In the Loup Boxed Set #4 Read online

  Stephanie's ears flattened against her head and she slumped forward in disappointment. Chuck found the grassiest spot in the meadow beside a large patch of dead leaves, and he went over to his partner. He nudged her toward it and she scowled at his pushiness, but reluctantly obeyed. Chuck lay down first, and Stephanie sidled up against him.

  "No funny business," she scolded as she made herself comfortable.

  "I'm too tired to even think such thoughts," he assured her. Chuck reached around and started to pile the dry leaves on top of them.

  "Hey!" Stephanie wasn't appreciating being pelted with twigs and pine needles. She started to brush off the needles, but he just kept piling the junk on faster than she could get it off. "What in the world are you doing?"

  "I'm making us a 'nest' of sorts," he explained. "It's to keep us warm."

  "Do we really need the, um, nest? I'm already cooking beneath this nice fur coat," Stephanie pointed out.

  "When that sun comes up it's going to get pretty cold, especially for you." He paused in his nest-making and pointedly glanced down at her body. Stephanie scowled at his somewhat lecherous look, but she laid her head down on her paws.

  "I guess..." she grudgingly agreed.

  Chuck finished piling on the woodland blanket and then wrapped his arm around her. He buried his nose into the deep fur of her neck and took in her scent.

  "Do I really smell that interesting?" Stephanie wondered. He'd mentioned something some time ago about how she might have smelled interesting to male werewolves.

  "Very. I can't quite place the scent, but it reminds me of a spice rack," Chuck explained to her. She frowned while she thought about that comparison, and then shrugged.

  "I suppose there's worse things to smell like."

  "Indeed. I once met a werewolf who wreaked of dog urine. I found out later that he was prone to marking his territory, and wasn't always careful about doing it." Stephanie rolled her eyes and buried herself deeper beneath the pine needle blanket.

  "I think now's the perfect time to go to sleep, before you tell me even weirder stories."

  Chuck did as she requested, and laid his head down beside her own. Soon they were both asleep.

  The moon overhead had set long ago and the night marched on. The next morning broke bright and early, and the first rays of the sun washed over the two large forms beneath the leaves. Stephanie shifted and frowned as she felt her body tingle. She unwillingly opened her eyes and raised herself up onto her elbows. The morning dew was heavy on the tall grass around them, and she shivered. Goosebumps rose up on her skin and she brushed a hand against her other arm. That's when she noticed her fur was missing.

  Stephanie looked down at herself and blushed. She was completely naked. The young woman let out a small eep and buried herself back into the poky leaves and sticks. Her frantic digging woke up Chuck, and she froze when his hand around her waist began an upward slide toward her bare breasts. She swatted at his show of affection, but he only laughed.

  "You're awake early," he commented. He leaned his head over her shoulder and grinned at her.

  "Yeah, well, it's kind of cold up here in the middle of nowhere without a fur coat," she countered.

  "I could warm us both up," Chuck suggested. He nibbled at her ear to emphasize his point, but she just rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

  "That won't exactly solve the problem of us getting back to the cabin," she pointed out. She was hungry and her body ached from both the transformation and the workout she'd gotten as a werewolf. All that made her more than a little cranky. Her partner understood the refusal in her voice and sighed.

  "Stay here for a moment. I've got a stash of clothes hidden in the hollow of a tree."

  Stephanie regretted the loss of his warm body against herself as he got up. She turned around and couldn't help watching his naked posterior wander off toward the trees. Her hand ached to spank it even as her stomach growled for fulfillment. She really wished her body would make up its mind what was most important and stick to it.

  Chuck dug around a large, hollow-out tree close by, and he pulled forth a metal box. Out of the unlocked container he pulled forth several pairs of jeans, shirts and even shoes. She sighed as he fitted into his own jeans and a new shirt. The view had been pretty nice, but she was glad when he brought over some clothes for herself. She quickly put them on for two reasons, the first being his lecherous gaze as she crawled out of the leaves and the second being the cold air on the top of the mountain.

  Soon they were both ready for the trip down, and they headed for the path. Stephanie paused at the opening and took in the view of the meadow. Her life had irrevocably changed in that small field. She would never be the same again, not physically and not mentally. Someone couldn't go through their final transformation as a werewolf and not be changed by the fulfillment of the curse. Chuck came up beside her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He understood her contemplative glance.

  "Things may look different now, but your life hasn't really changed all that much," he tried to comfort her. "You can live as normal a life as you want and no one will ever know." A sad smile slid onto her lips and she shook her head.

  "You forgot about something important." She glanced up into his youthful face which hid his true age. "What is everyone going to say when they realize we don't age?"

  "They'll probably ask what cream you use," he joked. She gave him a pointed glare, and he sighed. "I'll admit that isn't the easiest part of this life, but you don't have to move as often as you think. People don't notice you're not aging for several years, even decades. Did you notice I wasn't aging?"

  "Not really," she had to admit.

  "We're at the right age for people not to suspect something's wrong, so you see there's nothing to worry about there for a few more years." He then surprised Stephanie by turning her around and patting her butt. "Now get on. I'm starting to get hungry and those pancakes aren't going to make themselves."

  The march back was uneventful and they reached the cabin to find it untouched. Food was procured from their supply and they both dove in with healthy appetites. When the meal was finished and Chuck brushing off Stephanie's offer to help with the limited dishes, she opted to take a rest on the bed. Her eyes glanced over the bare walls of the cabin, but she noticed there was at least a calendar on the back of the door. It looked like a recent one, this year, and she wandered over to it. Her eyes fell on the day's date, and her heart suddenly fell, too. She remembered it was the day she'd ordered Bob to be out of their house. If he wasn't out, she'd promised to call the cops and force him out.

  Chuck finished the chores and turned around from the sink to notice what she was looking at. He stepped over and placed his hand over the days, as though he could shield her from her worries.

  "So you still wanting to get him out of there?" he asked her. She sighed and shrugged.

  "I know I need to do it sometime, and now's as good a time as ever. I mean, it is the day I told him to get out."

  "You don't have to do everything all at once. I doubt that guy would care if you left him in the house for a while longer," Chuck pointed out. She had to admit he was probably right, but she didn't want that chore hanging over her thoughts.

  "I just want to get it over with. I know you said we needed to hang out here for a few days, but it's just something I have to do. You can just stay here if you want, I should be back in a few hours or-" Chuck held up his hand and she frowned at the interruption.

  "I'm as deep into your personal troubles as I can get, I may as well help you through this mess with him," her partner countered. Then he nodded out toward the road and the car. "Besides, could you really find your way back here?"

  "I, um, I, well..." Stephanie looked outside at all the wilderness and tried to recall the roads they had taken. There had been more than one rough dirt road along their path. Her shoulders slumped when she realized he was right. "Fine, you can come, but you'd better stay in the car. Bob hates you more than me
, and he's probably going to think there's something going on between us."

  "Isn't there?" Chuck asked her.

  "Well, yeah, I don't want him to know that. He'd probably accuse me of being the first one to be unfaithful and then try to take more of my stuff," she pointed out.

  "If this is what you really want to do, then we'd better get it done. Besides, we can swing around the office and see if there's any messages on the phone."

  "They might be contract cancellations. We did make a pretty good scene at the conference," Stephanie reminded him. "What with you knocking Ivanovich to the ground and me fending off Gregory, people might see us as pretty violent. They deserved it, but I don't we made ourselves look all that great."

  "There's no such thing as bad publicity," Chuck countered with a smile. "But it wouldn't hurt to finish up some of the projects, or at least get your drawing supplies. You might get ideas up here we can use for some of the clients."

  "Just what I want to do in a cabin getaway, work," she replied, but in an exaggerated voice.

  The pair packed up the garage and headed down the road. Chuck tried to keep the mood light be teasing her and cracking jokes. Stephanie was glad for the distracts and joined in with as much energy as she could muster. The closer they got to town, however, the quieter she became. Stephanie wished she could have mustered up some of that anger she felt that night, but time had dulled her fury into disgust. After a few hours they reached the house and Chuck parked the car in the driveway. He shut off the engine and looked to his partner.

  "You sure you don't want me to come inside?" he asked her, and she shook her head.

  "There'd be a lot less yelling if you stayed here," she pointed out with a bitter smile.

  Stephanie got out of the car and slowly headed for the door. She stepped up to the entrance and gave a deep breath, then knocked. She felt silly for knocking, but if Bob was doing anything in there with his slut, she didn't want to see it. There was no sound of movement from inside, so she moved over to glance through the window beside the door.

  Stephanie's face paled when she saw the damage in the entrance hall. It wasn't the damage Chuck had done with Gregory, it was fresh and even more destructive. The paint and sheet rock had been smashed and torn. Anything on the walls had been ripped off and thrown to the ground. She frantically glanced over to the car and waved her hand for Chuck to come over. He quickly hopped out of the vehicle and was at her side in a moment. He, too, noticed the destruction inside and pushed her back.

  Chuck tested the knob and found the door to be unlocked. He tentatively opened the portal and peeked inside. It was bright form the natural light, but all the overhead lights had been torn out and tossed to the floor. No doubt the lights had been the first things gotten ride of before the more complete vandalism of the home. He sniffed the air and growled, but there was no hint of immediate danger.

  "It's all right," he called to Stephanie. "There's nobody here any more. This probably happened a day or two ago."

  "But where's Bob?" she asked him. She pushed passed her partner and began a frantic search. "Bob?" she yelled out. Her heart was beating faster and faster. She looked through the ruined kitchen and across the bar to the living room and dining table. A new television set was on the floor, broken, and the couches and dining chairs had the stuffing torn out from them. "Bob!" Chuck came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. She shrugged them off and raced to the stairs.

  Stephanie had to find him. She had to make sure he was okay. Her feet pounded up the steps. The pictures which had hung on the wall lay broken on the floor. She stepped over them tot he bedroom. The door was ajar.

  Stephanie paused in the doorway. Everything was quiet. Chuck hadn't followed her. She lifted her arm, then stopped. Through the slightly open door she could see the room was a mess. Clothes strewn about. The floor littered with stuffing from the bed. Then she pushed open the door.

  Stephanie's eyes widened and she gasped. Lying on the bed, drenched in his own blood, was Bob. He was on his back and his open, lifeless eyes were staring up at the ceiling. His throat had been torn out and his chest was torn to shreds. She turned away from that horrible sight. It was too much to bear. She broke down and started crying into her shivering hands. When a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, she flinched and glanced up.

  "It looks like Gregory isn't going to be letting us off any time soon," Chuck mused. He stroked Stephanie's hair and glanced around at the carnage while the woman in his arms sobbed. "Let's get you out of here, okay Boss?" he whispered to her, and she nodded.

  Chuck led her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He regretfully set her down in one of the dining room chairs and then dialed for the police. Stephanie quieted her sobs enough to overhear his conversation with the dispatcher.

  "Hello? I'd like to report a murder. Yes, a murder. We just found the body in the upstairs bedroom. Yes, we're quite sure he's dead. Please, could you get a few officers out here to seal off the room? We haven't touched anything." Chuck gave the address for the home, and was informed a few police cars would be arriving shortly. "Yes, we'll wait. Thank you very much." He hung up the phone and turned to his partner with a wry smile on his face. "They'll be here in a few minutes, but I don't think the woman on the line believed me."

  "Would you if you hadn't seen it?" she hoarsely whispered to him. She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. The images wouldn't leave her mind. Chuck frowned and moved over to kneel in front of her.

  "It'll be all right. You did pretty good up there for your first time." Stephanie's head shot up at the implications in his statement.

  "I want it to be my last," she pointedly remarked. "I don't ever want to see something as awful as that." Chuck sighed and shook his head.

  "If Gregory is the one who did this, and I have little doubt he is, than we may have trouble avoiding more carnage."

  "I think it was him," Stephanie agreed as she recalled something Gregory had said to her. "Gregory told me something about seeing Bob or visiting me or something like that.

  "Then he did this so he could get at us, but for now we have to keep calm and act like this was a surprise," Chuck replied.

  "Act?" Stephanie let out a bitter snort. "Who's acting?" Chuck smiled, and he leaned in to plant a soft hiss on her forehead.

  "You've got a big heart to care about that ass, but I suppose that's one of the reasons I love you."

  Stephanie managed a small smile, and then steadied herself as she heard the police cars coming up the road. Another unwanted interview was coming with the cops.

  For the second time in a month, the police were called to Stephanie's home. This time it was for more than just destruction of property. The homicide squad arrived and cordoned off the area. Stephanie, her tears spent over the pathetic man, was seated on the back of the ambulance. Chuck was at her side, and when the police were sure there weren't any suspicious characters in the near vicinity, they turned to the two people who had found the body for any further details. One of the officers came over to the pair with a notebook in hand.

  "I'm sorry to have to do this to you, ma'am, but I'm going to need to ask you some questions," the policeman politely informed her. She nodded her consent, but didn't lift her head. "Dispatch told us you two arrived to find the body on the bed. Did you see anyone else in the house?"

  "No, it was just us and...well, and him," Stephanie replied with a shake of her head.

  "And where were you two coming from?" Stephanie opened her mouth to blurt out some hurried lie, but Chuck beat her to it.

  "We were camping in the woods for a few days. We'd just come back from a conference before that." The young woman was surprised he was telling the plain truth, with some omissions.

  "So you were with her the entire time?" the officer asked.

  "That's right. We never left the cabin after we got there."

  "Let me see if I have this right," the policeman requested, and he turned to Stephanie for the answers. "You
were no longer living together with your husband?"

  "That's correct, we weren't living together," she replied with a nervous twitter to her tone. She expected this conversation to be brought up, but she still felt like they were accusing her of committing the murder herself.

  "Was there something going on between you two? An argument over money?" the policeman asked. "I'm sorry I have to pry, but we're looking for a motive."

  "A motive for if she did it, you mean," Chuck pointed out. He was not happy to have the officer accuse Stephanie so backhandedly.

  "It's all right, Chuck, I understand." Stephanie glanced up at the man. "He was having an affair with someone, a maid who he had clean our-my house. I didn't know about her until a few weeks ago. When I found them together, I did get angry and I told him he had a few weeks to get his stuff together and get out. My name's the only one on the deed, so I figured I could at least do that."

  "So was he supposed to take any of the furniture and his clothing, or leave it here?" the officer wondered.

  "We never talked about it. I just supposed he was going to take it all," she explained to the man. "Is there something important with this?"

  "Well, it certainly explains the suitcase we found beside the bed. It was filled with the clothes from his drawers," the officer explained to her.

  "Is this going to take much longer?" Chuck interrupted the interview. He set a soft hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "I think Mrs. Yager's been through a lot in the last hour, and she could do with some rest."

  "Well, that's all the questions I have for now, but more will probably come up as the investigation continues. That means we don't want you to leaving the area any time soon," the officer instructed.

  ""I have some business to take care of in the city," Chuck informed the policeman. Stephanie was surprised by this sudden bit of information. She couldn't fathom why he'd be leaving her when she most needed him. "It will only take a day, but I'd probably have to stay overnight there."

  "I'm afraid we can't let you do that unless I get a release from the chief," the man replied. "Otherwise you need to stay in the area."

  "How do I get the release?" Chuck asked. He was bound and determined to acquire the permission, and the officer sighed. He pulled out a form and handed it to Chuck.