Sharon couldn’t believe what an idiot the man still was. Moments after the ground stopped shaking, he was ready to go to war.
The siren spun back in their direction, forcing her dad to pause and wait until the loud noise dissipated again.
The mayor stepped forward and got in Pastor Edmund’s face. “I’m only going to say this one time, Edmund. Shut the hell up, or I’ll have you arrested.” He didn’t wait for a response before turning toward Sharon’s father once again.
“Folks, the rumbling we just experienced was the beginning of volcanic activity, not an earthquake. I have just received word from seismologists in the area. We need to mobilize and notify every man, woman, and child on these mountains to flee for safety.”
“Did you say a volcano?” Jazmine asked from Sharon’s left. Mary was at her other side.
Sharon smiled at the picture they presented. A glance around showed no evidence of Jackson and Jazmine’s parents anywhere in sight. Who would walk away from their own children at a time like this?
At his next opportunity, her father spoke again. “It’s more urgent now than ever. We need to band together, put our differences aside, and fight to save lives. There are five mountain passes in the immediate vicinity and a vast section of land across the western side of the reservation. If everyone would divide into six groups, we can divvy up the remote homes off each major road and cover more ground faster.”
Sharon watched her father in awe as he called out the names of each mountain pass and the road to the reservation, pointing to six gathering spots. People raced to different corners of the parking lot as indicated. Not everyone was willing to help, but it seemed most people rushed to fight to save their neighbors.
She lifted onto her tiptoes to find Jackson and saw him setting an older woman on the ground next to a distraught man. She was crying, but appeared to have fared better than some. A trickle of blood ran down her forehead.
Jackson waved at Sharon and then held up two fingers while nodding at the auditorium.
She nodded back, assuming he had two more people to assist before he joined her.
Isaiah jogged toward them. Almost before he reached their sides, he spoke. “Who is the farthest out?”
Melinda answered that question. “The biologists from the college. They’re near the Josiah peak. They don’t have cell service.”
“How many people?”
“Roughly two dozen. Mostly students.” Melinda stared at Isaiah with the same expression Sharon imagined she sported on her face. These men were not real.
Sharon half expected them to dissolve in front of her and disappear into thin air.
“That’s where we’re heading then.”
Sharon shook her head. “Not enough time. You’ll never make it there. The road is too windy, dark, and narrow. It’s not safe at night.” What she knew was that someone in her family needed to go. On four paws. Not two men in a car.
“Not planning to drive,” Isaiah commented. “Just show me the location on a map.”
Sharon’s father had climbed down from the car. He held a map he’d been intending to use to show the people at the meeting how close to home the fault line was located and the epicenter. Now, he spread it out on the hood of the car and pointed to the spot where the biology team was last known to be researching.
Isaiah nodded. “We’ll find them.” His voice easily carried over the roar of the sirens and the screams from the citizens.
Melinda glanced at Sharon. “I’ll go too.”
“What? With them?” Sharon’s father asked. “We can’t let you do that. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s also necessary. I can feel it.”
Wyatt shook his head. “With all due respect, we can cover more ground alone. Stay with your family. We’ll take care of this.” He grabbed his brother’s shoulder and pulled him away from the group.
Both men turned around and jogged across the parking lot toward the base of the mountain. What the hell did they think they were going to do in the dead of night with no more clothes than they had on their backs and armed with nothing but determination? No human could run as far as they proposed, not even with an adrenaline rush.
Melinda glanced after them and then hugged Sharon briefly. “I’m going with them. I’m certain it’s what I’m meant to do. Let Cooper know where we’re going. I’ll speak to my mates and my mother along the way.”
Sharon jumped forward. “No. God no. Please, Melinda. Listen to yourself. It’s not safe. And we don’t even know who those men are.” She looked around. “Where are Trace and Keegan?”
“Trace is on call. Keegan is around here somewhere.” She narrowed her gaze. “Look, those two men? They’re not going to hurt me. Trust me. I’ve touched them both. I know there are a lot of unanswered questions, but I’m safe with them.”
Jackson stepped between the women and wrapped his arm around Sharon. “I don’t know how I could possibly know this, but I believe Melinda.”
Sharon turned her gaze to stare at Jackson, blinking back her confusion. Her heart raced. Her brother Trace was going to kill her.
It gave Sharon the slightest amount of satisfaction knowing how sensitive Melinda was to touch. Perhaps if she didn’t get an eerie vibe from the men, they were on the up and up.
Or perhaps the entire thing was a ruse to lure Melinda away from the group.
“I’ll tell Trace and Keegan as I go,” she called over her shoulder.
Sharon stared at her retreating back, finally flinching when her father spoke from behind her. “She’ll be fine.”
“How do you know?” She whirled around to face him.
His expression was stern with concern. For the community or Melinda? Was he simply telling her that to calm her? “I’m not sure. But I can say, although I’ve never met those two men before, I feel as though I must know their families. Like a déjà vu. They’re not human.” He said this last part with a lowered voice only she and Jackson could hear.
“Seriously? Dad? Are you listening to yourself? We would know if they were shifters.”
“I agree. If they were wolf shifters.” He met her gaze and held it.
Jackson gasped. “There are more than just wolves?”
Her father shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. But why is it so preposterous to consider the possibility?”
Sharon bit her lower lip. He was right. But why now? And why did Melinda have to take it upon herself to run off with them?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Melinda ran as fast as she could to catch up with the two men heading toward a black truck in the parking lot. “Wait,” she shouted as she got close enough.
They spun around. Their faces were grim, hard lines of concern.
“Let me go with you. I know these mountains. You can’t possibly be as familiar as I am.” After all, she’d never seen them before this week.
Wyatt opened his mouth to speak and then stopped when Isaiah took his arm. “She should go with us. She’s right.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?”
Isaiah shook his head. “No. I think I’ve just found it. Too many years in seclusion. Too many years of secrecy. And for what? We can’t single-handedly save the life of everyone trapped on this mountain. We aren’t God.”
“Dad is not going to like this.”
“Dad needs to get his head out of his ass and face the facts. This isn’t just a few earthquakes. You heard Cooper. This is a volcano. In Montana. The destruction could be widespread. Are we willing to let hundreds of people die to protect our way of life?”
Melinda stared at the two of them, confused. Their cryptic conversation made her head spin.
Isaiah turned toward Melinda. “You riding with us? Or do you want to follow?”
She nodded. “Guess I’m with you.” Did this seem idiotic? Perhaps. Were her mates going to kill her? Definitely. But her gut told her to stick with Wyatt and Isaiah, two strangers in disagreement with each other.
; Two enormous strangers who were two of the tallest men she’d ever seen. She figured they were both nearly six and a half feet tall. And wide. Built. Huge. The taller one, Wyatt, wore his hair longer. Otherwise it would be difficult to tell them apart. At a whopping five feet, Melinda was completely dwarfed by them.
She swallowed as she climbed into the truck. Was she crazy?
“Melinda? Where the hell are you?”
Keegan’s voice in her head made her cringe. She’d left him standing in the crowd when she raced over to speak with Sharon. Now she was sitting between two men she didn’t know in a truck as they pulled out of the parking lot. Isaiah drove. “I’m heading up the mountain to warn the biology team.”
“What? Why? Please tell me you aren’t alone. Why didn’t you take me with you?”
“It happened fast. And no. I’m not alone.”
“Melinda, you’re being intentionally mysterious, hon. I don’t like it.”
“I’m with the two men who spoke in the auditorium, Keegan. I’m fine.”
“What?” His voice came through as such a loud scream, she flinched. “Are you crazy? You don’t even know those men.”
“I’m not the least bit crazy, Keegan. Calm down. You know I’m good at reading people. My gut said to follow this one.”
“My gut says you’ve lost your mind and I need to keep better tabs on you before you get yourself killed.”
Melinda smiled. “I’m not going to be harmed. I promise. And I’ll keep the line of communication open.”
“Melinda, dammit.” The new voice was Trace’s. “Are you shitting me?”
She sighed.
“Baby, we have people who could go up that mountain and find the biologists. You don’t need to do this.”
“Trace, this is my stomping ground. No one can reach that team faster than me. You know it. Now let me concentrate on this rescue while you do your job. You have to trust me. Both of you. I’m a grown woman. I know my limits.”
Both men projected exasperated sighs into her head.
She smiled. “Love you both. Relax.”
Wyatt turned to face her as she came back into herself. “Bet those mates of yours are reading you the riot act about now.” He smirked. “Can’t say I blame them. If you were mine, I’d shit a brick if you took off with two strangers in a truck.”
She breathed deeply, trying to figure out how these two brothers knew so much about her and her life.
Wyatt held up his hands as if in defeat. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I totally understand your side. And you’re also right. You need to be with us right now. I know you’re the most sensitive shaman of your tribe. Your instincts have proven invaluable time and again. Isaiah and I don’t know this mountain as well as you. We’ll be counting on you to save our asses and everyone else’s.”
Melinda blinked up at him. “What are you?”
“You’ll see.”
»»•««
Cooper held his powerful binoculars up to his face and watched the plume of gas spewing into the air nearly a quarter mile away. As he’d expected, the earth opened up on the side of the mountain very close to the fracking site. When it blew, the land shook for nearly thirty seconds.
In actuality, the earth was still shaking, the low trembling beneath his feet indicative of a constant unrest.
He’d been in the middle of the fracking site when the first explosion occurred just north of them and had initially assisted in getting the workers organized and in their vehicles. After a few minutes, he’d turned the evacuation over to the site manager and retreated with his team to observe.
“What do you think?” Chuck asked.
“Not sure. It’s difficult to predict. The steam shooting into the sky could stop at any time or go on for years. And likewise, it’s hard to say if actual lava will flow out the side of the mountain, or even which side.” It was a long-winded answer to a vague question, but it was all he had. And the smell was horrific this close to the gaseous fumes. Sulphur filled the air.
“Cooper, talk to us,” Jackson communicated.
“I’m safe. Watching from a distance.”
“How is that safe?” Sharon asked.
“Believe me, I watched my life flash before my eyes about fifteen minutes ago when this all started. I was way too close to the spot where the earth split open. I’m at a safe distance now.”
“I could have gone my whole life without knowing that,” Sharon communicated.
“Babe, I’m fine. But I need to concentrate. Is everyone safe there?”
“So far,” Jackson said. “It seems the citizens decided to pull together in the parking lot and head out to round up anyone living on the mountain.”
“Is someone heading for the biologists?”
“Yes. The two strange guys you met in the woods. And Melinda is with them.” Sharon sighed into his head.
“Seriously?”
“Yes. She was adamant.”
“I’m sure her mates are pissed.”
“I’m betting that’s an understatement.” Jackson chuckled.
“Cooper,” Sharon began, trying to grab his attention. “My dad thinks they aren’t human.”
“Who? The men? Wyatt and Isaiah?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell are they, then?”
“No idea. Not wolves. That’s for sure. We would know that.”
“Great. And Melinda went off with them alone?”
“She feels certain it’s the right thing to do. My dad agreed.”
“Okay. I don’t like it, and for the record I’d spank your ass if you pulled a stunt like that.”
Sharon squeezed her legs together and sucked in a breath. Why the hell did such a suggestion make her clit pulse? Spank her?
Cooper chuckled into her head. “On second thought, I’ll have Jackson do it. Try me.”
She shook her head, well aware he couldn’t see her and not caring. “Can we not discuss this right now?”
Cooper chuckled again. “I need to concentrate on this volcanic activity. The US Geological Survey is almost here. When I know more, I’ll keep you informed.” He cut off the connection.
Jackson set a hand on Sharon’s lower back. “Let’s head for the sheriff’s office. Your brother’s there, and the deputies from Sojourn are heading there too.”
She nodded, her mind still reeling from the idea of being spanked by either of her mates. What was she, four?
As they headed for the car, she stopped several times to check on people she knew. She’d lived her entire life in Cambridge. She knew nearly everyone and a large number of the citizens of Sojourn too. So many injured. Everything from lacerations to broken bones. Too bad none of the injured were shifters.
Several ambulances had pulled into the parking lot, the blare of their sirens mixing with the wail from the emergency system. Deafening.
The faint smell of rotten eggs filled the air too, making her cringe.
Volcano.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“This is as far as we’re going to be able to go by truck. We’ll have to walk the rest of the way,” Melinda said as Isaiah pulled the truck to a stop.
Sitting between the two men she hardly knew for the last thirty minutes had been a humbling experience. Never in her life had she encountered anyone who could so thoroughly block her. And she was pretty sure it was intentional.
“Excellent.” Wyatt opened the passenger door and hopped down to the ground. He turned toward Melinda and took her hand to help her descend behind him.
She stared at Wyatt for several seconds, wondering how this was going to go down. First of all, it was cold out, hovering in the low forties. She wasn’t dressed to walk anywhere in human form. Shit, neither were either of the men.
Second of all, they didn’t have time for a lengthy explanation and lessons on wolf shifters. But if Melinda’s hunch was correct, these two didn’t need any lessons. They knew. Why they knew was about to become apparent.
“So…” She
toed the ground at her feet and tried to think of the right thing to say.
“Look,” Isaiah said, “we know. So, you aren’t going to shock us. We also know you need to remove your clothes or risk destroying them. We’ll turn around. You can leave your things in the truck.”
She widened her eyes. “I’m not even going to ask how you know so much because we don’t have time. But what are you going to do? Run along beside me?”
Wyatt chuckled. “Hardly. I’m pretty fast. You can try to keep up.” When she glared at him, he sobered and spoke again. “Just shift. It’s easier to demonstrate than explain. And like you said, we’re in a bit of a hurry here.”
“Shoot. I don’t have a pack. I need something to put my clothes in.” She slapped her forehead. It wasn’t as though she could traipse up to the biology students naked in the cold and let them know what was happening on the mountain.
Isaiah shook his head. “No worries. You won’t need clothes. Just get us close. We’ll handle it.”
Both men turned around to face the darkness.
Melinda quickly divested herself of everything she wore, piled it on the front seat of the truck, and shifted faster than she’d ever done before.
When she padded up to Wyatt and Isaiah, she found neither man impressed. Instead they were both surveying the area.
“Ready?” Wyatt asked.
She cocked her head to one side and nodded. How the hell was she going to communicate with them? It wasn’t terribly unnerving that these two strangers knew about her kind. It happened sometimes. Maybe they had a relative mated to a shifter. Anything was possible.
What was making her nervous was the fact that she was certain there was more to it.
And holy mother of God…
She sat back on her haunches and drew in a deep breath when both men leaped into the air and transformed into something else in just seconds. If she had blinked, she would have missed it.
She held her breath for several seconds.
Bears. Grizzly bears, if she wasn’t mistaken.
Holy shit.
“Ready?” Wyatt repeated into her head. Hearing his voice made her almost shit herself.
She didn’t move a muscle. She couldn’t.
Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) Page 20
