Seduced By The Wolf Part 7

He snorted, then tried to climb out of bed but fell back against the pillows and swore under his breath.

The great hall remained silent, not a word spoken or a body moving around. He envisioned his pack members waiting in horrified silence until he gave them permission to speak. He groaned.

h.e.l.l, the nymph's last words to him were Leave me alone, and those three little words ricocheted around his tired brain. She was d.a.m.ned good at evasion, as much as he was d.a.m.ned good at tracking one of his kind down. So he was certain that if half his men were chasing her in the woods, they'd scare her off, and she'd leave the area p.r.o.nto for good.

He reached up to run his hands through his tangled hair. He had to do something, even if he couldn't do much of anything.

"Elgin!" He tried to curb his anger, but he was afraid he didn't quite manage it.

Someone hurried down the hall and then poked his head in the bedroom.

"You wanted me?"

Leidolf ground his teeth and glowered at Elgin. "We need a d.a.m.n nurse or doctor in our pack. Now! d.a.m.n it. If we had one, she could most likely give me something to counteract the drug in my system."

"Yes, sir, but we don't know any."

"Help me get dressed."

Elgin didn't move an inch into the room. "You can't stand."

Leidolf took an exasperated breath. "I have to make sure she's all right."

"Why didn't she stay with you until we arrived?" The accusation was right out front. Ca.s.sie didn't want him, that's why.

"She thought you were hunters. So she was trying to lead you away from me, only..."

Elgin's eyes widened a little.

Yeah, Leidolf knew just what Elgin suspected, that the woman realized the men were part of his wolf pack and had taken off, instead of coming home with them.

"She may already have a mate and a wolf pack," Elgin offered.

Not the way she tried to seduce Leidolf. Or had it only been an act, an attempt to protect him, get him on his feet, and on his way to a safer place? Sure, she'd said so. Then again, she smelled too provocatively not to have been intrigued by him. And the fact she danced with him... she was more interested than she wished to let on.

He smiled wryly.

Elgin stood taller. "Fergus and I are personally searching for the little lady."

Leidolf frowned. "No, she--"

His face flushed, cell phone in hand, Fergus rushed into the room. "All h.e.l.l's broken loose. Sorry, Leidolf. Quincy and Pierce are determined to make up for all their mistakes, so as soon as they learned you found a red in Mount Hood National Forest, they took off to get her and bring her back to you... wearing their wolf coats--again."

"Holy h.e.l.l. Gather our men, Fergus. And, Elgin, tell Laney to make me some coffee to go--"

"I'll fix a couple of thermoses," Laney promised, her voice raised so he could hear her from where she was hidden in the hallway, eavesdropping. She hadn't needed to raise her voice. As close as she was to the door, he heard her just fine.

Leidolf shook his head.

Fergus punched in numbers on his phone and headed down the hallway. "Boss said it's a go, Carver. Spread the word to your group."

"Elgin, help me get dressed," Leidolf demanded.

"But you can barely--"

Leidolf gave him a look that said he wouldn't argue about this, and Elgin headed straight for the closet. So much for trying to ensure he kept on an even keel where his people were concerned.

h.e.l.l, it was bad enough that Ca.s.sie was racing through the woods on her own in danger of being tranquilized by the same men who shot him, but once Pierce and Quincy joined her, it could turn into a total disaster. And Sarge? He didn't totally trust that Satros could locate Sarge on his own if he hadn't by now.

Ca.s.sie had successfully evaded Leidolf's men and hadn't run into any signs of the men with the tranquilizer guns. So she was back to her goal of finding the she-wolf and her litter. After she returned to the place a mile away where she had left the buried salmon, she uncovered it and then seized the fish and took off.

The advantage of being a wolf biologist was that federal and state grants and even magazines paid Ca.s.sie to do what she loved best--mingle with feral wolves to study them and doc.u.ment their behavior. If these people saw her now as she raced through the ancient Douglas firs, flourishing beside the creek in her red wolf coat, fish in mouth, they'd think she was one of those she was paid to research. She just had to be very careful she didn't provide the people who paid her all the money with clues about wolves that sounded like they had a lot of human characteristics, thereby giving anything away about her own wolf genetics.

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 doc.u.ment 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, d.a.m.n 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, d.a.m.n 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 h.e.l.l 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, d.a.m.n 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 Ca.s.sie 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, G.o.d, 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.

d.a.m.n 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 c.o.c.king of a rifle to the left of her forced the fur to bristle along Ca.s.sie'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 h.e.l.l 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.

"h.e.l.l, man, you all right?" one of the murdering b.a.s.t.a.r.ds 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 h.e.l.l of a lot more trouble.

Despite pushing herself, Ca.s.sie 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.

Ca.s.sie 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 h.e.l.l 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 h.e.l.l 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 d.a.m.n if Elgin didn't drive like a little old man when he finally hit the main road.

"Drive faster, d.a.m.n it, Elgin. I could trot out there as a wolf and make it there a h.e.l.l 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 d.a.m.ned 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." h.e.l.l, he might want Ca.s.sie 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? h.e.l.l, 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. h.e.l.l, 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... h.e.l.l, 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.