Blue Moon ns-1 Page 23

  "Hell," Cadotte muttered.

  I glanced at him and found myself distracted again by all that smooth, perfect skin and those supple muscles. I turned my back. "Can you put on some clothes?"

  "What? Oh, yeah."

  He went into his room and returned, pulling a bright yellow T-shirt over his head. The top button of his jeans hung open, and I swallowed the urge to put my mouth against the strip of skin.

  This wasn’t the time. There might never be a time again. That upset me more than it should. Cadotte had used me, lied to me, and I wanted him still. I loved him.

  The shutter behind my head rattled. I flinched. "Can I have my gun back?"

  "Are you going to shoot me?"

  "Are you going to bite me?"

  He wiggled his brows. "Maybe later."

  I made an impatient sound and he sighed. "I thought you loved me."

  "That’s what you wanted all along, wasn’t it?"

  He appeared confused. "Of course I want you to love me."

  "Because you need the blood of the one who loves you to become the wolf god."

  "I do?"

  "Don’t tell me you didn’t know that!" I shouted. "Don’t lie to me anymore, Will!"

  "You think I’ve been lying to you? That I told you I loved you… why?"

  "You made me love you."

  His lips narrowed. "No one has that power. Either you love me or you don’t. I can’t make you feel anything. No matter how much I might want you to."

  The eternal sadness that had drawn me to him so many times before was back, but I wasn’t going to let him seduce me again.

  I stalked into the kitchen, shuffled through the minutiae on the counter. Found the bag of plastic and held it up.

  Confusion pushed away the sadness in his eyes. "Where did that come from?"

  "Don’t play stupid with me. You stole this from the evidence room."

  "Me? If I went anywhere near the police station your boss would have a stroke. Someone planted that."

  "Spare me the O.J. delusion." I moved into the living room and picked up the book on Ojibwe ceremonies. "What about this?"

  "What about it? I’ve had that book for years. It’s useless without the page that’s missing, which is why I ordered another one." He frowned. "But it hasn’t arrived. That’s what I get for ordering a used copy off the Internet."

  "Isn’t it convenient that the one page we need is missing?"

  "It’s weird, that’s for sure. I picked that book up in a secondhand store, never even looked through it until last week when I found a page missing." He shook his head. "You actually think I was trying to raise the wolf god?"

  "I don’t know what to think."

  "Those wolves attacked us both. Why would they go after me if I made them? If I were a werewolf, wouldn’t I have changed? Like them?"

  I spread my hands and shook my head. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

  He crossed the room and I tensed. I didn’t want him to touch me. I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Slug him or hold him—neither one appealed at the moment.

  Cadotte handed me my pistol, shrugged when I lifted my gaze to his. "If you want to shoot me, Jessie, go ahead. I’m tired of trying to make you believe that what we have is special."

  I opened my mouth to say… I’m not sure what, and my cell phone rang. It was Mandenauer.

  "I am waiting for you, Jessie."

  "You’ll be waiting quite a while. I’m a little… trapped."

  "Where?"

  "Cadotte’s place."

  "I will be right there."

  "Bring a lot of ammo. There are at least fifty of them out there. And…"

  "Yes?"

  "Be careful."

  "Fifty is nothing to me, Liebchen."

  Then he was gone.

  Cadotte had moved to the other side of the room with my rifle. His back to me, the set of his shoulders was dejected. "I didn’t finish the ritual," he said.

  "I know."

  "We can’t let them get the totem."

  "I know that, too."

  Silence descended, broken only by the intermittent thud of wolf bodies against the door and the windows. I wanted to ask him so many things, but he was right. I didn’t trust him.

  Gunshots sounded outside. Our eyes met. "It’s too soon to be Mandenauer," I said.

  Cadotte flipped the lock on the window in front of him and peeked out. "It’s the sheriff."

  He must have followed me here. Damn.

  I crossed the room and glanced outside. It was Clyde all right. He shot a few wolves. They whimpered, but they didn’t die.

  "Lead bullets," I murmured. Clyde must not have had time to find any silver.

  He shot his way through the circle, then backed toward the cabin. The wolves advanced again.

  I locked the shutter and hurried to let him in, taking my pistol along. I remembered how Clyde had tried to convince me that Will was the werewolf leader—and I wasn’t exactly unconvinced of that yet—but I wasn’t going to let my boss kill him. I couldn’t.

  So as soon as I opened the door I asked for Clyde’s gun. He froze, frowned, stared at the pistol trained on his chest. "You nuts?"

  "Hand it over, Clyde, or stay outside with them."

  "Fine." He slapped the weapon into my palm and stomped into the house.

  "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

  "What do you think?" His attention was captured by something behind me. "You’ve brainwashed her, you bastard."

  Before I could stop him, Clyde charged Cadotte. They went down in a heap. Clyde was bigger, heavier, but Cadotte was younger and stronger. They rolled across the floor, banged into the furniture. Papers and books flew every which way.

  Clyde yanked Cadotte’s earring from his ear and tossed it across the room. The golden feather skittered into a heating vent. Damn, I’d really liked that earring.

  Blood flowed down Cadotte’s neck, a graphic illustration of the dangers of pierced ears—one reason I didn’t have them.

  I took a step forward just as Cadotte hooked his leg around Clyde’s and flipped the larger man onto his back.

  I blinked, and he had his knee on Clyde’s chest, his forearm at his throat.

  "Aanizhütam?" he growled.

  "Fuck you."

  Cadotte pressed harder, and Clyde turned purple.

  "Aanizhütam?" Cadotte repeated.

  Clyde gave a sharp nod and Cadotte jumped up. He held out a hand, but Clyde smacked it away and clambered to his feet on his own.

  Blood spattered across Cadotte’s shirt and Clyde’s. There were drops all over the floor. I resisted the urge to get a towel. This wasn’t my house.

  "What is your problem?" Cadotte asked.

  "This." Clyde reached out and yanked the totem from Will’s neck.

  Will grabbed him by the shirt with both hands and lifted him off his feet. "Give it back."

  My mouth fell open. My boss had to weigh 300 pounds.

  "Jessie!" Clyde called. "Don’t you think I should hang on to the totem?"

  I looked back and forth between the two of them. I honestly didn’t know.

  Another volley of shots sounded from outside. This time they were followed by surprised yips and agonized howls.

  "Let him go, Will," I ordered.

  "No."

  Mandenauer pounded on the front door and shouted my name. I didn’t have time for these games. I cocked the gun. Will’s gaze flicked to mine. He shrugged and let Clyde go.

  "Play nice," I admonished, and let the old man inside.

  He was wearing his Rambo outfit again—commando chic, with a whole lot of bullets. I couldn’t conjure up a snappy retort. I was too damn glad to see him—and his ammo, too.

  Before I could grab a bandolier for myself, Manden-auer stalked past me and into the living room. The expression on his face made me hurry to keep up.

  "Which one of you is wolf clan?" he demanded.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "A member of the wolf clan mu
st take part in the ceremony."

  I flicked a glance at Will. "Did you know this?"

  "Sure."

  I let my breath out on a long, slow sigh of disappointment.

  "Before you get all bent out of shape, I’d like to point out something."

  "What?"

  "He’s wolf clan, too."

  My head jerked up. Will was pointing at Clyde.

  "You are?"

  "So what? Nobody holds with that stuff anymore. Except for him." He jerked his head at Will. "Most people don’t even know what clan they are these days. Don’t you find it interesting that he does?"

  Mandenauer drew his revolver and pointed it at Will.

  "Hey!" I grabbed his arm just as he fired.

  Training took over and I cracked his wrist over my knee. The gun fell to the floor. I kicked the rifle out of his other hand, then pulled his arms behind his back. He didn’t fight me. Instead he stared at Will.

  Terrified, I followed the direction of his gaze. There was a neat hole in the fleshy part of Will’s arm. He was a mess, but he was alive, which also made him human. I could breathe again.

  I tightened my grip on Mandenauer. "What the hell are you doing?"

  "Proving that he is not one of them. And quite nicely, don’t you think?"

  "No," Will snapped.

  He pressed a hand to the hole, but blood seeped through his fingers. Black dots danced in front of my eyes. Since when had the sight of blood bothered me? Since it was his.

  Mandenauer had just proved Will wasn’t a werewolf. The knowledge wasn’t as comforting as it should have been. We still didn’t know who was.

  Mandenauer tugged on his hands, which I still held behind his back. "Give me back my guns."

  "I don’t think so."

  "Then shoot the other so we know."

  I glanced at Clyde. He frowned and shook his head.

  "Isn’t there a less bloody way to go about this?"

  "I have never found one."

  I was at a loss. I wanted to bandage Will’s arm, but I couldn’t leave Mandenauer alone. I couldn’t hold on to all the guns myself. I couldn’t bring myself to shoot Clyde and be done with it.

  A chorus of howls rose in the yard. Others joined in, louder and louder, until I wanted to put my hands over my ears to blot out the sound. But I couldn’t do that, either.

  At last the noise stopped. The resulting silence seemed to echo with their cries.

  "How many are out there?" I whispered.

  "There were more than seventy when I arrived," Mandenauer answered. "Probably well past a hundred by now."

  "That can’t be right."

  "What part of ‘werewolf army’ did you not understand, Jessie?"

  I dumped Mandenauer’s guns on the couch, holstered my pistol, and took him with me to the front window. I unlatched the shutter. We stared at what appeared to be a sea of wolves in the yard.

  "What are they here for?"

  "This."

  The voice wasn’t Mandenauer’s; it was Clyde’s. I glanced toward him just as he opened the front door.

  "No!" I shouted, but the wolves didn’t charge. Instead, they sat like dogs, tongues lolling.

  I released Mandenauer and ran, but I was too late. Clyde tossed the wolf totem high above the crowd. All heads tilted up, then followed the stone back down.

  Before it met the ground a small ash-blond wolf leaped into the air and caught the rawhide between her teeth. She hit the ground running. The others followed.

  I could do nothing but stare at Clyde. His face bathed by the silver light of the rising moon, he began to sweat, to shake.

  To change.

  Chapter 38

  I should have slammed the door, but I couldn’t. I was rooted to the floor in the hallway, unable to drag my eyes from the sight in front of me.

  Clyde’s body contorted; his shoulders hunched; his legs bowed. He threw back his head and howled. The sound shot ice down my spine. The wolves in the forest paused in their flight and answered.

  His clothes split open with a shriek of rending cloth and bursting seams. His shoes seemed to explode and paws popped out. He dropped to all fours and the hands that caught him had claws.

  Black hair sprouted from every pore, thickening, lengthening, becoming fur. A tail erupted from his spine. The last thing to change was his head.

  I sensed movement behind me, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. I braced myself, expecting Mandenauer to shoot. But he didn’t. Odd, he’d never hesitated before.

  The popping of bones, the stretching of skin, caused a horrible sound. I winced as Clyde finished the change.

  His nose and his mouth stretched, melding into a snout. His teeth grew; his tongue must have, too, since it lolled out the side of his mouth. His brow bulged. When he swung his head in our direction his face was that of a skinned wolf with Clyde’s eyes.

  Nasty. I wished for the fur to arrive. My wish was soon granted.

  Black hair flowed over his face, obscuring the bones that marred his cinnamon skin. He shook himself as if he’d just come out of the water, then turned toward me.

  I gasped. Clyde was the black wolf that had dogged my steps and haunted my dreams. He was most likely the wolf that had bitten Karen Larson and countless others.

  The gunshot made me scream and fall to the floor, throwing my hands up in front of my face. My ears rang, but I still heard Clyde shriek. I didn’t want to look, but I had to.

  Flames burst from a neat hole near his heart. The scent of scorched hair and cooking meat filled the air. The howl of a wolf, the cry of a man—he writhed in pain, twisting, turning, his claws scrabbling against the planks of the porch as he died.

  I stayed on the ground. I couldn’t gain my feet. Man-denauer stepped around me and shoved at Clyde wkh his boot. The wolf’s head lolled sickeningly.

  I leaned my back against the cabin wall. I was weak, limp. I couldn’t stop staring at what had once been my boss. I’d liked Clyde, trusted him as much as I trusted anyone—except maybe Zee. I couldn’t get my mind around the idea that he’d forever be a wolf. That Clyde would never again spit chew or quote Clint.

  "Why did you let him finish the change before you shot him?"

  "It is easier to explain a dead wolf than a dead sheriff." His gaze swept the forest. "We must go."

  "Go? Where? We got him."

  "The sheriff was nothing more than a minion of evil. The one who will become remains."

  "How you figure?"

  Mandenauer flicked me a contemptuous glance. "If he was the one, why did he give the totem to the others?"

  I hadn’t thought of that. Damn.

  "Listen," Mandenauer whispered.

  In the distance the wolves called to one another. There were more of them now. The ones who had been here had joined those who waited there. With their leader.

  I glanced at the sky. The blue moon had not yet reached the apex. Our night had only begun.

  I struggled to my knees, gained my feet without help. I looked for Will and didn’t find him.

  Had he passed out from blood loss? I took a step toward the door and Mandenauer stopped me. "Your lover is putting a bandage on his scratch. He does not need your aid."

  "You call that a scratch?"

  "You do not?"

  "I say a hole through the arm is a wound and not a scratch."

  "I say if you can walk, then walk."

  I tore my gaze from the cabin. "You trying to tell me something?"

  "Follow those wolves."

  "I just knew you were gonna say that."

  I stalked inside, retrieved my rifle, went searching for Will. To hell with Mandenauer; I wasn’t going to leave until I saw with my own eyes that Will was all right.

  I followed the blood trail to the bathroom. Will struggled to fasten gauze around his arm with one hand. He glanced up and his eyes met mine in the mirror. He didn’t appear happy to see me.

  "Let me." I stepped into the room, leaning my rifle against the wall. />
  "It’s done." He grabbed one end of the gauze with his teeth, the other with his free hand, and jerked. His breath hissed in sharply when the material tightened on the wound.

  "Maybe you should go to the clinic and get stitches."

  "I don’t need stitches. It’s just a scratch."

  My lips twitched. "Scratch. Right. What about your ear?"

  He shrugged one shoulder. The blood that had bathed his neck cracked, and rust-colored flecks rained down on his already ruined clothes. "I’ll live."

  "Jessie!" Mandenauer shouted. "Today if you please?"

  I stepped closer and smoothed his hair away from his brow. "I have to go."

  He shifted abruptly, his body bumping against mine in ways that would have been interesting if he weren’t covered in blood and I didn’t have places to be, werewolves to kill.

  "Let me change my shirt."

  "You aren’t coming."

  "Yes." His eyes met mine. "I am."

  "Now that Clyde’s dead they need a wolf clan member. Bringing you along would be downright stupid."

  "I can take care of myself."

  "So can I. Stay here. Clean up. Rest. I’ll come back when it’s over."

  "You think I can just sit here while you face a werewolf army? Wait like a good little boy until you have time to come to me again? I love you, Jessie. If you die, so do I."

  The thought of him dying made my palms clammy and my voice sharp. "I’m not going to die and neither are you. Just let me do my job, Will."

  "Let me help."

  "I don’t need your help."

  "Of course not. You don’t need anyone." His voice rose and anger warred with the pain in his eyes. "You certainly don’t need me. You never did."

  "Jessie." Mandenauer stood in the hall. Urgency tightened his features.

  I glanced at Will. I wanted to stay, but I had to go. I wanted to kiss him, but he turned away and started the shower.

  "I’ll be back," I promised.

  He didn’t answer, and that bothered me more than his anger and pain had. Torn between my job, my duty, and my love, I hesitated.

  In the end, I had no choice. I followed Mandenauer and he followed the wolves.

  Chapter 39

  "What’s the plan?" I asked.

  The trail widened. I was able to quicken my pace and walk shoulder to shoulder with Mandenauer.