Wolves at the Door

  “Being neighbors, you talked to them now and then, right? Maybe had them over for a barbeque?” Zack asked.

  “They were good neighbors. Always waved, always friendly. But they never accepted party invitations.”

  “Before they moved, did they say where they were going?” Zack asked. “Or mention putting the baby up for adoption or anything like that?”

  She looked to the man and they shook their heads. “No. But they talked about New York, I think.”

  No, no, no. Too far away. How would I ever find them among all those people?

  Zack took my hand and gently squeezed. They could’ve remembered wrong or maybe your parents were covering their tracks and lied about where they were going. We don’t know yet. He switched back to speaking aloud. “Can you think of anything else that would help us find them?”

  The couple looked at each other, shaking their heads. “No,” they said in unison. “Sorry. That’s all we remember of the Nicholsons.”

  † † †

  Over the next two hours, most of the people we interviewed had no idea who Richard and Patricia were. Anyone who remembered them didn’t have any more information than we already had — which was where they lived, what they looked like and that they had a baby. I was hungry again and the sun was already disappearing behind the trees.

  “We should do dinner and call it a night,” I said, standing in front of a house that looked like so many others we’d stopped at. Or maybe we’d already been there. Had we gone around in a circle? “The houses are beginning to look the same. It’s becoming a blur. You sure we weren’t already here?”

  “Positive.”

  “So far, the only thing we’ve learned is that my parents were here and they had a baby. I already knew all that. What an epic failure this trip has been.”

  Plus, Zack still wouldn’t talk to me about us and that drove me nuts.

  “Let’s hit one more and we’ll eat, okay? Then we’ll do something fun tonight and start again tomorrow.”

  “And what if we don’t find anything tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Shh.” He laced his fingers through mine and held my gaze. “Then we’ll come back next weekend.”

  “Really?” My eyes burned in gratitude. Zack may have poor judgment on where to draw the line when trying to get info from skanks, but in the end he was always there for me.

  “Really. C’mon.”

  We walked the stone path to the modern stucco covered house, carefully avoiding the rose bushes that reached out to snag our clothes. I knocked on the door.

  It seemed like the door opened by itself until I lowered my gaze to a tiny, older woman peeking out from between the narrow gap. I told her why I was there and asked her about my parents.

  The crack widened and she stepped into the doorway. “Yes, I remember them. Lived just a few houses away. They were nice neighbors. The couple that lived across from them was noisy though, always throwing parties.” She shook her head.

  I smiled, remembering the mustached man and the busty blonde. I could totally see them loud and partying. “Yeah, we met them earlier today.”

  “Do you remember anything about Patricia or Richard that might help us find them?” Zack asked.

  “Not really. My memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be. Sometimes I think of something days later.”

  “How about I give you my cell phone number? Then you can call me if you remember anything.” Reaching into my purse, I fished for a pen. After rummaging a few more seconds, I found a receipt to write on. As I pulled it out, my mom’s ID clattered to the ground. I bent over, snatched it up and stuck it between my fingers while I wrote my cell number on the tiny piece of paper.

  “That’s her,” the woman said.

  I hadn’t realized she’d stepped out of the house. She peered up at my hand — the ID actually. Stuffing the pen back in my purse, my gaze shifted from the plastic card between my fingers to the little old lady. “Excuse me?”

  She thrust a finger at my mom’s picture. “That’s Patricia.”

  ~~~

  Chapter Thirty

  I stared at my mom’s picture, my pulse speeding. She was Patricia Nicholson, my birth mother — the same mother I had always known. Which meant she was a shape-shifter and I hadn’t been given up for adoption. “Are you sure? Here, look again.”

  “I’m positive,” she answered.

  “There’s no doubt in your mind that this is Patricia Nicholson?” Zack asked.

  “None at all. Except when I knew her, she had dark hair. Strange…” She eyed the ID more closely. “That license hasn’t expired yet so it’s not that old. Funny, she looks exactly the same as she did eighteen years ago.” She looked up at me as if somehow I’d be able to explain it. “Like she hasn’t aged a day.”

  Chills ran through me, but I shrugged, knowing I couldn’t tell this woman the truth — that my mom hadn’t aged because she was a shape-shifter. “The picture’s deceiving. She still looks young now, but I think—”

  “She must have renewed by mail a couple times and they used her old picture,” the woman explained, grinning as though proud of herself for figuring it out.

  “That must be it.” I beamed.

  “Her name is different here. She changed it, did she?”

  “Apparently.” I had to get away before she learned something she shouldn’t. “Which is why I’m here. I saw the birth certificate, which had different names so I automatically assumed they were different people.”

  “Didn’t you ask them about it? You could’ve saved yourself a trip,” she said.

  “She didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable, like she didn’t trust them,” Zack said. “They went out of town so we seized the day.” I’m nervous about giving out too much information, Zack slipped in silently. We should get going. He grabbed my hand and turned to go.

  “Just one more thing.” Jerking Zack to a stop, I pulled out my cell phone — something I should’ve done hours ago. Between finding that birth certificate and everything else I had going on back home, I must’ve gotten brain damage or I would’ve thought of the pictures I’d taken with my phone.

  After locating one of my dad, I flashed the screen at the old woman. “Is this Richard Nicholson?”

  “That’s him.” Her eyes narrowed at the picture, then shifted to me suspiciously. “He looks exactly the same, too.”

  Oh, God. My parents were so not human.

  “It’s a really old picture I scanned and e-mailed to myself.” I put my phone away, so she couldn’t examine it further. “Well, thank you so much for your help.”

  I could barely concentrate as Zack guided me to the car. My ageless parents — both total liars. How could they not tell me what they were and that I was a shape-shifter too? It was a huge thing to leave out. I itched to tell them what I thought of their lying to me my whole life.

  As soon as we were back in the car, I pressed the button to wake up my phone.

  “What are you doing?” Zack asked. “Calling your mom?”

  “Of course.” My thumb moved to press the send button.

  He snatched the phone away from me.

  “Hey! Give it back.”

  “Autumn, how long have they been gone?”

  “Three or four weeks, I guess. Why does it matter?”

  “Think for a minute. They’ve been over-protective your whole life, then you blackmailed them into taking a vacation without you, now suddenly they’re everywhere but here. They hardly even call. Why would they desert you like that when it’s so unlike them?”

  I froze as reality hit me. “They’re probably on the run from werewolves.”

  “Exactly. Maybe the reason they stay away is because they’re having a tough time shaking the guys who are tailing them.”

  I stared at my phone in Zack’s hand, knowing I couldn’t use it. “That’s why their trips are so quick and probably spur of the moment.”

  “Because they have to be careful. The last thing they’d want to do
is come back and lead anyone to you.”

  “Great. Thanks, Zack. Now when I should be angry, I’m afraid for them.”

  “I’m not suggesting you forgive them and I’m not saying you shouldn’t be mad. I’d be pissed as hell. But it might be a good idea if you didn’t unleash your fury just yet and add to their problems. We don’t want to throw them off so they do something careless and put themselves in danger.” He handed me my phone. “Also, keep in mind that once they know you’ve hit shape-shifter maturity, they’ll want you to run with them.”

  My heart stopped at the thought of moving again — of moving constantly. “I won’t go.”

  Zack’s frown disappeared and he looked relieved. Did I dare hope he was glad I’d be around a while?

  “They could be very insistent. And, let’s face it, you’d be safer with them. They’ve been running for a while now and they’re still alive. I’m thinking they know what they’re doing.”

  Trying to get rid of me now? “For someone so convinced they were human, seems like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  “I like to be prepared for anything.” He started the car. “After we eat, what do you want to do tonight? It’d be cool if it was something we can’t do back home.”

  I laughed, glad that he was loosening up at last. It almost felt like old times. “That’s easy since we pretty much can’t do anything together at home.”

  He chuckled softly. “We have tonight and part of tomorrow to make up for it.”

  That sounded promising.

  † † †

  We drove into the next town where they had a mall and other normal things as well as an endless selection of restaurants of every kind. We picked Mexican food because Zack was in the mood for salsa.

  “You think everything out so thoroughly,” I said. “Have you thought about why my parents would keep a secret like this?”

  He dipped a tortilla chip into the small bowl, filling the curve with salsa. “No. Sorry.”

  I broke a chip in half. “Maybe my dad is human and they weren’t sure I’d be anything but human, just like him.”

  “According to their neighbor, he’s not aging. My money’s on shape-shifter.”

  “You were wrong about them last time,” I teased. “It’s possible my dad just looks young. And they might have thought I’d be human too.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. I’m full werewolf even though my mom is human. It’s the same with shape-shifters. They’d have to know that.”

  I stared down at the tortilla chip I’d just picked up. “I can’t think of any other reason they’d need to keep it a secret.”

  “Maybe they didn’t have a reason. Maybe they just couldn’t figure out the right way to say that you were different. Then so much time passed and they decided to wait until you began maturing.”

  “That could be why they always hovered over me — they were watching for signs.” I moved the chips and salsa out of the way when I saw the food arriving. “But that’s no excuse. They shouldn’t have kept it from me for so long.”

  After spending the rest of dinner discussing our evening plans, we finally decided on a movie. We liked the idea of not having to drive far since we’d already done our share to get to Yosemite — with more ahead tomorrow.

  Zack held my hand in the theater and it sent tingles up my arm. But that was as far as he went. God, we hadn’t kissed since Thursday morning and I had the strong urge to throw myself at him. Then I remembered what had happened with Gina. I was still angry for what he’d done, wasn’t I?

  Back in our room, I grabbed my e-reader and wiggled around in bed until I was comfortable. Would he sleep next to me or in the other room? I didn’t have to wonder for long.

  “Is that a good book?” He sidled up to me.

  “Yeah, it’s great.” Especially now that I could concentrate on the words. I kept reading, but I wanted to reach for Zack. It had been way too long since I’d felt his warm lips on mine. But I had no intention of indulging myself until he talked to me.

  “Let me see.” He snatched the e-reader out of my hands and set it on the nightstand near his side of the bed.

  I flipped over and shot him a mock glare.

  “No more reading this trip.” He moved my hair off my neck and lowered his lips to my skin. Tingles of heat spread through me and my body vibrated with anticipation.

  Zack had that look on his face — the same one he had whenever he forgot what we were risking by being together. I wasn’t exactly opposed to getting lost in a make-out session with him. Except a little hand holding at the movies didn’t make up for the Gina fiasco and the last few days of him being cold to me.

  “Well, I hope your entertainment substitute doesn’t include making out because that’s not going to happen until we’ve talked about what happened.” Not wanting to sound mean, I softened my voice. “Don’t forget, Zack, I have just as much to be angry about as you do, if not more.”

  He reached over to his nightstand and fetched my e-reader then thrust it at me, his expression blank. “It’s probably for the best.”

  I took the book, my mouth gaping. “So… you still won’t talk about it?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I don’t get it. We could’ve hashed it out already and be kissing right now.” I knew that wasn’t subtle but I really missed that part.

  “The subject is off-limits.” He shook his head. “I’ll get too worked up. Give me a couple more days to get my head together, okay?”

  At least he gave me a time frame. But two more days of denying myself? Blah. Maybe he was right about it being for the best, though. It had already seemed like forever since we’d kissed and the longer it went on, the more I craved him. If we got started… in a hotel room… all alone…

  Not a good idea.

  † † †

  Zack had crawled into bed last night just as I’d nodded off. With no hope of working things out just yet, I’d let myself fall asleep. We checked out of the hotel the next morning and drove into Yosemite National Park. It was still early, but apparently the other visitors didn’t think so. The place was buzzing.

  Even though Zack was still a little broody, I vowed to enjoy him as much as I enjoyed the beautiful, majestic Sequoia trees. I told myself to forget everything going on and just take pleasure in being with him.

  “These trees are enormous, unbelievable.” I handed him my phone. “Take a picture of me next to this one.”

  Instead of following orders, he looked for a passerby to take a picture of us both. Brilliant idea. The only pictures I had with both of us were from prom. I wanted as many more as I could before he left.

  Hours later, we trudged to our car, ready to head home. I made my way to the Mustang while Zack stopped at the gift shop for water.

  I froze. About three cars from where I stood sat a midnight-blue Jaguar.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  I scanned the area for Renzo or Alura, wondering how many Jaguars that exact color and model one should expect to see in the course of a week. Should I call for Zack and get the hell out before we found out who owned the car? My fingers twitched at my side while I contemplated what to do next. Moments later, Zack handed me a bottle of water.

  “You think this is Renzo’s?” he asked.

  “Seems likely.” If only I’d taken note of his license plate number.

  We could wait around and find out or we can move on. He shrugged. Or we could get a little closer and see if we smell werewolf.

  This doesn’t worry you? I asked. Zack seemed barely rattled.

  Of course it does. I don’t believe Renzo’s our friend, but I also don’t think he’s a threat right now. Probably just keeping tabs on us. He brushed a hand along my lower back. So long as no one knows what you are, we’re cool.

  Then we definitely weren’t cool. The freaking werewolf was supposed to be on vacation. Why the hell was he following us? The breeze picked up and a few wayward stran
ds of my hair tickled my nose — along with the scent of werewolf. Zack and I glanced at each other.

  “Fancy meeting you two here,” I heard Renzo say from somewhere behind me.

  Zack turned to face the familiar stranger. “Not really since you followed us,” he said in a flat voice.

  I swiveled toward Renzo and leaned against Zack, so I wouldn’t miss anything spoken silently. I gave myself a quick reminder that as far as Zack knew, Renzo still thought I was human. Therefore, I had to act like I had no idea that werewolves existed.

  “Hi. Oh, my gosh, what are the chances of seeing you all the way out here? Is Alura with you?” I asked.

  “She’s around,” Renzo answered, still looking at Zack. Get rid of Autumn so we can talk.

  Zack bumped my shoulder. “Mind waiting for me in the car for a minute?”

  “I’m being banished?” I hated the thought of missing out on whatever was about to happen. Worse, I couldn’t even talk to Zack silently or Renzo would sense the energy radiating from us. He’d know that Zack knew about me. I had no choice but to oblige.

  “Just a couple minutes.” He jerked his head toward the Mustang. “I won’t be long.”

  “Fine.” I stomped to my car, got in. Inserting the key, I rolled down all the windows and listened in as I watched them.

  “It’s been over a week since anyone’s seen Charles. Nine days to be exact.” Renzo’s eyes stared into Zack’s.

  But the younger werewolf stood his ground, folding his arms over his chest. “Like I said before, I can’t give you information that I don’t have.”

  “I think you know more than you’re saying,” Renzo stated, then continued when Zack only stared at him. “I can’t help you if I’m not properly informed.”

  “I’m not your responsibility,” Zack said. “Why would you help me anyway?”

  “You’re young with your whole future ahead of you.” Renzo kept his voice low and level. “I hate to see it cut short when you’ve only just begun.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that I have no idea what happened to Charles. I like to think that the king’s people would be smart enough to realize I couldn’t have killed him. If you’re that worried, why haven’t you called the authorities?”