Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance (3 page)

trailers they brought with them. I do recall hearing that the

owners of the saloon rent out a few cabins here and there.

They are expensive though. If you are lucky, maybe the one

Mitchell was renting is still vacant." He seemed amused by

her sudden distress.

"Are there any alternatives if it isn't?" She was really

becoming worried now.

"Not really. This area is littered with ghost towns left over

from the gold rush days, but that's about it."

"How do I find the saloon?"

"Get on that dirt road out front and go south for about a

mile. It will take you right into the middle of Brantic City and

the saloon will be right there on your right. Talk to Olivia

Lambert."

"Thanks, I'll see you later." Laura flung the words over her

shoulder as she was heading for the door.

"Be here bright and early come morning," he called after

her.

The saloon was deserted except for the woman behind the

bar and a straggly old man who occupied one of the stools.

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by Lorraine Kennedy

Their conversation came to a sudden halt as soon as Laura

entered the room.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the bar appeared to

be in her late forties. Her dark hair was done in a style

outdated twenty years.

"Yes, where can I find Mrs. Lambert?" Laura walked up to

the bar and slid onto one of the stools.

"That would be me." Curiosity flashed in the woman's gray

eyes.

"I was told you rent cabins. I'm Laura Ellison and I work

for the Duccini Corporation." Laura offered the woman a

smile. "I just got in from New Mexico today and I need a

place to stay for a while."

"Well ... the one Dan Mitchell rented is still open but I'd

have to charge you a deposit. I usually don't, but that man

left without paying for the last three days of rent that he was

there." The woman pulled a sour face.

"That's unusual. The company reimburses all our

expenses. It would serve no purpose for him to skip out on

it."

"All I know is that I got cheated out of three days of rent

and I could have easily have gotten tourist dollars for that

time."

"How much does it rent for?"

"Four-hundred and fifty dollars a week and I'll have to

have at least a hundred dollar deposit." Mrs. Lambert spoke

firmly, letting Laura know that there would be no

negotiations.

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by Lorraine Kennedy

"That's outrageous!" Laura exclaimed. This was probably

why Mitchell had skipped. The company would never

reimburse the whole amount.

"We're in the tourist business. It's the only real way to

make money out here." Olivia Lambert's smile was cold.

The old man had been listening to the exchange. He now

moved down the bar and took the stool next to Laura.

"Little gal, it would be best for you all the way around if

you just stayed in Acton and drove here to your job."

Laura was immediately assaulted by the strong odor of

whiskey. The man had a full gray beard and short-cropped

hair. Laura smiled to herself—astonished at how much he

resembled a character out of an old western movie.

"Why is that, Mister . . . ?" She waited for him to reveal his

name, but it was not forthcoming.

"Duccini isn't too well liked in these parts, and now they've

gone and stirred up those Indians. You people are just asking

for trouble and no doubt you'll be bringing trouble to the rest

of us too." He took a swig from the bottle he held clasped in

one hand.

"We're not in the Old West, sir. Generally speaking,

Indians no longer go on the war path." Laura was beginning

to feel irked by all the prejudice against Indian people that

she had discovered rather quickly in the area.

"Little gal, the
Sungmanitu
are not your everyday Indians."

He picked up his bottle and found his way to the door on feet

that were none too steady.

"Don't mind him none, he spends too much time in his

grandfather's old mine. I don't think he's found much of

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anything in years, but he's a stubborn old fool." Mrs. Lambert

was busy wiping down the bar with a wet rag—she appeared

to be very nervous.

"What did he mean about the
Sungmanitu
?"

Oh, they're just an odd bunch. They keep to themselves

mostly."

Laura swore she could detect just the slightest hint of

secrecy in the woman's eyes. Her grandfather's warning

jumped to the front of her mind and she shivered with a

sudden chill.

The fading sun set the landscape on fire with a red-orange

glow. Laura drove with her windows down, taking advantage

of the cool evening breeze.

She had just turned onto the Beaver Creek road when the

engine began to sputter and the Bronco jerked, nearly

stalling. Laura pushed down on the accelerator giving the

engine more gas, but it only sputtered once more before

dying. She let the vehicle coast to the side of the road.

"Damn! Not again!" The gas gage read three-quarters full,

so it certainly was not out of fuel. This was the third time it

had acted up since her incident on the highway in Arizona.

She tried turning the key—it cranked but stubbornly wouldn't

start.

The last time this had happened was in Rock Springs, and

it had taken her hours to get the engine to start. Laura was

very tempted to walk the remaining distance to the cabin, but

her weary body protested at even the thought.

Disgusted, she leaned her head against the steering wheel

and closed her eyes, thinking that the damn truck must be

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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totally angry with her to be giving her so much trouble. The

Bronco would definitely need to go in the shop, but she

needed it to last, at least until she made it home to New

Mexico.

Her eyes burned from lack of sleep and she thought that if

she could just close her heavy eyelids for a moment, she

could find the energy to try the ignition once more.

Blinking rapidly, Laura struggled to see through the glaring

light that seemed to be searing right through the universe

and into the core of her brain. The radiance dimmed and

Laura found herself sprawled upon her large bed at home, her

red satin sheets like whispers on her skin. She could sense

that someone was with her—his gentle fingers caressing her

stomach. There was a sensation of hot breath against her

skin.

Sharp teeth bit at her aroused nipples, sending ripples of

erotic pain through her trembling body. Wherever his lips and

fingers came into contact with her skin, he left a trail of

burning desire—building a need within her that took her over

the edge of rational thought. A hungry mouth claimed her

lips, it sucked at her tongue, devouring her essence—feeding

from her.

Laura awoke with a start, unable to believe that she had

fallen asleep so quickly. Judging by the sun's lack of descent,

she guessed she must have only been asleep for a few

minutes. What had woken her?

It was then that her conscious mind caught the rumbling

sound of a motorcycle in the distance. She raised her head to

peer into the rearview mirror. A cloud of dust was moving fast

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

in her direction. Laura felt herself tense when the bike pulled

up beside her.

A quick glance in her side mirror brought her to the

conclusion that the Indian on the bike was most likely one of

the Beaver Creek people. She was definitely not in the

position of advantage, and in her job it was not good to start

out vulnerable. Laura got out of her car and right away felt

herself pushed into an even worse situation.

Flashing a perfect smile, he got off his bike and walked to

where she was standing. "You having problems?"

Where had she heard that voice before? A certainty came

to her that she knew this man. She was finding it almost

impossible to tear her eyes from him.

He moved with the grace of an animal. His tall frame

towering over her, Laura had to tilt her head to look into his

face. From what she could tell, he was very handsome,

possessing the well-defined features of the Plains Indians, but

his eyes remained a mystery, hidden behind dark sunglasses.

Long, black hair fell in waves to the middle of his back,

curling slightly at the ends.

"It stalled and doesn't seem to want to start at all." Laura

unconsciously ran her fingers through her tangled mass of

golden-brown curls.

"Mind if I take a look?" His words came out in a slow,

relaxed drawl.

She hesitated only a moment before reaching in to pull the

hood release. After raising the hood, he reached inside and

began poking around. Laura watched, but could not begin to

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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figure out what he was doing. It was a few minutes before he

returned his attention to her.

"Try it now," he told her with a smile that seemed to touch

her in a way that she could not identify.

Laura slid behind the wheel and turned the key. At first it

just cranked, but then the engine came to life with a sick

choking sound. He shut the hood and walked over to her

window.

"You are having some trouble with your fuel injectors.

They may be plugged. If I were you, I'd get that fixed soon.

There are too many lonely roads around here for you to break

down on."

Laura smiled. "Thank you Mister...." Laura realized she

didn't know his name. It seemed odd that it had slipped her

mind to ask him before she let him work on the car. This was

something that was totally out of character for her.

"My name is Justin. I live up the road, near Beaver Creek."

He offered her his hand through the open window.

She placed her hand in his, noticing how small it was in

comparison. "Laura

Ellison. I'll be staying at the Lambert's cabin for a while.

Do you know if it is close by?"

When her skin came into contact with his, she experienced

a sensation so strange that the only thing she could think to

compare it to was the tingling sensation of coming into

contact with an electrical current. She pulled her hand away

much too quickly.

He either didn't notice, or pretended not to. "Yeah, it's up

the road, not too much further. Take the first road to your

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left." Justin leaned further down until he was resting one arm

on the Bronco's door.

Laura was much too aware of the well-developed muscles

in his large arms and she was finding it difficult to take her

eyes away from the blue tank top that was stretched tight

against his broad chest. From out of nowhere, an almost

instinctive urge came over her, and she wanted to touch his

flesh.

No, the feeling went far beyond that of want, it was more

like instinctive need, a need so primitive that she was shaking

with the effort it was taking to keep her hands from reaching

out and touching him. His musky scent filled her with visions

of coupling. The images were so profound they left her

breathless. It took a much greater effort than she was willing

to admit, but she was finally able to push back the images.

Abruptly, Laura came back from the almost trancelike

state, and with her returning senses, came confusion. What

exactly had taken hold of her? It was not like her at all to fill

her head with fantasies of a complete stranger.

"Thank you, Justin." Laura forced a certain amount of chill

into her voice in the hopes of convincing herself that she

really had no interest in this man.

Justin smiled. It was if he knew what her thoughts had

been and he found them very amusing. "I'm sure I will be

seeing you around, Miss Ellison."

Laura forced her eyes to look straight ahead until she

heard the bike roar to life. He shot forward and was gone.

When he was no longer in sight, Laura felt a hollow relief.

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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At least she had learned one thing from this encounter, if

Justin was any example of the others, then they were hardly

what one would call hostile. Obviously Duccini and the town's

people had a severe case of over-reaction.

But still, she was left with the strangest feeling that she

knew him from somewhere, but that was impossible. An

unidentified fear left a swarm of butterflies fluttering in her

stomach.

Laura found the cabin with no trouble. For some time, she

sat in her car and studied the place that she was being

drastically overcharged for. It appeared ancient in the fading