Blood of the Maple (21 page)

She’d circled the area, chanting so softly Parker couldn’t pick up the words. When she was done, not a leaf would drop into that spot. It was isolated from the rest of the wood by the forest queen’s will and would remain that way until she was satisfied the poison had been completely leached from the soil. Earth elementals monitored the site, trying to repair the damage. From their hollow looks, it wasn’t going well.

Amara had watched Mina’s ritual with wide, glowing eyes, and he’d understood instantly how much being included had meant to her. The knowledge that the local dryads not only accepted her presence but wanted it had lifted his dryad’s spirit. Last he heard, the town’s female dryads had organized some sort of shopping trip. He’d told her to come home with plenty of lacy underthings or not at all.

He rubbed the top of his head where she’d smacked him with a cooking spoon. Sometimes his wife had no sense of humor.

“Don’t worry. We’re keeping our eyes open for her. Mina would love to have a chat with her.” Greer whispered to an orchid, and the flower bloomed for him.

“I hope she doesn’t come back here. What happened hurt Mollie quite a bit. She loves this place. Did you see the scorch marks?”

Greer’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t look up from the plant he was repotting.

Interesting.
“She made those marks trying to save this place. Thing is, she was almost dead on her feet by the time I got here.” Greer’s cheek twitched, and Parker wondered if he’d found the source of Mollie’s fascination with plants. He decided to test the waters, so to speak. Getting Mollie loosened up would make his life a hell of a lot easier. Her attitude toward him had softened quite a bit since the attack, asking after Amara and allowing him the time for his nightly hunts without argument. He’d watched the loving way she handled the plants; this was more than a hobby for her. It was her passion. The woman who’d worked her ass off for this place was someone he’d come to respect. She was someone he was coming to like as well. He hadn’t quite managed to get her to the point where she would actually laugh at one of his jokes, but he’d come close.

“Mollie mentioned a joint program with the learning center where kids who visit one can get half-price tickets to the other. What do you think?”

“It’s fine.”

Huh. This was the quietest he’d ever heard Greer.

“She might even start doing weekend work at the center.”

Greer grunted and set the pot back on the ground.

“I think she’d do a wonderful job teaching the children about the plants in their natural habitat. What do you think?”

“Whatever. Hand me the potting soil.”

Parker gave him the twenty-five-pound bag, and Greer set it on the stainless-steel worktable. “Speaking of the forest, what if Terri’s in the heart of it, hiding like some kind of poisonous vine, waiting for a chance to strike again?”

Greer crumpled the edge of the table like paper with his bare hands. “We kill her.”

“Fascinating.” Parker shook his head. “Why is Amara considered the guardian of your species if you can all do that?”

Greer looked down at his hands. Shock raced across his features before it was quickly wiped away. “No reason.” He pointed toward the office door. “Fergie in yet?”

Fergie?
Parker wouldn’t dream of calling Mollie
Fergie.
He’d barely wrapped his brain around calling her Mollie, and that only after she’d insisted. “Not that I’m aware of. She spent most of today cleaning up and left a note that she planned on returning first thing in the morning.” And considering
Fergie
was usually there at the crack of dawn and left late at night, she had to be exhausted.

“She needs to get more rest. If her emotions aren’t under control, she runs the risk of setting fires she doesn’t want to.”

“Really? I thought elementals were taught to control their powers from the cradle.”

Greer hefted another massive pot onto the table, careful of the crumpled edge, and whispered to it, packing potting soil around the exposed roots. “Fergie’s a halfer.”

“Um. What?”

Greer chuckled. “Halfer. Her father was human, her mother a fire elemental. With halfers, you never know if you’re going to get a supernatural, a human with psychic powers or an ordinary human. Fergie got her mom’s abilities, but they didn’t hit until puberty. No one’s quite sure why, except maybe Selena, and she’s not talking.”

Puberty, eh? “When did you meet Mollie?”

Greer put the pot back on the ground and hefted the next one. “When we were young, maybe eleven or twelve. Why?”

“And she suddenly had powers. Think about it.”

Greer shook his head, the orange highlights looking like…well, flickering fire. “No way. Fergie’s gay.”

Parker burst out laughing. “Gay?”

“Yes, gay. What’s so funny about that?”

Parker laughed harder. “Parker. That’s not funny. We accept everyone here—gay, straight, werewolf, cursed vampire. You name it. Making fun of someone because—”

Parker held up his hand, cutting Greer off. “She’s not gay.”

“Yes, she is. Several people have told me so.”

“And you believed them?” Parker wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. “Trust me, she’s not gay.”

Greer, a stubborn expression on his face, crossed his arms over his chest. “How would you know?”

“Because she checked out my ass.”

Greer chuckled. “Yeah, right. That flat old thing?”

“Jealous much?” He smirked at Greer’s snarl. “I know when a woman checks out my ass, and her eyes were all over it.” Of course, that was weeks ago, but Greer didn’t need to know that. And once Mollie realized he was her new employee, all checking out of body parts had stopped.

“Which one? The one behind you or the one on your shoulders?”

“Ha-ha. Funny man. You mark my words. Mollie is very much into men.”

Greer relaxed with a grin. “Prove it.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Put your money where your mouth is, pretty boy. Prove Fergie isn’t gay.”

“First off, if I lay a hand on her, Amara will go bonkers, and we all know how that would turn out. Second—Hell. I
will
prove it.” And he knew just the man to help him too. “Watch this.” Parker pulled out his cell phone and punched a number he now had on speed dial.

“Hello?”

Carter was strangely alert. Perhaps he was on the night shift. “Evening, Carter.”

Greer flinched.

“Hey, Parker.” Carter seemed remarkably happy to hear from him. Perhaps he was ready to pay his debt. “What can I do for you?”

Parker put it on speakerphone. “Remember that debt you owe me?”

Carter didn’t hesitate. “Mine or the pack’s?”

“Yours. I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“I need to prove to someone that Mollie Ferguson is not a lesbian. Think you can help me?”

“Mollie? A lesbian?” Carter laughed so hard Parker had to turn down the volume. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Nope. I’m at The Greenhouse with Greer Berkeley, and he’s insisting Mollie is gay.”

Carter snorted. “Yeah, right. That’s why she paid twice to come to my kissing booth at the county fair last summer. Girl has some serious lips on her.” Carter’s voice had gone dreamy yet hungry, and Parker knew he’d relished the chance to kiss the woman.

“So you’ll do it? Prove Mollie isn’t gay?”

“Man, twist my arm. Hell, I need to owe you debts more often.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You can take that as a
hell
yes.”

Greer’s jaw went slack. “Oh hell
no.
”

The table Greer was working at snapped in half. Parker looked over at the startled, angry dryad. “Hmm.”

“What
hmm?
And what was that noise?”

“I think Greer doesn’t like you wanting to date Mollie.”

Carter snorted again. “He had his chance and blew it. Now it’s my turn.”

Greer threw his hands up in the air. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Mollie asked you to prom, remember? And you turned her down. Some say you turned her down so hard she completely bottled herself up and that’s why we rarely see the old Mollie. But you watch. I have every intention of bringing that Mollie back. All that fire and passion. Think about it, Greer. That’s a hell of a fire a man can warm himself at.”

“She was a child, Carter.”

“So you knew she had a crush on you?”

Parker was fascinated. He hadn’t intended to open a can of worms, but apparently he had.

“No!” Greer’s hair moved on its own like leaves in a breeze. “She had a crush on Mina, not me!”

Carter erupted once more into laughter. “Dude. You
are
blind. But hey, your loss will definitely be my gain. Thanks for the call, Parker. I’m more than happy to repay
this
debt.” Carter disconnected the call.

Greer’s eyes were wide and unfocused. “She wanted Mina, not me.”

“And that’s why you turned her down, because you thought she wanted your queen?”

Greer shuddered. The sound of leaves rustling was painfully loud in the quiet greenhouse. “Partially.”

“And are you going to let our resident fireman win the lady?”

If looks could kill, Parker would have been digging himself out of his grave again. “What do you think?”

“I think he’s two kisses up on you.”

“Are you trying to get one of my wolves into trouble, Mr. Hollis?”

The deep, gravelly voice sent Parker’s beast into a frenzy. He prepared himself for battle with the man who’d hunted Amara through the woods like an animal. “Noah Wulfenbach, I presume?” He turned to face the huge wolf standing in the doorway.

Noah Wulfenbach had to be at least six-four, with dark hair and eyes black as night. An aura of power surrounded him that had been missing from the other wolves Parker had met.

This man was dangerous; he knew it, and he was damn
proud
of it. If he’d hunted anyone else’s mate Parker would have felt a grudging respect for him. Hell, he might even have believed the man had been well within his rights.

Except he’d hunted
Amara.
And Parker was as dangerous as the wolf.

“I believe you wanted to speak to me.”

Parker grinned viciously, not that he cared. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t drain you dry.”

Noah shrugged. “We were protecting our people.”

“You would have killed her.”

Again the wolf nodded, showing no remorse.

“What would you do if it had been your mate?”

“I have no mate, so I don’t know.”

Greer jumped lightly onto the end of the broken table, and Parker knew where some of Tolkien’s light-footed elves had gotten their abilities. The dryad stood on the tilted edge with all the ease Parker showed on the level concrete floor. “Knock it off, Noah. You were wrong, and you know it. Unless you make reparation to both Amara and her blood mate, you’ll have trouble no matter what forest you enter.”

Noah crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Greer. “Can you tell us where Terri is?”

“I wish. She’s hidden so well not even the tree roots can find her.” Greer jumped off the table edge. He landed gracefully, barely making a sound. “But maybe I can check with the others. We’ve never searched for anything like her before, and we’re not entirely certain we
can
find her.”

“You’re the Dr. Doolittle of plants. If you can’t get something out of the forest, I’d be shocked.” Noah took a step forward and extended his hand. “Tell me about hamadryads, Parker.”

He eyed the alpha wolf with disdain. “Why?”

“So our cubs don’t make the same mistake we did.”

Greer rolled his eyes and returned to his plants. “That’s his idea of an apology, by the way.”

“The only way to stop the mistakes of the past from repeating themselves in the future is if we learn from them. What are the signs of the hamadryad? How will we know one when we see one? What can we do to assist him or her, and can a hamadryad go bad?”

Parker growled.

“Not that yours did.”

It was a concession, of sorts.

Noah had asked Parker the question, but it was Greer who answered. “The hamadryad is the truest guardian of the forest you’ll ever meet.” Greer kept his attention on the plant on the table. “You really fucked up going after Amara the way you did. If you’d been alone, she could have killed you with a thought.”

Noah’s left eyelid flinched, the only indication he gave that he understood exactly how merciful Amara had been.

“You saw her other form?”

Noah nodded. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“And you never will again.” Parker watched Greer, happy, fun-loving Greer, go cold. The dryad’s gaze bored into the alpha to drive his point home. “The hamadryad can be human or—” his gaze darted over to Parker, his lips twitching, “—weretree.”

Noah coughed. “Weretree?”

Parker rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

“They can command any plant life within a certain radius to do their bidding, but it tires them, and their first instinct is to
protect
that plant life. Hell, their first instinct is to protect every living thing within the hamadryad’s territory.” Greer grinned. If he’d been a vampire, his fangs would have been showing. “Amara would sooner chop off her leg than hurt the people of Maggie’s Grove. Too bad the same can’t be said of all of you.”

Noah was silent.

Parker stared at him and knew what he wanted him to do. “I want an apology from you.”

Noah scowled. Someone less sure of himself might have growled.

“Not to me. To Amara. Your pack has tormented her for years, tried to kill her. If it were up to me, those trees you wound up in would have pulled off your furry nuts.”

Noah couldn’t quite hide his wince.

“But my mate didn’t do that. She left you safe and sound in your woodsy cocoons and came home to protect
your
mates,
your
cubs. So yes, I think you owe Amara an apology.”

Noah met his eyes, and for a moment there was the distinct possibility the wolf would attack him.

Noah took a deep breath and bowed. “Of course.” The man straightened, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “When and where?”