The Accidental Werewolf 2: Something About Harry (Accidentally Paranormal Novel) (14 page)

Harry’s grief, his statement thick with it, shoved the last of her anger aside, letting in sympathy and yet more fear. Mara reached out and squeezed his hand, relishing the warmth of his skin before she pulled away. “I don’t know. But we won’t let anyone hurt them. I swear that to you, Harry. So, did you notice the bracelet Mimi had on? She said the lady with the swingy hair like mine gave it to her. It had her name on it, Harry. Did Fletcher come back with anything unusual, too?”

Harry shook his head, his eyes bereft, his mind clearly sifting through his conversation with Fletcher. “No. Nothing. And his description of this woman was the same as Mimi’s. Except he said when she dropped them off, as she ran away, she got all blurry. He said she was really fast. ‘Superhuman fast’ were his words.”

Mara gripped the edge of the counter. Blurry? What would make a child describe a scenario like that unless the person doing the running wasn’t human? Humans didn’t get blurry when they ran. “Someone paranormal . . .” The words slipped from her lips before she could stop them.

“So this does have to do with all of you?”

Mara tilted her head, certain she hadn’t heard an accusatory tone in his voice, just a simple question. “That makes no sense, Harry. No one knows about you but Guido and us. And he doesn’t know about the kids unless you told him. No one at Pack even knew the kids existed. They still don’t, as far as I know. How could they unless you told them? HR doesn’t even know about them.”

Harry’s head popped up, his dark hair bristling against the collar of his shirt. “You looked at my file?”

“Before you get all hormonal on me, yes. Once I found out about Mimi and Fletcher, I wanted to be sure I didn’t make things worse in case you didn’t want anyone at work to know about them. You weren’t answering your texts and I was sweating the small stuff. So I peeked at your insurance information to see if you’d put them on the plan. That’s it. I was just trying to keep track of my lies.”

“Then I don’t get it. I just know they can’t go back to that school until we find out who this person is. Maybe never, at that. Because after today, it’s obvious their security is lax. No way am I taking a chance someone could grab them if it was that easy to do it, and I’ve said as much to Principal Ditter and the police when they questioned the kids and me.”

Oh, she could almost hear the weeping and wailing of the car-pool ladies now. “Okay. So next question. Until we find this person, how do you feel about them staying with Wanda while you adjust? We can’t have them witness a shift until we know you can control it.”

Harry’s head cocked. “But isn’t she out on the Island? That’s too far from me. I
need
to see them.”

Mara shook her head. “What choice do we have? I’d bring them back to Pack, if you’d all just let me. But nooo, everyone’s worried about me getting caught for turning you, even though that’s going to happen anyway. So we can send them to Wanda. Heath’s away right now, so he won’t be there to tell anyone. She keeps normal daytime hours, or they can play Count Dracula with Auntie Nina and Carl the Zombie.”

Nina barged through the back door, holding Carl by his belt loop. “Sit, buddy. When I tell you to stay with Harry, you stay the hell with Harry. Do you want to end up kidnapped by the bad people? No. You do not. Because then I have to kill the bad people if they hurt you. That’s always a shitty mess.”

Though his face always had that crooked, almost misshapen turn to it, his eyes said he’d been caught doing something he knew he shouldn’t have. He folded his chin to his chest in remorse as he sat on a stool and put his head on Harry’s shoulder.

“So the issue of the kids. You wanna see them on Skype for a little while or on a website’s sidebar, Harry?” No Holds Barred Nina asked, jamming her hands into her hoodie’s pocket.

Harry grimaced, clearly realizing his choices were few, and Nina was only pointing out the reality of it. He reached over and patted Carl’s head to comfort him when he stirred. “And how will we explain to the kids what’s going on? They hardly know all of you, and I’m just going to send them to stay with Wanda for an indeterminate amount of time?”

Mara’s lips set into a firm line. She sighed, releasing the pent up air in her lungs. “Then that settles it. I don’t want the kids to be unhappy or usurped. They’ve had more than enough change in their lives. If you think there’s even a small chance that’ll happen, let me tell my brother what I’ve done. You can stay here with the kids. Wanda, Marty, and Nina can show you the way of the werewolf—”

“And you can go to werewolf jail? Nope. Not while I’m still breathing.” He gazed directly at her, his eyes capturing hers and holding them.

His answer, so “I dare you to tell me otherwise,” caught her off guard. Even Harry didn’t look like he understood where this sudden need to keep her out of the big house came from.

Mara’s breathing all but halted. There was almost nothing but Harry’s eyes locking with hers and the sound of their lungs taking in air. He was protecting her, which wouldn’t work for long against the council, but still . . .

Nina waved a hand between the two of them and snapped her fingers. “We have shit to figure out, kiddies. Let’s get on with it.” She rolled her shoulders, cracking her neck. “I damn well just told Wanda last night this shit would turn ugly. Fuck if I can remember a single time one of our cases hasn’t.”

“Meaning?” Harry broke the silence between them.

Nina leaned her elbows on the counter, her coal black eyes deep and serious. “Meaning, we’ve never had a case that hasn’t had some whacked motherfucker involved. That includes Marty, and me, too. Don’t you remember, Harry, I told you I was the muscle at OOPS? I said that shit for a reason. I thought we were safe this time, seeing as the accident was family related, but somebody took your fucking kids, Harry. I wanna know who and why. Then I wanna eat their legs off.”

Harry’s ruddy complexion went pale again, the tic in his jaw pulsing. “So you think this was related to me and Mara, too?”

Nina popped her lips, gazing into Harry’s eyes. “I think if Fletch said this person ran away ‘superhuman fast,’ then yeah—maybe.”

“You heard me tell Mara that?” Again, poor Harry’s face held wonder and horror.

Nina snorted, clapping Harry on the back. “I told you, I hear everything, man. I make it my business to always know what the fuck’s going on. That shit, coupled with the “tell Uncle Harry and Mara I see them” thing she said to Mimi, worries the hell out of me.”

Mara blanched. “Mimi didn’t tell the police the message this woman with the swingy hair gave her. Maybe we should call them and let them know?”

Nina rolled her eyes. “Dude, are you crazy? If this shit has anything to do with the paranormal, who better to handle it? Us or the local cops? Remember how helpful they were when Marty was kidnapped back in the day?”

Now Harry blanched. “Marty was kidnapped?”

Perfect. Just what Harry needed, more stories about the bad paranormals to feed his rampant fears. Mara ran her fingers over her temples, massaging the knot between her eyebrows. “It was a long time ago—early in her turning, and yes, she was kidnapped, but it had nothing to do with us crazy werewolves. It was a shitty human.”
So take that, one-time human
.

Nina cracked her knuckles. “Yeah, but guess who took care of it in the end?”

Mara looked Harry directly in the eye. “For now, I think it’s better not to stir this up any more than it’s already stirred—if it is someone paranormal, Nina’s right. It’s better we handle it. The children are safe for now, and we’ll be sure it stays that way. We’re much better equipped to handle this than any human police force. So are you okay with keeping that piece of information from the police for now?” She searched his eyes, praying he wouldn’t push this. No human bars in the land could contain someone of their ilk.

Harry waffled for a moment before saying, “Agreed. I think.”

Nina slapped him on the back and smiled. “So, lovebirds—fucking make some choices, would you? Carl’s hungry, and I need to know where I’m hangin’ upside down to sleep tonight.”

Harry made a face at her, tearing his eyes from Mara’s. “You do not.”

“Of course I don’t, wingnut. I just wanted to be sure you were paying attention. So decide, Harry, because once you do, while you guys were fighting like you’re married, I thought of a way we can get you back to work so no one sticks their noses in where they damn well don’t belong.”

Mara rolled up the sleeves of Harry’s shirt, fighting the impulse to bury her nose in its collar. “Nina, we’re just prolonging the inevitable. I was a nervous wreck today—all day. I couldn’t stop worrying about what a horrible liar I am, or about getting caught lying. I’m here to tell you, I’d suck so hard at being a spy. I can’t do this forever. I’ll end up with a werewolf-sized ulcer.”

“We’ll figure it out, Mara,” Harry insisted, the forceful tone he used giving her delicious chills. “We’ll find a way to present this to your brother and whoever these people are you’re so sure are going to put you in jail, and we’ll
make
them listen. I don’t know anything about your legal system, but I’m not giving you up. So while I can’t believe I’m saying this, let’s hear the Crypt Keeper out.” He frowned.

Harry’s words, again said with so much conviction he seemed as surprised by them as she was, had her wondering where this refusal to let her pay for her crimes was coming from.

Mara sighed, partially out of relief that Harry appeared to have gotten control of his angry barbs, and partially because there was no convincing anyone this was going to come crashing around their ears sooner rather than later.

“Fine. Shoot, but if the heat gets turned up, I’m turning myself in. I don’t want Marty and Wanda in trouble with the pack for protecting me. Fair?”

“Yeah, yeah. What the fuck ever. Now quit clangin’ your cup against the bars on your cell and listen.”

Harry leaned in, taking Carl, who napped on his shoulder, with him.

Mara leaned in, too, crazy curious to hear her plan to sneak Harry into Pack without every werewolf within two hundred feet of him smelling his scent.

“Short-Shot—meet your new boyfriend.” Nina grinned—wide and beautiful.

Well, thank God someone had finally heard her carnal request.

CHAPTER

9

“This is crazy.”

“I dunno. Personally, for me anyway, this is the best werewolf day ever.”

Mara blushed, her cheeks hot, her mouth like the Mohave Desert. “It’ll never work.”

“We won’t know until we try. Hey, don’t forget my back.” Harry paused, a low rumble emitting from his chest, sending vibrations of warmth to hers. He lifted his arms high, the stretch of his navy suit spanning the width of his broad back. “Yeahhhh, like that.”

“I protest.” Well, that probably wasn’t being totally honest with herself, but for the sake of her pride, and the maniacal gleam in Nina’s eyes, she protested.

And besides, did you hear yourself, Mara? Weak. So weak.

“Really? I don’t.” Harry’s reply was thick and deep, rumbly and delicious-gruff.

“Dude, stop complaining and rub—all over him. Everywhere,” Nina ordered, swirling a finger around.

Mara fought a groan as she stiffly shimmied up and down Harry’s body just as they prepared to leave for work. After clueing Marty in on Nina’s plan to keep the pack at bay, and finally convincing Harry to let Wanda take Mimi and Fletcher home with her, they’d all gotten a decent night’s sleep at Mara’s cottage—including Carl, who loved sitting on her enormous cushioned window seat and watching the snow fall outside while snuggling under a down comforter.

Now, they were in the middle of her living room at seven in the morning, leaving her scent on Harry and her acutely aware hormones in a pile of screaming nerves.

The brilliant idea behind it?

To fool all the werewolves at Pack into thinking Harry smelled like a werewolf because he was doing one—the lesser of two evils. Theory being, Mara would probably warrant less trouble from the council if she slipped up and began a relationship with a human.

The pack didn’t love humans and werewolves mating. They especially didn’t love it in a working environment due to the risk someone would become spiteful and angry in the event of a messy breakup and reveal their status to the world at large out of revenge. But they’d like this idea a whole lot more than they’d like knowing Mara’d turned Harry with a homegrown baby serum.

In short, her punishment would be far less severe. A slap on the wrist at best, versus a prison cell and meals served on a tray with dividers.

Harry wrapped his arms around her, leaving her breathing choppy. He smiled down and winked, his voice all crushed velvet and smoky. “Just making sure we’ve covered, you know, everywhere.”

Everywhere was pretty well covered on Harry’s fit, hard, luscious body. If she managed to survive staying out of the council’s reach, she was never going to survive claiming every square inch of his rippling mass with hers.

Mara fought the insane, almost uncontrollable, impulse to let loose and rub up against Harry like a cat. His body, thick with muscle, coupled with his new werewolf scent, was driving her hormones to a place she couldn’t quite remember ever going. Instead, she tried to appear unaffected, letting her arms fall loose in his embrace.

When what she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around his neck, thrust her hands into his thick hair, and bury her nose in his muscled neck. Nip at his square, freshly shaved jaw as she hiked herself up around his waist and pressed into his . . .

Mara took a shaky breath when Nina poked her head over her shoulder and said, “Short-Shot, make like you like Harry. He’s your new boyfriend, right? This is the stage when you can’t keep your paws off him. So put your paws
on
him,” she demanded, placing Mara’s hands on Harry’s shoulders. “Jesus. You’d think you’ve never been stupid in love before.”

Point?

Mara gripped Harry’s shoulders, for practice purposes, of course, sinking her fingers into his sculpted flesh, making a face at Nina. “You can’t possibly believe this will work, can you both? No way are we ever going to make people believe that Harry has the scent of a werewolf on him because we’ve been . . .” Doing it. Making it. Wonking. Scoring.

Oh, heaven above.

“Fucking,” Nina offered without blinking an eye. “A lot. And hell, yes, I think it’ll work. Maybe not for long, but at least long enough for us to figure out how we’re gonna get your scrawny ass out of this jam. So do you wanna try this and see if it works? Or do you wanna piss away an opportunity, skip this lovebird bullshit, and just call Big Bertha up on the prison love line and invite her to make you her bitch?”

Harry shook his head in vehement gesture, burying his nose in her hair. “Absolutely no Big Bertha. Wow,” he said on a deep inhale, his chest rising and falling against hers, making her heart do all sorts of erratic things. “You smell amazing.” He drove his fingers into it, drawing the long bulk of the strands to his nose.

Mara’s nipples tightened when Harry’s breath fanned out over the flesh of her neck. She cleared her throat. “That’s just the werewolf in you talking. Tomorrow, as you adjust, I’ll smell like day-old bologna.”

Carl appeared behind Harry’s broad back, holding up two brown paper bags with his half grin. He struggled to keep his grip on them, his fingers stiff and, in some places, rigid.

“Aw, Carl, did you make us lunch?” Mara smiled her approval. Carl, despite his rather impish behavior and his gray green pallor, was adorable in a weird, sort of dead way. He aimed to please with an air of fear he’d not only displease Nina but end up shunned and taken from these people he’d found who accepted him as is.

Carl couldn’t express how he felt in words, but his eyes spoke volumes about his emotions. Mara wiggled her finger at him, drawing him to her and Harry, and pulling him into a hug. He smelled so much better since Nina had insisted he bathe and drink a bottle of mouthwash. “Thank you, Carl. You’re awesome.”

Carl’s eyes went immediately to the floor with a nasally grunt, a shy response to her words of support.

Harry’s eyes never left Mara’s when he teased, “I hope it’s bologna, Carl. Thanks, buddy. That was thoughtful.”

After a good night’s sleep, Harry’s mood had lightened considerably. He’d spent a portion of their evening while they ate dinner together listening to Nina explain what she’d meant when she said none of their cases came without trouble.

Nina didn’t candy-coat the things they’d experienced since they began OOPS, and while Mara never failed to cringe when she told of the most frightening crisis case of all, involving the turning of Nina’s sister Phoebe and her ex-FBI agent husband Sam, Mara knew there was motive for it.

To keep Harry aware. Not only was he now paranormal, meaning he had to make conscious effort to pay attention, but his children had been threatened. Paying attention was crucial to figuring out who’d done this.

“All right, let’s bust a move, people. You nerds have to get to work, and I need a goddamn nap. Darnell’s comin’ to stay with Carl while I sleep, so we’re covered for now. Just remember what I said, Short-Shot—keep it simple, no deets. Some shit ain’t for the masses, ya know? So if people ask questions, play possum. Make googly eyes at Harry here. Hold hands, kiss the shit out of each other behind that stupid fucking palm tree Marty had shipped in from whereverthefuck in the atrium. Eat lunch together. Make it believable, but keep it simple.” She turned to Harry, pinning him with her vampiric gaze. “You got that Harry? Make Mara your bitch and let everyone know you’ve pissed on her tree.”

Harry stiffened against Mara just before backing away from her and acknowledging Nina with a nod. “Right. Kiss. Googly eyes. Kiss. Piss on the tree,” he repeated, backing up only to trip over the third pair of shoes she’d tried on this morning and stumble on the edge of her couch before righting himself. “I got this,” he murmured when Nina moved to right him.

Mara’s cheeks burned. Actually kiss Harry? Like, his lips, touching hers? And she was supposed to keep herself neutral during all of this, knowing full well it was only to keep their cover, how? She was going to end up wearing one of his used T-shirts and sucking down gallons of Ben & Jerry’s while she cried herself to sleep about a boyfriend she never had.

Instead of speaking her fears out loud, Mara made another weak protest. “We can’t hang all over each other at work, Nina. It’s unprofessional.”
It’s also torture.

Nina planted her hands on her flannel pajama–clad hips. “Hmmm, let’s fucking see. Unprofessional? Soap on a rope?”

Mara threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated huff. “Okay, okay! Unprofessional it is.” She snuck one last peek of herself in the oval mirror at her entryway, smoothing her hair over her shoulders and down over her breasts. Her blue eyes had that luminous, wide-eyed look of fear she was fighting to keep in check.

Harry appeared behind her, his large presence filling her senses. He placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. Warmth spread in her belly when he leaned down to her ear, watching her watch him. “You ready to do this?”

“Ready,” she whispered, held captive by this sensual side of Harry, who made her insides feel like molten lava and left her body throbbing an excited rhythm.

“Then let’s do this.” He backed away, popping open her front door, a cool blast of early morning air ruffling his perfect hair.

Carl thumped Harry on the back, lifting his entire arm high in the air to wave them off with a jerky hand.

Mara sucked the cold into her lungs, squinting at the glare of sun on the freshly fallen snow.

Harry made his way along the path, which Nina had dug in a matter of seconds, only to slip on a patch of ice. His feet went out from under him like someone had shot his knees out with a long-range rifle. “I’m okay!” he yelled from somewhere below the line of the wall of snow.

As she made her way to her Smart Car, rushing to help Harry up, she said a small prayer that some dormant thespian skill locked deep inside her would step up to the plate.

Because she didn’t know what soap on a rope was, but if Nina did, it had to be ugly.

* * *

H
ARRY
caught sight of Mara just as she rounded the corner to the cafeteria. He jumped up, pulling out a chair for her. He’d selected a table in the middle of the room, so everyone would see them together as planned.

And he liked it. He liked it so much he forgot he didn’t want to be paranormal and she sucked for turning him into a werewolf, and instead, smiled at her.

As she strode toward him, her almost waist-length hair, cut in layers framing her heart-shaped face, shone a deep, near blue, black, reminding him of her scent. Rosemary and citrus—or something he could now define merely by calling up the memory.

It was driving him out of his mind. He’d thought about it all morning as he’d tried to focus on numbers that swam in front of his eyes; when he’d Skyped with Mimi and Fletcher while Wanda’s manservant Archibald oversaw things. He’d thought about it when he’d closed his eyes, breathing deeply to fight that strange tingling sensation in his limbs Mara had told him to expect in times of stress.

He’d fought it while he remembered the curve of her hip pressed to his, her skin emanating heat even from beneath her jeans. The swell of breasts he wanted to cup in his hands and knead until she screamed his name. Uncomfortable things were occurring under the cafeteria table, forcing him to shift positions.

Jesus, she was beautiful. Even in broad daylight, with the sun from the windows blaring down on her gorgeous head, he couldn’t find a single flaw. Her skin was creamy and tinted with a peachy glow, her eyes the shape of almonds and so deeply blue they were almost sapphire, making the fringe of her dark lashes striking.

She plopped down next to him, her eyes giving him that deer in the headlights look. He watched her throat work up and down in a nervous gulp, smelled the sweat on her palms when she wiped them on her thighs.

Usually, when he was attracted to a woman, he was the one secretly sweating, forming words carefully in order to keep himself from sounding like a complete ass. But today he was Mr. Carefree?

She’d said someone needed to take charge, and if she was going to handle the adjustment phase of this, he was going to handle the boyfriend aspect—like a boss.

He had a strange rush of confidence he hadn’t possessed before this “accident,” and he liked it. He had definitely been guilty of missing some very overt signs when it came to a woman, but he knew how to treat one once he had her.

While they were just pretending, he’d pretend they weren’t pretending. He sure didn’t hate the idea. In fact, this morning he’d awakened ready to get his pretend on.

Still, he heard his sister Donna’s warning in his head about what a sorry judge of character he was, and promptly ignored it.
This is all a game, Harry. Remember why you’re playing it
.

He was taking one for the team—yeah, yeah. But not a chance in hell was he going to let an opportunity like this pass him by. He didn’t want to be a werewolf, and he’d continue to look for ways to reverse that, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to explore Mara.

It had hit him like a punch to the kidneys last night, when he’d sworn she wasn’t going to jail on his watch. He’d toyed with why he’d developed this sudden protective instinct, put the notion away, then toyed with it again until he had to chalk it up to the unexplainable. He didn’t like anything there wasn’t a solution to, a logical explanation for—yet, here he was behaving illogically.