The Wolf's Call (Two-Natured London) (5 page)

There had been a few curiously
raised eyebrows at work when Charlotte had switched off her computer before
everyone else that afternoon, taking her things and heading home. In only a
month, they had become accustomed to her insane working hours. “Should we call
a doctor,” Gary quipped. “Or the bosses, so that they can see how we are here
late on Friday afternoon after you’ve already left?” Learning that she would be
working at home had made him groan.

Charly
didn’t really know why she was following Rafe’s suggestion to work at home – or
at Jack’s, as it was. Would he even be there? After all, they hadn’t made any
definite plans. She hadn’t wanted to after he lied to her about being a
shifter. And she knew he had lied, she was experienced enough a barrister to
know when that happened. It had upset and disappointed her and so she had made
her excuses and retreated to Jack’s flat, not giving him a chance to renew his
offer of working with her tonight.

The
encounter with the wolf-shifter had had an impact on her though, whether it had
been Rafe or not, and she had followed the debates in the Commons with much
greater interest than earlier. The cause felt more personal now that she knew
someone who had something to gain from the vote. It was as if her world had
been opened up a little bit more, even though everything was the same. She had
always been surrounded by the two-natureds, and Rafe hadn’t even admitted to
being a shifter so it shouldn’t have affected her so much, but it had.

Following
the heated debate had also made her understand why he would have lied. It
helped her get over her upset. Who could blame him for wanting to hide what he
was, especially when demonstrators were making things more difficult? They had
marched through Hyde Park the previous night, but like Rafe had predicted,
shifters had been a no-show. In today’s papers, the demonstrators were claiming
they had scared the shifters into hiding. Charly didn’t like it. It was only a
matter of time before the powerful shifters would show the humans exactly how
not scared they were.

As she
had suspected, the vote in the Parliament had gone against the two-natureds,
but with a much smaller margin than previously. Disappointed with her fellow
humans, she had wanted to call Rafe, but had managed to prevent herself in
time. If he didn’t want to tell her the truth, it wasn’t her place to force him
to out himself.

Still,
she felt that the lie sat uneasily between them. She was waiting for Rafe to
show up with nervous anticipation, fiddling with the papers she had placed on
her brother’s dining table. The large table that seated ten would be the safest
place for their meeting, especially if they sat at opposite ends.

Yeah,
right. As if anywhere with Rafe would be safe. And she didn’t mean his possible
status as a wolf-shifter. He was dangerous because he could so easily override
her personal restraints. Even now she felt excitement build inside her.

With
all honesty, she didn’t know what to think of him. Having been brought up with
humans only, she didn’t have any experience in dealing with non-humans, even on
ordinary matters, let alone with someone who wanted to get up close and
personal with her. Was she appalled or thrilled? It was uncomfortable to
realise that she might actually have more reservations now that she suspected
he wasn’t a human.

Then
again, it might help her keep things professional between them.

A tiny
voice at the back of her mind tried to suggest an entirely different approach.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a boyfriend like Raphael Green, a successful
businessman, to show to her parents? He would win them over easily with his
charm and then she could throw it in their faces that he wasn’t a human. See
how they would take that.

It was
a nice image, but reality intervened. He wasn’t interested in anything
long-term with her, only a quick roll in the sack. And while she was sure Rafe
could stand up to her father, she couldn’t really put him in that situation,
even if they were serious. Which they weren’t.

To
pass time – and to distract herself – Charly concentrated on everything she had
learned about the land transaction so far. She had tried two different
approaches: finding out who actually owned the land by going through official
records, and trying to come up with motives for someone who would want to
prevent the building project.

Both
approaches had turned out to be surprisingly fruitless. The last transaction
record for the land she had been able to find was from the eighteenth-century,
which baffled her. Even if the land had been inherited numerous times since
within the same family, there should have been some mention of it. The other
line she was following was just conjecture until the private investigator she
often employed returned with information.

Was it
a landowner who didn’t want new people in his backyard? After making a few
phone calls to officials she had compiled a list of names for the investigator
to look into. Or was it someone in the village who opposed everything new just
on principle? It could be the local cultural heritage preservation society, for
example, though she found it difficult to believe that old ladies would go so
far as to forge land records.

Then
again, there were all those murders in Midsomer….

Ok,
that was TV and not real life. So maybe it was someone who wanted that piece of
land for himself … to prospect gold in the creek that ran through it. Okay,
that was a bit farfetched too, but maybe it was a fly-fisher protecting his
salmon rights.

She
didn’t think any of these scenarios were very plausible, but she went through
them like a mantra in her head to ward off the flush of excitement that went
through her every time she thought about Rafe. And that was just about all the
time. Thank heavens it was Friday. She wouldn’t have to pretend to be sane in
front of her colleagues for two whole days.

The
life-long habit of keeping her body in control finally came to her aid. First,
she managed to calm her mind, and then her body followed so that she was
perfectly composed when the doorbell rang, heralding Rafe’s arrival.

Then
she opened the door and her equilibrium shot to pieces.

His
size hit her first. She had managed to forget how big he was. He wasn’t even
standing straight but had propped a hand against the wall by the door and was
leaning a little towards her, and she still had to angle her neck to look up to
him.

The
strength in his blue-eyed gaze made the second blow to her self-control, and
before she even noticed, she had averted her eyes. She wanted to lift them back
up just to show she wasn’t cowed by him, but his body made her forget everything
else.

He was
dressed like a biker in boots, a jacket of worn black leather that hugged his
wide shoulders, and low-riding jeans that revealed interesting things about his
male anatomy. With his height and muscle structure, the getup was truly impressive
and it took a physical effort to force her eyes back up to his face. His thick
blond hair was even more tousled than usual, not at all flattened by the helmet
he was holding in his other hand.

Who
cared whether or not he was human when he looked this gorgeous? And she wasn’t
even into bikers.

Rafe
walked in as if she wasn’t standing there transfixed, blocking the doorway.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to check in with my brother in Epsom.”

She
could only nod as she watched him stalk across the vast room to the dining
table and place his helmet on it. He had buttocks that should be outlawed, or
preserved for private admiration and use. Like sinking her teeth into.

Shocked
by the uncharacteristic notion, she managed to douse her arousal, but then he
bent over to rub Bob’s ears, giving her a full view of the said derriere, and
her body failed her completely. She almost whimpered as she drank in his fine
form. The sound was barely audible, but he turned his head to shoot her a quick
glance. The smug look on his face made it clear that the bastard knew exactly
what kind of an effect he was having on her.

Charly
cleared her throat, determined to overcome her arousal. “You weren’t late. I
only just arrived myself.” She may have left work early, but she had eaten out and
had treated herself with a visit to a hair salon. Her waist-long hair didn’t
need much maintenance, but she liked to have it washed, and her skull massaged
regularly; it was a relaxing start for the weekend. She had asked the
hairdresser to comb her hair open and it was flowing down in a heavy mass. She
wondered if Rafe had noticed.

He
straightened up and checked her out, giving her a notion that he didn’t miss
anything. “Have you had a chance to walk Bob yet?” He asked the question
conversationally, completely ignoring her staggered state.

She
was grateful for it. “Not yet. I thought I’d go once we finished with the
papers.” She waved towards the pile on the table behind him, but he didn’t turn
to look at them.

“Is
there something I actually need to take a look at?”

“Not
really,” Charly sighed. “I think I need to talk to the people in the village
and see what I can learn that way.”

He
frowned. “Not alone you won’t,” he stated. Then, before she could tell him that
she didn’t respond well to dictates, he smiled. “We’ll go together tomorrow.
Let’s make a day of it. We’ll take Bob too.” He looked so delighted with his
plan that it was impossible to get annoyed with his high-handed manners.

Who
did she think she was fooling? The mere thought of spending a day with him
excited her.

“So
we’re not taking the bike?” she teased him to distract herself.

He
grinned and there wasn’t a meditation in the whole world that would calm her
from the effect it had on her. “Not unless you absolutely want to.”

She
stifled a shudder. “I don’t think I’d make a good biker chick.”

“Oh, I
don’t know about that.” His warm gaze raked her up and down, making her blood
heat wherever it touched. “I can definitely see those legs sheathed in black
leather.” The way he said it, she could easily see herself sitting astride a
bike, pressing her chest against his firm back, holding his waist tightly.

“Well
… ” she had to clear her throat before she was able to continue, “perhaps
some other time.”

“Perhaps,”
he returned, but his eyes held a promise of it. She returned his look, feeling
their mutual arousal rise again. Would they even make it out of the house?

Bob
pushed Rafe in the thigh, breaking the moment when Rafe turned to look down at
it, and she didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved. “Feeling left
out, are you, Bob?” he laughed. He gave the dog another enthusiastic rub. “I
think we’ll take Bob for a walk,” he stated. Without waiting for an answer, he
went to fetch Bob’s leash and put it on. He then headed out the door, the dog
following him smartly as if it had actually passed its obedience training.
Charly had no choice but to follow too, utterly bemused by the turn of events.

Rafe drew in a lungful of air
the moment he got outdoors, using the exhaust fumes from the busy Park Lane to
replace Charlotte’s intoxicating scent. He shouldn’t have ridden down in the
same lift cage as her. The small space had filled with her essence and messed
with his already aroused body. It didn’t help that he had spent the ride trying
not to remember what they had done the last time they’d ridden together.

What
was it about her anyway that got him aroused faster than any woman he had
known? He couldn’t even claim she had shown any particular dominant tendencies
tonight. On the contrary, she had been so taken with his looks that she had
followed him out meekly without even a token protest. Who could have guessed
the bad-boy look would affect her so much.

Her beauty
definitely had him going from the moment she opened the door. Dressed casually
in jeans and a red cashmere V-neck sweater that caressed her curves softly, her
gorgeous black hair flowing down like a velvet fountain, she had simply taken
his breath away. He had needed all his self-control not to pull her into his
arms the moment he saw her, but he had managed to walk past. He knew, however,
that taking the dog for a walk was only postponing the inevitable.

During
the ride to London earlier, he had tried to reason with his wolf about how to
deal with her. The human half thought that he should just sleep with her and
have done with it. No need to disclose uncomfortable truths. But the wolf
didn’t like the secrecy and it didn’t like the notion of a temporary bedfellow
either.

He had
absolutely forbidden it to put out the call to a human, but the wolf wasn’t
ready to admit they shouldn’t pursue her in earnest. The argument between his
two halves had reached a point where it had seemed best to simply keep his
distance from her and behave professionally during the course of their work
relationship. Now thought, the way she was affecting him was making it really
difficult for him to keep that decision.

Friends
first.

The
suggestion coming from his wolf was actually a good one. Rafe turned to look at
the tall and slender woman walking by his side, seeking for something neutral
to say that didn’t involve odes about how her black hair was shining in the
moonlight.

“So
tell me, do people call you Charlotte or do you have a nice nickname?”

She
turned to smile at him, a bit shyly, and his heart lost its rhythm. Since when
had his ticker taken interest in this affair?

“My
family calls me Charlotte and my friends call me Lottie, of all things. But
I’ve always wanted to be called Charly, ever since I read a book as a child
where the heroine was called that. I’ve just never managed to make it catch.”

So it
would be unique for the two of them. “Charly. I like it. It’s much stronger
than Lottie and it definitely suits you better.” And he liked how she had
admitted such a personal wish.

Her
smile turned to a semi-serious frown. “I thought we agreed you would call me
Miss Thornton.”

Rafe
snorted. After the way they had been all over each other? Not bloody likely.
Besides, she was much too passionate for such a stuffy name. “I will call you
Charly,” he said, and she didn’t object again. Perhaps he could even make her
call him Rafe.

In the
park, Bob trotted on happily. Rafe held its leash, leaving his wolf to keep an
eye on it, his full attention on the gorgeous woman by his side. Since it felt
right and natural, and because he was too weak to resist the temptation, he
wrapped his free arm around Charly’s waist, drawing her closer.

Charly
tensed for a heartbeat, but he waited patiently and was rewarded when she
relaxed and leaned against him, and he adjusted his hold. His heart was beating
erratically in his chest, making it hard for him to talk, so he didn’t; the
silence was companionable.

It was
wonderful to have a tall woman by his side that he could hold with such ease.
Not that he remembered taking girls on walks in parks before, moonlit or
otherwise. His wolf hadn’t seen the point in such activity until now.

“The
moon is almost full tonight,” Charly noted after a while, but it wasn’t an
opening to anything romantic, to his disappointment. “Do you think there will
be shifters here?”

Rafe
made a quick study of their surroundings; the park seemed quiet. “I’m more
worried about the demonstrators again. They’ve been emboldened by their success
yesterday and may attempt another march today.”

“Well,
since the shifters hid themselves yesterday, they might do so tonight too,” she
suggested, but he had to shake his head, his worry rising. He shouldn’t have
brought her here.

“This
close to the full moon, not all shifters are able to control themselves as well
as they should.” There were stories in shifter history of carnage that had
followed when humans had turned against local shifter clans at the wrong time
of the month. It had been prudent for the clans to isolate themselves, but
modern times had made that very difficult.

His
words caught her interest and he was fairly sure she would ask again if he was
a shifter himself. He still didn’t know what to tell her. But she only looked
curious. “Why does the moon affect them so?”

Rafe
sighed soundlessly. Surely onesies were taught something about shifters?
“Shifters, like all two-natureds, are creatures of Might, the energy
surrounding all living things. Might is what gives them their second nature.
Sentients’ consciences are pure Might, vampires use Might for magic, and a
shifters’ transformation is powered by Might.” He paused to see if she knew
this and since she looked interested, he continued. “During the full moon,
Might flows with greater force, because the sun’s disruptive effect on it is at
its weakest, and the extra energy makes all two-natureds act a bit strange.
Shifters with smaller tolerance to Might simply have to change shape to release
that surplus energy.”

He
turned to look at her again, feeling that he was wasting a perfect night in
lecturing, but she looked captivated. “So a strong shifter doesn’t have to
shift even on a full moon?”

He
smiled, pleased that she had listened. “That’s right. They can shift whenever
they wish and regulate their reservoirs of Might that way. But most shifter
clans gather to shift together on full moons. Afterwards, there’s a feast.” He
looked forward to it every month, no matter how many moons he had behind him.

She
frowned, and he could anticipate her next question. She wanted to know how he
knew all this if he wasn’t a shifter. But she didn’t get a chance to ask it,
because suddenly his wolf tensed, claiming his attention. It had detected
something he had been too distracted to notice.

His
instincts took over and he had pulled Charly behind him even before he had
assessed the danger. Ten or so yards in front of them, three men were standing
side by side, blocking their path. Or, to be more precise, three wolves were
standing there, their auras in the open, looking aggressive and ready to shift.

Fucking
great. Three against one wasn’t exactly even odds, even if he was one of the
strongest shifters in the greater London area. And he had a human woman to
protect.

He
didn’t waste time wondering why they were acting hostile, even though he had
permission from all the clans using the park to be here. He simply handed Bob’s
leash to Charly. “Run to safety,” he commanded in a low voice. “I’ll hold them
until you can get the building’s security here.” He didn’t turn to see if she
did as she was told. His orders were obeyed as a rule.

The
wind changed and he got a good scent of his opponents. They weren’t local
wolves after all, but strangers. That was odd. He was beginning to worry. “What
do you want?”

He
used his best alpha voice and saw to his satisfaction the thugs flinch and
avert their gazes. The man standing in the middle was more brazen though – or
more stupid – than his companions. He lifted his face immediately, even though
he couldn’t quite meet Rafe’s eyes. His wolf was smarter and it assumed a
submissive pose on his chest.

Rafe’s
wolf approved. It was reaching out of his chest, eager to be free.
Not now
,
Rafe commanded it mentally, and it ceased from trying to force a shift on him.

“You’ve
been poking your muzzle in where it doesn’t belong, Green,” the leader snarled.

So
this was personal. “Have I now?” he drawled, his voice gravelly because his
wolf was so close to shifting.

The
leader stood his ground, possibly deciding that three against one was good odds
from their point of view. “Yeah. In Betchworth. And we’re here to make you
regret it.”

Rafe
tensed. There weren’t shifter clans anywhere near the small village where they
had been buying land. So if these guys were hired thugs, who had hired them?
And why were they acting now? Had Charly already found something that hit a nerve
with someone? His stomach fell in dread for her, but he didn’t turn to look if
she had fled to safety, opting to keep his eyes on the assailants. “And who
would we be?”

It
wouldn’t be that easy. “Never you mind that,” the leader smirked. And then he
attacked.

Rafe
anticipated the move and stepped aside and attacked the bloke on the left who
hadn’t been as swift to charge as the leader. He shifted his left hand into a
huge paw with extending claws unlike any natural wolf, and sank them into his
opponent’s stomach. With his other arm he blocked the leader’s punch to his
face.

There
was no time to pause. He pulled his claws out of the soft flesh of his opponent
and the bloke fell on his knees and folded over in pain. Rafe hit him swiftly
on the back of his head, dropping him like a stone. The leader kept on punching
him, forcing him to defend himself with his free hand. Rafe was good, but not
that good, and an occasional punch got through. By now, the third guy had got
his fight-face on too.

As
Rafe sidestepped to parry another punch, he got too close to the last guy;
before he could retreat, sharp claws punctured his side through the leather
jacket. He grunted as the claws sank deep, but he didn’t let the pain slow him
down. He just slashed the bastard across the face with his own claws, causing
the bloke to step back just enough for him to get a good kick to his opponent’s
stomach. The guy flew backwards far enough for Rafe to have a few seconds to
deal with the leader, who was still trying to drop him with his fists.

Rafe
attacked, distracting the leader who had gotten used to his defensive moves. A
swift right hook took care of him, just in time for Rafe to face the last guy
who was approaching again with a wolf’s snarl on his face.

But
before Rafe had a chance to do anything, Charly sped past him, a spray can in
her hand, and she emptied a full can of pepper spray into the bloke’s face. The
bastard covered his face with his hands, howling in pain, making it no
challenge at all for Rafe to punch him unconscious too.

This
done, he turned to Charly who was panting heavily as adrenaline pumped through
her veins. But she didn’t look frightened. She looked fierce and triumphant.

His
blood already heated by the fight, he reacted instantly. He pulled her into his
arms and kissed her with all the fire surging through his veins. She answered
with passion, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to
better reach him, deepening the kiss. She pressed against him and the feel of
her lush breasts against his chest drove all sensible thoughts from his mind.

He
could have kissed her forever, but a nudge from his wolf reminded him that he
hadn’t gotten his woman to safety yet. He ended the kiss instantly and looked
her sternly in the eyes. “Woman, when I tell you to run to safety, you bloody
well run to safety.”