Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance (6 page)

heard him call out her name.

Justin watched her leave, making no move to stop her

when she refused to acknowledge his calls. His stomach

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knotted with the knowledge that he had hurt her badly, but it

was really for her own good.

Sighing, he moved away from the door once she was out

of view. There was something about this woman that drew

him like a moth to a flame, but she was a desire that he could

not allow himself to indulge in.

He'd had many lovers, but Laura could not be one of them.

He wouldn't let himself use her in that way, for it was a

certainty that they could never have anything more. If she

knew the truth of the
Sungmanitu
she would be repulsed, and

that was one thing he could not bear to see in her beautiful

eyes.

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

Laura's emotions were in turmoil as she made the drive

back to her cabin. What was it about him that touched her

emotions in ways she had never known before? The desire he

aroused in her was frightening, to say the least. She'd had

lovers in the past, but none had come close to affecting her in

the way that he did.

Thoughts of the past couple hours jumped to the front of

her mind and Laura wondered if it had all been some kind of

hallucination, like that woman in the middle of the road. She

had just come to this conclusion when she glimpsed

something to the side of the road, in the woods.

She hit the breaks so hard that the Bronco nearly skid into

the trees. By the time she brought the car to a stop, Laura

wasn't even sure what it was that she had seen. It had been

something different—something that didn't quite belong. Had

it been a movement she'd noticed, or something else?

Leaving the car, she started into the woods. Right away

she become aware of the flattened brush and broken trees.

Maybe this had been what caught her attention? Her

subconscious had alerted her to the differences in the

landscape.

It appeared as if someone had driven right through the

woods. Laura followed the path of destroyed brush until she

came to a large beaver pond. With a deep sigh, Laura started

back up to the road. The sun was nearly down and she didn't

want to get caught out here in the dark.

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This was probably no more than a party site for local kids.

Four-wheelers had made the path, and there was probably no

more to it than that. No mystery here, she concluded.

From the corner of her eye she noticed something in the

brush and she stopped to examine it. The object was so

severely damaged, that at first it was unrecognizable. As she

looked at it more closely, Laura saw that it was a briefcase, at

least what was left of a briefcase. The leather had been torn

to bits.

Kids using their four wheelers to come down to the pond

could explain the path, but Laura doubted there were many

kids who would have a need for a briefcase. She bit down

hard on her lip, turning the problem over in her mind. It was

then that she noticed the torn and scattered paper in the tall

weeds. The paper looked as if it had been put through a

shredder.

Somewhere behind her a twig snapped. Laura brought her

hand up to stifle a scream. She quickly started moving up the

path, taking the briefcase with her.

Brantic City was shrouded in darkness. There was no

movement, no sound, just complete darkness. Laura

downshifted into second, taking the dirt road slowly. The

Bronco's headlights barely penetrated through the blackness

and dust. After coming to a stop in front of the saloon, Laura

waited—watching and listening. All was still.

As soon as she'd gotten back to the Bronco, she'd tried to

call the sheriff, but she couldn't get a signal. Obviously she

wouldn't have cell phone service for as long as she was in the

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area, as she'd been unable to get reception, no matter where

she tried.

Leaving the engine running, Laura walked to the pay

phone and quickly dialed the sheriff's number. It rang twice

before dispatch picked it up.

"I need to talk with Sheriff Moss." Laura spoke softly into

the receiver.

"He's not on duty. Can someone else help you?"

"No, but will you please let him know that Laura Ellison

needs to talk with him as soon as possible? It's urgent."

Disappointment came through in her voice.

"Sure will! He'll get your message first thing in the

morning, ma'am," the woman assured her.

Laura hung up the phone. The wind had picked up,

bringing with it a chill to the night air. Walking back to her car

Laura's thoughts were in a whirl. She was convinced that

there was something very wrong here. The darkness had

never really bothered her before, but tonight it did. Whenever

the wind began to die down, a strange fog gathered. She

made the drive back to her cabin in record time.

Not until she was safely inside the cabin, did she feel

secure again. The only thing to do now was wait and talk to

the sheriff in the morning. Not that it would do any good, but

it was better than doing nothing.

After running a bath, Laura stripped off her clothes and

sank into the soothing hot water. Closing her eyes, she let the

tension flow from her body. She had run up against dead

ends since her arrival and was beginning to think her

presence here was accomplishing nothing.

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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The wind still howled outside the windows, but Laura could

hear something distinctly separate from the wind. She kept

her eyes shut, not moving a muscle. There it was again, just

outside the window, a low—angry snarl.

Laura rapidly finished her bath and left the room. Wrapped

in an oversized towel, she padded barefoot across the

hardwood floor to the living room. Going to the portable

stereo that she'd brought with her, she put on a CD. The

comforting sound of a hundred harmonizing instruments

floated through the cabin.

In the bedroom, she picked up a comb and ran it through

her wet ringlets. Removing the towel, she gazed into the

mirror at her thin shape. Feeling a little whimsical, Laura

found herself wishing that she possessed just a few more

curves.

Bending down to retrieve a pair of panties from the

dresser, her eyes caught movement just outside the window.

Cautiously, she went to the window and pulled back the thin,

transparent curtains.

Furious yellow eyes stared back at her from the darkness

beyond. Laura screamed, and in her panic to get away from

the window, she tripped, falling to the hard floor. Sharp pain

coursed through her arm and she could taste blood where her

teeth had gone through her lip. It took several moments

before she could get back to her feet.

Movement was painful and she found it difficult to get into

her robe. Laura left the room as quickly as she could. At that

moment, she wished that she had opted to stay in Acton. Did

she dare leave the safety of the cabin and try to get to her

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vehicle? Even if she made it to her office, whom would she

call in the middle of the night?

Jessup might come and take a look around, but he would

be none too happy about being woken to comfort a hysterical

woman—even if she had seen a wild animal creeping around

her cabin. No, she decided it would be better to just wait until

morning and call someone then.

Having made the decision to wait, Laura went back to the

bedroom to slip into a flannel nightgown. She made a point to

double-check the windows and doors. Just to be sure they

were secured.

The cheerful chirping of birds managed only to irritate her.

Laura carefully dabbed makeup on her sleep-swollen eyes,

hoping to take on the appearance of some normality. What

little sleep she had managed to get had been filled with that

woman's wicked, accusing voice.

Laura made sure all the doors of the cabin were locked

before leaving. The last thing she needed was for the creature

to get inside. The drive to the office took only moments.

Jessup was busy with someone on the phone.

While Laura waited for him to end the call, she

straightened the paperwork on her desk. Several moments

later, he hung up. Laura noticed he seemed a little agitated

this morning.

"Did those guys from Rock Springs show up?" she asked.

"Yeah ... about an hour ago. I take it you couldn't get

anyone from Acton?"

She shook her head. "Nobody there wants anything to do

with working out here."

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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"Figured as much," he muttered.

"By the way, where is the work site? I haven't seen it yet."

"About two miles north of Beaver Creek. They're not

cutting there yet. We are still in the process of moving from

the B.L.M site that they have been working on."

"I haven't been that far up there yet, but I wanted to try

and get there today."

"If you do get up there, tell them they are to start cutting

the Beaver Creek land on

Monday, and they need to be ready." Jessup brought a

hand up to rub his tired eyes.

"Before we settle it with the
Sungmanitu
?" Laura was

surprised.

"Yeah, big man Duccini's orders. It's costing him too much

money to sit around and wait." Jessup's disapproval was

evident in his voice.

Laura shook her head. "He better hope he doesn't end up

with a big mess out of this. I can't even find out who's in

charge up there."

"All we can do is follow orders, so just keep trying," he told

her as he stood up and walked to the window. "I'll tell you

one thing though; if things get too messy I'm pulling out of

this one. Something about this whole situation stinks."

"What do you mean?" Laura knew how he was feeling, but

wanted to hear his ideas.

Jessup squinted his eyes against the bright sun outside the

window. "The man that negotiates the contract is gone. The

man that signs the contract is gone too. I smell a rat."

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

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"I have been thinking the same thing since I arrived,"

Laura commented.

"Yeah, and we're just the dumb suckers caught in the

middle." He walked back to his desk and sat down.

"What about that Injun friend of yours? Why don't you try

working through him?"

Jessup didn't notice the way Laura had stiffened at his

reference to Justin. "I'm part Navajo," Laura told him, letting

him know that she didn't appreciate his reference to Justin's

race.

"No disrespect intended," he told her in a voice full of

apology.

Laura smiled to let him know that she understood. "It's

okay."

"Well . . . at least now I know why they sent you up here

to talk to the
Sungmanitu
." He chuckled.

Laura's smile vanished. "I think they may have made a

mistake. From what I can tell, they are Native American, but

different from any I have ever come across. As far as Justin

goes, he is barely an acquaintance. I have only talked with

him a few times." Laura hoped he didn't notice the blush that

spread to her cheeks.

The phone rang and Jessup snatched it up from Laura's

desk. "Duccini, Jessup speaking."

He was silent as he listened to whoever was on the other

end. "Yeah, she's in. One moment please." He covered the

mouthpiece with his hand. "It's the sheriff," he said as he

held out the phone to her.

"This is Laura."

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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance

by Lorraine Kennedy

"I received your message this morning. What's going on?"

The sheriff's voice was smooth and professional.

"I found a briefcase that I think might have belonged to

Mitchell. Can you come out and take a look at it?"

"What makes you think it belonged to Mitchell?" he wanted

to know.

"Just a hunch." Laura found the amusement in his voice

grated on her nerves.

"I see. Well, I will get out there as soon as I can, Miss

Ellison."

"And when might that be?"

"I really don't know. Right now I have other cases that

take precedence, but it won't be much longer," he reassured

her.

"There is one more thing." Laura spoke quickly before he

could end the call. She told him about the animal outside her

cabin on the previous night. At this Jessup looked up from the