Page 1 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

PartI

The Past

“You are hunters of the wild beast, and understand it so.” —Bram Stoker,Dracula, 1897

ChapterOne

Jonathan

Detroit,Michigan, just over twenty-two years ago…

Jonathan Harker exited the Detroit airport, reading over crime scene reports in one hand as he held a medium-size battered suitcase with his other. He’d been poring over the files for hours, trying to make sense of everything he was looking at. His arrival would hopefully help bring clarity to it all, but he wasn’t sure.

He clutched the handle of his suitcase tighter. He could afford a nicer bag but didn’t see the point in bothering. The days of him worrying about what others thought of him and the picture he presented were long gone. Ironic since it had been of great importance to him years ago when he was still human. When he studied and worked hard, hoping to one day make a name for himself as a solicitor.

His mouth pinched into a thin line as resentment filled him. The man he once was had been naïve and simple in comparison to what he’d become. In truth, there was very little of the old Jonathan remaining in him. That was for the best. The world he lived in now didn’t have a place for the weak.

Jonathan took note of the temperature. It was certainly less oppressive than the August heat in South Carolina, where he’d just flown in from, yet far warmer than England, where he’d been born and raised. The next thing he noticed was the smell. It was a potpourri of petrol, car exhaust, and the general unpleasantries that came with big cities.

The sickening combination of smells hit him in the face, making the wolf he shared his body with edgy. Not that the wolf hadn’t already started off prickly. Flying was one of its least favorite activities.

Several of the people he’d been on the plane with exited the terminal behind him. The older woman he’d flown next to was carrying a large, overfilled suitcase. Jonathan stepped toward her and nodded to her bag. “Can I help?”

Relief showed on her face as she set it on the sidewalk. “Thank you.”

He lifted the bag and was surprised she’d been able to lift it at all. It wasn’t light. “Wasn’t your grandson supposed to be meeting you at baggage claim?”

A smile lit her face, and her hand found his forearm. “Youwerepaying attention. I thought you were simply nodding to placate me the entire plane ride here.”

Jonathan chuckled. “I was listening.”

She watched him carefully. “Listening but not adding much to the conversation.”

He inclined his head. “True.”

“I think my grandson forgot about me,” she said with a wink.

He chuckled. “I highly doubt that. I enjoyed hearing about your family.”

She continued to watch him. “I like talking about them, but I also like hearing about other people’s families too.”

Jonathan pressed a smile to his face. “I didn’t have much to share. Sorry.”

“Your family all over in England then?” she questioned.

“Not exactly,” he returned. “My, um, cousin is supposed to be picking me up here any minute now.”

The man coming for him wasn’t a cousin. But he was distantly related to Jonathan. He was also like Jonathan. He was a wolf-shifter.

“I see,” she replied, continuing to study him.

She’d done that most of the plane ride. She had wise eyes and had probably seen a thing or two in her life.

“Have a special someone then?” she asked with a slight nudge of her elbow. “A lady friend, perhaps?”

That left Jonathan chuckling. “Afraid not.”

“How old are you? Thirty?” she questioned. “I’ve got a granddaughter who is single and about your age.”

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