by Terry Spear
Plus, she was an oddity in her field, beyond the obvious wolf difference. When other researchers studied wolves, they'd often go as teams. And many had asked to accompany her on her searches since she was so successful at winning wolves over. What techniques did she use? How was she able to get so close and document so much?
A smug smile touched her lips. Wouldn't they like to know why she had such a special rapport with the feral animals? She hadn't expected to find a female wolf in a dire situation that needed her help. Or a lupus garou she'd put in harm's way.
She stopped and listened for sounds of anyone following her again. No one seemed to have tracked her yet. Or they were being awfully quiet about it.
She had to hurry more now, had to find the wolf before Leidolf woke wherever his pack was taking him, regained his strength, and came back to locate her, insisting she taunt him with her attempts at seduction when he was fully awake.
She dove through the woods, searching again for the she-wolf, and hoped this didn't take the rest of the day and night. She had to sleep sometime. Definitely not during the day.
But after several hours, she brushed through the branches of a Douglas fir and stopped dead in her tracks.
Only a few hundred yards away, a man crouched over a patch of ferns. Nearly having a stroke, she stood still. Alex Wellington. The blond, blue-eyed wolf biologist was easy on the eyes and a nice enough guy. He thought he was a real ladies' man, and if she'd been interested in the type, she might have fallen for him herself. But although he loved wolves, she was sure he wouldn't be able to cope with what she truly was. And she wasn't interested in settling down with either a human or a lupus garou.
Alex's hand clutched a stick as he poked around at leaves and pushed aside fern fronds, his backpack most likely containing gear for a hike of several days. He was tracking her, damn it. Or the mother wolf. In some of the areas she had traversed, she was sure she'd left a few muddy wolf prints, enough to give her away to someone like him who could track a wolf.
A couple of Douglas firs screened her in part, so she half-blended in the woods. With her heart pounding double time, she hoped he wouldn't look up and spy her before she could back out of here, traverse the creek, and head to another area. As if he'd read her thoughts, he raised his head and looked in her direction. His lips parted slightly, and his eyes grew wide.
He'd never seen her in her wolf form, but he had the same look of admiration on his face as he did when she caught him studying her as she lectured on wolves. He really did love wolves, and if she had been in her human form, she might have enlisted his help at this point with the mother wolf and her brood.
He didn't move, and she knew he was afraid of frightening her off. She also knew he wouldn't hurt her, but then again, she feared he might have spooked the mother worse if she could have solicited his help.
Then men's voices carried to them, and she looked in their direction. Angry voices. Dangerous voices. "I told you, damn it. All you had to do was hide the body out here until I could get the proper tools to bury her. So where the hell is her body?"
Alex's tanned face paled as he remained crouched, unmoving, his head turned in the direction of the men's voices.
"And I told you," another man said, his tone as dark and threatening, "this is where I put it. Right here, damn it. Maybe a cougar dragged it off."
"Then start searching for her. We have to bury her, or she'll bury me if someone runs across the body. And believe me, if I get caught, so will you."
The two men headed in Cassie and Alex's direction. She could outrun them, avoid them, but Alex was at too much of a disadvantage. Heart in her throat, she dropped the salmon and covered it with leaves with her paw.
Alex wasn't moving, as if he was worried about her safety. She was worried about his! Move it, Alex!
She dodged into the woods away from the menace. Someone ran in her direction. She glanced back. Alex was hot on her trail. She could lead him away from the men for a while, and she'd have soon outrun Alex and the men, but one of them fired a shot in their direction. The bullet made a cracking noise as it hit a nearby tree trunk.
"Someone was spying on us," one of the men shouted. "He's gone this way!"
Oh, God, no. Alex was the kind of man who might scatter broken hearts all over the place because of his easy way with women and his inability to stick with a girl for the long term, but he was a nice enough guy as men went. She slowed down her run. Barely breathing hard, Alex was running toward her, his face not even sweating, a fine blond stubble just appearing on his taut jaw, his blue eyes full of worry.
When she paused, he waved at her to keep going as if she should know human signals. But the men were running straight after them, finding the trail of stomped-on ferns and broken twigs, hearing Alex's crashing through underbrush and heavy footfalls. And they were gaining. Maybe she could delay them. Or sidetrack them so Alex could get away. She couldn't communicate with him to let him know what she had in mind to do. She had to factor in that although their bullets wouldn't kill her, an injury could put her in peril.
When she stopped, so did Alex. She shook her head. He would try to protect her. He pulled out a hunting knife, and she stared at it and then looked into his eyes. He had a desperate look in his expression.
She hadn't thought to kill the men, but Alex was right. They were in danger of being murdered. Or at least Alex was. The men drew closer. Alex couldn't survive when the men carried guns and he was only armed with a knife.
Before she could change her mind or think about the wolf pups and what would become of them if she didn't help the mother or worry about facing down a pair of hunters, she focused on Alex. Her only thought was saving a human's life. A human she respected in the field of wolf biology. A friend, not close, but close enough.
She charged off in the direction of the men.
"No!" Alex shouted.
Damn it! Stay hidden and be quiet. He ran after her. He'd get himself killed.
"Over here," the one man said and switched direction, coming straight for her.
She circled around a ponderosa pine and came face-to-face with one of the devils himself, Blackbeard, his black hair long and curly, his beard just as black and scruffy, his clothes Army-issue olive-drab that blended into the new green leaves of the forest. She couldn't get a hint of his scent. Since she was downwind of him, she should have sensed something. What he'd eaten, garlic, beef, his male human scent, sweat, fear. Something. Hunter's elimination spray.
She narrowed her eyes at the menace. As a wolf, her instincts would be for self-preservation. As a lupus garou, she had to be concerned with secrecy at all costs. As a human and fellow wolf biologist, she had to save Alex. Yet what she was about to do was not only dangerous, but also went against her better lupus garou judgment.
The hunter aimed his rifle at her. She leapt at him, noticing his brown eyes were nearly black as he regarded her with shock and surprise. A distressed cry pealed from his lips.
Her action so startled him that he didn't shoot. But the cocking of a rifle to the left of her forced the fur to bristle along Cassie's back to the tip of her tail. Half-hidden in the shadows of the woods, the man's companion in crime pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out across the forest, the sound deafening to her sensitive ears. The bullet hit her in the shoulder, like a rock striking her, but she didn't feel any pain. Not yet. Her lunge had knocked the first man flat on his back, and she figured the other would shoot her again.
She had no choice but to run and hope like hell Alex took care of himself. She bolted for the woods, and the man fired again two more times but missed her both times, the bullets splintering bark off two nearby trees. She ran straight past Alex, who was crouching in the ferns, knife still in hand.
"Hell, man, you all right?" one of the murdering bastards said to his companion.
The other just groaned.
Good. Maybe Alex would still have a chance to get away. But new gunfire rang out from somewhere in the distance. Three
shots in rapid succession. She zigzagged away from the new gunfire, the adrenaline in her system running so high that she didn't feel the pain yet. She knew when it hit, she'd better be somewhere safe or she'd be in a hell of a lot more trouble.
Despite pushing herself, Cassie felt her run slowing, but she didn't hear any sound of the men following her. Was Alex all right? Staying hidden? With her wolf speed, she'd managed to put a good deal of distance between her and them. Which in part was good--maybe they wouldn't catch up to her, although she was sure they'd be more interested in killing the human who had overheard them than a wounded wolf that would probably die anyway, to their way of thinking. But that meant they would probably continue to look for Alex.
Cassie stumbled, her loping run slowing to a trot now. A cold wetness matted her fur. Her heart beat too hard, and her breathing was labored, making her lungs ache. She stumbled again and swore at herself. She couldn't save anyone if she didn't keep moving, didn't stay on her feet...
She fell. Just collapsed against her will, the strength gone, unable to move an inch in any direction, the pain now streaking through her wound. Sprawled on the woodland floor half-buried by new spring ferns, she lay panting on her side while purple trillium wildflowers pointed at her muzzle as if identifying her hiding place. A few hours and she hoped she'd heal enough to make her way back to check on Alex.
The sound of two people running through the underbrush in her direction fed into her worst nightmares. She held her breath. The murderers would kill her if they found her. Then the footfalls abruptly stopped. For several seconds, they were quiet, which heightened her sense of fear.
Had they lost her trail?
Chapter 8
Despite Leidolf's insistence that he drive, Elgin wouldn't let him, and Fergus and Carver backed his sub-leader up. Who the hell was the pack leader around here, anyway?
Elgin kept defending his actions. "You could barely dress without my help."
Leidolf gave him a look warning him not say another word about it. Carver and Fergus tried to appear serious, but he noted the slight humor in their expressions. He ignored the other men, not wanting to see the same kind of smirks on the rest of his people's faces.
Not once had Leidolf ever shown a "drunken" side of himself, and they wouldn't ever see him like this again, if he had anything to say about it. "That was dressing. I can drive just fine."
His men looked half worried that he'd give them hell when he was feeling more like himself, but he could see they were proud of themselves for sticking up for what they felt was right. All of them stood taller, their chins raised, their expressions determined, their brows slightly furrowed.
Even in his fog-clouded mind, he knew that their standing up to him when they thought it was the correct action to take was a positive step in the right direction. If only he hadn't been so mad that they overrode his every order.
He growled at them when Fergus and Carver carried him out to the Suburban and helped him into the middle seat. He snarled at them when Carver had the nerve to fasten his seat belt for him. And damn if Elgin didn't drive like a little old man when he finally hit the main road.
"Drive faster, damn it, Elgin. I could trot out there as a wolf and make it there a hell of a lot faster."
He glanced at the rifles they'd brought with them, and Fergus said, "We brought tranquilizer guns in the event we run into the hunters who are armed in that manner. Figured you didn't want to shoot anyone with bullets."
"Good thinking."
Carver handed Leidolf the first of the thermoses of hot, black coffee that Laney had made for him. He seized the damned thing and began drinking. Taking a pause after swallowing another mouthful, he said, "Elgin... drive... faster!"
Then his cell phone rang, and Carver hurried to take the thermos from him while Leidolf fumbled to get the cell phone off his belt, nearly dropping it in the process. Carver raised his brows at him as if to point out that Leidolf couldn't have managed driving in the shape he was in. Leidolf gave him another hard scowl back.
When Leidolf answered the phone, expecting news from Laney or the other men in the truck following them, he heard his sister's too sweet voice. Mated to a gray and living in Silver Town, Colorado, his sister, Lelandi, would not have believed it to learn her stern brother was pampering a pack of psychologically and physically abused werewolves. But only within his pack. Elsewhere, he would take on the best of them if any threatened trouble for his kind.
"Laney called and said you found a mate. When would be a good time for me to visit?" Lelandi asked.
"Laney was mistaken." Hell, he might want Cassie for a mate, and she certainly seemed interested in him, although somewhat apprehensive to let on, but where women were concerned, he could never be certain. And what had possessed Laney to tell his sister what was going on anyway? Hell, she'd better not call his mother.
"You sound drunk, dear brother. Which is totally uncharacteristic for you. In fact, I don't remember you ever drinking anything alcoholic. What's wrong?"
"I've got--" He almost said pack problems. Not the thing to say. Hell, what if his brother-in-law felt the urge to come out and rescue him? Or worse, his sister? He sure wasn't going to tell her a hunter had tranquilized him. He growled. "I'm in the middle of... hell, nothing's wrong."
"Let me talk to Elgin."
"He's driving." As soon as the words slipped out, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say.
Such a long pause followed that he swore he could hear his sister's thoughts churning. If he went anywhere, he always drove. Even once he turned thirteen and was tall enough to reach the gas pedal because of their dad being wheelchair-bound. Well, more than that. He didn't trust women drivers. Or men.
"What's wrong?" she asked again, sounding worried this time.
"Lelandi, nothing. And don't try to psychoanalyze me with that coursework you're taking. Your mate should know better than to let you try to become a psychiatrist."
"Psychologist."
"Same thing. Both think they can read your mind." Static began to fill the airwaves. "You're breaking up. I'll talk to you later." He hung up on his sister and saw Carver observing him.
Fergus quickly turned around to watch out the front windshield. None of his pack members had met his sister, so he was sure they were curious about his relationship with her. It was strained. Not only had she mated a gray against his wishes, which was a sticking point between them, but she resented him for leaving their pack when his family had needed him.
And considering what could have happened to his family and how their other sister had died, he would forever wear the guilt. He'd had his reasons for leaving, but Larissa's death made none of them count for anything.
Then something else occurred to him. "Elgin, why did you come looking for me in the woods? You were supposed to be searching for Quincy and Pierce."
"We had found them, and Carver took them back to the ranch. We were still trying to track Sarge down when we heard the female howl and located you," Elgin said.
"Did Elgin tell you a cougar killed two of our newborn calves?" Fergus asked. "Did you want us to hunt him down?"
The ranch had already lost a ton of money, but Leidolf couldn't figure out why. They certainly couldn't afford to lose a bunch of their livestock.
An accountant he was not. None of his pack members would volunteer for the job of keeping track of financial matters either, and he wasn't ready to force someone to do the tedious work. Not when he feared that whoever did the job would be afraid to own up to him that something was wrong with the finances or wouldn't know how to figure out the discrepancies, just as he couldn't.
"Might be a female with cubs. What about that zoo man who likes to rescue wild animals?" Leidolf suggested.
"The one who put the red female, Bella Wilder, in the zoo? Henry Thompson?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Feeling overwhelmingly groggy, as though he'd worked a week straight without any sleep, Leidolf shut his eyes for a moment. Damn the tranquilizer
still clouding his blood. When he opened his eyes, everyone was watching him. Including Elgin, who slipped his gaze to the rearview mirror to check up on Leidolf. He was not sleeping, damn it!
"Maybe Thompson will take the lion into the zoo. I'd like to get to know the man a little better. Apparently, he's still looking for the 'missing' red wolf, and I'd hate to think he might grab one of our pack members some day, thinking it's her," Leidolf said.
"Alfred said he should have eliminated him when he had the chance after the man put Bella in the zoo," Elgin said.
"Alfred said and did a lot of things he shouldn't have. And look where it got him."
Everyone was silent.
Leidolf let out his breath. "We'll hunt the cougar down and turn her over to Thompson, along with her cubs, if she has any. If the zoo staff would rather, they can relocate her to some other location where she won't endanger livestock. Halfway monitoring Thompson's activities might preclude one of our people getting picked up in their wolf forms in the future."
Elgin grunted under his breath. "And stick him or her in the zoo."
"It helps to know your... well, not exactly enemy. Thompson has the best intentions for keeping the wolf kind safe."
"Confined," Elgin sourly said.
Leidolf sighed, figuring it was going to take a devil of an effort to get this pack turned around. He reached his hand out for the thermos of coffee, and when Carver gave it to him, he began drinking the hot, black stuff again. He just hoped he could walk on his own when he got to where they were going.
He glanced out the window. Hell, was Elgin driving even slower now?
"Elgin!"
He felt the vehicle surge forward and smiled.
Between drinking the second thermos of coffee and the time it took to drive back to the Mount Hood National Forest, Leidolf felt almost normal again when they arrived. Maybe not quite. He felt half drugged and half hyped-up on caffeine. But Leidolf wasn't about to slow down. Not when his people and Cassie could be in danger.
In a rush to locate his wayward pack members and the woman of his dreams, Leidolf and his men finally reached the place where he had fallen after being drugged and where she had run off.
