I went to my room with Nathanial’s gifts. I knew something was wrong. The wolves were coming again, and it had something to do with him. Morgan had said it was him. Maybe it was. I dumped the gifts on my bed and sat down with a humph.

If he would just tell me, we could get past it. Maybe whatever was causing this wolf problem had something to do with Owen. If I just knew, I could help him piece it together.

I held the lingerie up to myself and looked at the vanity mirror. It was damn sexy and looked great against my skin and hair. I got up, went to the bathroom to wash my face, and came back to my bedroom and change out of my clothes.

I slipped into the bustier. It fit perfectly. How did he know my size? He must have spent a lot of time looking or going through my underwear drawer, the little perv. The idea made me giggled with delight. I pulled on the lacy g-string. Garters hung around my thighs, and I rolled the white stockings up to attach to the delicate hooks. Then I slipped into a pair of heels and examined myself in the mirror.

It took every ounce of my self-control and self-respect not to go down the hall and throw myself at Nathanial. He’d never be able to resist me in this. My breasts were formed and pushed up succulently. The boned waist cinched my curves to accentuate my round hips. I wanted to fuck me.

I turned off the light, kicked off my shoes and got under the covers. I licked my finger and pushed it inside the g-string, finding my moist mount. It tingled and shuddered with contact. I rubbed myself in tight little circles, gripping my breast with the other hand.

I thought of Nathanial’s hard, chiseled body, his dark eyes, his commanding presence. I envisioned him coming into my room, tearing back my blankets and pushing his cock deep inside me, thrusting into my tender flesh with his hips.

I sighed and withdrew my hand. Rain pattered against my window. What of the salt? A wave of fatigue and sadness washed over me, and I slept.

 

My dreams came in pale silver and mist, like the rippling of a lake at dawn. I stood by the water’s edge wearing a white slip with a long tear up my thigh. I felt cold.

I saw his face. Owen. His eyes were gray like the dim sky. He walked toward me, soaking wet. Weeds wrapped around his shoulders and dangled from his hair.

My heart sank. I wanted to run but felt rooted to the ground, the way I’d felt in his bed. He came to me, moving in so close I could smell the dank dampness of his breath. He ran his wet hand over my hair and smiled, showing his blackened teeth. I closed my eyes, wanting to puke or flee. My body stayed impotent, unable to connect to the force within me.

“My darling, Melody,” he whispered in my ear.

I shivered as cold water dripped from his body onto mine. He brought me into his chest, soaking the thin white slip I wore, revealing my breasts. He stroked my face and ran his hand down my body to grope my breast.

“I’ve waited so long for you. When you died, I went to meet you. I flung myself into the icy water to be by your side. Now I will take you with me and our love will live forever.”

“What love?” I croaked through my dry, paralyzed throat.

“Don’t pretend you don’t remember the feel of my cock between your thighs, dear Melody. We’ve had such fun in these last few weeks.”

“It was a dream. That’s all. A dream isn’t real. Let me go.”

I gained the strength to push against his shoulders with my weak arms. He pulled me closer, pressing his hardness into my tender flesh. I gasped as he bit and sucked at my neck. I couldn’t gather the strength to fight him.

“No,” I whispered.

“I will have you, Melody. You will come to me. We will be together, forever. Tomorrow night, when the moon rises, you will be my bride.”

“Never. I never loved you. It was always Nathanial.”

I found the force to push myself away and ran on shaking limbs toward the house. Then I was in the lake. The silver-black waters swirled around me. Something caught my foot, pulling me down. I gulped for air as the weight around my ankle forced me underwater.

Dim light streamed into the murky waters. I looked down and saw Owen gripping my ankle. His weight pulled me downward. I struggled, trying to free myself. My white slip fluttered around me in the weightlessness of the water. The last air from my lungs bubbled toward the surface above, and I let go. I was sinking.

A wicked grin struck through Owen’s face. I looked at him in shocked release. I was going to die.

Below in the black depths, I spied a twinkling light. It sparkled in my eyes, nearly blinding me. What was it?

 

I sat up in my bed as the clear morning light streamed through my curtains. I was covered in sweat, my heart beating a frantic flame. There was a loud banging at my door. I threw a bathrobe over the bustier I still wore and ran to open it.

On the other side, stood Nathanial. His face was stark white with panic.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Hurry and get dressed,” he said panting, “Morgan is missing.”

 

* * *

Nathanial called Search and Rescue which said they would dispatch a team as soon as possible. Their tone made him feel like they believed she would show up on her own. Under normal circumstances, Morgan could take care of herself and would wander back home after a while. But this wasn’t a normal circumstance.

He was about to shift. If she remained in the woods while he was in werewolf form, he could eat her alive. The idea of destroying his own daughter made him want to weep in disgust or throw himself from the turret.

He, Jane, and the staff spread out through the woods in both directions calling her name. He tramped through the woods smelling the fresh scent of pine in the cool morning air. His breath blew out before him in a misty cloud as he panted to the rhythm of his quick footsteps.

Why had she gone? Morgan was a haunted child, always talking about her mother. Until he’d seen Owen with his own two eyes, he’d believed the child to be overly imaginative. Now he believed her. Now it was too late.

He heard Jane’s voice over the ridge calling Morgan’s name. Guilt crushed his chest and he walked more frantically, shouting, “Morgan! Morgan!” He checked all her favorite places as soon as he’d woken. She wasn’t in the barn or the settler’s cabin. She wasn’t playing with Daisy at the hunter’s lodge. Daisy hadn’t even come home last night, and neither had Clive.

The only people out looking were Nathanial, Jane, Joshua, and Patty. Penny said she was too busy. It made Nathanial want to fire her on the spot, but he didn’t have time for that now. Joshua and Patty had gone searching toward the road while Nathanial and Jane went toward the mountain.

He heard her voice growing more and more distant as she crested the ridge. He should have gotten on horseback, but in his panic, he hadn’t thought. He prayed that soon Search and Rescue would arrive with dogs and helicopters.

He came to a clearing that opened into a grassy meadow. A doe lifted her head and sniffed the air. His beast’s senses kicked in. He crouched, wanting to pounce and sink his teeth into the doe’s neck. He wanted to feel her blood seeping down his throat, feel her life bleeding into his body, filling him with strength.

The beast in him was taking over, bit by bit. It wouldn’t be much longer until it demanded its turn, until it demanded its fulfillment. An image of Jane superimposed over the deer who bent her graceful neck down to graze. He licked his lips and smiled. He would have her too.

Nathanial caught himself, feeling foolish and disgusted at his thoughts. Panic rose in his throat, and he let out a long, sickening howl. The doe bolted and ran into the dark forest, beyond the clearing. Nathanial fell to his knees, gripping his hands like claws, weeping for the man he should have been, for the beast he was about to become again.

He covered his face as the tears broke free, streaming down his cheeks and soaking his hands. No! He wouldn’t allow himself to breakdown. He wouldn’t allow himself pity. He was stronger than that. He would see this through to the end. There had to be a way. Jane. Jane was the way.

He pulled himself to his feet and continued into the forest. The sun rose to its peak in the noon sky and slowly descended toward the western mountaintops. He knew he needed to go back to meet the Search and Rescue team that would inevitably arrive.

It took him until dusk to finally cross the creek and climb the fence into the pasture. He didn’t see or hear any indication of Search and Rescue. He walked back to the house, hoping they were talking with Penny in the kitchen about their rescue strategy.

He climbed the opposite fence near the barns and took the path past the garden. Only a few lights twinkled from the house. The hunters lodge was all but dark. He made it to the back door into the kitchen and walked inside to find Patty, Penny, and Joshua eating in the breakfast nook.

“No luck?” asked Patty.

“Where is Search and Rescue?”

“They called to say they can’t dispatch a team until morning. Some hikers have been missing for two weeks, and it’s taking all their resources.”

“Damn it,” he shouted as he pounded his hand on the counter. “Where is Jane?”

“I thought she was with you,” said Joshua.

“We split up to cover more ground.”

His staff looked at each other. No one spoke.

“We can go back out,” offered Joshua.

“It’s a full moon tonight. I want everyone to stay inside. We don’t need everyone getting torn up by those wolves.”

“What about the girls?”asked Patty, nervously.

“I will go out again. I’ll keep searching. I’ll find them.”

“Nate. Let me help,” said Joshua, his face pleading.

“I said no! Everyone stay inside. I’m going back out now.”

Nathanial stormed out of the room and went to his gun cabinet. The only thing that needed a bullet was himself. He pulled the rifle from the cabinet and loaded the chamber with shaking hands. If it came down to it, he would put a bullet through his own skull. That would end it all. He gritted his teeth at the thought and imagined Jane alone with Owen’s ghost. He couldn’t take the easy way out, no matter how appealing it was.

He threw on a warmer coat and paced into the kitchen to stare down his employees. They needed to stay put for their safety. Hopefully, the girls were far enough away it would be alright.

He gave them all one last sharp stare and went back outside. The sun had moved beyond the mountain, and its shadow grew over the land. He forced himself to move toward the settler's cabin where he would wait for the shift.