Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) (23 page)

Cooper glanced at Jackson and then back at her. “Every member of my family and yours has enough intuitive skill to be on alert. But we can’t run around making an issue out of a bunch of tremors based on our gut instincts. We need proof.

“Hovering spirit guides and shaman who can feel impending danger will not cut it. Who would listen to us? Let’s hope the US Geological Survey or the volcanologist can find something definitive.”

Sharon shook her head. “So many people are out on the mountainside. Hikers. Campers. Small cabins. Lord, the biologists from the college.”

He cupped her neck and hauled her face forward to kiss her briefly. “I know, babe. I know.” He lifted his gaze over her head and spoke to Jackson. “Keep her safe.”

“You know I will.”

“Don’t talk like that,” she mumbled.

Cooper looked back toward her and kissed her mouth briefly. “I need to know Jackson is with you. No matter what happens, I need to know you’re safe. It’s the only way I can do my job without freaking out.”

“Okay.” She would consent to anything to ensure he had his head one hundred percent in the game.

“Stay in touch with me.” He released her, grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch, and shrugged into it. “Whatever you do, make sure the citizens are willing to force the fracking to stop. I don’t know what else we’re up against, but we all three know that’s paramount. It’s the first step. It’s the only thing we can control at this point.”

“Consider it done,” Jackson said.

Cooper nodded and raced from the condo, shutting the door with a resounding snick behind him.

Sharon turned to face Jackson, setting her hands on his chest. “Do you have to work today?”

He smirked. “Do you think that’s even possible?”

“Not really. No. Just asking.”

He gave her a squeeze. “I think the world will revolve without my accounting input for a few days.”

“Are you sure?” she teased. “What about all those late filers with extensions? Are they not lined up outside your office? And the logging sites? Don’t they need someone to come by and keep them straight?”

He rolled his eyes. “First of all, people don’t usually ‘line up’ to see their accountant, especially those who filed for an extension. And second of all, if you recall, I already inspected the local logging site last week.” He kissed her lips gently and continued. “That’s where I was when you had your mysterious fake accident and I picked you up on the side of the road.”

She gasped and pushed away from him, leaning back several inches. “Dude, there was nothing fake about that accident. It was one hundred percent real. In fact, if you hadn’t come along, I would have shifted and healed much faster than I did, thank you very much.”

“Why didn’t you?” He lifted an eyebrow.

She wiggled both of hers. “And ruin being saved by a knight in shining armor?”

The volume in the auditorium was so high it was difficult to get everyone’s attention, even with the mic. But Sharon’s father attempted to do just that. “Everyone, please, take a seat.”

The mayor of Cambridge stood behind Adam. Although he’d been brought up to speed on everything concerning the earthquakes and what they might mean for the community and the area surrounding the lake, he’d handed the reins to her father and taken a seat on the podium. The reality was Adam Masters had gathered more information and was a respected member of the community.

Sharon stood off to one side with Jackson to her left. She desperately wanted to reach for him, to hold his hand or soak up his warmth and comforting touch. But she knew this wasn’t the place. The last thing they needed was for the audience to turn the tables to a discussion of threesomes or polygamy or mixing races. Tonight’s agenda was uniting for a common good. The land.

On Jackson’s other side stood Gene Hamilton. In the frenzy of the week’s events, she had completely forgotten that Jackson hadn’t met Cooper’s father until the man wandered up to them and extended a hand. Moments later, Jackson had yet another family member Sharon knew would help fill the void his own parents’ absence had formed in his life. Gene was a good guy. Sharon had admired him since he and Joyce had moved back to the area.

Finally, after several attempts by Adam to get the crowd’s attention, a hush fell. “Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight. I know this is short notice, but we have a problem that needs our utmost attention.”

“Those damn frackers,” someone yelled.

Her father was a calm man. He didn’t change his expression or buckle under the pressure. She watched him with a level of admiration. No wonder the mayor deferred to him.

He ignored the heckler and continued. “There have been a series of earthquakes just north of here in recent days. Most of you have felt the larger ones. What you don’t realize is there have been smaller undetectable tremors under the Earth’s surface that indicate a possible seismic problem none of us can imagine.”

“What are we talking about?” She recognized the man who asked this question as Pastor Edmund of the Church on the Hill. The man and his congregation had been the bane of her family’s existence for years. He had taken every opportunity he could to run the Masters family out of town, including attacking them and threatening their lives over his perceived lack of morals.

He and most of his congregation were so vehemently opposed to the mixing of the races or the practice of living in groups of three that they were currently under court order to stay away from any member of the Masters family. That order was being ignored tonight for the sake of the community at large.

“What an asshole,” Gene mumbled only loud enough for Sharon and Jackson to hear.

Adam addressed the man calmly. “It’s impossible to say for sure. The Earth has its own agenda. Scientists can only attempt to predict what might occur. In this case, the frequency, duration, and location of the tremors is likely to indicate a larger earthquake in the near future.”

Sharon had shared what Cooper said about the possibility of a volcano with her father, but they’d agreed at this time to keep the threat to themselves. People were liable to really freak out if they heard the V word. It still seemed preposterous even to Sharon.

Pastor Edmund moved to stand in the aisle. His face turned red as he addressed the audience, spinning in a slow circle. “Do you see what’s happening here?”

Murmurs could be heard throughout the room, but Sharon wasn’t able to pinpoint any specific words.

“These people,” he pointed a rigid finger toward her father, “are destroying our land and our way of life.”

Sharon rolled her eyes. Leave it to Edmund to turn this into a circus before they even got started with the meeting.

The man held up a ragged bible. “
This
is the law of the land. This book is filled with examples of what God’s wrath looks like when He is not obeyed. Many of the citizens of this fine town are so out of God’s favor that He is bringing His wrath upon us.”

Gasps of shock, dismay, and agreement spread around the room.

Mayor Cromwell stood and came to the podium. Adam stepped aside to allow him to reach the mic. “Pastor Edmund, please take your seat. We’re not here to discuss religion. We’re here to do our part to save this town and the others in this area, namely Sojourn.”

Pastor Edmund spun around and glared at a group of people to the right and behind him. “Heathens. All of them. God did not intend for the races to mix like this. We need to return to simpler times to save our land.”

Mayor Cromwell spoke again, louder this time. “I’m going to have to ask you to sit down, Pastor Edmund. We have much to discuss. If everyone would please calm down and listen to Adam Masters. He knows what he’s talking about.”

“Why?” a woman from the rear on the Native American side shouted. “Why should we listen to a white man tell us what to do? For all we know, he’s trying to run us off our land. He could be making every word of this up to scare us into fleeing our territory. We won’t be intimidated.”

Sharon watched the woman as she shook with disdain. It was crazy how ridiculously some folks behaved.

Another man stood next to her. Sharon recognized him as Pete Sandhouse, a deputy on the reservation. He was Native American and a shifter. “I agree with Veronica. Why should we believe anything you say, Masters? Your family has done nothing but make a mockery out of both Cambridge and Sojourn. Your sons are an abomination, sleeping with our women, and hell, our men too. It makes me sick.” He turned toward the mayor. “If you want us to stay and listen to anything you have to say here tonight, I suggest you get this sick bastard off the podium.”

Gene stepped forward next to Jackson, catching Sharon’s eye. His hands were fisted at his sides. “I can’t believe how many idiots live among us,” he whispered, barely holding his cool. “I’m glad Joyce isn’t here tonight to witness this. She’d blow her lid.”

Sharon grinned at Gene and then turned her gaze back to the mayor as he returned to the mic while Sharon’s father stepped aside, his head held high, no apology on his face. Thank God. She didn’t think she could stand to see weakness in his eyes.

She glanced at her mother on the front row and found her also sitting tall and straight. Her hands were gently folded in her lap. She showed no sign of the bullying her husband was receiving.

As for the woman who’d spoken before Pete Sandhouse, Sharon now realized she was Veronica Miller, the Native American human Sandhouse was currently fucking with no intentions of claiming. He was using her, feeding off her anger at having been jilted by Corbin Archers when he mated with Laurie Hamilton and Zachary Masters.

The mating was unavoidable. Fate doesn’t give two shits about timing or other people’s feelings. Veronica had been an unpredicted casualty, and the woman hadn’t taken it well. Instead of stepping away gracefully when Corbin broke things off with her, she’d taken up with Sandhouse in an effort to seek retaliation.

It seemed everything would come to a head right here.

“What the hell is going on?”
Jackson communicated into her mind.
“Isn’t that Veronica Miller?”

“Yes. Long story.”

“I think I can gather the gist of it.”

Mayor Cromwell held up a hand. “Please, everyone, take a seat.” When the hush died down to a minimum, he continued. “Frankly, I’m appalled at how immaturely many of you are behaving. Now, I don’t give two shakes about anyone’s disagreements over old topics. We aren’t here to discuss morals, religion, or jilted girlfriends.”

Sharon almost choked out a laugh when Mayor Cromwell, who obviously knew the history, glared at Veronica.

“We’re gathered here tonight because, like it or not, our lives and our land are at stake. These small earthquakes are serious and could very well be indicative of something much larger.” His voice was stern. His glare at the audience was ferocious.

Sharon didn’t think she’d ever seen him so serious and tipping the edge of losing it. The man was usually the calmest, most collected person she knew. Too bad he wasn’t a shifter.

Someone else from Cambridge jumped to his feet and pointed a finger at the mayor. “If you’re willing to listen to these assholes, you’re a bigger fool than I thought, Cromwell. The Masters cannot be trusted. They continue to form threesomes with those damn Indians, increasing the numbers on their commune at the edge of the reservation.

“I can’t believe you’d be so stupid as to give a rat’s ass what they have to say about anything. Hell, they’re probably making the entire thing up just to draw attention away from their hedonistic ways.” The man shook as he finished speaking, glaring at Sharon’s father and then directly at her.

She held her head high. No one had a lick of proof anything was happening in her family that wasn’t on the up and up. They had broken no law ever. None of them were even married to one person, let alone two. And she would never deny Fate and take heed of whatever any other soul thought about her.

“Shit,”
Jackson muttered into her head.

As if on cue, Veronica jumped up and shouted at him directly. “Jackson Wolf, you’re a damn fool. Can’t you see these people are playing you? Why do you stand there in support of the Masters as if you too have taken to sleeping with one of them? I’ll bet you’re sleeping with one of the Bartel-Hamiltons too. Which one is it?” She shuddered in an exaggerated manner as she finished speaking.

Jackson said nothing beside Sharon.

She wanted to reach out to him. She couldn’t, but she wished she could pull him into her embrace and tell him how sorry she was he’d been dragged into the battle against his free will.

Free will simply didn’t have much of a part in this mayhem.

Melinda stepped into the room and scurried around the edge to reach Sharon’s side while the mayor tried to regain control once again.

“Sorry I’m late. What’d I miss?”

Sharon chuckled and muttered, “What
didn’t
you miss?”

Two men Sharon recognized stood side by side against the back wall. She’d seen them spying on the fracking site the night she went with Cooper. One of them stepped forward. “Mayor Cromwell, if I may, I’d be happy to explain what’s happening to the land. I’m not from this area. Perhaps your people and the people of Sojourn would find it easier to stomach the news if it comes from a stranger.”

Melinda leaned between Sharon and Jackson and whispered, “Those are the men Cooper and I met in the woods. That’s Isaiah Arthur.”

Sharon nodded. She didn’t care who it was if he could get these idiots to listen to reason. So far that seemed unlikely.

“Why the hell would we listen to you?” Pete Sandhouse shouted. “No offense, but where are you even from?”

The man with the short-cropped brown hair turned to face the Native American crowd. The man was not entirely Caucasian, but Sharon wasn’t sure what his mix of nationalities was. Who the hell cared?

“I’m from Tolecula, just north of here. Name’s Isaiah Arthur. This is my brother Wyatt.” He nodded beside him and continued. “We’re just as interested in making sure the land in this area is stable as the rest of you. And we’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s happening. If you’ll just hear me out.”