"Injured wolf spotted on the North side!"
Cooper Hayes snarled, and Georgie took a step back ready to run at the fierce rage on his face. He turned to her and motioned with his hands to the children and wolf cubs that had at some point stopped their games and now looked close to panic. "Get the pups to Patrice, and lock yourselves in."
He was already striding away before she could ask him what was going on. When she saw more wolves and men running by going North she decided kids and cubs safe first, questions later.
"You heard your First," she said. Using the title they always did for Cooper Hayes. She clapped her hands and tried to look calm. "Everyone follow me. We're going to Patrice's. Stay together." She would get the children and pups to safety. Then while everyone was distracted to the North, she would go and see what was happening at the front gate.
Risky, with an injured wolf on the loose? Maybe, but not as risky as sticking around and waiting for Cooper Hayes to take her to her new home. She needed to get out. While she had the chance.
CHAPTER FOUR
Escaping a house overrun with frightened children and wolf cubs was not hard. Patrice had her hands full and it was easy enough for Georgie to layer up with her warmest sweaters and head out the back door while Phillip guarded the front. The worst part was the guilt of leaving Patrice and the children in such a state without helping more. But after her discussion with Cooper she thought she had a pretty good idea of his intentions.
Georgie had no idea why he had fixated on her, but she was not about to stick around and find out how far he would go to get what he wanted. Not when everyone had already made it clear that when dealing with Cooper Hayes they were not going to interfere, no matter what he did. Between that and her insane reaction to him she was getting the hell out.
The plan she had concocted over the weeks she had been held might be risky, some might say suicidal, but at this point Cooper Hayes was back, and planning on moving her into her 'new home’.
She was out of time and out of options. Right this moment, with everyone distracted, might be her only shot. She was determined to take it. Right now, the dangers of the escape did not seem as bad as staying put and taking what came. But first, before she tried anything too crazy, plan A. The front gate. If she could get out that way she might not need to try the other, more foolhardy, plan B.
Since everyone seemed to be running everywhere and paying no attention to anyone else, she decided running was her best option. It looked as if she was running away from the danger, and no one questioned where she was going.
Once she was closer to the gate and the guard tower she slowed down and tried for stealthy, looking for wolves or guards that would stop her. She saw no one on the trip through the scattered trees and cabins. When she was close enough she saw the gate was unmanned and, wonder of wonders, a jeep was parked haphazardly in front of the open garage as if someone had jumped out of it in a hurry. What were the chances they had also been in too much of a hurry to grab the keys when they did?
Georgie prayed and walked toward what could be her freedom, rather than running as she wanted to. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest and her hands were shaking from a surplus of adrenaline. She stopped at the last tree before she would be out in the open and exposed. She looked around carefully, seeing no one she moved forward. At her second step she heard it. A snarling growl at her back.
She turned, expecting to see one of the watch wolves warning her off. What she did not expect to see, and what froze the blood in her veins was a wolf with a back leg that looked to have been gnawed on. The wolf was big enough she knew it was an adult, and from the feral look in its eyes and the blood matting its injured side she understood why everyone had reacted to the Injured wolf call.
The intelligence she had become accustomed to seeing in the wolves here was absent and, in its place, she could practically feel the rage and pain the animal was feeling. Before she could even curse, let alone run, the beast was on her. All she had time for was to raise her hands and shield her face as she fell painfully to her back with a hundred and fifty-pound feral wolf taking her down.
On her back with the great beast snarling at her and bleeding on her, Georgie knew she was going to die. After hitting the ground so hard, she did not have the breath to even scream as she waited for the beast to rip out her throat. Her hands were deep in coarse bloody fur with a death grip that she knew was not going to do anything to change her fate. Her head turned to the side while the hot stench of blood smacked her in the face as she waited for death.
It took her a few minutes to realize the beast was not moving in for the kill.
Georgie opened her eyes slowly and turned to meet the eyes of the beast that stood over her. Eyes that looked more pathetic than dangerous stared back at her. A moment ago she would have sworn it was a savage killer, now instead of snarling and attacking, it whimpered and licked her face. Then the injured wolf lay down on top of her with a yelp of pain and tucked its snout beside her neck, digging a hot dry nose into Georgie’s hair and chuffed out a sound of relief. The beast continued to whimper now and again, but other than that, it seemed like the wolf had found a safe warm place and was, well, taking a nap.
Georgie was trying to decide if attempting to move was a good idea when the cavalry showed up. Such as it was. Justin was the first person to find her and the wolf. He came running out of the trees and stopped as soon as his eyes took in her predicament. He looked like he could not believe what he was seeing, and she really couldn't blame him. She was still trying to figure it out herself. The wolf slept on. And quite frankly the beast was getting heavy.
"A little help would be appreciated," she whispered trying to keep her voice steady and low as not to wake the wild animal currently using her as a bed.
"What the fuck?" Justin said unhelpfully and then just stared as more and more of the clan came running and stopped, looking at them and falling silent after whatever amazed reaction fell out of their mouths.
Then Cooper Hayes came into the clearing and unlike the rest of them, he did not look surprised. If she had to guess what was on his face before the normal shutters fell it was satisfaction.
"If someone could make a move here," Georgie finally said allowing a hint of exasperation into her whisper this time.
"Justin pick up Marie and take her to Lucian." Cooper's voice was smooth and again she heard the satisfaction there, and the relief, if she was not mistaken.
Justin looked at him incredulous. "She was feral. I saw it myself."
Cooper gave him a warning look. "Now she's taking a nap." His words brooked no argument. "Take her to Lucian. He'll want his mate close while she heals."
He looked at another man who carried a rifle in his arms. "Call off the hunt. Let everyone know Marie is safe and back with us."
More than one shocked exclamation came from the group assembled, and finally Justin looked from her to Cooper and back again. "You knew?"
"I'm a First," Cooper said simply. "I knew it was possible."
Georgie knew they were having some conversation beyond the few words that she heard but at that moment she just didn't care enough to ask about it.
"Any day now," she said, waving her hand about to get their attention. Finally, Justin jumped into motion, picking up the wolf as if she weighed nothing and making Georgie blink at the quickness of the move. She knew he had to be strong with those muscles, but damn.
A moment later Cooper Hayes picked her up in almost the same move, cradling her against his chest as he immediately started walking her away from the others. All of which bowed their heads towards them as they passed. There was something just beyond her hearing that was spreading out among the wolves, but she was coming down from an adrenaline high and in Cooper's arms. Just like every other time he had been near, there was nothing in her mind but him.
"Back to your posts," he suddenly barked, making her jump, and everyone else go running.
She did hear a screech that caugh
t her attention for long enough to draw her eye to Stacia, who once again looked to be going bat shit crazy. The girl was dragged off by two others before they got close enough for anything but a death glare directed their way.
"That girl has serious issues," Georgie muttered and did her best not to feel the arms around her or meet the eyes she could feel on her averted face.
"Why were you at the front gate and not where I told you to be?"
Georgie could not help tensing, which probably told him all he needed to know. She sighed when his arms tightened in warning. So much for plan A.
"You know why," she finally said crossing her arms and raising her chin to show that he did not intimidate her. A complete lie of course, the man bothered her on every level.
His arms tightened around her until they felt more like iron than flesh and she fought the need to squirm. She really wished she could say it was because of his too tight grip but his heat and scent surrounded her, and every movement of his body as he walked them away from the others seemed designed to remind her in whose arms she now rested. The heat coming off his skin, the hardness of his hold, and that big body surrounding her all added up to confusion for her senses. Wants and needs and fear all seemed to battle it out over her nerve ending, and flushed skin.
"Things could have gone very different out there," he said. The quiet tone of his voice did funny things to her already haywire system. And she would be the first to admit she might not have been paying strict attention to what he was saying. That hot chocolate voice was just...distracting. "When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed."
"Yeah, good luck with that," she muttered. Not really thinking about her response. And not quite low enough for him to miss. Right at that moment she was doing her best not to rub her nose into the hard chest under her cheek. How does he smell that good?
"How far did you think you could get?"
She rubbed her cheek along his chest just a bit thinking he would not notice and then shored her defenses. She cleared her throat and tried to sound firm. "Far enough, if it is away from you."
He leaned down and nipped her ear lobe, hard. Between the bite and his next words, a rush of blood headed to all her sensitive girl parts. "There is no far enough, Georgiana, there is nowhere I would not run you down and bring you right back." He ran his nose behind her ear and breathed her in as he made his words a promise directly into her sensitive ear. "You just might not like what happened after that."
The sensual threat in his voice had her closing her eyes and attempting to breathe, when all she really wanted to do was turn in his arms and bite his chin, and other places, wrap her legs and arms around him and...
She really needed to get a grip. Fast.
She deep breathed past her body’s intense reaction to him and tried to form a coherent thought. "Where are you taking me?"
"Right now, I'm taking you back to Patrice and the pups who are no doubt worried thinking you are out in the wilds with an injured feral."
Georgie winced at his words. A direct hit. But he went on drawing her back to the present with a snap of matter of fact words, that finally managed to distract her from her body’s wayward reactions.
"I have some damage control with the front gates and a few other places where reactions to the call of a feral should not have caused problems but did. Rest assured it will be the last time someone leaves our defenses so vulnerable, no matter what calls come over the emergency line. I will also need to check on my wounded wolf and reassure those who need it.”
His arms tightened even further as she looked up to find his eyes on her. Again, that punch of power that still took her off guard no matter how many times it happened. "It will be at least a few hours, probably full dark before I can get back to you. It will give you time to assure the pups you are well and pack whatever you care to bring with you. Assume you are having your last dinner with Patrice and Phillip as I doubt I will get to you before then."
She knew her eyes were big as she caught the burning heat that flared in his. She swallowed hard at his words, and that heat in his eyes that found a corresponding spark in her and lit, causing all the emotions and desire she had just managed to suppress to flare back up like a forest fire in high winds.
"But do not doubt, little Omega, that tonight," he said with the surety of his overbearing arrogance. "You come to me."
Not 'with him', she thought trying not to gasp for breath like a landed trout as her nerve ending sparked at his command and breathing became a challenge under those hot eyes. But 'to him'.
Little Omega?
Definitely time for plan B.
CHAPTER FIVE
In hind sight, Georgie thought her teeth chattering loud in the silence of predawn, Plan B sucks. Rafting on a log down an unfamiliar icy river was a bad idea, especially in fucking September in the Rocky Mountains. She could not refute that having floated for most of the night she was miles away from the top of the mountain where she had started, and she was still alive, so it had worked. It was just so fucking cold and her muscles had all stiffened up clinging as she had been to an abrasive log for dear life all night.
Though in defense of her idiotic plan, if she had not seen the lights of a town from her floating log she would never have thrown herself into the current to get to shore. And before that move her clothes had only been marginally wet. That she had nearly drowned herself so close to civilization and safety after hours of floating down a dangerous ice-cold river with no more than wet spots, stiff muscles, scratches, and a few bruises to show for her adventures, would have been ironic, if she wasn't so close to freezing to care that her plan had worked. She had stopped being able to feel her feet and fingers some time ago. A bad sign that even a city girl could read. She needed shelter and she needed it now.
She was happy to see the town while small, was a real town, with paved streets and a street light at the one intersection. In the distance she saw a gas station, a sign for a hardware store, a sign for the "Solitude Library," a church and what had to be at least three bars, or restaurants that served alcohol, if the neon signs were anything to go by. There were cars parked on the streets and smoke from home fires could be seen in the houses that spanned the side streets and some going up the mountain in the distance.
True, she had not seen anyone up and about yet, but the sun was barely peaking above the distant mountain, so it could just be too early. Still, it showed every sign of being civilization and not some crazy secluded township in the mountains. More importantly than all of that, a bright open sign flickered under a pouring cup of neon coffee. Yes, please.
Coffee and a phone was all she really wanted, getting out of her wet clothes was a close third, but only because without a phone all the rest would have been for nothing.
"Are you alright?" The young girl at the counter came running around it, then stopped as if she wasn't sure she should touch. Georgie couldn't blame her, if she looked as bad as she felt she must be a miserable sight. "What happened to you?"
"No," Georgie said around chattering teeth, answering the first question but ignoring the second. "Do you have a phone I can use?"
"Of course." She pulled out a chair. "But sit down first. I'll get you a coffee and call the Doc. Do you want me to call the Sheriff?"
Georgiana breathed a sigh of relief but kept moving towards the counter and the old fashion rotary phone she could see perched there. "Yes, please. But first can I make a call?"
"Of course, honey, help yourself." The girl looked like she should still be in high school but something about the way she reacted and spoke made Georgie bump her up a few years.
"It's long distance. I'll call collect."
"Don't worry about that. You make your call. I'll get you something warm." The girl headed around the counter, her long brown ponytail bobbing as she moved fast to the coffee machine sitting there.
Georgiana dialed with shaking hands the only number she had memorized, while she listed to the lovely sound of coffee being poured
. It took her three tries to get the number right, but she finally managed, wondering in her near frozen state such inconsequential things as how old fashioned the phone was. Before the phone rang twice in her ear there was a steaming cup of black coffee at her fingertips. She placed her free hand around the cup and tried not to shudder the contents out of the cup with her chills.
"Hello?" Hearing that familiar, albeit tired voice on the other then of the line nearly had her bawling right there.
"David?" She barely got the word out, but he heard it and miraculously recognized her cracking voice.
A long silence and then, "Georgie?!"
"Yes." Georgiana started to cry for real then.
"Where are you? Are you all right? Are you safe?" The words tumbled out on top of each other and she almost laughed when they kept coming. "Girl. Where the hell have you been. You scared the shit out of me, disappearing like that. Not showing or calling at work. No one has seen you. The police came by asking questions. Are you alright?"
There was a tinkle of bells as the door behind her opened and closed but she was so intent on trying to form a coherent sentence that she didn't notice.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm in some ..." There was a click and the phone was pulled out of Georgiana's hand roughly and tossed back onto its cradle. She turned with a gasp and came face to face with Cooper Hayes and a big built dark-haired man in a Sheriffs uniform. This was very bad. Before she could think better of it she hurled her hot coffee at the two of them and took off at a run. There was cursing and the sound of a scuffle, but she barely had her hand on the door before she was yanked up by an arm around her waist against a hard body. She struggled as best she could until she felt teeth clamp down on the back of her neck with a warning growl, and she wilted, her body refusing to do as she wanted. She whimpered, and it sounded so much like surrender she closed her eyes at her own weakness.
Wolves Town Page 3
