Into The Woods Ch 05

I drop the phone in surprise.

"Hello?" she says again and I press it to my ear.

"Hello, Olivia King?"

"Yes." Her voice sounds tinny and far away on the line.

"I have something of your's. Your backpack. I found it."

The line gets quiet. "Olivia?"

"My bag? How did you find it?"

"I – I uh, well it's a funny story actually," I say setting down the bag and leaning against the door. The line stays quiet. "I was out hiking, I work in the park, blazing trails and I came across it." The lie slips out easily enough.

"My bag wasn't near any trails."

"I know, that's why I was so surprised to find it, we're actualy in the process of expanding the trail system so I was scouting out a possible route." Alright enough of my fake job. "I was wondering if I could bring it by for you." I hear her sigh and some rustling.

"Gimme your number."

"I'm uh actually between phones right now." Another sigh.

"Can you meet me tomorrow? The Queen Street Cafe at 2pm?"

"Yeah sure, 2pm."

"Alright see you then," she says and the line drops.

I sit in the cafe and keep switching my position hoping I look calm. The place is mostly empty at this hour, even though the sign says cafe it's more of a bar. I've got a seat facing the door but away from the bartender, a guy with a mustache I thought they only let carnival workers wear.

The idea that I should have made a photocopy of her picture pops into my head. At least something to remember her by. The bells above the door ring and her scent floods the room. She's here. I fight with everything I have not to get up and press her against the wall right here. Kiss her lips, down her neck, slipping her shirt off her shoulder, trailing a path down between her breasts. Focus Jax.

Reaching forward I take a sip of my beer instead. Every nerve is tuned tight and the hair on my neck stands on end. I get the urge to shift right here and now. The familiar tattoo of wanting drums through my blood as she gets closer. Her bag is on the table, all the contents back inside. She slides into the booth and pulls the bag toward her.

"Hello."

"Hello."

I can't help but stare at her, she glances away quickly to break eye contact.

She squints and studies my face, there's no way she could recognize me could she? She's more beautiful than I remember. Cleaned up her hair is shiny, and dark. Tilting to the side it falls in a smooth curtain. Her eyes are dark and bright like a bird's.

"Have we met before?" Christ.

"No, I don't think so," I say picking up my drink to give my hands something to do. "I'm Jax by the way." Her hand is small and smooth when I shake it in mine. And her skin a few shades lighter, I follow it up her arms, across her neck and down to the tops of her breasts before I politely try to bring my attention elsewhere.

"Olivia. But you already knew that." I nod trying to keep my eyes from wandering."So ou're a park ranger. I didn't know that place had those."

"We're few and far inbetween."

"Another thing I've been wondering, how did you find me?"

"I uh, your wallet had a student card in it."

"But that doesn't say where I live," she challenges.

"No, but I just -"

"You what?"

"Followed a hunch." I turn around in my seat. "Do you want something to drink?" The bartender has vanished.

"I want answers Jax."

"I told you-"

"I know what you told me."

"Maybe this was a bad idea," I say getting up.

I should have figured this is how it would go, that she wouldn't feel the same. The mutual connection probably only works when it's two shifters. There's only questions that I can't answer. Not even if I wanted to. I can't believe I'm even here talking to her in the first place.

"Wait," she orders and grabs my arm. Skin to skin contact, it's too much for me to handle. Suddenly I've got both her arms in my hands and I've pulled her close. Our lips are inches apart and they're the only thing I can see. I can smell her surprise now then a small flare of anger. I take a breath and step back.

"I'm sorry. No more questions. Don't go back to those woods again. They're dangerous." I release her and turn to grab my jacket.

"Then you know about them. The wolves. Please."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"But you do! You must. You've seen them too, that's why those woods are so dangerous. We were never supposed to be that far off the trail. And I know we saw something we shouldn't have. That – that thing could have killed me. But it didn't. It acted almost – human or something."

Her hand is still latched around my wrist. It's all I can feel. Like tiny electric currents pass from her into me. This is bad. This is really bad. I've got to get away.

"They're not human. And the next time you do see one, it will kill you," I say shaking her off.

"Jax! Please! You're the only one that believes me. Even my friends have convinced themselves it was a bear. You must know something."

"No." The cafe is strangely empty like all the tension made the others leave.

"Why won't you say anything!" she calls after me as I open the door. "Maybe you're one of them then." Her voice has turned sour now. I pause at the entrance. "And you're just here trying to cover your tracks."

"Don't be crazy." I try and make it come out like a brush off and laugh it off, but I can see she's not convinced. "Giant wolves running around the woods? No one's going to buy that."

"You're the one that contacted me," she says slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I guess you're just a liar – or afraid like the others." She passes me and her scent reaches out to me. It's a calling I have no power not to answer. Something deep inside me just takes over. There's no rationale or logic here. You need her. Claim her as your mate, this is how it's meant to be nature and laws be damned.

I block her path with an arm."I'm no liar," I say lowly afraid the bartender will reappear. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt here."

"But I'm curious Jax. I'm curious about you, and where you've come from," she says leaning closer. "Why you've contacted me. You must know something and I want you to tell me what it is."

I swallow, she's so close I can see the flecks of yellow around her irises. "So you do know what I'm talking about." I look deeply into her eyes. I wish I had some kind of hypnotic power over her to make her forget this line of questioning.

"No. It doesn't matter, we're done here." She doesn't grab me when I leave this time. The biggest part of me wishes she had because I don't think I'd be able to refuse her twice.

Outside I breathe deep trying to rid my senses of her scent. But I know there's nothing I can do, not now, not ever to get her out of my head.

The bells on the door chime again and the feeling of her over takes me again.

"I get that you don't want to talk about it." I turn towards her ready to tell her off again. "Maybe you can't for whatever reasons. But I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't try." She holds out a piece of paper. "My number, in case you change your mind."

I take it and put it in my pocket.

"Goodbye Olivia."

Something I can't name passes over her eyes, like disappointment or sadness. "Goodbye Jax, I hope we meet again."

She just had to go and add that didn't she? I exercise with more vigor than I've ever shown. "I hope we meet again." I keep replaying the line, that moment again and again. Lift, the scent of shampoo in her hair, down, the caramel of her skin, lift, I hope we meet again, down. I'm in love with a girl and she thinks I'm a liar. I'm mated to a girl and she isn't even a shifter, our relations would be an abomination. Don't humans even have laws against coupling with animals? Although I wouldn't exactly call myself a wolf.

I've got to see her again. I was kidding myself to think otherwise. Now whether she sees me is a different matter. Olivia's curious by nature and stubborn. I don't even have to really know her and I already know that. She won't let this drop. So really it would be better if I contacted her. If only to keep her from contacting me. I can't leave it like this that's for sure. What if she were to go poking around in the woods again? Who knows what or who she would run into. Not that'd she be likely to find the house. Still they can't know about her, they'd see my reaction to her, know she's my mate. Banishment, death neither option looks good.

So the only real option I have left is to contact her again. But what will that do? Either I tell her everything or I tell her nothing. I don't see a way of half assing this. My story about being a park ranger, who knows if she bought that. How can I be with her? Tell her what she wants to hear without implicating myself and the pack?

On the way out of town I did buy a prepaid cellphone, just in case, for an emergency or something. I take the paper out of my pocket and flip it up. I swear I've got the numbers memorized.

"Hey man!" a voice says slapping me on the back. "What you got there?" he asks snatching it out of my hand. "A number!"

"Give it back,"I say reaching for it. He laughs blocking me.

"Must be important." Cal. Been my closest friend since we were kids. He's also the next prospect for Chief. It doesn't really get between us yet.

"I said give it back," I say crossing my arms. I've got a couple inches on him but he's got more muscle.

"You got some secret girl from another pack I don't know about?" he asks grinning.

"Maybe."

He slaps the paper in my palm. "Dude you gotta share. The pickings around here are like seriously slim."

"I don't think she'd be your type."

"So there is some girl. That where you've been disappearing to? People been noticing man." Shit. I'll have to postpone our meetiing for a while, can't have any suspicions. Maybe I should just forget the thing all together. As soon as I think it I get a bad feeling in my gut. It'll hurt but it'll be what's best. I can find someone else. This is just lust.

"There isn't much to tell, I don't think it's going to work out."

"So soon Romeo? Aww my boy needs some cheering up. Come to Smithy's tonight, Charlie will be there, she can ease the sting," he says laughing. I wince, Charlie ain't got a thing on Olivia. She's a nice girl but she's got a reputation for easing everybody's stings.

"Yeah, it's not like I got something better to do."

Even though it's been weeks since the incident the lock down is still on the pack. Everyone's getting a little stir crazy so Chief's letting everyone blow off a little steam at Smithy's tonight. It's a cabin the pack's taken over and converted into a bar/pool hall. Too bad the only people that ever go to it are the ones from our pack. What I wouldn't do some days to see a different face.

Olivia's immediately comes to mind. I focus on remembering how her lips moving as she talked. They were a pink shiny colour like the girls on TV, but it looked more real on her. I remember the scent of her hair as a bit off wind blew it when we stood outside. I remember her eyes, dark and giving nothing away but confusion and anger at me. And I remember the wanting. It surges through me now. This isn't a good idea. I can't let a human have this kind if power over me. I'm only torturing myself more by thinking about her. I've made my decision.

I let the paper drop from my fingers into the toilet and flush before I can do something stupid.

Goodbye Olivia.