Part 19 (1/2)

”Tell everyone to be on the alert for a black pickup truck with California license plates. If he comes to the ranch, make sure no one is in their wolf coats and direct him to me.”

”He knows we tranquilized the zoo men. He seemed to approve, most likely because he wants to study wolves in the wild and not have them penned up in the zoo, but he could still tell the authorities we were the ones who knocked out Thompson and his buddy,” Elgin said.

Leidolf gave Ca.s.sie a stern look. This was what happened when werewolves got involved in human affairs. ”We'll cross that bridge when we have to. Call Quincy and Pierce, if you can get hold of them on their cell phones. If not, send someone to run ahead and warn them to vacate Alex and Ca.s.sie's vehicles and lie low. Once Alex has driven off, have them take Ca.s.sie's truck to the ranch.”

He turned to Ca.s.sie. ”And you are returning with me to the ranch now.” He stalked toward her. ”You're welcome to shape-s.h.i.+ft.” He smiled a little. ”Easier to carry that way.” More than that, he wanted to claim her as a woman, hold her tight, enjoy the feel of her close all over again, but he figured she already knew how he felt about her. Although he did want to know if she was keen on mating with a human and turning him. He had every intention of setting her straight on that matter.

Carver pointed to the river. ”h.e.l.l, Leidolf, it's another one of them.”

Leidolf stopped next to Ca.s.sie and looked across the river. A red wolf watched them. Smaller than a male, it had to be a female. Ca.s.sie was on her feet in an instant, as if she'd drawn on a pocket of energy. Before he could stop what she was about to do, she dove into the river.

”h.e.l.l and d.a.m.nation, woman!”

Chapter 18.

”You can't follow her dressed like you are,” Carver warned Leidolf. Carver looked as if he was ready to dive into the river himself to go after Ca.s.sie.

Leidolf was already stripping out of his clothes while he kept Ca.s.sie in sight. The water had swiftly swept her downstream as he was having a h.e.l.l of a time fumbling to untie his wet bootlaces. ”Tell the rest of the men where I've gone. Elgin, you're in charge while I'm away. I'll take her to the cabin until she's well enough to return. Just leave my clothes hidden nearby.”

Carver frowned at him. ”You sure you don't want me to come with you?”

”You have your girls to look after.” But Leidolf thought Carver was interested in the other red wolf, in the event she was a lupus garou also, and wanted to have first chance at her before the other bachelor males did.

”What are you going to do about this Alex character?” Carver asked, staring off in the direction Ca.s.sie was headed farther downstream and struggling against the current to reach the opposite sh.o.r.e.

Leidolf let out his breath and ditched his jeans and then his s.h.i.+rt. ”He can see Ca.s.sie once I've returned her to the ranch and she's feeling better. And then she can tell him to take a hike.”

He quickly shape-s.h.i.+fted and, as a wolf, raced down the rocky riverbank to reach the location where Ca.s.sie had drifted. Then he dove into the cold river, sending the water flying, and swam toward her. By then, she'd reached the halfway point across the river.

Was the other wolf Ca.s.sie's sister, which would explain why Ca.s.sie had been so h.e.l.l-bent on returning here? But why hadn't she just told him the truth? All of his men would have been searching for the woman. Which maybe was the reason she hadn't told him the truth.

As a wolf, Leidolf paddled across the river, swearing it was growing wider as he traversed it. He sure as h.e.l.l could run faster as a wolf than he could swim as one. Even with her having a head start, he was catching up to Ca.s.sie as she fought against the current to reach the other side. Then, she suddenly went under. His heart flipped.

His men shouted on the beach near where he had jumped into the water. ”h.e.l.l, Leidolf!” Elgin said, his voice rife with concern.

”Do you want us to come in?” Carver shouted.

But Leidolf kept swimming to reach the last place he'd seen her, his gaze searching for any sign of her, his heart beating spastically. G.o.d, Ca.s.sie, I can't lose you now.

Then Ca.s.sie's head bobbed up, her ears perked high, her swim slow and plodding. She was getting closer to sh.o.r.e. h.e.l.l, he wished he could wolf paddle faster. If he could reach her in time, he'd grab her by the scruff of the neck and pull her in. Or swiftly shape-s.h.i.+ft to his human form and carry her the rest of the way to the sh.o.r.e.

She finally reached the beach and stumbled, landing on her stomach. Ca.s.sie.

Stay! Just stay there! he wanted to shout at her. He wanted to pin her down, like a wolf in charge would another, to make her obey.

Her chest heaving, she sat on the sh.o.r.e. He thought he might reach her in time before she could run off. Until she looked back and saw how close to sh.o.r.e he was. d.a.m.n. Her ears twitched, her eyes widened, and she closed her panting mouth.

He gave her the best steely-eyed, you'd-better-obey-me look that an alpha pack leader could convey. And h.e.l.l, she took off running for the woods with a heavy limp.

When he reached the other side of the river, he glanced back at Carver and the rest of his men, all watching him to see that he made it. Then he bowed his head to them to acknowledge he was fine and to ask them to abide his wishes. After shaking off the excess water dripping from his coat, he whipped around, and took off in the direction the little red wolf had gone--his little red wolf. The other... well, if one of his men could convince her to stay with the pack also, so much the better. But Ca.s.sie was his. Like Alex had stated, Leidolf just had to convince her of that fact. Only he'd be the winner, not some lame human wolf biologist.

After racing through the forest for about a mile, Leidolf came upon Ca.s.sie sitting in ferns s.h.i.+elded by Douglas firs, panting and staring off into the distance, her energy totally spent. As soon as she smelled him coming, she whipped her head around, her gaze riveting to his. Yeah, here's the big, bad wolf coming to take you safely home, young lady.

Ca.s.sie's face looked ragged with pain. Warily, he approached her, not wanting to chase her off and cause her any more pain, but wanting to ensure she didn't run away again, either. He saw no sign of the other female and a.s.sumed Ca.s.sie just couldn't go any further with her shoulder so injured.

She didn't make any move to leave. In fact, she lay down on her side, taking the pressure off her injured shoulder.

He drew close and nuzzled her face. She didn't growl at him, like she would have if she hadn't wanted his attention. She didn't lick him back either, though, as if she was too tired to make the effort or had given up and wasn't happy about it. Deciding she was just too worn out, he planned to carry her to his cabin by the creek where she could rest until she was able to return with him.

Leidolf nudged Ca.s.sie's nose, trying to get her to stir, but she'd closed her eyes and appeared to be sleeping or just ignoring him. He hoped they could reach the cabin without running into anyone in the woods--and soon.

Not liking what he had to do next, he shape-s.h.i.+fted, and in his naked, chilled form, he leaned down and lifted Ca.s.sie as gently as he could. She yelped. ”I'm so sorry, Ca.s.sie.”

He figured his apology would have garnered a couple of chuckles from his men, had they witnessed it. He hated hearing the pain in her yelp, and he tried to carry her as carefully as he could. At least it would be dark for several more hours, and if all went as planned, she could heal while she rested. Then again, without clothing, they would have to remain there until darkness fell again so they could return to his Humvee in their wolf suits.

As he began hiking, he worried about the other wolf. She would be in as much danger as he and Ca.s.sie were in their wolf forms if hunters located them and wanted to eliminate the wolf threat. As soon as Ca.s.sie was safe in the cabin, he'd take a look for the other wolf. In his wolf coat. Faster to travel, but he wasn't sure whether it would scare off the wolf or not.

For half an hour, Leidolf carried a sleeping Ca.s.sie tight against his chest, surprised--considering how much he cursed when he stepped on blackberry bramble thorns or stumbled over exposed tree roots he couldn't see for carrying her--that she hadn't awakened.

She'd been really still in his arms, but all of a sudden, she began to wiggle as if she didn't care for being confined.

”I'll drop you if you don't mind,” Leidolf warned, tightening his hold on her and trying not to lose the squirming wolf. She tried to jerk away from him, but he squeezed tighter. ”Behave yourself,” he said in a hushed voice close to her ear as if he were whispering sweet sentiments to her.

Her subtle feminine fragrance stirred his senses, made him long for her, and all he could think of was how he was going to convince her she was staying with his pack--with him.

He reconsidered that maybe as a newly turned lupus garou, she wanted to change a human male for a mate so that he would be the same as her. Which made him think of the new Arctic werewolves he'd had to deal with in Maine. He wasn't going along with Ca.s.sie taking a human for a mate.

Then Ca.s.sie struggled harder, and before he could prepare himself, she was s.h.i.+fting again. Either she didn't have control over the s.h.i.+fting, which meant it was tantamount that she stay with a pack, his pack. Or she preferred his holding her tight in his hard embrace as a woman, instead of as a wolf. Carrying a woman would be easier to manage, but he didn't like that she'd be as chilled as him.

Still, when she s.h.i.+fted and he was holding the silky-skinned nymph in his arms, he gave her a devilish smile as she frowned up at him and he said, ”Much better.” He readjusted his hold on her and pressed her hot, little body closer, trying to ensure she didn't get too cold.

He had every intention of setting the rules. ”So let's get some things straight between us, Ca.s.sie Roux, little wolf biologist. You're a loner, don't have a pack, and have the hots for me.” He grinned at the last.

She closed her eyes and groaned. She could pretend all she wanted that she wasn't interested in him the way he desired having her. She snuggled closer to him and breathed deeply. Enjoying the way his pheromones revealed how much he craved having her? Hers were driving him insane.

”And you're not going to take some lame wolf biologist for a mate.”

She let out her breath in a painful sigh, her gaze staring up at him, beautiful, eyes narrowed a little in confrontation... and he loved it. ”I have no intention of mating with Alex. It's all his idea, and truthfully? He couldn't make a commitment to one woman if his life depended on it. But I have a job to do, for which I'm getting paid, and no one's stopping me.”

”You're not running through the woods on your own, Ca.s.sie. Not wounded like you are and not when those murderers could still be out here searching for that woman's body.”

Ignoring him, she growled, ”And furthermore, quit telling everyone we're engaged.”

Then she scrunched up her face in pain, s.h.i.+vered in his arms, and started to move again. Before he could warn her he was about to drop her again, his hold tightening on her already, she s.h.i.+fted once more. She had to be really newly turned. Which made him wonder if some werewolf had turned her and she'd run away before he mated her.