The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town

by Riley Moreno

  Several of the onlookers paused in their rejoicing to glance at her. The Alpha’s princess. The looks in their eyes sent chills rippling down her spine. There was more than malice sitting there in the dark, there was intent. Suddenly, Gray was behind her again, reaching for her, but she was too fast. He may have had strength on his side, but Jana was smaller, and much more agile.

  She ducked out of his grasp with ease, tearing out into the dark New Mexico desert with only one thought running through her frantic mind. To survive. She reached the outer ridge, panting heavily from exertion and fear and terrible, terrible grief when a noise reached her. A voice. His voice.

  “I’ll find you, my princess. Jana!” Dalton’s voice echoed in the darkness, “I know you can hear me! I can still smell you. You will be mine! You were always meant to be mine, just like I was always meant to be Alpha!”

  There was a chorus of gleeful howls and yips accompanying his decree and she turned, fleeing into the night, away from Dalton and his gang of wolves that had betrayed her father, the pack, and everything they believed.

  She had run all night, not letting herself stop, not letting herself think, or grieve, or even try to understand. She kept moving, putting one foot in front of the other until she had reached the mesa. Jana knew she couldn’t go back to the pack. Dalton had undoubtedly reached them first, told them whatever lie he had concocted, but she also knew it wouldn’t be enough for them, for the rest of the pack.

  But if he mated with her, the daughter of the old Alpha, then the rest of the pack would follow him without question. But she would never let that happen. She would rather die first!

  Jana was heading back to the small town where they purchased their supplies, and then she could catch a ride away from there. Away from her friends, her only family. Tears crashed over her cheeks now in massive waves and sobs racked her small frame. Tears for everything that she had lost, everything that had been stolen from her in a single night.

  She stood, the sun beating down on her, her body protesting every movement as she continued. The city was just a two days walk, she could make it there. Her other side, her wolf side, gave her added strength, extra resistance against dehydration and exhaustion but she knew she would have to eat soon to keep up her demanding pace. And she had to. Jana knew if she slowed down, Dalton would catch her. He probably already had search parties out hunting her down and she had stopped trying to hide her tracks hours ago.

  Shielding her eyes against the glare of the midday sun, she searched the empty landscape once, and then again. Her diamond eyes lighting on a small patch of trees jutting wildly into the blue sky. There! That would be her best chance of catching a quick meal, maybe her only until she reached Sun Hill.

  She shed her clothes, wrapping them into a small pack at her feet. A short minute later, and there was a wolf, smaller than the others had been but still larger than a normal wolf, with dark auburn fur and shining, blue eyes loping across the New Mexico desert.

  Chapter 2

  The wolf crouched patiently in the meager shadow supplied by the crooked trees that arched toward the burning sun on the side of the sheer cliff. She had waited for almost two hours already, but knew if she didn’t find something soon she would have to move on. Patience, a trait learned by her father.

  Pain cut through her at the thought, but she shook it off, focusing on the hunt once more. There! In the deepest shadows, she saw it. The slightest of movements noticed only because of the lack of the breeze. The dark furred wolf crouched even lower, trying to be as still as possible as the stop and go motions continued to move closer. But then they stopped altogether.

  She stalked forward, intent on the kill, on her next meal. Fury and pain and the edge of desperation fueled her forward in one giant leap that had her landing directly on top of the small mouse. Normally, she would have let it go, something so small, but she needed every ounce of energy the tiny animal would give her.

  It wiggled out from under her paw, shooting around a giant, gnarled root, and she followed. One jump, and then another, and she would have it. She prepared to jump again, her eyes only on the prey, and propelled herself forward. She landed with a crunch amongst the trees and fallen, leafless branches, and then, suddenly, she was moving. The ground shifted, rustling unnaturally, and her heart raced, all thoughts of the tiny mouse gone as the large net closed around her, hauling the wolf almost ten feet into the air.

  A trap! Of all the places for her to fall into one, this seemed the most unlikely. On the side of this abandoned cliff, in the least populated area of New Mexico. Only her kind lived out here, surviving off the land and occasional supply runs. And then she remembered the story, like a dream the memory rose of sitting around the camp fire with her father and the other cubs as he talked. Her father had a gift. When he spoke, he could make people see what he was saying, believe in what he was saying. It was why he was such a good pack leader. Had been, the wolf reminded herself painfully.

  But the story he had told that night was well known by her people, especially in this area. It told of two young wolves, barely grown, that had turned against their pack, slaughtering many before fleeing into the mountains of New Mexico, just waiting for wary cubs to wander so they could catch them. Some people called them ‘the Ghosts’ claiming that they had seen them before, just for a moment, and then they had disappeared.

  Others said that they only appeared under a full moon, or only when the fogs rolled across the land. When Jana had asked her father afterward, terrified that the Ghosts of the mountain would come after her, he had just chuckled, holding her close as he had drawn her up to sit on his knee.

  “Jana, you must learn to tell the difference between the story, and the truth.”

  “So, it’s just a story? It’s not real?”

  He had shaken his head. “Now, I’m not saying that. Normally, when enough people say the same thing, there is some kernel of truth in there, but it’s figuring out what that kernel is that will make you a good pack leader one day.”

  She just stopped herself from shaking her head. It was one of the things that would have shocked the pack if they had heard. There had never been a female Alpha before for the Mesa Verde pack, and Jana didn’t think they would ever accept one. But her father believed, and trained her in all the ways to be a great leader, just like him.

  “But, papa, does that mean that there really are two killer wolves out there in the mountains?” She had looked out, her childlike blue eyes taking in the massive, dark shapes silhouetted in the landscape surrounding them.

  “Perhaps, Jana, perhaps. But for all the tales and all the stories have you ever heard of them actually catching or killing anyone else?”

  She thought about it for a moment, “Well, no. I guess not.”

  “There you go, you have your answer.”

  He had set her back down, turning away but she had stopped him.

  “Wait. Is the story a lie then? And the stories that others tell, about seeing them. Are they lying too?” She had looked up at him them, her eight-year-old mind trying to make sense of the lesson that most adults never fully understood. Her father had crouched down until his blue eyes were level with hers.

  “No, not a lie. Just maybe not the whole truth. You have to remember, there is more than one side to every story. More than two, or three. There are as many sides as there were lives involved. Does that make sense?”

  Jana wrinkled her nose in confusion and shook her head. Her father laughed softly, reaching out to ruffle her long, dark auburn hair. “Don’t worry, Jana. One day, you will.”

  Jana struggled in the net, fear and sadness both tearing through her at the memory. Calm down, she told herself, taking a deep breath. It’s much more likely that this was an old hunter’s trap and she was just dumb enough to get stuck in it. She thought about shifting back to her human form, but she realized her pack of clothes was still several yards away where she had left it, beside a large, crooked tree.

  She looked up into t
he sparse canopy. The ropes looked very old, and weather damaged. Maybe if she used her teeth she could saw through enough to get out. She immediately went to work, trying to bite through the rope closest to her head with her razor sharp incisors.

  The only problem was, her legs were so tangled in the netting she couldn’t move much, couldn’t reach enough rope, but she didn’t give up, she kept on. Perseverance. Another thing her father taught her.

  For a brief moment, frustration got the best of her and she let out a loud growl. She paused as it echoed across the cliff, cursing herself for her lack of willpower, and went back to it with a vengeance. She froze at the tsking sound that reached her ear.

  “You’re never going to cut through that rope, wolf. It’s reinforced with a steel core and woven through with Aconitum.”

  Jana jerked her head away. Aconitum. Also known as Wolf’s bane. It wouldn’t kill, unless ingested in an extremely large dose, but it did weaken, and as she tried to struggle she realized it was already effecting her. Her muscles were weak, her thoughts fuzzy, her eyesight unfocused. He cut the net and she dropped in an ungraceful heap.

  She tried to stand, to run away, and howled in despair when her legs gave out beneath her. No! She wouldn’t give in. She had to get away. Jana looked up just in time to see another figure approach, and they looked like indistinct shadows in her drug-wrought mind.

  In no time at all, they had her legs tied, and she was thrown heedlessly into a large burlap sack that was tied to some sort of stretcher. Inside, the darkness closed in, threatening to overwhelm her, and she howled again before she could stop herself.

  The two men laughed roughly.

  “You can howl all you want, Jacob. You’ve been hunting us, torturing us, for years, but now the tables are turned. We have you! And you’re not getting away until you hear the full story, got it?”

  Jana whimpered again, realizing for the first time that they knew what she was, if not who. They thought she was someone else. She tried to calm her racing heart, trying to think critically like her father taught her. Tentatively, she sniffed the air. Through the stench of her own fear and sweat, and the old, scratchy burlap sack, she could just make out their scent. Her blue eyes widened in the darkness. They were shifters, just like her! But she didn’t recognize from what pack.

  Every wolf in the area knew each other, but these two were strangers. The stories of the ghosts of the mountain flooded back, but she pushed them away. There is more than one side to every story, she told herself, but it did nothing to stem the panic that crashed through her. Jana could feel the drug’s effects, trying to pull her under into unconsciousness. She must have ingested more than she’d realized.

  Jana tried to shift back into human form so she could tell them that they had made a mistake, but the wolf’s bane was preventing even that.

  Suddenly, they stopped moving, and she was tumbled out of the burlap. She collapsed onto a wooden floor, her legs refusing to work. She looked around dazedly, trying to take in her surroundings which appeared to be a small, wooden cabin. It was clean, she realized. Spotless, in fact.

  Jana blinked again as the edges of her sight darkened. She had time to whimper one last time before the drug dragged her under.

  Gabe stood there in shock, watching helplessly as the wolf they had thought was Jacob, a mangy old beast from their old pack, passed out and had shifted into the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He turned to Adrian, who just stared, his mouth open.

  “Well, that’s a surprise.”

  “A gorgeous one.”

  Adrian shot him a disapproving look, but Gabe had seen the look of desire flash through Adrian’s light grey eyes, just as he had felt his own body shift, tensing. Adrian moved to one of the arm chairs flanking the small fireplace, grabbing a blanket that had been thrown over its back and wrapped it around her.

  Gabe had to fight back the possessive growl that tried to rip out of his chest as Adrian got close to the girl, but instead turned his back, even more shocked at his reaction. Lust and heat raged through his body, thoughts of her sweet thighs wrapped around him, sinking into her delicious body…

  With a snarl, he cut off the thoughts. No one had ever effected him this way. The girl was unconscious, for Christ’s sake! Not to mention that they had caught the wrong wolf. Gabe stiffened his spine, trying to get control of his wayward body before turning back around.

  “What the hell was she even doing out there?” He asked, not really expecting an answer. Adrian just shrugged, not giving one as he carried their unexpected prisoner to the nearest bedroom. His bedroom. Gabe shook the thought off but it was impossible as he followed Adrian in and saw her, laying in his bed, her long dark hair cascading across his pillow.

  Adrian shot him another questioning look before grabbing one of Gabe’s t-shirts and as quickly as possible slipped it over her head, easily holding her up with one arm to slide it over her nakedness.

  “She’s so small.” Adrian said, then blushed as if he hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but Gabe caught the hint of awe that had tinged his voice. The heat that was mirrored in his own, he knew. Adrian cleared his throat, pulling the blanket up and over her, hesitating just a bit too long as he stared down at her face before making himself turn away. As they both forced themselves to walk out of the room, Gabe didn’t miss Adrian’s long, pained exhale as he closed the door firmly behind them.

  Chapter 3

  She woke up wanting. Dreams had flooded her sleep, heated dreams with two shadowy figures touching her, surrounding her, making her ache. She inhaled deeply, drawing the scent of them into her lungs. It was still there, lingering, inescapable. She turned onto her back, blinking her eyes open as they adjusted to the thick darkness. Jana shot bolt upright as the memories flooded back.

  The fight. Her father’s death. Her escape, and then being trapped. Not by Dalton, but by the two mysterious shifters that had filled her dreams. She shook her head. No, that wasn’t right. They had trapped her, captured her. Why would she have dreamed of them? And like that?

  She stood, intent on getting out of there. Jana made her way to the door on silent feet. She drew on her wolf senses, and found the door with no problem as her eyes adjusted. There were no windows in the small, but neat, room. It was the only way out. Her gaze penetrated the darkness with ease, and she crept to the door, listening. She didn’t hear a single sound. Slowly releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, she tried the knob, surprised to find it turning smoothly, the door opening without a hitch. Why hadn’t it been locked?

  She didn’t have time to wonder as she threw the door open to find her captors still there, sitting silently in the light of the flickering fire, watching her. Her breath hitched, her heart catching, and then racing painfully as she froze under those powerful twin gazes.

  Without a second thought, Jana threw herself toward the front door, realizing too late that she would have to get through both of them to reach it. If she had to fight, she would. Her father had taught her well how to protect herself, how to fight. She was small for a wolf, she knew that, but she had learned how to use that to her advantage.

  The light eyed one came at her first, but his movements were slow, hesitating, as if he had been caught by surprise. Jana easily ducked under his long, reaching arms, turning mid-step to catch the other one in the shin. She grinned at his yelp of pain as she pivoted yet again, her foot catching the other at the back of his knees, setting him off balance.

  Jana was almost to the door when a hard body slammed into her from behind, strong arms wrapping around her, and dragging her back into the middle of the room.

  “Let go of me, you…you brute!”

  “Brute, am I?”

  Jana savagely kicked out behind her, landing a satisfying blow but it did nothing to deter her captor.

  “Yes! Now, let me go! You have the wrong wolf!”

  “Yeah, we figured that one out real quick.”

  She looked behind her, try
ing to see who had a hold of her, but his grip on her was too tight. She couldn’t escape. Terror tried to take hold then, but she pushed it down, instead fueling the anger raging through her, using that to give her strength.

  The other man walked up to her, and she couldn’t stem the flood of heat at the remembered dreams as his scent washed over her. He stared down at her with eyes so dark they looked almost black, except that she could see flashes of copper shining in the firelight. Long dark hair curled around broad shoulders and heavily muscled chest.

  Jana couldn’t help the way her eyes roved over him, drinking him in. She forced herself to look away. What was wrong with her?

  He reached out, dragging one callused fingertip along her jaw, tilting her head back up until her gaze was once more on him. She snapped at his finger and he pulled it away quickly with a chuckle.

  “Hey, now. None of that.” His dark eyes were warm on hers. So very warm. It was suddenly hard to draw breath with him staring at her like that. Like he wanted to eat her all up.

  “Let go of me! I demand that you release me!”

  “Well, you’re not really in any position to make demands at the moment.”

  “I don’t know who you think you are. You’re crazy if you think you can just kidnap innocent wolves…”

  “I am not crazy–.”

  “You obviously are. This whole thing is crazy…”

  “Stop saying that! I am not craz–.”

  “No, you’re bloody insane! There is no way that you–.”

  He cut off her words forcefully, the only way he could think of. He kissed her. Gabe had just meant to shut her up, but the moment his lips touched hers that all changed. His whole world changed, shifting. His mouth fastened over hers, and for the briefest of moments he forgot his fucked up life, his past, the ever present pain and rage. All of it gone in her kiss.