Page 53 of The Mating Need
Chapter 11
Due to theodd nature of Perry’s visit, Troy wanted to pitch in at the ranch helping Dale patrol the territory. Jenny assured Troy she’d be fine at the cabin, and told him she needed anap.
Grinning at her, he drove away on the ATV as she waved from theporch.
She wentinside.
Could not sleep, thinking about the death’s head skull on Perry. Thinking about the wolf pack and the odd and evil smells around thearea.
Finally she gave up, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved blue T-shirt and her hiking boots and slipped out the backdoor.
Aiden might have the resources of dedicated Lupines, but she had something better – her powers. Jenny could flush out a drop of blood in a lake in minutes. Skins like sneaky Professor Perry could prove less of achallenge.
The man stunk. Literally. Not enough for Aiden and other normal Lupines to detect. No, his smell of darkness was subtle, an undercurrent. Like perfume covering body odor, Perry’s normal scent disguised thestench.
Every bone in her body cried out to flush out this man and bring him tojustice.
Kill him, ifnecessary.
Turning 21 had done more than crank up her sexual needs. It had turned on these frightening and odd magick powers she struggled to control. Yet this time, she didn’t fightit.
Instead, she knew with all her heart her instinct to find Perry guided her in the right direction. Felt like she’d been wandering for years and suddenly found the yellow brick road. Only this road didn’t lead to Oz, it led to herdestiny.
She once scoffed at such ideas. Destiny was for weaklings who let others decide their lives, their fates in life. Nother.
Yet she knew destiny called to her with its strong, sometimes sinister, siren voice. She could no more ignore it than she could choose to never beLupine.
More than being wolf now, she longed for a large dagger or even a sword. Then she could cut that bastard’s dick off if she caught him even trying to harm a hair on the wolfpack.
Jenny made her way toward the forest in a normal stride, as if going for a leisurelystroll.
When she reached a clump of trees hiding her presence, she took a deep breath. Jenny culled all her magick, centered all of it andconcentrated.
The only other time she’d attempted this she’d been terrified and in tremendous need. That was before meeting Troy, when a gang of angry, doped up Skins drew near the hiding place where sheslept.
It worked – barely, and left her drained and panting, but got her out of danger. The payment was a full day of being so weak she could barely walk. The startling bonus was her thoughts had propelled her to a place she’d leastexpected.
In an amusement park, hidden behind some barrels, she had materialized amid a happy flurry of Skin families eating spun sugar candy or popcorn. With no idea how to get back, she’d coped as best as she could. Jenny had camped out inside the park, eating scraps until a kind park manager had spotted her and offered a jobsweeping.
Gradually she’d made her way back west, and metTroy.
Now she was older and much stronger. Maybe she could pull it off without the consequences, or at least without them being assevere.
Jenny inhaled a breath and the next, focused on being exactly 100 yards from the wolf packden.
Magick swirled around her, darkening the air, sucking her into a vortex she could no fight. Jenny went with it, closing her eyes. She felt all her cells, her entire being, pulled across time andspace.
When she opened her eyes, she was inside the forest near where she’d spotted the timber wolf pack. She took a deep breath, drained, and dizzy. Jenny leaned against a tree and struggled to regain her equilibrium. Odd. This time she heard weird noises, likechanting.
Tree shielded her presence. She peered out from behindone.
In a clearing about 100 yards away, she saw Perry and a group of about 10 Skins. They were chanting, and the sound sent chills down her spine. It reminded her of an old horror flick she’d seen once, where witches held rituals and sacrificedpeople.
These Skins were dressed the same way, in long black robes with hoods covering their heads. Perry wore jeans and a green long-sleeved shirt, the only ordinary looking Skin in thegroup.
Even the rifle in his hands was normal… but carrying it here, near the wolfpack?
How did they get past Aiden’s warding of the land? Unless someone had dismantled it. Someone from the pack who hadaccess.
