Wolf Tales VI. Kate Douglas
thought of the new vibrator in the table beside the bed. She’d never even used this one. Big and thick and perfectly formed to give her release, according to the advertising. Crap. Who was she trying to kid? It would take a lot more than plastic and batteries to ease the ache building inside.
Why had she even come back? When she was eighteen, she hadn’t been able to get out of town fast enough. Away from the foster care system, from abuse and emptiness and a sense she was always searching, always looking for something just out of reach. Keisha had referred to it as quiet desperation, that knowledge buried deep in the heart, always calling to those who shared the Chanku genetics. Hinting at more, at something just out of reach, some visceral knowledge yet to be discovered.
She’d found it in Montana with the pack of Chanku shapeshifters. Once she’d started taking the big, ugly brown capsules Anton gave her, once her body had received the nutrients it needed, completed its changes and she’d finally been able to shift, Eve discovered a side of her life she’d never imagined. Never dreamed existed.
She should have been happy there, finally at home. She could have been happy with Adam and Oliver, if only she’d been able to ignore the tugging sensation deep in her heart. She’d thought it was her need to be her own woman, to succeed entirely on her own. Now that she was here, living alone and feeling lonelier than she ever had in her life, Eve knew that wasn’t it at all. There was something more, something still unexplained.
For whatever reason, it had called her back to Tampa. Until she knew what fate held in store for her, Eve knew she couldn’t leave.
She sat up on the edge of the bed, her mind filled with thoughts of Adam. She missed him. Damn, she hardly knew the man, yet the image of his tall, rangy body filled her heart and her mind. Made her body anxious and miserable with wanting.
Did he feel the same? Had he missed her over these three long weeks? Would he come to her? Why should he? Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. He’s just found his sister and his mother, and a new family in the Montana pack. Why would he come after me?
She glanced toward the window. Through the slightly parted curtain she saw the cherry ‘51 Ford pickup parked outside her room. Black and shiny beneath the parking lot lights, it gleamed with lots of chrome and expensive paint. The truck had been a loan from Anton Cheval, but he wanted it back by July 20, in time for his packmate—and lover’s—birthday.
Stefan’s birthday was just a little over a week away, and Eve still wasn’t sure why she was even here. She really didn’t want to go back without finding out what had drawn her to Florida in the first place, but she’d promised Anton she’d return the truck.
Unless, of course, she couldn’t. Maybe because it wasn’t running?
Grinning broadly, Eve grabbed a fresh cotton gown and slipped it over her head. She went outside, lifted the hood on the truck and stared at the myriad bits and parts of whatever made the darned thing run.
She shrugged, looked around to see if anyone was watching her. Then she reached inside and pulled a few wires loose. For added measure, she tugged a couple of unidentifiable things completely free and tossed them inside the cab. Then she went back inside her motel room and placed a call to Montana.
Adam threw an extra pair of clean jeans into the sports bag and zipped it shut just as Oliver walked into the room. He glanced up. “Are you ready, Ollie? Got your bags packed?”
Oliver shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed. Small and dark, yet always meticulous in both dress and action, he took a moment before answering. “Are you certain you want me to come? I invited myself along when you said you were going after Eve. I did it without thinking, but I don’t want to intrude.”
Adam shook his head, but he couldn’t hold back the laugh. Damn, he was going to see Eve again whether she wanted him or not. Of course, if she’d called Keisha to say the truck wasn’t running, she must have known who would be sent to fix it.
“You’re going with me, bud. We’re taking the Jeep and someone needs to drive it home. I’ll be traveling back with Eve. I’m not letting her out of my sight once I find her.”
“You’re certain?” Oliver sat a bit straighter.
“Of course. That is…do you think Anton will let you go?”
Oliver smiled. “Unlike my first master, Anton doesn’t own me, but I checked to be sure. He said he and the others will manage without me. However, he didn’t sound happy about it.”
“Who’s going to cook?” Adam sat next to Oliver and bumped his shoulder companionably. Oliver quirked one perfect eyebrow. Adam grinned, imagining the somewhat pompous magician and his pack dealing with the intricacies of Oliver’s household duties. “They’re all going to starve.”
“I hope not. Stefan volunteered to cook. I’m hoping he knows what he’s getting himself into. They can always shift and feed in the forest. The woods are full of game this time of year.”
Adam flung his arm over Oliver’s shoulders and felt the smaller man stiffen, but he didn’t pull away as he might have a couple weeks ago. Adam wondered if Ollie would ever grow used to the touching and closeness that was so much a part of the Chanku pack. Having lived as a eunuch most of his life, Oliver had held himself apart from everyone. The adjustment to his new sexuality, to full status within the Chanku Montana pack, couldn’t be an easy one, but of all the things Adam had been able to fix in his lifetime, returning Oliver’s manhood had been the most fulfilling. “I want you with me, Ollie. I wouldn’t think of going after Eve without you beside me.”
Oliver merely nodded. Adam wondered if this wealth of feeling was as hard for Oliver as it was for him. He felt his throat tighten and sucked in a deep breath. A burst of emotion washed over him and he struggled for control. This past few weeks had changed everything Adam had ever known, ever believed, about his life and his own sense of who and what he was.
It had also given him the first true friend he’d ever known. A friend and a lover. Not only had Oliver brought him into the pack, he’d been the one to recognize that Adam was the missing son of one of the newest Chanku, Millie West.
From life on the streets to this beautiful, palatial Montana home, from a solitary existence without family or loved ones, to an emotional reunion with a mother and twin sister he’d never known. A sister whose existence he had sensed for most of his adult life. Sometimes, when he thought of all that had happened over the past few weeks, Adam was overwhelmed by the wealth and complexity of change.
And then there was Eve. A strong, beautiful woman who fulfilled him in ways he’d never imagined. For a few short days their relationship had been intense and satisfying, almost frightening with the power of their connection. She’d loved him, linked minds with him, but not bonded. Even so, she’d given Oliver his first sexual experience. She’d given Adam even more.
A sense of the future, of possibilities and promises, without ever saying the words. Then she’d moved on to deal with her own inner demons. The wolf was only a small part of Eve Reynolds. She still had to come to terms with the woman.
The very complicated woman.
And so she’d gone. She’d taken Adam’s heart with her, but he’d known he would find her again. Still, the connection now seemed almost dreamlike, too amazing to be real. Sometimes it was almost too much to comprehend.
Oliver made it real. For all the pain in his life, Oliver was a survivor. Castrated when he was still very young, sold into slavery, denied his rights not only as a man, but as Chanku, he’d still maintained an unwavering optimism, a hope for the future that Adam envied. When Adam managed to find a way to help Oliver gain the manhood he’d never known, it had seemed only right the two of them would feel a special bond, but it went beyond the fact Adam had been able to fix what was wrong in Oliver’s life.
Oliver, in some inexplicable way, completed him. Adam couldn’t explain the feeling, but he needed it. Needed Oliver, almost as much as he needed Eve.
When Oliver turned, almost