Found in Flames (4 page)

“You’re worried about money problems,” he began slowly, “when your continued existence is in jeopardy?”

Pursing her lips,
Joella
countered, “What’s the point of ‘existing’ if I’m living under a bridge and having to beg for food?” Sure, that was a little extreme, but times were tough. Losing a good-paying job because she just went AWOL for a while would look terrible on her résumé. No one would hire her, and eventually she wouldn’t be able to afford her rent.

Luka didn’t seem to like her argument, because his eyes narrowed sharply and he stalked forward until he’d backed her against the stone wall, completely covering her body with his. “You are not getting yourself killed,” he said firmly. “I’ll return you to your life when this is over, not before.”

Joella
swallowed, startled by the ferocity of his response. And then she remembered what he’d said before.
He doesn’t want any more blood on his hands.
Sliding her hands up to his shoulders, she offered, “What happens to me isn’t on you, Luka. I’m not your responsibility.”

His brown eyes flashed, he braced his forearms on either side of her, and caught her lips in another powerful kiss. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, stroking it slowly, before sweeping his own past her lips. The kiss was powerful, demanding, and immediately reminded her body of all the wonderful things she’d been feeling just a handful of minutes earlier. Some part of her recognized that he was kissing her to get his way, but in the moment she just did not care. Men as sinfully sexy as Luka didn’t even give the time of day to women as ordinary and overweight as her.

Her arms slid up, around his shoulders, and her fingers dove into his thick brown hair as she kissed him back. He rumbled with a growl of approval when she dragged her teeth over his tongue and the sensation vibrated straight through her chest to her tightening core. She was starting to wonder if Luka was capable of bringing her to orgasm just with the power of his kiss when he pulled back, putting a full foot of distance between their bodies.

“Do you have family out of the area you could stay with for a couple of weeks?” His question threw her completely off, as she’d all but forgotten their argument.

It took
Joella
a moment to process his meaning and she slowly shook her head. “No,” she admitted. “I have … a job. Just a job.” None of her semi-friends lived near enough to go to and far enough away to be safe. But even if they did, they weren’t close enough for her to go to them. She didn’t have any single person who would voluntarily put their lives on the line for her sake.
What was I even arguing for?
A job she hated? An apartment she hoped to move out of in the next year or two?

Luka was frowning again. “Is your job that good?”

At this
Joella
couldn’t have stopped the incredulous laugh if she’d tried. “Not even,” she managed. She sighed, then, and moved to sit on a smooth rock. “My boss just pays me fairly well, considering my position, because he’s hoping I’ll sleep with him.”

“Then you’ve got no reason to throw your life away,” Luka declared on a growl, turning a glare toward the clearing.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering at the growl in his voice, before releasing a resigned sigh. She didn’t like it, but he had a point. It wasn’t like she wanted to die.
Still….
“Maybe not, but people will think I’ve gone missing. Or died, even.”

“Then you’ll have to prove them wrong,” Luka said as if it were the most obvious thing. He glanced back at her, then, and said, “Come on, breakfast’s cooking.”

Chapter Four

LOCAL WOMAN BELIEVED DEAD

A poorly enlarged, outdated Driver’s License photo was centered below the abrupt headline on the front page of the newspaper, but it was good enough. Char recognized her as the woman who’d nearly gotten him caught in an altercation with Alpha werewolf Luka
Craige
. And while he already couldn’t allow the woman to live, just for having seen him standing over
Craige’s
Beta, now he was doubly inspired to burn a hole in her chest. All of which made the fact the local authorities already seemed to believe her dead that much better.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” his middle-aged waitress asked with a sad shake of her head as she returned with his order. “I don’t know what this world’s coming to. Doing something like that to someone.”

Char lowered the paper for a beat and offered the woman an understanding smile. “Getting to where it’s not even safe outside,” he said. “Could I get a warmer for the coffee, too?” He waited patiently as she obligingly refilled his coffee then stepped toward her next table before spreading the paper out in order to read and eat simultaneously.

Unsurprisingly, the article was short and close-mouthed on the details found at the actual crime scene. They described the body as “burned beyond recognition” and, apparently, they were basing their theory of the body’s identity on the woman’s interrupted 9-1-1 call and the tossed purse found at the scene. It really was perfect.

His eyes returned to the line with the information he’d been looking for and he smirked. ‘Twenty-nine year old
Joella
Harp’ had landed herself at the top of his to-do list and, unfortunately for her, he really didn’t have time to draw out the game. Not with a bitter werewolf on his trail.
If you’re lucky, Ms. Harp, the wolves have already eaten you.

****

“Can’t I at least run home to get into something more comfortable?”
Joella
said, obviously unhappy with Luka’s previous answers.

Luka grit his teeth in his effort to keep his voice level. “No,” he ground out. “For the last time, Ella, you can’t go back into that town until Char is dead. End of discussion.”

“Uh-uh,”
Joella
said. “You can’t ‘end of discussion’ me, Luka. I’m not asking to be allowed to go to my job or stay in town. I just want
clothes
. Clean clothes. That’s not an outrageous request!”

“Alpha said no, human,” Vanna interrupted from her perch on a nearby rock.

“You’re wasting your time, Vanna,” Morgan put in without looking toward her sister. “Humans don’t understand ‘compliance’.”

Joella’s
lips pursed, but Luka ignored her reaction as he turned a glare on the twins. “You should be getting ready. We leave soon for the hunt.”

The girls both pushed to their feet and Vanna asked, “Alpha, if she really wants to take her life into her hands, why are we wasting our time with her?”

“Because I said to,” Luka snapped, his irritation slipping through. Neither asked any further questions before scampering off, leaving Luka as alone with
Joella
as he was going to get.

“So is that it?”
Joella
asked, her voice lowered slightly. “I’m a waste of your time?”

“That depends,” Luka said, stepping into her personal space again. “Are you going to throw your life away as soon as I turn my back? Do you want to die?”

Her mouth opened immediately, but she swallowed her response and slowly closed it again. One of her small, feminine hands landed on his chest, and his palms itched. This woman confused the hell out of his instincts. He’d never been so distracted.

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to die, Luka. I just want some clean underwear and to get out of these work clothes. Maybe grab a sweater.”

Knowing exactly how she’d respond, he suggested, “You could always just ditch these things.” He tugged, oh-so-lightly, on the sleeve of her blouse for emphasis.

Joella
sucked in a breath and swatted his hand away. “Absolutely not!”

Forcing his expression to remain neutral, Luka said, “Then you’ll have to tell me where to find your stuff. I’ll bring you something when I return.”

Her face scrunched up at his suggestion in obvious disapproval of his offer, but on her the expression was fairly endearing. Still, he waited with feigned patience for her reply, knowing he wouldn’t likely be waiting long.

“You can’t just break into my apartment,” she finally replied, an undertone of exasperation lacing her voice. “Besides, what if there’re police there?” The last was added with a shrug, as if she didn’t really expect anyone to be waiting for her, and he was reminded of her earlier comment about her job.

But this wasn’t the time for retrospection and long conversations. “If I can’t get in, I can’t get in,” he said plainly. “But no one’s going to be too concerned about animal tracks in your backyard.” Confused, certainly, but not overly concerned. This was Nevada, after all.

“I don’t even have a backyard,”
Joella
muttered on a sigh. “Just a small square of concrete. Fine, okay, you win this one.” She immediately locked her intelligent brown eyes with his and added, “Today.”

Luka allowed a portion of his grin to show and leaned close, inhaling her scent before whispering,
“
Deal.” He could hear the approaching clicking of stone-filed nails on rock, indicating that his hunting party was gathering. It was time to go.

Traveling was easier with four legs, but hunting in a city was safer with two. For that reason the hunting party was stuck carrying small bags on their backs when they ran. It was the best way to transport their clothes. Once they were all dressed, Luka had everyone meet up at the mouth of the alley nearest to Char’s last known location. They would all need as fresh a scent trail as possible. Luka’s gaze lingered, as he was sure everyone’s had, on the smeared chalk outline in the middle of the alleyway. The alley itself was roped off with standard issue caution tape and offensively bright orange cones, but none of that obstructed the scents in the air.

Justin’s scent was long-gone, replaced and overpowered by the stomach-turning stench of overcooked meat mixed with burned flesh. They would never even know if Justin had been trailing Char or if the witch had found him.

Luka frowned and continued walking, slowly enough to take in one more deep drag. Char’s and
Joella’s
scents were stronger, as was his own, but not by much. Too many people had combed through the space in the past few hours. Add to that the fact that Char had likely escaped by riding a single burning ember on a breeze, and finding the bastard was going to be hard. But it had always been hard. Still, he had an idea of where to start. Char was sure to be targeting
Joella
. With a little luck, he’d already paid a visit to her apartment.

****

“Are you my babysitter?”
Joella
asked as she approached the woman currently staring up at the clouds. As near as she could tell, the other woman looked just a little older than herself, in her mid-thirties at the latest. She was a bit shorter, notably thinner, and had long, dark brown hair. In all honesty,
Joella
couldn’t be sure she’d ever even learned the woman’s name. Luka wasn’t overly good at introductions.

With a grin, the woman straightened and shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it babysitting,” she replied. “Alpha just wants me to help make sure the camp stays safe. Including you.”

Well, when she said it that way it actually made some sense.

Holding out her hand,
Joella
said, “
Joella
. I wasn’t properly introduced.”

“Emily.” Her grip was secure, but non-threatening, and
Joella
found herself inclined to like her. “Did you get enough to eat this morning?”

Smiling,
Joella
perched against a boulder and said, “I did, thank you. Do you mind if I ask … that is, I’m just kind of curious….” How did one go about asking these sorts of questions, anyway?

“You’ve got questions?” Emily invited, climbing onto the rock behind her and crossing her legs. “Fire away.”

Joella
opened her mouth, but the questions swarming her mind all rushed to come out at once and she couldn’t grab hold of any single one. Did she want to know about Luka? Obviously. But she wasn’t so sure that should be her immediate focus. What about werewolf mythology? Or physics? Or witches? And what else was real?

Laughter drew
Joella
back to the moment and she cringed. She’d been caught, of course.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, containing herself as best she could. “Honestly, I can’t imagine what it’d be like to learn overnight that an entire species I’d never believed in actually existed.”

That piqued her interest and
Joella
asked, “You mean you were born a werewolf?” A brief pause and she blurted, “Is it even okay to call you that?” Was there a more PC term for ‘werewolf’?

Emily grinned. “It’s fine. And yes, I was born this way. Most wolves are, since
Turning
a human into a wolf is illegal.”

“Illegal?” That wasn’t something she’d expected to hear. “You mean Luka’s opposed to it, or is he
not
the final authority?”

At this Emily paused and rolled her hands together as she thought over her answer. “Yes and no,” she finally said. “There’s an ancient set of laws, put into action by the original Alpha according to
legend, that
all subsequent packs traditionally adhere to. If another Alpha were to publicly denounce them he’d probably get himself assassinated. We’re generally a loyal, and therefore respectful, type, you know?” Emily shrugged and added, “I don’t think any of us know Luka’s personal stance on the subject. The ancient laws are like guidelines on how to build and run a successful pack.”

“Emily,” another female voice interrupted, earning
Joella’s
attention. The other woman was a little older, had short brown hair that framed her cheeks, and her forehead was marred with frown lines. She flicked a glance of awkward acknowledgment to
Joella
before adding, “I’m sorry, but, have you seen the boys?” That was where she’d seen this woman before. This was the woman
Joella
had seen with those two young boys, likely their mother.

“Not since Alpha left,” Emily replied, a frown dipping her own lips.

The woman sighed. “I was afraid of that. They’re not in the main clearing or the little nook they like to sleep in.”

Emily immediately stretched to her full height, still on the boulder, and cast her eyes out. “Go on back to your spot, Michelle. Hopefully they’re chasing a bird somewhere and will be back in a minute, but I’ll look around. Is Lew patrolling?”

“He is,” Michelle assured her. “Should I find him?”

“No,” Emily said, shaking her head. “If they go out that way he’ll find them on his own.”

Taking a breath, Michelle glanced forward and quietly asked, “What if they went toward the city?” It was clear from her tone, even without an enhanced sense of smell, that this was Michelle’s true concern. And that much
Joella
could understand.

“Maybe I can help,”
Joella
said before Emily could reply. When both females turned their attention back to her she added, “Another pair of eyes can’t hurt. And if they did head toward the city, I can definitely help there.”

Michelle’s dark brown eyes softened and she smiled. “That would be so kind of you, thank you.”

“Alright,” Emily called as she stepped down to the ground. “Let’s look around here first. I should be able to find their scent since they haven’t been gone too long.”

“They’d been down for a nap when I saw them last,” Michelle said quickly.

As they made their way toward a side-cropping of stones decorated by prickly desert bushes, Michelle in the lead, Emily quietly said, “I’m going to have to shift to get the scents. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

Joella
frowned, running over what Luka had told her just earlier that morning. “You mean you don’t have an enhanced sense of smell in this form?”

“We do,” Emily assured her, “but I’m still learning to be a tracker. And our noses—all of our senses—work better in wolf form.”

“Here,” Michelle said. “I tucked them in right here. They’d curled up and everything.” She was pointing to the center of the stone gathering, where the rocks seemed to have formed a shallow, slightly underground cave of sorts. Nothing big enough for a human child to fit in, let alone two. Fortunately
Joella
didn’t embarrass herself by pointing that out before realizing the boys probably hadn’t been ‘human’ when they’d crawled inside.

Joella’s
attention was distracted as Emily peeled off her clothes calmly, belatedly reminding
Joella
that she’d seen the group do that the night before, too. And she supposed it made some sense. Emily handed her garments—just a pair of jean shorts and a shell-sleeved tee—to Michelle a beat before her skin rippled. All
Joella
could do was watch as the woman she’d been talking to a moment before arched, the echoing crack of popping bones sounding in the air, and dark brown fur shot up from her previously pale skin. As Emily settled on four paws, shaking as if she’d just taken a bath,
Joella
found herself wondering at the color of her fur. It was exactly the same as the color of her hair in her human form. Was that a coincidence? Or was it true for all wolves?