Despite the snarling beast inside him ready to be unleashed, Caleb huffed out a breath of laughter. There always had been a reason he liked Mason. The guy was not only straight up, he was funnier than shit.
Another vibration.
They just left 5 min ago. I can round up the guides n we can drown em if you want. Don't tell my boss
This time, Caleb let his lip curl up in what was probably a pretty scary version of a smile. Mason worked as a rafting guide down the Animas River in the summer. Caleb had met a few of his fellow guides during some long poker nights. They were all crazy and wild when they were off the river, completely focused and serious when they were at work, and of course would never really drown anyone. Even so, the thought of that traitor rogue soaking wet and spitting angry was an image Caleb could indulge in with grim satisfaction.
Thanks for the offer. Its cool, I got this. You can't lose your job anyway you need that tiny pay so I can take it all in the next game
Caleb was already moving when Mason's text buzzed in.
Ha. Anyway call if you need a hand. They looked super sketch
Yeah. Because they were. And now Caleb knew exactly where to find them.
Trying to sound casual, he shot off a quick text to Ree. Thinking of her sweet little body and what it had done to him last night—and this morning—nearly gave him pause. She was in the main den. Showering. Then returning to him, clean and and still luscious.
Must protect Rielle. His wolf reared up in defiance of the Alpha's orders, of his own common sense. Must protect all Pack.
Stabbing his fingers at the screen, he sent off a second text to someone else.
Without a backward look, Caleb headed out to the woods. Once he was barely out of sight, he yanked off his clothes and left them dropped on the ground. He'd get to town much faster as a wolf, not to mention he'd be seen leaving by himself if he took his car. There was no sense in going after the bastard rogue wolf here at the den. Caleb's brothers would stop him, not to mention he would not be able to defy the Alpha in that close of a proximity. But going to town to find those rogues sniffing after him and his Pack was another thing entirely. He might be defying orders. But to end this crap once and for all it was worth it. Damned if he'd let those mangy dogs rule his Pack's life anymore.
He dug his paws into the dirt and launched himself toward downtown Durango, fueled by the thought of blood and vengeance. When an image of Rielle's soft, troubled face popped into his mind, he gritted his jaw despite his longing and barreled on. She'd understand. She'd have to.
~
Rielle pushed opened the door to the dining room and looked inside again. Still empty, the afternoon shadows bathed its walls while the rich sunlight filtered in here and there through the branches of the huge pine just outside the main window.
She frowned. This was her second sweep of the den, and still she came up empty. She'd even used her heightened senses this time, trying to sniff for Caleb's scent. His scent was here, yes. Of course his scent was here, he lived in one of the houses on the property and his scent lingered all over the place. Even the traces of it, with its woodsy undertones and the overall masculine appeal of it, made her feel deliciously light-headed for a second.
Her wolf sent a deeply satisfied image of Caleb pleasuring her over and over last night. Rielle felt the pink creep into her face even as she smiled at the image. It had been playful, intense, gentle, firm, and frankly earth-shattering. He'd kept her up till the early morning hours, then they'd slept until dawn. Until he'd woken her out of a dead sleep with another wrenching orgasm, his skilled lips playing on her as if he'd done it all his life.
When she woke up again shortly before noon, he'd been propped up on an elbow, looking down at her with something close to awe in his expression.
“Ree,” he'd said in that rumble of his, the one that would now probably make her tingle and blush every day for the rest of her life. “You hungry? Because I'm starving. Been up all night, working pretty hard to make you happy.”
The tease in his voice startled her. Her big, strong, rough wolf could be silly and gentle with her. She'd smiled at him, knowing full well it was a totally goofy smile. But she just couldn't seem to help it.
He'd fixed her a simple but actually really good breakfast in his little kitchen. Seeing her face at the first bite, he'd said, “Hey. I'm a honed fighting machine. Have to keep it well fueled. Besides,” he added sheepishly, “the women in my family made sure all us clueless guys could cook. Said it was a life skill that would save us while we were still single, then help us move on from bachelorhood to actually getting dates.”
“Then I guess I was too easy, since you're only cooking for me now. I should have waited longer to give it up,” Rielle said in her most prim voice. She managed to keep a straight face while Caleb gawked at her for a moment, nonplussed, before she dissolved into laughter and shook her fork at him. “Gotcha!”
Apparently, she could tease and be relaxed around him as well.
She finally returned to her little room in the main den to shower and change, leaving her big, bad wolf with a promise to be back soon. So where on earth was the silly guy? She could smell his scent here in the den's dining room, too, but it was from a few days ago. She wondered if he'd come to the den looking for her, and she'd just missed him on his way back to his place.
“What are you doing here?”
She jumped at the deep voice, having been caught up in her single-minded focus on Caleb. Turning around, she took a step back from the unreadable expression on the face of the usually aloof, even disdainful wolf who filled the doorway between her and the hall.
“Are you looking for someone?” he asked her, eyes narrowing a bit.
For some reason, Rielle's pulse sped up and her suddenly wary wolf leapt to the front of her being as Luke Rawlins took a step inside the kitchen toward her.
~
As the buildings of town began to appear from behind the juniper and pinyon trees Caleb loped behind, he slowed his pace. The primitive rage still stirred in there, hot and oily, but his carefully measured thoughts remained cool and focused. This was what he did best: plan, attack, fight, win. Anger fueled his strength, but calculation won the battle. Sometimes his anger overpowered everything, but not right now. Everything he'd ever read in old Kurt's library about the art of war told him rage had to be tempered in order for it to be effective.
He'd see how effective it was when those rogues felt the brunt of it.
Staying in the scant cover of the trees was fairly easy. The brutal midday sun fried him in his thick coat, but it also meant no humans walked or ran the trails that criss-crossed the hillsides just above town. Though part of him wanted to ignore all protocol completely and simply storm the town, the part that had been trained since birth to hide the existence of shifters from the human world kept his movements stealthy. Not to mention some idiot with a gun was highly likely to shoot first at a giant wolf loping the city streets, then only later gawk at the body of an animal appearing where none were supposed to roam.
Slipping from patchy little tree to patchy little tree, he came as close as he dared to the outskirts of town. Housed ranged up the hillside, stopping abruptly just outside the boundaries of a sprawling park that consisted mostly of running trails. Anyone who possibly caught a glimpse of his hide here would think he was a coyote. Maybe the biggest coyote they'd ever seen, but their minds wouldn't let them believe it was a wolf.
The main advantage of this park was that it lay just west of the company headquarters Mason worked at. Rogue scent would drift to him eventually. Sitting beneath the largest pinyon pine he could find, Caleb sniffed the heavy summer air. Each direction yielded a medley of smells that competed and clashed with one another. He sat long minutes, scenting and sniffing, searching for the particular scents of strange wolves.
There! He snapped his jaws toward the direction he caught the stink. Rogues. Two of them, still near Mason's office. After another moment of sniffing, Cal
eb got up and shook himself. There was no wind at the moment. But they were looking for him. His scent would carry down to them as they ranged around a little more.
He always liked it when the prey ran straight to him.
~
Rielle swallowed against her startled reaction.
“I'm looking for Caleb,” she said in a steady voice. “Have you seen him?”
Luke filled the doorway with more than just his body, although it was large and strong. His very presence walked into a room ahead of him. Rielle had sensed, the moment she first met him, that he was alpha material. She'd also been slightly put off by his arrogance and the slide of something hidden and lethal in his eyes. At the same time, though, she recognized a wounded soul. Something or someone had badly hurt Luke Rawlins in his lifetime. Most likely it had been someone from his unhealthy home pack.
Rielle was always compassionate to the wounded. Even if they didn't want her compassion.
Luke regarded her with what seemed like suspicion for another moment before he shook his head. “Not since yesterday. But I don't go out of my way to run into Caleb. That would end up causing him more grief than necessary.”
Despite her innate tenderness, Rielle's back got ruffled.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, laying a cool look on him.
Luke awarded her an equally chilly appraisal for a moment. Then his mouth seemed to relax. “I mean he's spoiling for a fight. Badly. He'll take any excuse for one right now, and I'm sure me breathing is a fairly good excuse as far as he's concerned.”
Rielle paused the words on the tip of her tongue. She had a bond with Caleb now, and she wouldn't betray him for anything. Even so, her loyalty to Pack overall held sway as well.
“You are both Pack. Even though you will be leaving soon to start your own. Caleb wouldn't hurt you.” Rielle tried to feel the truth of those words.
Luke's crystal blue eyes seemed to darken.
“I'll never truly be Pack. Not until I'm more trusted. And I can't be more trusted because I was rogue. Most of the wolves here can never forgive that. Not really.”
Rielle's sensitive hearing caught a trace of bitterness and regret in his otherwise flat tone.
“That's not—” she began, but the tinkle of her cell phone went off.
“Sorry,” she said in reflexive apology. Luke stood impassively as she checked the message.
Hey gorgeous. Have 2 run 2 town. Be right back. Wait 4 me in bed? Need 2 think about u while im gone
Rielle couldn't stop the rosy flush that swept over her face as she thought of Caleb in bed with her. She knew Luke watched her. He didn't know about Caleb, though. No one did, yet. They'd been avoiding the rest of the Pack as much as they could. She wasn't ready for it to be big deal just yet. She still wanted Caleb all to herself. Besides, she'd just showered. His scent was not on her at the moment.
A riotous sound of clashing cymbals and drums burst from Luke's back pocket. He pulled his own phone out. As his eyes scanned the message, his face cemented into the cold, careless expression he wore most of the time. Rielle saw abrupt tension there as well, though. When he flicked his eyes up to hers, an icy wave swept down her spine at the deep foreboding she saw.
“I know where Caleb is,” he said.
Rielle's forehead creased into a confused frown. Before she could say anything, Luke held up a hand.
“Rielle.” It was the first time she'd heard him say her name, and she was almost surprised he knew it. “I don't know what there is between you and Caleb, and that is none of my business. But I have the impression you care for him. Yes?”
His oddly clipped voice and its sudden cadence of an older style of speaking reminded her his sire was very old, and crazy, and had been the major influence in Luke's formative years. Warily, she nodded.
“Then you will want to save him from being stupider than he is right now. Make your own decision, as a member of this Pack, about what you will do, but know that he's gone to town to confront some strange wolves. And probably kill them.”
Rielle gasped, but Luke continued talking even as he turned to leave.
“I can't let that happen. The Alpha needs to know, but I can't be the one to tell him. He will not allow me to go, and I must.”
“What are you talking about?” Rielle finally managed. Her heart galloped in her chest and her legs felt shaky. “How do you know this?”
Luke's ice-chip eyes met hers in a final steady gaze, one eyebrow raised in an elegant yet ferocious examination of her. “That message was from Caleb. He taunted me with where he's going, trying to see if I'd take the bait. I am, but not for the reasons he thinks. He doesn't know what's really going on. Your alpha does. Tell him.”
As Luke snarled out those last cryptic words, he pivoted and headed on swift, silent feet down the hallway toward the front door.
“Wait!” Rielle called after him. He didn't slow his stride.
It was only after she'd hurried down the hallway herself to find the Alpha, pulse jack-hammering under her skin, that she realized Luke hadn't said they were rogue wolves. No, he'd called them strange wolves. Yet something darkly suspicious and very frightened inside her told her Luke knew exactly who they were.
~
The two rogues appeared about ten minutes later. Caleb allowed a snarling grin to lift his lips and bare his sharp canines as they moved up the hillside. They'd shifted to their wolf forms, probably the second they cleared the last house below. In the oppressive heat, no humans wandered anywhere nearby, although their scents clung to everything on the houses and yards and paved streets.
One wolf, the larger one who almost rivaled Caleb in size, had a coat the color of granite splotched with white flecks. He sported a vicious look. Caleb narrowed his eyes, an unloosed growl vibrating in his throat. He recognized that one. The one he'd scented near the kill spot of the young Silver Mountain wolf. The one who'd attacked Rafe and Sara, then gotten away. He'd left behind his followers to be captured while he fled to save his own sorry ass. That was something a true leader would never do. More proof rogues were spineless, self-serving cowards.
He'd never seen the other wolf, but something familiar about him nagged at Caleb. Shrugging it off, he focused on the now. The moment the wolves would figure out exactly where he was. They knew he was here somewhere. Their shifted selves, vigilant steps, and constant scenting told him that. He'd have the drop on them, though. He'd deliberately wandered through a large area right around where he now crouched beneath another tree, rubbing his coat against rough trunks and prickly branches, rolling on the ground in a few spots. His scent lingered everywhere powerful and strong, hanging over the entire area like a deadly promise.
Each step took them closer to the spot where he nestled as deeply as he could into the duff-covered ground. Each step took the cowardly creatures closer to the last day of their lives.
Alpha's orders to not harm any rogues, only to bring them to him or the Silver Mountain Alpha, flitted through his mind in distant warning. Jaw set, he ignored it. He'd take any punishment necessary. But he would no longer let these skulking bastards threaten him, his Pack, or Rielle.
An image of Ree, relaxed and confident and fully in her own power, shivering in delight from his touch, filled him, strengthening his resolve. Motionless, he readied his body to spring. Just a few steps closer, and he would able to leap toward them.
A moment too late, he scented another wolf. Behind him, a branch cracked like a cannon boom in the heavy stillness. The two wolves almost on top of him recoiled in shock, growling and snapping. Caleb reacted faster than thought, instinctively vaulting his body up and away to face whatever threat crept up behind him. He swung his head between the new threat and the rogue wolves, the feeling of being cornered setting off every fighting instinct he had.
That bastard Luke stood there, his dark form poised to attack as well, one lip curled up over his sharp teeth. But he wasn't looking at Caleb. Instead, his unwavering gaze centered on the strange
wolf. The one, Caleb realized with a thunderous clap of insight, who looked very similar to Luke.
“Well, Bash,” Luke said, the snarl coating his entire tense body. “You always did like to keep ugly company.” He flicked a dismissive look at the speckled wolf, who growled at the insult. “Tell me.” He padded one careful step closer, which raised the hackles even more on each of the other three wolves. “Was this all your idea? Or is this part of the plan our sire,” and he said the word with such shaking hatred that shock whipped through Caleb, “devised so many years ago to gain control over all the North American Packs?”
Mind racing, trying to keep up with all new information he didn't yet fully grasp, Caleb stood his ground, still ready to leap and fight at any second. Problem was, he wasn't exactly sure who the hell he was supposed to fight now.
The strange wolf, the one whose head shape and coat color so closely resembled Luke's, barked out a hard laugh. “You always were the smart one, Licas.” His words dripped venom. “Until you left. That was a stupid mistake. The second strike against you? That you attempted to start your own rogue pack. Without the sanction of the Upper North Woods Pack.”
At the mention of the Canadian pack led by the crazy alpha, Luke's old pack, both Caleb and Luke stiffened even more.
“And look at the company you keep now.” Bash sent a scornful glare at Caleb, who glared back. “You always did have a rebellious streak in you.
“I don't keep his company,” Caleb said, voice low with anger. “As far as I'm concerned, you're all enemies of my Pack. Not to mention the Silver Mountain Pack.”
Bash or whatever the hell his name was—what was up with the weird names in that pack, anyway—let a mocking grin slice his lips upward. Lolling out his tongue, the move designed to keep the others off balance with its seeming carelessness, he tilted his head at Caleb with an equally assessing look. “Yes, I know you don't care overly much for my brother.” He cast a contemptuous glance at Luke. “That was the perfect bait we employed to lure you to town. By using his name, we knew we'd get you here by yourself. You're the true lone wolf in your pack, aren't you?” His mocking tone cracked against Caleb's flattened ears. “You don't seem to mind your Alpha very much. And that disobedience has just marked your death warrant.”
Hunting Wolf: Black Mesa Wolves #3 Page 16
