Legend of the White Wolf hotw-4

by Terry Spear

  She couldn't reconcile the emotions swamping her. She was a wolf now, and no matter how she looked at it, this was just plain bad news. Usually, she felt pretty well in control of her life. Not now. Now she was a danger to others of her kind and a danger to herself. And there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't move toward Cameron, as much as his eyes pleaded with her to draw closer. She didn't want to be petted like a damned dog. She didn't want him to hug her and try to reassure her everything would be all right, because it wouldn't be. Leidolf might have been right in saying they were what they were now. But having been born a lupus garou, he can't have known how it would feel to someone like Cameron or her.

  She took a step away from Cameron, hating the look of hurt in his eyes. But she couldn't accept his comfort. Not like this. Not as a damned vicious Arctic wolf with teeth that could crush bones.

  She lifted her nose and sampled the air, smelled Leidolf drawing closer, but still out of sight. She understood why. He probably had seen what Gavin had done to Hilson.

  Gavin was watching the two of them now, her clothes and bags in his arms. "She's still a feral wolf," he said, his voice gentled. "Let her go."

  "You're mine," Cameron said softly. "You have to go with us, Faith. You can't stay out here alone. Kintail's men…" He rose unsteadily, his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed. "You can't stay here. Follow us."

  She waited for him to limp to his snowmobile, waited for him to climb on, waited for him to look back at her once more, pleading more than demanding that she obey him. And then she decided what she would do. She'd follow him, for a brief time, then find Leidolf. She couldn't run to the trailhead and risk turning into a human somewhere along the way. If she could make it to their rental vehicles, maybe. But not out in the open like this.

  She followed Cameron for a little while as he drove his snowmobile and tried to find a way back to the main road. He kept glancing back at her, making sure she was still there, loping slightly behind his snowmobile, while she kept looking for the best place to bolt where the trees wouldn't allow a snowmobile passage.

  Gavin was an even further distance behind, and she noted he was watching her, too. Wary, she suspected. If one wild wolf could knock Cameron from his machine, why not another? Only she was female and not half as big as Hilson. Although she assumed if she bared her teeth, she could scare the most stalwart of men.

  She glanced back at the woods, knowing Gavin figured what she was up to. Cameron, too, but she hoped he wouldn't see her take off until it was too late. And then she spied a flash of red fur. Leidolf. He must have realized she might need help. At least she hoped that's why he was stalking them.

  With one last look at Cameron, she silently wished him well, then bolted for the woods. She half expected Gavin to warn him that she had taken off, but he didn't. Probably figured she needed to run wild and Cameron shouldn't have interfered with her natural instincts. In any event, it worked well for her.

  Cameron would no doubt give him holy hell for it, too. But Faith didn't think she could make it to the trailhead as a wolf. She couldn't risk it.

  Faith ran deeper into the woods, the sudden realization that no matter what else was wrong with her life, she enjoyed the sense of adventure she now was experiencing, the freedom to move as a wolf, the way her fur coat protected her against the elements without her having to wear tons of clothing to keep warm. Freedom, that's what she felt.

  But it would be short-lived if anyone from Kintail's pack caught up with her. Or she ran into the werewolf killers.

  Cameron was certain Faith would run off, but he hadn't expected his good friend, Gavin, not to tell him the moment she did. He glowered at him again, as the two trudged through the trees on foot, pursuing her tracks, unable to follow on the snow machines. He had to admire her ability to solve problems no matter what the circumstances. He only hoped they wouldn't find her naked, freezing to death along the way. And he hoped that if they did catch up to her, she wouldn't be in any other trouble and would be willing to follow his lead this time. Frustrated with his own inability to take care of her while she was a wolf in the wilderness, he was damned thankful Gavin hadn't seen her shapeshift and that he could avoid the problems that would have entailed.

  A blurring of two exquisite shapes, like the northern lights mixing in surreal colors, that's the way she had appeared to him, blending from the beauty of a naked woman into that of a furred white wolf. The woman one instant, the wolf the next. Even though she shifted quickly and even if he hadn't chanced to see the blurred effect, she wasn't the same after the process was done. The woman vanished, the wolf took her place. So there was no mistaking it if Gavin had caught a glimpse of the switch. Although he probably would have assumed he'd been hallucinating.

  "I don't understand why you feel we have to chase after the wolf, Cameron. She probably took off after a rabbit, and she'll be back."

  Cameron sliced his friend another glare.

  Gavin looked back at the tracks. "You already bit my head off about not warning you sooner. But hell, she's a wild wolf, and this is what they do." He paused and leaned over a little. "Damn, there are two tracks now."

  Cameron stared at the impressions in the snow. "Broader paw, larger wolf. Male." He swore under his breath.

  Gavin chuckled. "She could be in heat and interested in him and having little wolf pups in the spring."

  Cameron hauled off and socked his friend in the jaw. He didn't know what came over him to knock Gavin off his feet. Except the raw emotions he felt toward Faith were sitting at the surface, and he couldn't contain them any longer.

  Gavin winced and stared up at him. "Hell, what is wrong with you? I know you've got to be tied up in knots over the guys' disappearance, but this wolf? What's gotten into you?"

  Cameron couldn't even make the effort to apologize like he should have. He wanted to shift. In the worst way, Cameron wanted to go after her, tear into the male wolf who was with her, and show the world of wolves she was his.

  After the male wolf met up with Faith, her paw prints disappeared, and he knew she was following the male, using his tracks to make her journey easier. Incensed, he wanted to shake her, make her realize he was the only one for her.

  He vaguely noticed Gavin rejoining him, still caressing his jaw. "You still have a damned hard punch. Want to tell me what's going on?"

  He wanted to. They'd never kept secrets from each other before, except for Gavin's clandestine operation concerning watching Marjory's extracurricular activities. But he knew this part of his life he couldn't disclose to Gavin. And now, he was afraid he might have to dissolve the partnership, or get his friend into the trouble he and Faith were in already.

  But after they located Owen and David. After they made sure they were safe.

  Which brought another troubling thought to mind. If Owen and David had been changed, and he suspected at this point they had been, the three of them could continue to be partners in their business. How would they be able to eliminate Gavin from the partnership as close as they had all been over the years?

  He shook his head. No matter the scenario, he couldn't think of an uncomplicated way out of the mess.

  Gavin followed behind Cameron. "Guess you don't want to discuss it. I could understand your not wanting to tell me about your new girlfriend. But hell, your relationship with a wolf?" Then he hurried to catch up. "Did the wolf rescue you?" He shook his head. "Knowing you, you rescued the wolf and now you feel this connection, like you always do when it comes to rescuing damsels in distress. But I never thought in a million years the situation would have extended to a wolf."

  "They've headed back to the cabins," Cameron finally said, noting the path the wolves' tracks were taking. "Let's return for our snowmobiles and find a way back to the main road. It'll be faster that way."

  "What about Faith, the woman?" Gavin asked, taking a handful of snow and holding it against his jaw.

  That's what Cameron worried about more than anything. Faith, the woman, and the me
ss she could be in now.

  "It'll be faster if we shed our clothes and run like wolves," Owen said, racing through the woods ahead of David and Elizabeth, half freezing to death, rubbing his numb fingers, then shoving them back in his jeans pockets, his trouser legs stiff with clinging snow. "You still think we should go straight to the cabin resort where Cameron is staying?"

  "Yeah. I know that Officer Adams and Whitson and that Trevor Hodges are on their way there, but it's the only way we can get to Cameron. They'll stop them from leaving for Millinocket, and we've got to let Cameron know we're all right. Although Kintail will most likely assume we're headed that way also and try to have us intercepted before that." David looked at Elizabeth. "What do you think?"

  "I agree with everything you've said." Elizabeth had kept up with their longer strides, while David's hand remained wrapped around hers the entire time, pulling her along, making sure she didn't fall, and she hadn't once complained. She looked worried, of course. She knew Kintail better than they did.

  But Owen was surprised when David had asked her if she wanted to come along. He figured David would have been more concerned for her safety. Maybe he was using her a little as she'd kept them headed for Charles's cabin resort when Owen had tried to steer them wrong. Deep down he didn't think so though. Maybe David had the hots for her as much as she did for him, only like usual, he was hiding his feelings.

  Suddenly David asked, "Think we can start our own pack in Seattle?"

  Owen shot him a get-real-look over his shoulder. "We'll be lucky to find a place in Alaska where as Arctic wolves, we will fit in more. But I doubt we'll be safe there either. And what if the areas are tied up with packs already, just like Kintail's, and they don't relish the idea of two more full grown males joining them?"

  "Kintail's got the people believing his pet wolves are perfectly tame here, so everyone's used to seeing them around, off of leashes, completely compatible with the human populace. Why couldn't we do that back home?"

  "In Seattle?" Owen shook his head. "Can you imagine dropping into Starbucks for your favorite cup of coffee, with me in tow as a guide wolf?" Owen let out his breath in a puff of frigid smoky vapor. "So do we do it, or not? Can you force the shift?"

  "I can do it. I'm just not sure I want to."

  "When we arrive at Cameron's place, he'll have a change of clothes for us. He's already one of us. He'll recognize us. His girlfriend, Faith, should have clothes for Elizabeth. We'll be warmer. My hands are already numb. Most of the heat in my body, I'm losing through my head without having a parka, a hood, or hat to keep me warm. I can barely see because of the sun reflecting off the snow except where the trees shade the area. Plus, trudging through the snow is slowing us down. We'll be able to run a hell of a lot farther and faster with our lighter weight as wolves situated on top of the snow rather than in our human forms plowing through it. And we'll be a lot less visible in our white fur against the snow-filled backdrop than we are now."

  "He's right," Elizabeth said.

  David said, "All right, all right. Cameron just better have a change of clothes for both of us." He gave Owen a disgruntled look as he began pulling off his wool sweater.

  Owen and David turned their backs to Elizabeth while they stripped. Even though it was a natural occurrence for the members of the pack to shed their clothes in front of each other if the occasion called for it and no one paid any attention to it, David and Owen weren't there yet. And even now, Owen was feeling a little self-conscious with exposing his backside to Elizabeth.

  "At least his clothes will fit you. With my height, it'll look like I had a growing spurt and hadn't had time to buy new clothes," David added.

  Owen smiled and finished ditching his clothes. Once he was stark naked, he hurried to bury his things underneath the snow before he felt the shift taking place. He hadn't even willed himself to do it. He figured it might have been a need for self-preservation, that once his skin grew too cold, the wolf coat kicked in.

  David was soon at his side nudging him with his long wolf snout, and the two greeted each other like a couple of old wolf pals, noses touching, tongues licking, a show of camaraderie, of solidarity. They did the same with Elizabeth, only David was a little more amorous and if Owen could laugh, he would. Then he took off at a run.

  Kintail had told him they could run flat out at tops forty miles per hour for several miles, and easily cover sixty miles in a night at a trot. He loved the way he felt as a wolf, capable of anything. His paws gripped a fallen tree and he bolted over it, knowing David and Elizabeth were right behind him. The three headed down a trail where dogs and sleds and Cameron had once traversed, their scents still lingering behind. They'd find him soon. And then?

  They'd return to Seattle, changed men. Poor Gavin—odd man out now. If they made it home safely, what could they do about him?

  Chapter 17

  AFTER AN HOUR, CAMERON REACHED THE BLACK BEAR DEN with Gavin, but the place looked lifeless, deserted, just as he and Faith had left it. His heart in his throat, he hurried to enter the cabin, smelled Faith's sweet fragrance still lingering in the air, but there was no indication she had returned here.

  "Maybe she's watching us from the shelter of the woods," Gavin said, glancing at Faith's soiled clothes in the garbage sack.

  Maybe. But Cameron figured she'd show herself now that he was here. Maybe Gavin was the one who scared her. Hell, sure he did. He'd shot the wolf that had attacked Cameron, and then pointed the freshly fired gun at Faith.

  "Listen, Gavin, why don't you go up to the main lodge and see about Charles's condition. Say that Cameron's asking, but don't tell anyone I've returned."

  "Are you sure? I know that look in your eye. You're going off investigating Faith's disappearance on your own. Why don't you let me come with you? If nothing else, I can watch your back."

  Cameron shook his head. "She may be afraid of you after you shot the other wolf. Just check on Charles. I'll return to this cabin after a while. You can meet me back here."

  Gavin looked a little worried, but Cameron motioned to the lodge. "I'll be fine. See you in a few minutes."

  "All right, but if you're not back here in half an hour, I'm coming for you." Gavin trudged off, muttering under his breath about friends and not keeping secrets.

  Cameron got back on his snowmobile and hurried off toward his own cabin, calling out Faith's name. But she wasn't at his place either, although unless she'd shapeshifted, she wouldn't have been able to get inside. Then he thought of Hilson and his place. Damn, why hadn't he thought of him before? Cameron raced toward the Porcupine Cove cabin, but was in sight of Leidolf's place when the man opened his door and waved to him to come inside without saying a word.

  Faith. Cameron parked and jumped off his vehicle, then rushed up the steps to the deck.

  Before he could step inside the cabin, Leidolf warned, "She's here and she's sleeping. But we've got problems."

  Hell, tell him something he didn't know. Cameron shoved past Leidolf into the cabin and headed straight for the bedroom. "On your way out, run by the lodge, will you? My partner Gavin Summerfield's there, but I want him to know where I am and that I'm with Faith, the woman, so don't want to be disturbed."

  Leidolf gave him a knowing smile and didn't seem to be offended that Cameron was ordering him about, then closed the door to the place and locked it from the outside. He strolled on past the window in the direction of the main lodge.

  Thank you, Cameron said silently, and opened the door to the bedroom as quietly as he could. Faith looked like an angel, sleeping soundly on the bed, her shoulders bare. Hell, she was still naked? Leidolf didn't give her anything to wear?

  The place was comfortably warm though, and she looked like she was sleeping well. Still, he wanted her to know he was here now, and although he was pissed that Leidolf had had to rescue her, he was glad he had done so and seemed to have her best interests in mind.

  Cameron sat next to Faith and leaned over and kissed her cheek, his hand
caressing her shoulder, wanting to make the contact, wanting to assure himself she hadn't come to any harm. "I'm here," he said, his voice soothing, low and dark, not wanting to wake her, but just to reassure her he was with her again.

  She stirred, her eyelashes fluttering. He ran his hand over her hair and kissed her lips this time. Her eyes popped open, her expression startled, and then she smiled, the most delightful smile he'd ever witnessed. Then she frowned and reached out to take his hand, her fingers grasping his protectively. "Are you all right? You were injured."

  He sighed and stroked the nape of her neck. "Seems the werewolf genetics heals minor sprains and twists quickly enough. Why didn't you keep following me?"

  "I didn't think I could keep from shifting again. I couldn't chance it. I barely made it to Leidolf's cabin. Where's your friend Gavin? He didn't see me shift, did he?"

  "No. If he had, I'd never have heard the end of it."

  Frowning, Faith touched Cameron's cheek. "We're in trouble. Officer Adams and Whitson? They were following us and were injured when Adams' snowmobile plowed into a hastily constructed barricade across the trail, and Whitson slammed into him right afterward. They'll live, according to Leidolf, who got the news from Charles's cousin, George, but they both were injured pretty badly. Broken arms, legs, Adams has got a concussion. And the worst of it all?"

  "They want to arrest Gavin and me?" Cameron couldn't believe this could get any worse.

  She shook her head. "They were trying to catch up to us to tell us Kintail needs us on the investigation. Whatever it takes, he would like us to find out who the killers are, and then he'll deal with them. And he wanted us to stay here at the cabins while we're doing the investigation."

  Cameron cursed under his breath. "Kintail fancies having you. And if he wants both of us on the investigation, why did a wolf try to kill me in the woods just a half hour ago?"