When Emily walked in the door, she passed through the hall and the butler had answered the door bell. The wroth iron door was open and standing at the door was Elisabeth.
“There she is. I want to speak to you, Emily.” The butler stood aside and let her walk in as Emily was crossing to go to her room. Emily met her in the foyer.
“I heard you and Harper was married so I came over to wish you well.”
“You never had good wishes for me why do I think you would now.”
“Let’s get this out on the table as my father would say. I intend to break up your marriage to Harper.”
“I thought you were marrying a friend of Harpers.”
“Those were just rumors I spread around to make Harper jealous. You know when he married you it was because he thought I was getting married. He just married you to get back at me.” Elisabeth made a gesture with her hands and Emily saw she was still wearing the large engagement ring.
Then Elisabeth looked at Emily. “I see you are wearing the same clothes. Are you too stupid or simple to spend some of that money? And where is your engagement ring?” She grabbed Emily’s hand and Emily jerked it from her hand.
“Please leave Elisabeth. I have things to do.” Elisabeth glanced around.
“Where is Harper?” she started walking up the stairs and Emily stood in her way.
“I asked you to leave. Don’t let me have to call someone to throw you out. This is my home not yours and Harper is my husband. I suggest you find your own because he isn’t going anywhere.
Elisabeth glanced up and down at Emily and said, “Tell Harper I’m waiting for him.” And she shot her eyes in Emily’s direction, “I intend on getting Harper back. I don’t care what I have to do. Don’t get in my way.”
“Don’t you get in my way? You might now recognize what I’ve become. Especially since I’m pregnant.” With those words, Elisabeth huffed and jerked around and left the house. Emily had been shaken by Elisabeth but she wasn’t about to let her know.
For the first time she feared losing Harper. She didn’t know why she said that she was pregnant. She wasn’t even close. How can you get pregnant if the man you love won’t get close to you? Emily looked at the stairs and she glanced at the hall to her room.
The servants had been wondering why she never slept in Harper’s room. This was a good time to look for reasons for his dislike of virgins. She climbed the stairs. It was a slow ascent up. Still trying to decide if she should poke around his things. No one liked anyone that would snoop. But this was important. Her life and unborn children depended on it. She smiled when she thought about what she had said to Elisabeth.
“That got on her nerves,” Emily murmured as she chuckled. She opened the door. She expected it to be locked. Standing around she tried to think where he would hide something. She opened his closet and there was nothing but expensive suits and a tux. But they appeared to have been replaced with rows and rows of jeans and tee shirts. Maybe a few leather jackets.
Nothing revealing by looking in his closet, she thought. But what did she expect? What did she think was wrong with him? She didn’t find any handcuffs or riding crops as Stanley had directed her to look for. He appeared to be normal.
Then she saw a dresser. Maybe he would keep the handcuffs in there. She had to be careful not to make a mess so she carefully pulled open the dresser drawer and in it was a picture of his mother. She picked it up and looked at it. The picture was of a beautiful young woman with dark hair about Emily’s age. And next to the picture was a small box. In the velvet box was a ring. Under the box was a diary. It was Harper’s diary.
She was bewildered. She knew in the journal was the key to whatever was Harper’s problem. Reluctantly she opened the journal and skimmed it. It started when he was in elementary school up until a month ago. She knew the answers were in the back.
Not wanting to invade his privacy, she would read the recent entries she opened.
Day one. I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world. I’m going to give her my mother’s engagement ring. Emily gasped and looked at the picture. It was indeed Harper’s mother’s ring.
She closed the book. Dropped it down in the drawer. She placed her hand to her mouth. She felt so shame and then she took a heavy breath and opened the book again. She had to find out what if anything was his problem. But then she heard the knob turn and the maid was standing behind her.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Samsa but I heard someone in here.”
“I will be moving my things in this room. Mr. Harper is on a business trip and he’ll be arriving soon. I want to clear away some of his things to make room for mine.” She dropped the journal and closed the drawer.
“Can I help you with something?”
“No. I think I can manage.” The maid turned and walked out closing the door behind her. Emily breathe and walked out of the room to get her few clothes and bring them upstairs.
She didn’t know when Harper would return, so she took Michael’s advice if for the sake of the servants she would put on this farce as if they were a loving couple.
When Emily was getting into Harper’s bed, Harper was climbing into his truck with Nero and Angela, driving them and Nero’s pack back to the Rusty Nail.
“I guess I should thank you,” Nero said looking at Harper with a solemn face.
“That’s up to you. What goes on in this town?”
“Too much,” Angela said looking at Harper and then turning to Nero.”
“Whenever there is a killing we are the first to be rounded up. The humans know it’s not our doing but they use us to cover it up anyway. We have had two female bodies found within two years. These women are from another county and one is from another country. The humans can’t get enough women to come her and marry them so they get them through dating sites or newspaper ads.”
“It doesn’t help with the kind of things that goes on in your bar. You have these matches and kill your own.” He turned and glanced at Nero and Angela.
“I’m building this town and I want peace here. Not some half crazed werewolves and humans running around killing. Can I count on you to change your behavior and the behavior of that pack? If you don’t, I will use whatever resources I have to get rid of those who don’t want to comply with my rules.”
They rode back to the Rusty Nail in silence. When he stopped the truck, Nero and Angela stepped out with the remaining werewolves. Nero walked around to the window.
“We can live by your rules. But the humans are another thing. Once they find out what you are, they will try to hunt you the same way they hunted us down. There are only six male werewolves left and we don’t know if there are others. We haven’t the resources to travel. There’s no work in this town. Most of us hunt and live out in your woodlands.”
“Then you will have to make sure that the humans never know what I am. I need time to build this town. I’m bring my wife here after my home is built. They are working on it now and should be completed shortly.”
Nero felt relieved that Harper would be married and wouldn’t be a threat to him but he didn’t know of the threat the sheriff had posed to him.
Harper knew that it was because of the sheriff that the werewolves were taken into custody. He wasn’t sure that there was even a woman’s body. It could have been something made up.
Backing out of the gravel road in the dark, he pulled into the main road. It was a two lane black top road and was as desolate as where he chose to build his home. It felt like home. For some reason he had gotten used to the idea of living in this wooded area and he welcomed solitude.
What would Emily want? He had forgotten about Emily but she was all he thought about driving up to his unfinished property. As he neared the gate. The builders had gotten farther along than he had imagined.
Everything was coming together. The fence that surrounded his property was standing all except the large gate he had ordered from San Francisco, but hadn’t arrived. He drove straight through to the house which appeared almost ready to move into.
Stepping out with a sense of peace and satisfaction, he opened the door. The outside had been completed and the only thing left was for them to do the inside. Harper curled up in a corner thinking about Emily.
It was the first time since he left home that he had to think of her. She was a beautiful girl with long strawberry blond hair and green eyes. Full lips naturally red. Remembering her as if seeing her again nude he saw her full breasts. Harper made up his mind that he would have to tell her and then let her decide if she wanted to stay married to him. And contrary to what Emily thought and the impression he gave her, he did want her. He wanted to be her first and last in this life.
Leaning his head down to rest and to enjoy his thoughts of Emily, he heard voices. It had been a long day, and he would stay in his new home and sleep. It was too long a drive to go to the next town for a hotel. As he was closing his eyes, lights from flashlights were trained on him.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” There were four humans standing over him.
“My name is Harper Samsa and I own this home.” Then as he stood two men stepped aside to let the fifth man into the middle of them.
“It’s Harper Samsa alright.”
“What is this about?”
“You’ve come into this town and upset the balance and screwed with the stability of our human population. There aren’t but a few of us. You have to make your decision. Are you a human who’s willing to get rid of those creatures?”
“What have they done to you?”
“They stand between us having female companionship.”
“I wasn’t sure whether you locked up Nero because you wanted to have her for your own but now I’m sure.”
“We don’t want those shifters but for one thing.” The sheriff smiled a lewd nasty smile. He let out a snicker as he turned to the other men and they began to laugh too.
“Killing them at one time would have made those female shifters suspect us and who knows what they would have done. But killing them one at a time, getting rid of the evidence like we did all the others, no one not even the cat loving and dog loving humans around here would know what really went on.”
“But I know,” Harper said staring down at the four men. His eyes blazing gold. He raised his head and howled and the men took off in different directions with the sheriff leading the departure.
They rushed through the door trying to get to their truck. Within minutes Harper had shifted into his wolf and he sprang after them taking down the sheriff who had ran between two large pine trees and tried to hid behind them.
Harper reached him, came behind his back and attacked him with his muzzle with a pair of razor sharp fangs. He crept up behind the kneeling sheriff to deliver the deadly blow. Harper tore at his neck and he bled out. When Harper looked up, the three men were in their truck trying to start the motor.
The driver had left on the lights and because of a weak battery, it wouldn’t start. A back window had been placed down and it couldn’t raise. When Harper spotted the window and made a leap for the four men they took off running.
Harper ran after each one. They had guns but were too scared to discharge them.
As Harper was cleaning up the bloody scene, before the workman came the next morning, Emily was waking up and making a decision about Harper.