Chapter One: First Sight
-Joliene-
Joliene Monika Henderson (Jojo to her family and friends) sat on the hood of her 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, gazing out over the cliff at the ocean below. She and Kraig came here every weekend to escape her father and the rest of the pack. Being the alpha’s daughter wasn’t as glamorous as people thought.
So much was demanded of her that she could barely keep her head straight.
Her phone beeped, and she quickly glanced at it, then turned it face down on the hood of her car. She then looked up at the sky and sighed.
“I miss you,” she whispered.
She’d found her mate at a young age. She was fifteen, and he was seventeen. She had just started tenth grade when his family transferred to their pack. The first time she saw him, her world turned upside down and sideways.
When she turned eighteen, they mated, claimed each other, and married. Not that shifters needed to get married, but she wanted to take his name.
First, it brought them closer together. Second, unless people knew her beforehand, no one had any idea that she was the alpha’s daughter.
Most importantly, she felt a deeper connection when she married him and took his name.
A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away.
“I wish I could have prevented the accident,” she said, wiping away another tear.
A year ago, last month, her mate went on a business trip. On the way home, a microburst brought down the plane, leaving no survivors.
She didn’t want to believe that the love of her life — her one and only, her soulmate — was dead, until she saw his body.
Joliene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She loved the scent of the ocean. Another tear rolled down her cheek. Her phone beeped again, and she grunted as she picked it up to check the notification.
“Damn it,” she cursed.
Her mother simply couldn’t give her an hour alone — an hour to think about the man she loved.
Joliene looked up at the sky again and sighed. It was still sunny, but they expected the weather to turn bad soon.
Or so her mother said.
Joliene climbed off the hood of her car and turned to look at it. She smiled as she looked at the large number 5 on the hood. Hers and Kraig’s favorite movie just happened to be the same, which helped their relationship even more.
The Love Bug
On Joliene’s twentieth birthday, Kraig discovered that someone close to Disney was auctioning off the real deal: a genuine 1963 Herbie, one of the cars used in the original movie.
From what she understood, Disney had used many cars, and even today, people were selling them around the world. Not all of them were real; most were replicas. They were fortunate to find an authentic one.
Joliene’s phone pinged again, and she shook her head, clearing the memories from her mind. Her parents wanted her to come home immediately, before the storm hit.
Joliene placed her phone in her pocket, then walked around her Bug to the driver’s side. She opened the door, sat in her seat, and started the engine. It rattled for a minute, then sounded like a roaring dragon.
Joliene’s eyebrows furrowed as she listened to the engine. It hadn’t sounded like that earlier. Shrugging, she put the car in reverse, backed away from the cliff, then stopped and shifted into drive. She pulled onto the road and started her way home.
The noise grew louder and scarier. Joliene noticed smoke in her rearview mirror and sighed. That was the only downside of owning a VW Beetle. The engineers put the engine in the back.
Though, to be fair, she did look up the reason behind it: they placed the engine in the rear for simplicity, traction, and space efficiency.
An odd sound came from the back, and the car started puffing and grinding. A vehicle appeared around the corner ahead of her, causing her to grunt in frustration. She needed to pull off the road and check what was wrong before she lost control and collided with another vehicle.
The car passed her without incident, and Joliene pulled off the road. The engine sputtered and died. Joliene covered her face with her hand. Her parents hated that she had spent so much money on such an old car, but she didn’t care — it was hers, and Kraig had found it for her.
Joliene pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed her mother’s number, but there was no answer. She grunted in frustration and called her father — still no response.
‘What the hell?’
They want her to come home safely, yet they won’t answer their phones.
Joliene hit the latch for the back and climbed out of the car. She went to the rear and opened the hatch. When smoke puffed out at her, she waved her hand in front of her face.
She looked at the motor but had no idea what she was looking for.
“Need help?”
Joliene nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice. She slowly turned, and her heart skipped a beat. Standing before her was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Next to her Kraig, of course.
~⁎🐺⁎~
-Mikel-
Mikel Carlos Heilmann tapped his steering wheel to the beat of the music playing on the radio. He thought he was imagining things when he saw the car parked on the side of the road.
‘Is that The Love Bug?’ he wondered as he passed the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.
He pulled over just past the Bug and turned off his car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and slipped out of his car. Turning to look at the vehicle in question, he smiled as the driver opened the back latch and waved away the smoke.
“Looks like I’m just in time,” he whispered as he walked toward her.
He stopped just behind her and admired her rear for a moment before shaking his head.
“Need help?” he asked, watching her as she stood up straight.
He could smell the wolf within her and knew she was a shifter. She didn’t seem scared; she just looked startled. She turned to face him, and his heart lodged in his throat.
“You scared the shit out of me,” she said, watching him closely.
He smiled. “Sorry.”
She nodded and pointed at her car. “Do you know anything about old VWs?”
“A little,” he admitted with a smile. “Did you paint it to look like Herbie?”
Her eyes brightened briefly before dimming once more.
“No, I bought it this way. This is one of the original cars used in the first movie.”
Mikel shook his head in amazement.
“Let me take a look,” he said, motioning toward the motor.
“Oh, right.” She stepped back and let him examine the motor.
Mikel checked the motor, then turned to her and smiled. “The fuel lines are clogged — an easy fix, for now.”
She watched him as he turned back to the motor. He could feel her eyes on his back while he fixed the clogged mess. Once it was clear, he told her to start the car. It didn’t sound perfect, but it would get her to her destination.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at him over the roof of her car.
Not that she was tall enough to see him, but he was tall enough for her to see him.
“You’re going to need a full checkup and some major repairs soon, or this will happen again. It could be something more serious than a plugged line.”
She nodded while staring at him.
Mikel smiled as he walked around the car and handed her a card. “Name’s Mikel Heilman. Come see me soon, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Jojo,” she whispered, looking at the card in her hand. She smiled and looked up at him. “A mechanic?”
He grinned. “Lucky for you, I was headed to town to meet my friend for dinner.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Lucky me.”
“Come tomorrow so I can take a look at it. I don’t think it will last much longer.”
She nodded. “Thanks again.”
Mikel desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, but he had to hold back.
He may have been ready to move on, but he could see in her eyes that she was hurting — and it wasn’t just a slight pain. He could feel it radiating from her.
“What pack are you from?” she asked out of the blue.
Mikel chuckled. “My pack is in Germany, but I was born in America. Both my mom and dad are German.”
She took a step back from him. “Are — are you a rogue?”
Mikel chuckled. “No, Jojo. My parents got permission from the alpha to move to America. When I was born, the alpha asked them to come back, but they’re too happy here. We are still part of the pack; I was initiated into it when I was a pup, but we have permission to stay here — until the alpha orders us to return.”
“Oh.”
Mikel smiled and pointed to the back of the car. “Don’t forget to close the hatch before you drive off.”
She looked at the back of the car and nodded.
“See you tomorrow,” Mikel said.
She looked at him and smiled. “Yeah, thanks again.”
He chuckled. “Anytime.”
Mikel walked back to his car, got in, and started the engine. He waved to her through the windshield, then pulled onto the road and headed to town, where his best friend was waiting.
What a story he had to tell over dinner.
