Chapter Seven
She woke up with a start at the sound of hushed voices. It took a few moments, and a few breaths, to remember she was at Josh’s place. The bedding smelled like him. Like them.
Smiling, she stretched and rolled from bed. He’d taken her twice more before she’d pretty much passed out, totally exhausted and relaxed.
But also a little sore. She needed a shower to help that, but for the moment she pulled herself together. She had her clothes from the day before, and he’d helpfully left a new toothbrush on the counter in his bathroom.
Before she got back into her bra, she looked at the love bites he’d left on the side of her breast. She brushed her fingers over them, a phantom tingle warming her even as her nipples hardened at the memory of the pull of his mouth, the scrape of his teeth. Who knew she’d find such a thing hot?
She washed her face and brushed her teeth before rooting through her purse to find a ponytail holder and enough makeup to do a passable job.
And okay, so she did peek a little. She had to find the brush after all, so she looked in a few drawers and his medicine cabinet. There were no girly anythings in the room. No hair gizmos. When she did locate his brush, it was one of those wooden man brushes. No tampons. Nothing to indicate a woman was a regular guest here.
She had no right, frankly no business even thinking about such a thing. But it pleased her nonetheless. Something had clicked between them and there wasn’t any unringing that bell. She liked him. Liked the grown-up Josh.
A lot.
More than she should. She took forever to decide on what to order for dessert but there she stood in Josh’s bathroom, and even though everything else in her life was upside down and speeding toward horror, she was sure of one thing and that was Josh.
She rolled her eyes at her reflection and went out to see who Josh was talking to.
A pert blonde stood in the living room with her hand on Josh’s arm, and Michelle’s jaw hurt from clenching it so hard. “Did I interrupt something?” She totally failed at sounding perky.
The woman’s gaze slid to Josh, who’d turned, smiling at the sight of her.
He held out a hand, and she took it without thinking, letting him draw her closer. “I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible. Come meet Tracy Warden. She’s one of my Alphas.”
The stunning blonde turned a smile her way, moving away from Josh and holding her hand out to shake. “Josh has told us about you. It’s nice to meet you.”
So this Alpha had two mates. Probably no time to bone Josh. Which was stupid anyway, it wasn’t like she owned him or anything.
Michelle shook Tracy’s hand and smiled back. It was impossible not to really, Tracy Warden had the sort of manner you’d need to be a dick not to respond to in kind.
“I’m Michelle. I want to thank you for the help your pack has given me in this investigation. It would have taken me a lot longer, maybe it would have been impossible altogether for me to have gotten this far without it.”
Which was totally true.
“Of course. We have to stick together. Especially now. These mages are a danger to us all. I was down the street at our offices, and I admit I wanted to stop by to check in and meet you in person. I spoke to my sister, she’s the Enforcer for Cascadia, they’ve had some missing wolves. We’ve had I guess. I’m still Cascadia in my heart, even though I run my own pack now.” She shrugged, concern on her face.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Owen has been a big help. They think there’s something else at play. Something bigger.”
A shiver roiled through her. “Worse than these mages working with turned witches?” That was hard to imagine, and truth be told, she sort of dreaded the thought of what could be worse than that.
“They’re working on it. Whatever it is. But we’ve put out an order that all our wolves travel in twos or more. Safer to stick together.”
If it scared things that turned into giant wolves who were fast and vicious, what the hell chance did witches stand?
Michelle blew out a breath. “I need to check in at work and then with Pam. She’s been a big help, by the way. Josh, I know you have work to do with your pack, I’m fine on my own.”
Tracy and Josh rolled their eyes in unison.
“Did you both just tag-team eye-roll me?”
Tracy looked to Josh and they both laughed. But a bit of tension threaded the sound. Something wasn’t being said.
“Use my office.” He pointed toward a door to the right of the living room. “I’m not going anywhere. I have a right hand. Damon is perfectly capable of holding down the fort when I’m out with you. If I’m ordering my wolves to travel in twos, do you really think I’d let you go out alone?”
He had a point. But.
“They don’t even know I’m here.”
“Of course they do.” Josh cleared his throat. “Go, make your calls and check in. I’m going to do the same. Tracy and I need to talk about a few things. We’ll talk when you have an idea of what you need to do today.”
She gave him side eye, but let it go. For the time being.
“It was nice to meet you, Tracy.”
Tracy smiled at her. “Me too. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. I was just telling Josh we were having a pack dinner tomorrow night. We’re a raucous bunch, but though I’m biased, we’re all pretty fun. And, Gabe, he’s one of my mates, he’s an amazing cook so it’s worth it.”
“Oh. Um. Maybe. Thanks for the invite. I appreciate it.”
“Gina will be there. The other Owen witches who live in the area tend to come to our events. Safety in numbers and they’re hours away from Seattle. I know they’re all excited to meet you. I hear you met Gina yesterday. She’s awesome, isn’t she?”
Michelle was nearing her whoa too much point. So much stuff flying at her at once. She knew her magick began to rise, which was odd because she rarely had this problem at home. Then again, at home she wasn’t really around any Others aside from Allie and her mom. Even Michelle’s mom wasn’t much for working her Craft.
Josh reached out and took her hand, squeezing, and her panic ebbed some. “Go. I know it’s a lot. We’ll talk more later. I’ll bring you some coffee in a bit.”
She nodded and smiled at Tracy as she headed into Josh’s office, closing the door behind herself. She leaned there for a few long moments, getting herself together.
Over ninety-six hours had passed. Four days since Kathy’s call had turned Michelle’s life inside out. Every minute now was a little bit of luck in finding Allie slipping away.
She chose the desk in the room that looked like it was used less and sat, grabbing a nearby pad and pen, and called Roseburg.
She spoke to her boss.
“Anything new?”
“No. Other than the canvass of the apartment complex.” Which she knew about because Michelle had been the one who organized it after all.
Dexter continued on, shuffling papers at his desk as he spoke. “No further sightings. The plates are still on watch, but since the last sighting in Portland there’s been nothing. She hasn’t been seen. Her ATM card hasn’t been used. What about you?”
She sighed. “Nothing else. We did a canvass in an area the SUV was last seen. Portland PD helped with some manpower.” Dexter was a good cop, but he hated shifters. She hadn’t divulged any of the help she’d received from Pacific. He’d been active in a campaign to change hiring practices in city government to ban shifters. On one hand she wanted to tell him all about how much assistance Others had been so she could say, see, they’re good people who help. But reality told her he’d shut down and stop believing anything she said.
“We didn’t find anything. I’m going in today to speak to the guy they took into custody at the scene of the murder in the convenience store the SUV was seen at.”
“Bunch of paranormal violence, that. Probably a shifter. I saw the pictures. Nothing human coulda done that. You just keep out of their business. You think Allie was tied up in it? Could be why she up and got herself taken. Hell, maybe she left with them.”
Her magick rose hard and fast. So hard her esophagus burned and several things rattled in the office around her.
“What did you just say to me?”
Josh burst in, his magick mixing with hers. His wolf shone through his eyes.
She held her hand up to keep him quiet. “Did you just blame the victim of a kidnapping? My best friend?”
“Alls I’m saying is, you get what you get when you go mixing with them what’s causing all this ruckus.”
“With all due respect, sir, Allie was taken against her will. All the evidence we have points to that. Whether or not she was involved with anyone or anything paranormal has absolutely nothing to do with our duty to find her.”
“Sure. You need to come back. You said yourself you haven’t found anything. Let Portland PD keep an eye out. Question the guy and come back to work. There are cases we need you on here. Whether you want to admit it or not, our missing person is just one of many.”
She hung up. Without saying goodbye. She shook so hard, her nails dug into her palms until the scent of blood hit, and Josh was on his knees in front of her, taking her hands.
“What’s going on? Talk to me, Michelle, because I’m about to lose my shit. You already have. What is happening?”
She thought about what to say. Her boss’s prejudices bothered her. Embarrassed her even. It was hard enough on her being a witch, but Josh was a shifter and she didn’t want to hurt him. At the same time, she needed to talk.
“No new clues on Allie. My boss wants me back in Roseburg. I don’t think he cares about Allie at all. He’s...he’s a bigot and since he’s seen the pictures from the murder at the convenience store, he’s convinced shifters are involved and he’s pretty much written Allie off as a ‘shifter lover’ who gets what she deserves for mixing with Weres.”
He growled. “Are you going back?”
“Not without finding her.”
“Don’t go at all.” He kissed her fists until she relaxed and unclenched. He hissed when he saw the half-moon wounds. He kissed them too. “I know it’s not just me. You feel it too. This connection between us.”
“I don’t know what I feel.”
He locked his gaze with hers. “Liar. You’re too brave to be such a liar, Michelle.”
“Okay, to be honest, I don’t know all the words for all I feel. Yes, there is a connection. But I have a life in Roseburg. I can’t just walk away.”
“Why not? Since I’ve been gone have you and your mom gotten close?”
She snorted. “No.”
“Your boss is a bigot. What happens when he finds out you’re a witch? You and I both know the coming out of witches and vampires is only a matter of time. You can’t hide it. Not anymore. I’m shocked it hasn’t happened before now.”
She blew out a breath. In truth, though she loved being a cop, she didn’t love her workplace because of Dexter. Sure he liked her now, but once he found out...well Josh was right. And it was toxic to deal with his ranty views all the time.
“He’ll leave one day. My boss I mean. The next person could be better.”
He shook his head. “I want you here. With me. There’s a police department here and in all the surrounding suburbs. You’re smart and Pam has friends all over the place. Be with me.”
“This is so sudden. I don’t know!”
“You’re a witch.” He laughed, kissing her wrists. “You can move stuff with power you draw from the earth. How is this thing, which isn’t sudden by the way, I’ve known you longer than anyone else I’m not related to, less real because you feel it after reconnecting with me a few days ago? We are beings of magick.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know things. I accept things. Some things just are, and the way I feel about you is what it is. I know you, Michelle. I can see your passion and your strength. Your determination to find your friend. I admire you a great deal. You’ve always been beautiful. But Michelle as a woman is a far more alluring creature. Give us a chance. You have nothing in Roseburg. A shitty boss. A job that you can do here. Be here. With me.”
He was right. She just knew things sometimes. Despite her cautious nature when it came to making big leaps of faith, this connection she had with Josh was real. Immense. And it could be something amazing and forever.
“We both grew up in the human world. I understand that you’re hesitant. But my wolf is my magick. I can feel the threads to you, between us. My wolf knew it immediately. I loved you back then, of course. But I was a kid. I had a lot of growing up to do. I’m a better person now. The thought of you going back to Roseburg drives me nuts. I understand it’s your home. But... I’m asking you to try to make one here. With me. For us. There are Others here. Witches who you can bond with and get to know. Understand your gifts in a whole new way. My pack, which is my family, they’d accept you, open their door to you. You deserve that. Not some asshole who would throw away a young woman who’d been kidnapped because she might be or have been involved with Others.”
She licked her lips. The allure of everything he offered was overwhelming. She’d been lonely a long time. Yes, she had Allie, but that was pretty much it. If she pretended to be human, she could have more. But she wasn’t. And the older she got, the more she understood that. And the more that understanding left her empty, aching for something else. Connection. Community.
She’d known him since she’d been a child. He’d been part of her life pretty much every day, and then he’d been gone and for over a decade that had defined part of her too. But maybe his absence had steeled her for what they could have if she accepted what she knew as true even though common sense said this was too fast.
“I’ll think about it. I’m not going back to Roseburg before I find her. I have vacation time. A lot of it. I’ll call in and use that. I need to focus on Allie right now. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “I’ll do everything I can, offer all the assistance in my power to help.”
“Is Tracy still here?”
He shook his head and stood, pulling her up with him. “She left a few minutes ago. Let’s go get this cleaned up.” He indicated the nail gouges on her palms.
“I need to call Pam first. I want to speak to Charlie.”
Josh sighed. “I’d tell you that you already spoke to him and that he’s not going to tell you anything else. But I can see that would be a waste of time.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
“First let me deal with your palms. Okay?”
She followed him into his bathroom, and he pulled out a first aid kit while she washed her hands. “It’s not that big a deal. Just some scratches. It’s not life threatening.”
He growled before picking her up and putting her on the counter, stepping between her thighs. She allowed him to dry her hands gently and pour antiseptic on them, patting them dry once more.
“Why do you have a first aid kit anyway? I mean you guys heal pretty fast.”
He grinned. “Pretty fast isn’t instant. My job is bloody. Not always, but frequent enough that it’s good to have supplies on hand.”
“Are you seeing anyone?” She blurted this out and felt the heat on her face.
“No. Well.” He gave her that smile that did things to all her pink parts. “I am, but that’s you. So you don’t have to be jealous of yourself.” He kept working until he’d lightly bandaged her wounds and let go, leaning close to kiss her.
He’d actually only meant to kiss her quickly but she responded, that delicious rush of her magick enveloping him. Wrapping around his cock like a fist. He stepped closer, she wrapped her legs around him, holding him there as he took her mouth. Drowned in her taste. Wallowed in it until his cock throbbed in time with his thundering pulse.
He broke away, sucking in air as he pulled her hair from the ponytail, running his fingers through it. He hadn’t intended to ask her to stay. He’d been trying very hard to take it slow, at a human pace. But her jealous reaction when she’d come out and seen Tracy’s hand on his arm had roused his wolf. His wolf didn’t give one fuck about waiting. He wanted Michelle.
And her upset at her boss’s behavior and talk of going back to Roseburg had been more than he could process without saying at least something.
He knew she’d heard him. Agreed even. Knew too, that she was processing and felt it too fast. But fuck fast. He knew what he knew and this woman was his. Had been his all along.
He pulled her shirt up and off, tossing it to the floor, her bra following. She arched with a gasp into his hands as he found her nipples, tugging them between thumb and forefinger. He groaned when he caught sight of his marks on them.
Driven to claim, to pleasure and taste, one handed, he pulled her pants open and down.
Her heartbeat sped, her pupils enlarged, her skin flushed—she was with him all the way. Thank God.
“Your smell,” he growled as he slid his fingers through her pussy, wet and hot. Ready for him. “Makes me want to shove my face into your cunt and lap you up for hours. I want it on my face and my hands, wrapped around my cock. You’re delicious.”
Her breath came out in a stutter, and that scent bloomed as the hot scald of that honey coated his fingertips.
“Fuck me,” she whispered.
“Oh, I will. First you need to come. Then I’ll fuck you. Your pleasure is my job. Lean back against the mirror behind you.”
She did as he turned his hand, sliding two fingers into her and rubbing the pad of his thumb against her clit over and over.
“Don’t undo all my work on your hands, beautiful. You can scratch me up later.”
She started to laugh, but it ended on a snarled plea as he pressed a little harder on her clit.
“You want to come? Hm?”
“Yes!”
He leaned in, licking and biting her nipples as he sped the fingers thrusting into her cunt, his thumb pressing over her clit in time with the suck and pull until she exploded in a rush of honey and magick.
He wanted her so much he barely even remembered the condom as she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pulling his cock out.
“Hands back or I’m gonna lose it.”
He rolled the condom on and was fully seated in a breath, then moved to utter stillness as she clutched and fluttered all around his cock.
He did note a bit of discomfort on her face when he first started fucking her. “Sore?”
“A little. It’s been...” She laughed. “I’m not used to that much fucking in one night.”
“Should I stop? I don’t want to—”
His sentence died as she used the legs wrapped around him to haul him back in deep. “No. I’ll have to maim you if you stop. The hurt is gone. Now it’s all...” She hummed and it slid over his skin. “It’s all pleasure now. I promise.”