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?”

Chapter 23

With apprehension, Anna joined Jessica in the guest bathroom of the beach cottage to study Jessica’s pregnancy-test results. If the test was accurate, Jessica wasn’t pregnant. Anna knew teen pregnancies were risky at best, and the young couple needed to get to know each other better, so the results were good news. But she wasn’t sure how Jessica felt about it.

“As long as the test worked, it says you’re not pregnant,” Anna finally said, a sense of disquiet filling her.

Jessica had been tense, but she looked ready to collapse at learning the news. Anna took her in her arms. “Are you going to be okay?”

Jessica was crying softly but nodding her head.

Anna rubbed her back in a soothing manner. “Shh, it’s going to be all right. Really.”

“Nathan kept telling me he’s happy to have the babies. He’s going to be upset with me.”

“No. You’re both going to be fine. You’ll share mated life together. Enjoy being a couple before the kids come. Learn all about each other and about being one of us, and get to know the pack.”

Jessica sat down on the side of the bathtub as if she couldn’t stand any longer. “Nathan told me all about you. About how you ran away from home. How you never had a Christmas.”

Anna’s throat tightened at the memory. Jessica couldn’t know. Bjornolf… Anna should have told him already.

“I… I don’t know how you could have managed. Yet now…” Tears filled her eyes again and Anna grabbed a box of tissues and sat beside her.

“My father isn’t my father,” Jessica continued. “I think… I think he murdered my real parents. But he was good to me growing up. And now he’s in jail. I… I don’t know what to feel. Should I hate him when all I can do is think of the time he got me my first bicycle for Christmas and taught me how to ride it? How he taught me to drive my first car?”

She sniffled, took Anna’s hand, and squeezed hard. “But I saw what he tried to do to you. We thought he killed you. Suddenly my adoptive father became a monster. Did he kill the DEA agents? Others?”

“We don’t know for certain.” Anna handed her a tissue.

“But he did try to kill you. And what about my mother? Was she in on all of this?”

Again, Anna said, “We don’t know. She might have been.”

Jessica nodded, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m glad I’m not pregnant yet. I can’t imagine dealing with that when I still haven’t come to grips with being…”

Jessica bit her lip. Then she looked at Anna. “A werewolf. Nathan said that some are royals who have been werewolves for generations. They can control when they shift. I’m not one of those,” she said glumly.

“Rourke is newly turned. So is Hunter’s mate, Tessa. You’re a first-generation-born pure werewolf.”

Jessica’s expression brightened a little. “Tessa isn’t a royal?”

“No. She has trouble with having to shift, just like any of the newer wolves.”

Jessica nodded, looking as though she was at least farther along than that. She waved her hand. “I have to deal with all of this stuff about my parents, too.”

“I understand. You know what, though? You don’t have to do it alone.”

Not like Anna had to.

Jessica blotted her eyes, then her teary gaze met Anna’s. “Not like you did.”

A teen alone, pregnant, and bereft.

Something in the way Jessica said it again made Anna feel as though the teen knew about her horrible past. She couldn’t, and yet Anna felt swamped with guilt.

She should have already told Bjornolf. But it happened so long ago. Maybe he didn’t have any need to know. It didn’t have anything to do with their relationship, she told herself.

And yet what if she couldn’t have babies of her own? She knew he was looking forward to having his own offspring. She felt terrible, small, and unworthy of his love.

***

Bjornolf knew something was wrong when Anna and Jessica left the bathroom. Anna wouldn’t meet his gaze. Jessica gave Nathan a small smile, her eyes blurred with tears, and said, “I don’t want breakfast. Can we go now?”

Pregnancy? No pregnancy? What had happened?

Anna’s distressed expression shook Bjornolf up the most.

“You’ll be back later? For the open house?” Bjornolf asked Nathan and Jessica, unsure what was going on.

Jessica nodded, and she and Nathan left the house hand in hand, cuddling together. He was glad to see that Jessica seemed to be all right with whatever the results were. Anna was a different story.

As soon as Bjornolf watched Nathan and Jessica leave, he locked the front door and turned to question Anna, but he heard the back door close. He thought she’d gone outside to get some fresh air until he saw her clothes lying on the kitchen tile floor, scattered as if she’d been in a rush to escape the confines of the house, her human form, and him.

He should have left her alone, let her sort out her feelings, and then comforted her if she still needed a shoulder to lean on. He was quickly coming to the conclusion that he couldn’t do it. He had to take measures to help her in any way that he could, but waiting for her to resolve her own issues wasn’t his way.

First, Bjornolf punched in Reid’s number. He needed to know what Anna was hiding, and he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Time’s up, Reid. What have you learned about Anna? Anything?”

“Hell, Bjornolf. Ask her yourself if you want to find out quicker! Okay, this is what I’ve learned so far. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She moved around a lot. I haven’t found any clue that would indicate why she would have an aversion to Christmas. I’ve questioned a friend of a friend of a friend, and I think I’ve got a lead. But damn it! I’ll call you. I promise. Okay?”