Wolf Creek Ghosts (Texas Pack 3) (Wolf Creek Werewolf Shifters) (11 page)

Olivia moved directly behind the woman, watching Devlin’s eyes go wide in shock when she grabbed the skank’s hair and jerked her backwards.

Holding tightly, she put her mouth close to the woman’s ear. “Hey bitch, got a cold? Cause I know you can smell me all over him.” She threw the woman aside and grinned evilly when the tiny female stood and gulped, her eyes widening in fear as she looked up at Olivia.

Turning, she ran into the crowd and out the door.

Devlin slid his arms around her waist. “Baby, that was hot. Too bad y’all weren’t wearing bikinis and slathered in oil.”

Olivia shrugged him off. “Old girlfriend? Want to tell me how many I’ll be running in to?”

Devlin stuttered while his brothers laughed. “She was congratulating me on my mating.”

“Next time a handshake will do, man whore,” she snarled.

Devlin grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the dance floor before wrapping his arms around her stiff body. Holding her tight and barely swaying to the slow music, he spoke next to her ear. “My love, I’m a patient man, slow to anger and I’ll only explain myself once. I have not slept with the women in my pack, ever. Now, I do admit she was out of line, and I will gently explain to her why she should not touch a mated male. I’m sure she didn’t realize how inappropriate her behavior was.”

Olivia snorted. “Seriously?” Shaking her head, she grabbed
his
wrist to pull him along this time. “ Come with me.”

Arriving back at the pool table where Rafe and Ian were playing, she swept past them to stand before the table where Lisa and Melanie sat.

“Devlin seems to think that ho’ did not know what she was doing. What do y’all think, ladies?” Crossing her arms, she waited a mere two seconds before both females started laughing. Ian and Rafe leaned against the edge of the pool table, smirking.

“What? She wasn’t coming on to me!” Devlin exclaimed.

Ian rested his hand on Devlin’s shoulder. “Baby bro, you may be a genius, but that answer just got you a big F. And not in a good way.”

“Ian!” Melanie scolded.

Lisa reached over and patted the seat next to hers, raising a brow until Devlin took the stool. “Hun, not all women are sugar and spice. While she played the sweet and innocent card when you could see her face, behind that smile was a femme fatale snake waiting to take a bite. I’ve seen her kind before, trust me. They’re all like, butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth when men are around, but to another woman? Biggest bitches you’ll ever meet.”

“Okay, name me one woman that I know who behaves that way,” Devlin demanded.

“Cindy,” Lisa snarled.

That shut him up.

“Who’s…?” Olivia started to ask, but stopped when she saw Rafe adamantly shake his head.

“She was an old flame of Rafe’s. I’ll tell you about her later.” Devlin whispered in her head.

Rafe stood behind Lisa’s stool and gripped her hips to swivel her seat around. “You’ve made your point darlin’, relax.” He nipped her bottom lip, stopping her growl with his own.

“That sexy growl won’t shut me up, you know.” Lisa leaned back against the table and slid her hands underneath his tight T-shirt.

Rafe pushed apart her thighs by stepping between them. “Baby, I know exactly how to shut you up.”

“Bars closed!” They heard Hank shout from the front room.

“Showtime,” Ian said, slapping both his brothers on the back as he passed.

* * *

Olivia leaned against the long, wooden bar surveying the room. With the houselights on and the music off, the silent dance floor beckoned to her. She saw herself in a high-waisted empress gown waltzing across the floor with Devlin’s hand at her waist.

His dark dress coat covered his white shirt with his cravat tied stylishly around his neck. With his trousers tucked into his Hessian boots, he was the epitome of an 18
^th
-century gentleman.

Her sigh echoed across the room, a very quiet room. Opening her eyes, she saw everyone staring at her with a mixture of expressions.

Crap. She’d been daydreaming while the men went over the same plans once again.

“What? I was going over the mission in my head,” she lied shamelessly, her blush giving her away. She blamed her inattention on Melanie. All her talk of time travel druidry had set off her imagination. She walked to stand beside Devlin, taking hold of his hand as she listened to Melanie’s instructions.

“Okay. This will be a little different than when I travel through time. You won’t be holding on to me, but stepping through the doorway I open. I would still suggest you hold on to each other, just to make sure you all land in the same place.”

With that, Melanie raised her arms, calling upon the universe and pulling the power through her with a clear mental picture of a doorway. Having never been to the death realm, she had to use her imagination on how it would look. She was counting on Olivia’s ability to help steer her in the right direction.

Niall stood next to the bar with Lisa, who anxiously watched as an outline took shape on the dance floor. Shimmering as it contracted and then expanded in undulating waves, she could see straight through it to the tables beyond the dance floor.

“I’ll go first.”
Jack went through and disappeared.

Rafe and Ian hooked their arms through Olivia’s, while Devlin wrapped his arms around her from behind. Shuffling forward, they stepped across the boundary.

Lisa gasped and clutched Niall as they faded away. She immediately sent out a call to Rafe.

“We’re okay baby, just getting our bearings,”
Rafe said.

Melanie dropped her arms, breathing heavily. The opening closed like subway doors on the Metro. She went to sit at the bar after hugging Lisa and Niall. “Now we wait.”

“Never one of my strong suits,” Lisa said. “But I already heard from Rafe, they’re okay.”

Niall went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses before getting a beer for himself.

“Come on lasses, we might as weel be comfortable.”

* * *

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ian exclaimed.

They stood in shock staring down the dirt road at an old, decrepit house. The paint was peeling away from the boards, leaving the place looking like a haunted house ride at the state fair. The steps leading up to the porch were rickety with age, a few of them having holes where unsuspecting travelers had probably fallen through.

Looking up at the sky, they could see clouds crossing the full moon like a bad horror story.

“Come on, I can’t wait to see who lives there. I vote Dracula,” Rafe said.

“Nah, I bet it’s the Bogeyman.” Devlin rested his hands on his hips, staring up at the house like a puzzle he was trying to figure out.

From the inside, they heard growling and snarling before a man, or a wolf, they weren’t sure which it was, came crashing through the door.

The thing stood straight like a man but was covered in dark fur. His eyes glowed amber while his protruding mouth showed an evil line of sharp teeth.

Ian stepped forward and laughed. “He’s a fucking werewolf. Oh, this is too much.”

“Bro, stop dropping the F bombs. Ate-may resent-pay.” Devlin murmured to his brother.

Rafe rubbed a hand down his face. “And you think your mate can’t figure out Pig Latin?”

Rafe shook his head. This had to be a joke. A haunted house that looked like something he’d find in a really bad movie and the stereotypical werewolf with drool dripping from his teeth snarling at them.

Ian stepped forward, grinning. “I’ll take him.”

Olivia was trying to see around Devlin who stood in front of her. She stepped to the side and gasped. The werewolf man was exactly what she had envisioned a werewolf would look like when she was a child. The house was also her version of what a haunted house would look like in real life.

A loud snarl grabbed her attention in time to see the werewolf leap off the porch to get to Ian, who was casually strolling across the brown grass in front of the house. Ian moved in a blur, holding out one hand with his claws gleaming in the moonlight. He raked the thing as it passed, opening up a huge gash in the creature’s side.

Rafe and Devlin moved to make a wall in front of Olivia, their fighting stance ready to take it out if it came near her.

She stood on her tiptoes to see over their shoulders, finally shoving her way between them so she could see and ignoring their annoyed grunts. She was used to topping almost everyone, men and women. Height had its advantages after all.

She stared in awe at the scene before her. This was her world, one she had created in her head after seeing her first scary movie when she was twelve. Admittedly it was rather tame, but she’d been young and impressionable back then. Easily scared by the thought of a decrepit old house and werewolves. She knew if they went inside, there would be a coffin, draped in black sitting in the basement, just waiting for them to open it. Grinning, she elbowed the men aside.

“This is my world, created by me. Watch.”

Olivia closed her eyes, concentrating hard on the vision she wanted to project. She could hear Ian taunting his prey, like a cat pouncing on an insect before letting it go only to trap it again.

“What the hell?” she heard a series of amazed grumbling from the guys.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at herself to see if it worked. Seeing the brilliant green empire dress flowing to the ground in a shimmering wave had her laughing and twirling in front of them. Her hair flowed over her naked shoulders as she reached down to smooth the material over her breasts, surreptitiously making sure her boobs hadn’t popped out. She stopped when she noticed their dumbfounded looks.

“What? I saw it at Neiman’s.”

“How did you do that? What happened to the werewolf? And where’s the house?” Devlin looked around in amazement at the green meadow.

Grinning, she sauntered over on three-inch heels and laid a small kiss on Devlin’s lips. Her shoes almost made her as tall as him. “My world, my rules.”

“What the fuck?” Ian growled.

“Dude, language.” Devlin shoved his brother.

Rafe stepped between them before they started shoving each other like five-year olds. “Enough. Olivia, explain. We’re chasing a killer, I don’t have time to play dress-up.”

Olivia snarled, a small growl escaping before she could stop it. Rafe growled back, causing goose bumps to break out on her arms. Crap, she was practically challenging her Alpha. Her wolf was bristling inside her, not wanting to back down. Stupid wolf. Intellectually she knew she couldn’t win, but her animal side sure wanted to try. She found herself wishing her animal was a friendly golden retriever that would be happy simply basking in any attention coming her way. But no, she had to have a she-wolf inside that was one tough bitch. Illogical to separate the two, she knew. Her wolf was aggressive because Olivia herself was not a simpering, walk all over me type of personality. She needed to learn how to tone down her aggressiveness and be part of the pack. Sighing unhappily, she lowered her head in submission, her eyes going to the ground.

Rafe snorted. “That was probably the most pathetic capitulation I’ve ever seen, little sister.”

Devlin’s taut muscles relaxed. He’d known his brother would not hurt his mate, but in their world he could have forced her shift and pinned her down to show her wolf who was alpha. Devlin knew he needed to teach her what pack life was like, and soon. “On our next run, her wolf will get a lesson in submission,” Devlin said.

Olivia looked up in surprise at her mate in time to see Rafe nod his approval. What the hell did that mean? Now she was worrying her bottom lip, hoping she hadn’t royally screwed up. She knew how wolf packs worked, at least from a human standpoint. She just never in her wildest dreams thought she’d be part of one. Now she found herself running every documentary on wolves she’d ever seen through a filter in her head. She felt Devlin’s arm encircle her waist and looked up to see a small smile.

“Stop worrying. You know I would never hurt you, nor will your pack. You haven’t been a wolf long enough to know how the hierarchy works. Teaching you is the entire pack’s job. We may be part animal, but our human side is in charge. When we run together, your wolf will learn where she fits in the group.” Devlin put his head next to her ear. “And I’ll enjoy chasing you, holding you down until you submit. This lesson is for your wolf, which will make her understand in a way humans cannot.”

Ian cleared his throat. “Think we could get back to the mission now?”

Rafe motioned to Olivia, one eyebrow raised in question. She wished she could do that too. Intimidation at its finest.

“Well, I realized this scene came right from my imagination. Even down to the wilted zinnias in the flowerbed. That house? I saw a scary movie when I was a kid, and that’s how I picture a haunted house should look.”

“And the werewolf?” Ian asked.

Wow, her cheeks were actually heating in embarrassment. “I also wrote an epic horror story after seeing that movie. With werewolves, vampires, ghosts, zombies and just about every creature I could think of in the supernatural world. Had I not gotten rid of the house, we would have found a coffin in the basement. Well, after fighting our way through the zombies, of course.”

Rafe snorted again, covering his laughter before getting back to the business at hand. “So all this is your creation?”

Olivia looked from the meadow to the woods, which resembled the back of their property. She stared intently at the trees as if trying to see what was beyond. “Yes,” she whispered, “and Willie is here.”

Devlin immediately tucked her against him, snarling. Rafe and Ian stood side-by-side, hands on hips as they searched for their enemy.

“Has anyone seen Jack?” Rafe asked casually as if they were at a dinner party inquiring after an old friend they’d hadn’t seen in awhile.

Olivia inhaled sharply. “No. Oh my god, I was distracted by the house and hadn’t realized he wasn’t here. Do you think he’s alright?” She clutched Devlin’s arm, digging her nails into his bicep.

He patted her reassuringly, “I’m sure he’s fine. Which way Olivia? How do we find Willie?”