to be in her trailer. But he didn't believe for a minute that Corey's parents knew where he was, or they would have picked him up or sent word or something already. “I doubt Corey's parents knew anything about where he ended up.”

“Why did you get in the camping trailer?” Demetria set Corey in the car seat.

“I was playing hide-and-seek with my brother and sister while Daddy was chopping wood. I tried to find the bestest hiding place 'cuz my sister, Angie, always finds me. So I found the bestest hiding place. Only I guess I fell asleep on the bed waiting for them to find me. I woke up when I felt the trailer shaking. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I yelled, but no one heard me. Then I got hungry and ate, and I fell asleep again.”

Demetria pulled a hairbrush from her bag and brushed Corey's blond curls.

“Do you have uncles?” Leidolf asked, changing the direction of the questions, but it reminded Everett that Leidolf knew the family.

Corey nodded.

“How many?”

“Three.” Corey held up three fingers. “Uncle Owen. Uncle David. And Uncle Gavin.”

“Do you know all of them, Leidolf?” Everett suspected Leidolf did or he wouldn't have just asked about uncles, but aunts too.

“Yeah, I do. They're Cameron's PI partners out of Seattle,” Leidolf said. “What about a granddad and grandmom, Corey?”

“Yeah.”

“They're red wolves, not white like your mama and daddy and uncles when they turn into wolves?” Leidolf asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you have any other brothers and sisters?” Demetria asked.

“Just two.” Corey held up two fingers.

Demetria smiled. “How wonderful. I don't have any sisters or brothers, so that must be nice. How old are you?”

He held up three fingers.

Everett thought Corey looked too old to be just three. “When's your birthday?”

“December 20.”

“Tomorrow,” Demetria said. “How exciting. So you'll be four.”

“Four.” Corey held up three fingers. She showed him how to hold up four fingers.

“We'll have to have a birthday party for him,” Everett said.

Demetria smiled at Everett.

“I'll ask my mom if she could have the kids in her day care attend it. Maybe she can even have it there because the kids can go out back and play. No worry if he shifts again.”

Demetria agreed.

“So this sounds like the family you know of that was newly turned?” Everett asked Leidolf. He was busy texting.

“Yeah, just letting my wife know what's going on.”

“You said your parents were staying in a cabin. And you slipped into a camping trailer that was nearby. Were you camping?” Demetria asked Corey.

He shook his head.

“Were you on vacation?” Demetria asked as she buckled Corey into the car seat.

He shrugged.

“Did the trailer move for a long time?” Everett asked.

“Yeah. I dunno. I was sleeping. Riding in a car makes me sleepy.”

“Any other questions?” Everett asked Leidolf.

“Yeah. Corey, did you ever turn into a wolf in front of Belinda or Paddy O'Leary?”

Good question. As jaguar shifters, they would want to have that clarified if one of their own had shifted in front of humans.

“No. Mommy said I wouldn't shift ever when I wasn't with her. I never did before. Then I couldn't help myself when I was at the day care. I never seen anyone turn into cats before. Their mommies probably couldn't help it either. My mommy and daddy and uncles can't either during the full moon. They said that's our time to be wolves and stay far away from humans.”

“If we knew a location for the MacPhersons, we could put an ad in the paper. The personals. ‘Searching for Cameron and Faith MacPherson. We've found your puppy. Taking good care of him, but trying to locate you to return him,'” Demetria said.

“Not sure the MacPhersons would even be reading a local paper. And it would take some time before the ad ran, if we even had a clue about where to run it,” Leidolf said. “What if it wasn't the correct newspaper?”

“I've searched networking sites. No sign of them, or I would have just started contacting anyone with that name. Cameron MacPherson, yes. But not one married to a Faith. Unless they're divorcing over losing their son,” Demetria said.

“We mate for life like real wolves do,” Leidolf said dryly.

“Oh.” Demetria sighed. “I don't know. I just want to do something more.”

“If we could pinpoint the location better, we could do more. Let's get on the road then.” Everett climbed out of the backseat.