Jessica's Wolves(21)

"They didn't approach the house, or even look my way. They simply  waited, leaning against the bed of the truck as if they knew my parents  would bound out from between the trees at any moment. Time stood still  while I glanced back and forth between the woods and the men. Each man  casually pulled a rifle from the truck bed. I'll never forget that  noise, the sound of a rifle cocking. I could hear it from inside the  house. Two loud clicks as each man prepared their gun and aimed it at  the forest."

Tears streaked down Jessica's face as she told the story for the first  time in her life. She didn't bother to wipe them away. She couldn't  move. Just sat there with her hands in her lap recounting everything in  vivid detail as though it had happened only yesterday.

There wasn't a sound in the house as she continued. "When my mom and dad  leaped out of the woods, they never even saw it coming. Bang. Bang. Two  shots rang out almost simultaneously and both my parents collapsed to  the ground, still in wolf form. They were dead. They never even twitched  as I stared in horror. I even wet my pants. But I didn't move an inch. I  was sure those two men were going to kill me next."

Kara gasped, and Lindsey gave a short little sob, but Jess didn't stop.  "Shouts rang out and saved my life. A neighbor happened to be walking  his dog nearby when he heard the gunfire. ‘You can't do that here. You  have to have a permit to shoot the wildlife. Get out of here.' Without  the interference of Mr. Gregor, I wouldn't be here today.

"The assailants jumped into their car and sped away, tires squealing on  the gravel. My neighbor came to the door then and pounded on it to see  if anyone was home. The only reason he didn't leave me there frozen in  my spot was because he glimpsed me through the window.

"Eventually, I opened the door to him, and he called the police. I was  catatonic. He waited and waited with me, as did the police, but of  course, my parents never returned. No one ever knew why. Late that night  I entered the foster care system. I could hear the adults around me  talking, mumbling about where my parents had gone, why they hadn't  returned, but it was as though their voices came to me from under water.  I was so far removed mentally by then I thought I might actually drown  under that water." Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them back to  finish the story.

"And I wished I had. For years I lived with that pain. That secret. I  didn't speak at all for a long time. As though I'd gone mute. After all,  what was I going to say? Those dead wolves were my parents?

"Eventually, I got lucky. The second foster family I lived with dragged  me from my shell enough to get me through high school and into college.  It made me nervous, staying in the area. I'd always thought I'd run  halfway across the country first chance I got. But I had a scholarship,  and then I met you two …

"And that's where I got lucky again, meeting you girls and developing  the best friendships a person could ever have." Now Jessica did wipe her  cheeks with the backs of her hands. She was full-out crying. Her chest  heaved with the sobs while she caught her breath.

Both women scrambled around the coffee table and flanked their friend. A  giant group hug ensued, filled with kind words and tears.

"Oh, honey. We are so sorry." Kara finally pulled back, leaving Jess hiccupping.

Lindsey soothed her hand over Jessica's hair. "I wish you would have told us. We would have been there for you. Always."

"I know, but it was tough. I'd hoped for no one to ever find out. And  then you two both met and mated with wolves. Four of them!" She gave a  half chuckle. "What were the chances of all the roommates in the world  I'd get assigned to women who would get claimed by my own kind? It must  have been a sign."

"You spent the night with Charles and Reese, didn't you?" Kara  questioned. "I mean, obviously you did. I was in the house. It seemed a  little too coincidental they both stayed to help ‘cut some extra  firewood for the pregnant lady.' But I didn't want to interfere."

"Oh, God. Really?" Lindsey hadn't realized what had occurred here last  night. "Did they claim you?" Her face lit up, and she pressed her palms  together, her face a mixture of tears and sadness and excitement. She  grinned, her eyes wide and her cheeks covered with red splotches.

"Well, not exactly. I wasn't ready."

"When did you … ?" Kara didn't finish.

"Friday. They came to pick up Miranda from school because Tessa was  already at home with a sick Jeremy. As soon as they walked into the  nurse's office, I knew even before I turned around."

"Oh  …  then  …  ohh … " Realization dawned on Kara's face. She too had a  weird look. Her eyes still watered with unshed tears, but her mouth  curved into a smile.

"So, yesterday when you got here for the party and they were here … " Lindsey started.                       
       
           



       

"Yeah, that wasn't pleasant. I thought I could do it. I really did. But  no. And apparently I'm ovulating, so that increases my need to be  claimed, and all hell broke loose inside my body."

"So does everyone know? Well, except for us uninformed humans?" Kara giggled.

"Probably, but only because Nancy is so astute. That woman can smell a rat from a mile away I bet."

"What are you waiting for?" Kara asked. "If you know the way of wolves,  then what sort of convincing do you need to mate with Charles and  Reese?"

"I'm scared." Jess looked down and wadded her hands into balls in her  lap. "I spent twelve years promising myself I would never shift into  wolf form. If I never shifted, then no one would know I was a wolf and …   It's silly really, but I was a child. I don't want to get shot. Wolves  get shot by hunters."

The women hugged her tighter. Lindsey spoke next. "Not all wolves get  shot. Are you sure those men were just hunters? Do you think they may  have had some sort of conflict with your parents?"

"It's possible, but I'll never know."

"Have you never shifted?" Kara gazed at her in shock.

"No, women don't shift, can't, until they mate." Jessica thought about  her recent education on that subject. "Well, apparently that's not  entirely true. They just have to have sex with a wolf, but still."

"So there's a lot you don't know about your own kind, isn't there?" Lindsey's gentle fingers rubbed her shoulder.

"A great deal, yes. But I'm learning." She smiled. It probably came out lame.

Kara stiffened. "Wait, didn't Charles and Reese bring a woman back from Texas with them? What the hell is that all about?"

"Yeah, I'm not totally sure. I've been  …  too busy to get all the  details, but apparently she isn't their mate." Jessica shivered at the  thought. "Might be a double standard, but I don't think I could share  them with another woman."

Lindsey nodded and cringed. "Ain't that the truth?"

"Anyway, hopefully whatever's up with that story, they're taking care of  it now. I don't think I can even show my face around your extended  family again until that strange situation is cleared up."

"And you don't have to." Kara jumped up and circled the couch when a  knock sounded at the door. "You'll stay right here until those mates of  yours get their shit straightened out." She tossed that last bit over  her shoulder as she opened the front door.

Standing on the steps, as though conjured out of thin air by the mere  mention of her, was Alyssa. Timid. A sorrowful look in her eyes. Kara  widened the door and ushered her inside.

"Tessa let me take her car." Alyssa fidgeted with her fingers, wringing  them together. She seemed even younger today than she had yesterday,  although Jessica had barely seen her. "I owe you an apology." She stared  right at Jess.

Kara shut the door behind her and motioned for Alyssa to come into the  room. "Sit. We don't bite. Usually … " She grinned, but it was forced.

Alyssa ignored her and sat in a chair next to the couch. She never took her gaze off Jess.

None of them knew enough about this woman to judge. Jessica had the  sense to realize she needed to reign in her evil thoughts and open her  mind.

In barely more than a whisper, Alyssa began. "I met Charles and Reese by  coincidence just a few days ago. They were on their way back here when  they stopped at a diner in Oklahoma."

Jessica's skin perked, goose bumps spreading over her entire body at the word Oklahoma. "You didn't come with them from Texas?"

"Uh-uh." She shook her head. "I was in the diner when they came in. I  was waiting, watching for someone, anyone whom I thought I could trust. I  had been walking all day, and I didn't really want to stand on the road  holding my thumb out hitchhiking. I was too scared.