Werewulf Journals 2: Trolling for Love (23 page)

Two galloping circuits around her perimeter, later, the troll came to a huffing stop.

One hand going up to steady Blair, she carefully sank to the ground, very close to Melody.

Her mouth opened in a wide, loopy looking grin, she patted the baby’s arm and said, “Tam!”

“Tam?” Melody echoed, not sure what she meant. “You mean your name is Tam, not Tracy?”

The troll grinned wider and shook her head. She patted Blair again, and he scrambled down her shoulder and settled comfortably on her lap. Resting his head against the soft-looking fur of her belly, he fisted a handful of her hair and popped his thumb in his mouth, ready for a nap after that intense playtime.

Tracy’s big hands were gentle as she stroked the riot of curls on Blair’s head. She looked down at him, muddy eyes gone soft and misty. One hand made a curving motion from the top to the bottom of her belly. “Tam.”

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Melody sat up, excitement flooding her. “Baby! Tam is baby in your language!” She did the same curving motion, the universal female symbol of pregnancy. “Baby.” She pointed to her sleepy child. “Blair is my baby.”

“Blr. B-by.” The troll shook her head, hard. “Mine.”

A shaft of fear arced through her, and Melody came to her knees. One fist thudded against her chest. “No, Blair is mine!”

The troll looked surprised. She nodded, and then shook her head slowly from side to side. “Mine.”

“I don’t think she’s trying to claim him, Mel.” Rosa spoke, startling Melody. She’d forgotten the other woman’s presence

“I think she’s trying to say Blair is not hers. Maybe she doesn’t have the vocabulary.

She shook her head very deliberately before saying the word, mine.”

Rosa pointed to Blair and then to Melody. “Blair is Melody’s tam.”

Tracy made a sad little blurping noise as she nodded in agreement.

The tension left Melody so fast she felt lightheaded. They’d done it! They’d created a point of communication. Now they could get to work ...

* * * * *

Tilting her head to the side, Mel studied her masterpiece again. Yes, Tracy was really quite a lovely troll. Her long, green hair flowed past her shoulders to blend with the shorter denser fur that covered the entirety of her body. A little hot curler to the ends enhanced her feminine looks without being too girly. A light brush of neutral color on the lips brought out the lush curves of her mouth without appearing garish. Tracy’s sharp nails glinted with the hint of iridescent polish Andrea had painstakingly painted. The shimmering color lent a deadly beauty to her lethal claws.

In the end, they’d decided against the clothes. Chase had informed them trolls didn’t wear any. They didn’t need to. Their genitals and other interesting body parts were adequately covered by their luxurious body fur.

All-in-all, not a bad job. Mel felt their plan had succeeded admirably. Smiling at Rosa, she high-fived her friend, satisfied with their work. “Rosa, we done good!”

Both women watched the troll gazing slack-jawed into the mirror the men had hauled out of the trunk of the car. Every once in a while, her hands would reach out to the mirror, and then touch a corresponding spot on her own body, as if she doubted the image reflected in the glass really belonged to her.

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Watching her, a wave of peace and a feeling of accomplishment washed over Melody.

Not at all conversant on the way beauty was measured in the troll society, Mel nevertheless felt confident of her and Rosa’s achievement. She was certain they’d helped Tracy to see she had something to offer even the most discriminating troll. Bridge be damned, the male that won Tracy would be one lucky son of a troll.

Their adventure was almost over. Melody sighed, feeling a slight letdown as she began gathering up all the scattered cosmetic paraphernalia. Blair was asleep in a cocoon of blankets by Tracy’s feet. Andrea was over with Indigo, heads bent close together, talking girl-talk. Fort had gradually eased his way over to them once the threat of violence was superseded by Tracy’s absorption with her new looks. He now stood with his arm around Rosa’s waist, awaiting the arrival of Aricles with the male troll.

Hunter and Chase were inside the Limo, probably discussing the day’s events.

Concerned, Melody directed several worried glances toward the vehicle. She crossed her fingers and hoped Hunter kept his cool.

Aricles’ quiet arrival with the male troll was almost anticlimactic.

The Greek demi-god coalesced out of mid-air, one hand wrapped around Kerry’s arm, the other gripping a huge, snarling monster whose wide-opened mouth sported fangs large and sharp enough to fuel nightmares. Aricles let go of the troll and removed himself and Kerry out of its path by teleporting over to the Limo.

Over seven feet of bristling bad attitude and muscle, the troll was covered in fur shading from golden brown to deepest chocolate. He was dripping wet and hopping mad.

Apparently, the two men had decided they’d better spruce up the unsuspecting bridegroom before presenting him to his future wife.

Melody scrambled back as the hulking creature snarled its anger, swinging his torso left and right in search of someone to vent his displeasure on. She tripped and fell, crying out as she felt her foot catch on a trailing cord.

The troll snapped around, eyes blazing as he caught sight of easy prey. With a roar that shook the bridge, he stomped toward Melody, moving blindingly fast for such a large creature.

“Melody!” Hunter yelled both mentally and verbally, rushing toward her, followed by the NHP team.

Heart pounding, mouth dry, Melody knew they wouldn’t reach her in time. Thinking quickly, she rounded her hands over her belly and cried, “Tam! Tam!”

The troll’s instant reaction was almost comical. She would have laughed if she hadn’t been trying so hard to breathe through her panic.

Like a character in a cartoon, the gigantic monster backpedaled so hard, his feet skidded out from under him. Arms pinwheeling, he fought for balance, body oddly graceful as he twisted in an effort to avoid her trapped body.

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Melody closed her eyes; she was sure the troll would never regain control before he slammed into her. Waiting for the impact, she yelped, eyes flying open, as a beefy arm smelling of Prince Matchabelli’s Windsong snatched her up and gently set her down out of the path of the oncoming mountain.

Tracy braced her feet and took the hit as the troll barreled into her. Screaming snarls and grunting curses, she beat the poor fellow over the head and shoulders, her blows fast and accurate.

The troll cringed back from her, eyes wide and rolling as he took in the vision of troll loveliness before him. “Blrp?” His tentative voice gruff and soft, he stared down at the female. Nostrils flaring, he sniffed the air, sidled closer to Tracy and sniffed again, the fur at his groin no longer hiding his sex as the eye-boggling erection rose like a Doric pillar between his oak-like thighs.

Melody’s jaw dropped. Hunter, having reached her side right after Tracy shifted her to safety, gently pushed it back in place with his finger under her jaw. He chuckled.

“Why do I suddenly feel inadequate?”

Melody choked. “Thank heaven you’re only as adequate as you are!”

Ignoring them, the trolls continued to eye each other. Suddenly, the male grinned, fangs gleaming and eyes lit up with lust. “Blr-uup!”

An expression Melody interpreted to mean, “Whoa, baby!”

It was pathetic, really, Melody decided, shaking her head as the male postured, growled, and generally tried to appear irresistible to Tracy. He’d been doing so for the last half hour. Tracy, in contrast, acted cool, aloof and queenly in her trollsome beauty, showing off her ease with the sleeping human baby in her arms and generally letting the hapless male know he was far down the totem pole of her interests. Her strategy worked, for the troll increased his efforts to gain her attention.

In Mel’s opinion, the courtship took entirely too short a time. Standing beside Rosa, forlornly waiting to say goodbye to her new friend, she swallowed the lump in her throat as Tracy came up to her and gently lowered Blair into her arms. Pointing to the baby, the troll said, “Blr.” Then she pointed at Melody.

Melody touched hand to heart. “Melody. I am Melody.”

A quizzing look at Rosa had her doing the same. “I’m Rosa.”

“Mldy. Rossa.”

Melody sucked her teeth. “That’s not fair,” she fussed sotto voce to Rosa. “Why is your name so easy for her to say?”

Fort snickered, coming up behind his mate and looping his arms about her waist.

“Probably because it’s close to a growl,” he suggested, demonstrating by exaggerating his pronunciation. “Rrrossaa!”

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Mel couldn’t help but laugh. Surprisingly, so did Tracy. She’d obviously caught the joke. With a last, lingering glance at Blair, the beautified troll stared into Melody’s eyes. One tear rolled down her face as she raised her hand to the vicinity of where a human heart would be. Mouth widening in a trollish smile, she said, “Osscr.”

Fighting back tears, herself, Melody sniffed and nodded. Clearing her throat, she promised, “I’ll tell him you said ’bye.”

And then the troll and her soon-to-be mate were gone, whisked away by the magic of Kyrios Aricles’ useful ability to some remote bridge on the eastern seaboard. Damn, if I don’t already miss Tracy.

Feeling like Professor Higgins with a job well done under her belt, Melody sighed and shifted her sleeping son to a more comfortable position on her shoulder. His treasured weight reminded her he was no longer an infant. Bittersweet sadness squeezed her heart. Her baby was growing up so fast, and she’d missed so much of his relatively short life.

She’d missed a lot of life, herself, Mel realized. It was time for that to stop. No way was she going to end up as Tracy almost had ... alone and lonely, trolling for love. Hunter McCallum had promised her true, lasting love, and Melody had no intention of passing up all he had to offer. She couldn’t wait to get him home and to herself. She planned to have a lot of fun convincing him she loved him enough to accept him just as he was 126

Camille Anthony

Hunter coordinated the clean up of the bridge situation, anxious to be finished and on his way home with his lover. Fortrayn and Rosa had already left in Mel’s car, taking both children home to bed.

Chase and his entourage had driven to a hotel where they would stay the night before taking a late morning flight back to Georgia. He’d correctly asked Hunter’s permission to approach Rosa and Fortrayn, and later Andrea, with his mating proposal. Hunter had given it conditionally. Before he could look to the future, the bastard needed to clean up his past.

Hunter ordered him to show up at his den and apologize officially to Melody. Only then would he sanction his cousin seeking out Andrea.

Thoughts of Chase’s trespass had his anger boiling up again, destroying the peace he’d just been enjoying. Deciding he needed to occupy his mind with something else, Hunter glanced over to where Melody leaned against the bridge, gazing out over the water. Just the sight of her calmed him. He wondered if seeing the million twinkling lights of the city affected her the same way it did him. He wondered what she was thinking. He wondered how soon after they got home they’d be fucking each other’s brains out ...

The last of the NHP team had dispersed, leaving him to deal with the city’s HAZMAT

team they’d called in as the final element in their cover-up story of a hazardous material spill on the Golden Gate Bridge. Once HAZMAT declared the area clear -- which they would, since there’d been no spill -- they would notify the city officials that the bridge could be reopened to traffic.

“Mr. McCallum?”

Hunter turned to the white-coated technician. “Yeah.”

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“Everything checks out. Whatever the spill was, it must have been anaerobic. The air seems to have dissipated it with no lingering effects. Air samples check clear; there’s no wind-borne pathogens present. I see no reason the bridge can’t open for business as usual.”

Hunter held out his hand, reading the nametag on the lab coat. “Thanks, Andrews. I’ll be sure to inform the commissioner of the good job your team did.”

“Thank you, sir.”

After they shook hands, the tech offered him a clipboard. “If you’ll sign here, we can go. I might actually get home at a decent hour tonight.”

Hunter looked up from scribbling his signature on the form. “Got someone waiting for you, huh?”

Andrews accepted the board back, ripped off Hunter’s copy and passed it to him. “A wife, one son, and a bun in the oven,” he bragged, a proud smile stretching his lips and softening the look in his eyes.

Hunter grinned at him. “Congratulations.” He stood watching the men and women pack up, suppressing his heartfelt sigh until they were all out of hearing range.

Once the HAZMAT crew was on their way, Hunter sauntered toward where his motorcycle and Melody waited for him.

She was perched on the seat of his Road King; her thick thighs spread suggestively, the hem of her skirt riding high as she tried to balance the large bike between her legs. Since she was too short for both feet to reach the ground, she was rocking the bike back and forth, pushing off with her toes each time the cycle came down enough for her foot to touch the highway.

She hadn’t seen him yet, and Hunter’s lips parted in a hungry grin as her giggle reached his ears. Melody was having fun, but not nearly as much fun as he intended to have with her.

His legs were more than long enough to balance that bike ...

“Need some help?”