A SEAL Wolf Christmas

Chapter 22

Hunter guessed it was about six in the morning when he settled on the couch in his living room to make some more phone calls. Tessa was finally sleeping soundly after another restless night, the babies kicking in her belly and giving her fits.

Hunter dialed his uncle’s number.

“Hunter. This must be important if you’re calling me at this ungodly hour. Babies come early?” Hunter thought his uncle sounded hopeful.

“No, not yet. Knowing you, you’re sitting on your porch watching the waves roll onto the beach while eating grapefruit with your highly sweetened coffee.”

Hunter could envision his uncle smiling at that. “All right, here’s a question for you. Did you know a couple of gray wolves who ran the Christmas tree farm near here? Everton’s Christmas Tree Farm? They would have been a family—a man, woman, and baby.”

“Hmm, yeah, now that you mention it. Long time ago, though. Twenty years maybe? Fifteen? They were off to the Amazon on trips all the time.”

“How do you know that?”

“They told me. They were an odd couple. They had some notion they could control a wolf’s need to shift. For those who were newly turned or who had a lot of human roots in their lineage. I bought a Christmas tree from them once. Mr. Silverstone was excited about some new finds, chemical properties of the rainforest plants he thought might help some of our kind. He told me because he recognized I was a wolf and might be also interested in a ‘cure.’ Blamed fool notion if you ask me. We are what we are. Instead of trying to change our nature, revel in it, I say.”

“So they must have been fairly new wolves. What happened to them?” Hunter asked.

“I really never thought of them after that.”

“Did any wolves work at the Christmas tree farm?” Hunter asked.

“No. All humans. The couple was kind of like me. They enjoyed not being part of pack life. So what’s this all about?”

“Looks like we’ve got a case of humans taking over the farm, due to foul play, and adopting a wolf baby.”

Hunter’s uncle didn’t say anything for a moment. When he did, he said, “Hell.”

After ending the call, Hunter called Shelley Campbell, a wolf botanist he’d located when he was trying to learn something about plants for a mission he’d been on. “Hey, Shelley, Hunter Greymere here. I’m looking into a situation out here on the Oregon coast that I thought you might be able to shed some light on. I’ve got some plant names and their properties I want you to look over and see if you recognize any of them. You’re not too busy, are you?”

She gave a heavy sigh. “No. Let me turn on my computer if my Highland hero will let go of me.”

Duncan grunted. “No man should be calling you at this hour, lass, unless I know him personally. Even then, he’s walking on thin ice.”

“Whatever,” she said, and Hunter listened, smiling as she left the bed, the mattress squeaking slightly.

Her computer signaled it was waking up, and he heard the Highlander with the distinctive Scottish burr say to her in a hostile throaty voice, “Who… is… he?”

She laughed. “A mated wolf friend who has twins on the way. He’s a Navy SEAL who sometimes asks me to look into botanical questions relating to his missions.”

“Tell him to hurry it up, then.”

Hunter emailed her the images of the handwritten notes about the plants.

She gasped and said to Hunter, “Where did you get this information?”

“A couple of gray wolves living out near me were investigating plants in the rain forest, and—”

“Jenna and Oliver Silverstone? The initials in the margins look like theirs. She’d make notes and he would also, both documenting who had done what by initialing them. That way if one of them made a mistake, the other didn’t get blamed for it. I haven’t seen them in years. How are they?”

Hunter nearly stopped breathing. “You knew them?”

She paused and he wondered if she realized he’d referred to them in past tense. She took a moment to collect herself and said, “Yeah, I knew them. They were the ones that first got me interested in plant biology. They were trying to find a way to stop our kind from shifting. Not so much that we wouldn’t shift ever, but just be able to control it. Especially for newly turned wolves. They had only been turned for a couple of years. Before that, they had trained and worked as a plant biologist team. Instead of continuing to look for new cancer cures, they began researching remedies for werewolves.” A heavy pause ensued. “What happened to them? They had a daughter—Jessica. She was their angel.”

“It seems they’ve disappeared. The new owners had a young daughter die, and the toddler they raised was named Jessica,” Hunter said, confirming a piece of the puzzle. “Had you ever been to their house?”

“Yeah, while they were in the Amazon, I lived there and even managed their Christmas tree farm for a few months. They had the technology down to an art. The business fascinated me.”

“The couple took their daughter with them when they visited the jungle?”

“They always took her with them. I saw them at a plant biology conference and they had the baby with them then, which is where they talked to me about taking care of their tree farm. They didn’t belong to a wolf pack. They adored their daughter. As much as they loved plants, they would never have left her with strangers. She’s okay, then?”

“She is, although it’s going to be some adjustment for her as we try to teach her our ways and how to get along in a wolf pack. Are any of these plants something that might be turned into illegal drugs?”

“One of them can intensify the effects of some kinds of illegal drugs, but neutralize others. Otherwise, no.”

“Thanks. If you think of anything else, let me know.”

“If Jessica wants to learn anything about her parents that I might know, she can call me.”

“Will do. I’m sure she will. Thanks.”

Hunter ended the call with Shelley and stared at the floor for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he called Bjornolf back and gave him all the details. Next, Hunter contacted Rourke. “I need you at the courthouse as soon as it opens. Let me know if anyone bought this property from the Silverstones.” He sent an email of the deed.

“Get right on it first thing in the morning.”

Soft footfalls padded down the carpeted hallway to where Hunter was standing in the dining room. He smiled to see Tessa wearing her gown with the woolly lambs on it.

“It isn’t even light out, you know,” Tessa said, running her hand over his chest. “You’re not micromanaging again, are you?”

He smiled and turned off his phone, then took her hand and led her back to bed. “What else did you have in mind?”