by Terry Spear
Faith's cheeks turned a little pink. "That most likely had to do with me and nothing with Kintail's orders."
"You?" Before she could say what she meant, he cursed again. "Hilson. Hell, the ex-boyfriend scorned?"
"Yeah, well, he's an Arctic wolf, too, although I had kind of guessed he might be, after I learned they existed and that their kind, well, our kind wouldn't want to be exposed and that was the reason he stole my father's research. But what will we do about my father? We have to make sure he doesn't try to put another paper together about werewolves or our kind will most likely kill him."
"It seems there's only two choices we have—change the person who witnesses the shift, or kill him or her."
"So will you bite him?" Faith asked, running her hand over Cameron's.
He took her hand in his and squeezed. "After biting you, I wouldn't want to be responsible for turning another soul."
Faith looked away from Cameron. "Hilson will live, too, according to Leidolf. He said he'll go off and lick his wounds and it might take a few days, but he'll be as good as new, as long as the bullets Gavin fired at him weren't silver."
"Unless there's something about Gavin I don't know, the bullets weren't silver."
"Hey, Cameron!" Gavin shouted outside the cabin, banging on the door.
"Damn it, Gavin," Cameron said to himself more than to anyone else and then added for Faith's benefit, "I'll be right back." He stalked out of the bedroom and closed the door, then headed for the front door.
Unlocking it, he scowled at Gavin. "I told you to wait for me. Leidolf was supposed to tell you—"
"A Trevor Hodges is at the main lodge. He said Faith wanted to talk about her father's research concerning Bigfoot." Gavin raised a brow, then gingerly touched his swollen jaw again. "Anything you want to talk to me about?"
Bigfoot, my ass. But then again, the hunter guide might know about David and Owen's location. And that was the leverage they needed. If Kintail turned over their friends, they'd locate the killers. Working as a team, they could do it. Except now they had a new partner, much prettier than the rest of his partners. And if Leidolf wanted to come along for the ride, he was welcome to tag along. "Tell Trevor to meet us at Faith's cabin. We'll be right there."
Lila fumed as she paced across the great room at Kintail's lodge. She'd just managed to overhear some of what Kintail and Trevor were speaking about and knew for sure now Kintail planned on taking that damned O'Malley woman for his mate. What did he think? That Lila would just go along with it? A newly turned lupus garou would become the alpha leader's mate?
She didn't think so. And she couldn't believe Trevor had overheard her crying when she'd talked to Katina. Wasn't anything she did private? At least she knew Katina hadn't said anything to anyone about her distress.
But how was Lila to thwart Kintail from taking Faith for his mate? Then again, Cameron was looking more appealing all the time. She smiled at the thought he'd put Adams and Whitson in their place. Once Kintail had gotten them on the police force, the two had thought they were better than anybody else, not accountable to anyone—except for Kintail. They knew where they stood when it came to the pack leader.
But damn it, before that, they'd listened to her, too. Probably because they'd initially thought she'd be Kintail's mate. Now they weren't sure.
She stalked to the picture window and stared out at the woods where a few of Kintail's men were still searching for David and Owen. Kintail might think he was in charge of those two, but she could have told him David wasn't so much willing to go along with the scheme of things as he put on. She knew that he wasn't being just thoroughly grateful that he was still alive after suffering a massive heart attack. They were a lot alike in many ways—she was openly honest about some aspects of her life, and secretly dishonest about a lot more. But she couldn't help it. Some of her past life, she just didn't want to expose and didn't want to deal with.
David seemed that way to her, too.
But Elizabeth? She never suspected the woman would turn traitor and run off with the men. Yet she should have seen the signs. She'd seen a glimpse of Elizabeth observing David when she thought no one was watching her. But Lila hadn't put two and two together. Too wrapped up in her concern over Kintail. Yet in Lila's heart, something stirred. A desire to be like Elizabeth. To do what the woman had done, defy an alpha pack leader to choose a man she wanted to be with. Not that Lila truly wanted anyone but the pack leader. But she just wished she could show that side of herself again—that she wanted him, no other, and would stake her claim. What if she lost him though? That's what she thought she couldn't handle the most. Another mate's death.
She glanced down at the statue of an Arctic wolf sitting on a chest—a gift she'd given to Kintail. She tried to show she cared about Kintail. He was the typical arrogant alpha male leader who ran the pack, made the decisions, was in total control of everything that went on. And that appealed to her. But her past thwarted her when it came to having any kind of a relationship with a man.
And she suspected he sensed that, maybe concerned she'd never grow to love him. Which was probably why he hadn't mated her yet since she joined the pack two years ago, despite the fact that although there were several available women, none of them was alpha enough to lead the pack like her. She'd hoped when Trevor had told Kintail on her, the leader would have understood her better when she was having a devil of a time explaining herself to him. Even though she hadn't wanted Trevor to tell him her secrets like that. But what did Kintail do? Said he was going to take Faith for his own anyway. She jammed her hands in her pockets and growled.
Cameron she liked. Instantly. There was just something she admired about him. And she wanted him. But what if it all had to do with that she didn't know him that well, and he didn't know her? What if it was that she could only want attachments that weren't real? That once she got to know him, she'd have the same difficulty showing any affections toward him as she did with Kintail, too?
She ground her teeth, irritated that she couldn't get on with her life. She just had to get rid of the woman who was a constant reminder that both Kintail and Cameron coveted the cute little forensic scientist. And neither desired Lila. Yet.
Eliminate one threat, maybe Kintail would come around and give Lila another chance.
Baker had missed his calling. She didn't know how he botched his assignment so badly, failing to kill Faith at their campsite, but he did. She ran her fingers down the condensation on the window and stared out at the snowy setting, the forest perfectly still. Not a soul in sight. The lodge itself was eerily empty. The few men who had been left here who weren't trying to locate the killers of their pack members were running around in the woods, searching for their escapees now.
Time for her to change into the wolf and see if she could somehow isolate Miss O'Malley away from the others and do what Baker had failed to do. She reached for her sweater when snowmobiles zoomed up to the kitchen on the other side of the lodge, and she hesitated. Should she stay and see what news the others had? Maybe they'd located David or Owen or both. She'd have a good reason to go to Charles's resort then in the event she ran into Kintail. With news of the men's recapture. Or news of their escape and continued success at evasion of being recaptured, if no one had gone in search of Kintail to apprise him of the situation yet.
She'd warned everyone who had seen Elizabeth take off with the men that the woman had been forced to go with them. Even though a couple of the men seemed reluctant to spread that tale, she'd finally convinced them that David had hold of Elizabeth's hand and was tugging her along. That she hadn't gone of her own free will. Kintail would forgive Elizabeth, if Lila asked him to.
David and Owen? They were another story. She didn't think he'd listen to her about them. Even though she'd speak up for them, again. Kintail didn't like it when she'd let Owen get away with phoning Gavin. But she thought maybe he'd get the message across that they were quitting the job and Gavin would let them go. Didn't work, but she'd t
ried to help.
A door creaked open to the kitchen. But she didn't hear anyone speaking, which she thought odd. Whoever they were noisily tromped on the tiled kitchen floor, and then loud male whispers reached her ears—but not of anyone she recognized. And no one she knew would have spoken in hushed voices at the lodge.
The hair on her neck stood on end. Kintail had one thought in mind when he arrived at Charles's cabin resort—turn Faith O'Malley before his brother did. When he focused on a single area of interest, he got results. Plain and simple. Until he reached Charles's lodge and saw Charles's cousin George, his eyes widening at the wolf sight of Kintail. George knew him, knew Kintail wasn't any threat to George and his people. But the expression on George's face meant Kintail could expect trouble.
Except not as much as he ever bargained for.
Silently, George waved for him to come into the lodge. Kintail loped inside, his temper already rising.
"In here." George motioned to Charles's office. "I'll get you a change of clothes."
Kintail paced. What the hell had happened now?
It seemed to take forever for George to return with a handful of clothes. He set them on the leather love seat by the window and then bowed his head slightly and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Kintail shifted faster than he thought possible, and quickly shoved on the trousers, not bothering with the shirt or sweater. "Come in," Kintail hollered, not liking any of this one bit.
George pulled the door open and hesitated to enter until Kintail motioned him to the love seat. "What's happened?"
George was Charles's younger cousin, definitely not an alpha, and if Charles wasn't still at the hospital under observation for the blow to his skull, he was certain, George would have much preferred Charles to talk to him. Kintail wondered where George's older brother, Michael was, who was always in charge if Charles was absent. Maybe he was with Charles.
"Tell me."
George took a seat and wrung his hands, his eyes avoiding Kintail's glower. "Officer Adams and Whitson were injured badly in a snowmobile accident. Michael took them both to the hospital. We couldn't wait to get word to you to send your people here to take care of them. But they'll both be all right, several broken bones, Adams had a concussion."
Kintail stared at him in disbelief. "How did it happen?"
George shook his head, still not looking Kintail eye to eye.
"Guess."
George's gaze flicked his way, and then returned to study the floor. "They were following Cameron and Faith. We think they might have run into a barricade."
"A barricade."
"Yes, hastily made on a trail through the woods. A felled tree had blocked the main road, probably dropped down by whoever is doing the same on other roads and trails in the area. It appeared Cameron and Faith took a trail into the woods to go around the obstacle. Adams said that Cameron was joined by another man. I later found out it was his partner, Gavin Summerfield."
"Where's Faith now?"
"She's at Leidolf's cabin, but she and Cameron are returning to the Black Bear Den to talk with Trevor."
The way George fidgeted, Kintail suspected there was other news. "What else?"
George rose unsteadily from the chair. "Your brother's been shot. He was in his wolf form and knocked Cameron from his snowmobile. Cameron's partner, Gavin, shot Hilson four times, afraid the wolf planned to kill Cameron. Hilson's resting in Charles's bedroom, feeling well enough to demand three meals already, but not in any shape to go anywhere. Because of the bullet wounds, we couldn't risk transporting him to the hospital and the questions that would follow."
Kintail clenched and unclenched his fists. Half the time he was perturbed with his brother, and he couldn't help being annoyed that Hilson had gone against his wishes, but when it came right down to it, he was Kintail's brother. Damn it.
Cameron and Gavin were dead men.
Kintail hated to ask, although he couldn't imagine anything else could have gone wrong. "Anything else?"
George paused at the office door, his gaze finally focusing on Kintail's. "Cameron's partners escaped your lodge. Elizabeth's with them."
Chapter 18
AS SOON AS OWEN AND DAVID HEARD SNOWMOBILES, THEY darted deeper into the woods with Elizabeth, knowing Kintail's people wouldn't give up on trying to return them to Kintail's lodge. They'd dodged them several times already, and Owen was slightly worried the men were trying to corral them. But he was pretty sure he, David, and Elizabeth were getting closer to Charles's resort also.
That's when he thought something was different about the men in pursuit of them. The snowmobiles were plain noisy, no masking the sound. But they had never heard a peep out of the men stalking them in silence, just like wolves on the hunt. And Owen felt a kinship to them, understood their ways.
Now he heard shouts of glee, "Woohoo!" "There they are!" like kids at a circus. And that's when he felt in his bones, the predators had changed. They might sound like silly ass kids, but his gut instinct told him they were a hell of a lot more dangerous than Kintail's people.
David tensed, his hackles raised, his ears twitching back and forth. He recognized the change in their circum stances, too. And Elizabeth appeared almost frantic, running between David and Owen, panicked. He didn't believe she'd feel that way about her own people.
They had to reach the cabins. There, they could join forces with Cameron and Gavin, if he'd already arrived. There, they stood a chance.
"Trevor can't be here to speak to us about Bigfoot," Faith said, getting dressed while Cameron watched her in Leidolf's bedroom. Cameron looked like he could devour her in one wolfish bite. She raised a brow at him as she pulled on her pants.
He smiled back, the look just as devious.
"Pay attention, Cameron. We can't allow Gavin to be in the same room with us when we talk to Trevor."
Cameron ran his hands down Faith's sweater-covered arms, then held her hands tightly. "I don't want to lose you ever, Faith."
She gave him a coy smile back. "I have news for you. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
He pulled her into his embrace and squeezed the breath out of her, his hands sweeping down her back, his body pressed against her, already hard and wanting. If they hadn't had important matters to take care of, she would have been willing to relieve both his needs and her own right this very minute.
"I thought I might have lost you. I even clobbered poor Gavin when he mentioned you running off with Leidolf and having wolf pups."
Faith's lips parted slightly. "Wolf pups? What next?" She didn't even want to think about that scenario. Although if Leidolf's assumption was right, the mistake she and Cameron had made with not using a condom the last time wouldn't have mattered, not if a werewolf couldn't get a human pregnant.
Cameron held onto her tight as if he was afraid he truly had lost her, and she loved the way he was—protective, desiring her and only her, and a little bit jealous that anyone else might want her.
But with Gavin in the next room, and unable to focus on much more than getting this business with Kintail over with, she pulled free from Cameron's embrace. "Let's see what Trevor has to say."
Cameron slipped his hand over hers and held it tight, his gaze saying other issues were at stake and just as important to him. But for her, business always came before pleasure, although she snuggled up against him to reassure him she was just as willing. That seemed to relieve some of his tension, and he hugged her close as he opened the bedroom door.
As soon as they left Leidolf's bedroom, the appraising look Gavin gave her and the small smile that sparkled in his eyes told her he approved. She noted the bruise on the side of his jaw, though, and hoped he and Cameron weren't too mad at each other. He probably couldn't figure out what had set Cameron off like that. If only he had known.
She squeezed Cameron's hand and the three headed out of doors.
"So," Gavin said as he mounted his snowmobile, and Faith climbed onto Cameron's wit
h him, "I understand Cameron named a female wolf after you."
Faith smiled, closing her arms around Cameron's waist, hugging him tight. "Yes, sweet of him, wasn't it?"
Gavin looked to see Cameron's reaction, but he seemed deep in thought because he never said anything in response, but she wondered if he'd made the slip inadvertently or deep down, he wanted his friend to know she and the wolf were the same.
When they arrived at the cabin, Leidolf and Trevor were standing on the deck, watching their approach. At least that's who she assumed the gray-haired man was. His gray eyes seemed wary when he observed Gavin, but he seemed pleased to see Faith, although his eyes widened a bit and then he seemed surprised as she, Cameron, and Gavin joined him on the deck.
"I wish a word with only the young lady, if you don't mind," Trevor said, speaking to Cameron.
Cameron put his arm around her shoulder. "We stay together."
Trevor flicked a glance Gavin's way, then said to Cameron, "It's private."
"I'll talk to him." Faith wanted to hear the news Trevor had from Kintail, but if the hunter insisted, she'd speak with him alone. They couldn't include Gavin; that much was clear.
"Leidolf and Gavin can wait out here for us, but I stay with the lady," Cameron said, his voice a barely controlled growl.
She was beginning to think his losing her for a while when she turned into the wolf had really affected him worse than she'd first thought. "The two of us, then."
Trevor bowed his head slightly, although he looked displeased.
Cameron opened the door for them, and after closing it behind them, they took seats at the dining room table.
"Who bit you?" Trevor asked first.
Cameron tensed at once. She folded her arms. "You were supposed to tell me about my father's trip out here."
Trevor took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. "All right. I suppose it really doesn't matter who bit you, but Kintail will be displeased." His eyes remained focused on Faith's as he continued. "I really liked your father. He had a great sense of humor, spoke privately to me about his real purpose here, to observe the Bigfoot hunters while he did a research paper. On the hunt, we spotted nothing but a bird occasionally and a rabbit. Until the guys on the expedition found wolf tracks and thought they might have been a small Bigfoot, although from what I've ever heard, the footprint is supposed to be more like a human's print, not a wolf's. But since we weren't finding anything else, and the prints were old, I allowed the men to follow them. At the same time, your father took copious notes on the group's behavior, casting me small smiles unobserved by the others on the team. Although they were grown men, they behaved like excited teens playing a video game."
