“Is it broken?” the man asked, sounding worried.
“I don’t feel any break, but it’s obviously tender. It could be a bruised tendon, torn ligament, or even a hairline fracture of the bone.”
“She can’t walk on it. We’re parked about five miles out.”
Eric said again, “I’m parked only a mile from here on one of the official-use-only trails. I can carry her to my—”
“No. We don’t need your help. We’ll take care of it.”
“But—”
“I said we’d take care of her.”
Eric raised his hands in a sign of truce, but he wasn’t leaving until he saw that they could provide her with the care she needed. “How are you going to do it? I’m trained in first aid. I can call in some others from my pack to help get her out of here, or I’ll carry her to your vehicle.” As much as Eric hated offering, he’d carry her the five miles to their vehicle if that was the only way they’d go for it.
“All right. You can carry her to our campsite then.”
Eric let out his breath in exasperation. Every mile he moved her would cause the poor wolf more pain.
The man in charge had already shifted back into his wolf form and was watching for signs of anyone else coming with the other males, while the female stood by the injured she-wolf, looking concerned. Eric made a makeshift splint, and as soon as he bound her leg, she whimpered. He hated that she was in pain and wished he could give her something for it. As gently as he could, he lifted her in his arms. This was going to be the longest hike he’d ever made. He wished the wolf in charge had listened to reason.
As a wolf, this would have been no problem, even though he was feeling some pain of his own. But as a human carrying an injured wolf, the trek was all the more difficult. He stumbled over too many exposed roots to count because he couldn’t see the path, making the she-wolf whimper or yip in pain. He fought groaning himself a time or two.
When they grew closer to a creek, he heard feminine laughter and worried human women would see him carrying a wolf, surrounded by wolves. One of the wolves in the lead ran off. The darkening sky was sprinkled with twinkling heavenly lights, the round moon on full display. Eric loved the wide open spaces in the park, the seventy-degree temps during the day, and fifty-degree temps during the night—even though in the summer things became rather hectic with all the visitors.
He wanted to make a wide berth around the women in the creek to make sure he wasn’t seen.
But the lead wolf made Eric stay to the path closer to the creek.
Despite how chilly it was, the women were splashing around in the creek, which intrigued him. They wouldn’t see him—not when he blended in with the lodgepole pines, oaks, and the shadows—unless the wolf forced him to go to the rocky bank.
Which the wolf did.
When Eric grew near enough, he observed five women in goddess-like semi-sheer dresses. He knew he had to be dreaming. Their silky pastel creations, in blues and pinks and mint green, fluttered about them in the summer breeze. The women were standing in the water up to their calves, the pocket water temperatures higher. Above them, the creek water was mostly gentle with a few small rapids. Down here, the rapids were much more common and significant, which had created the pockets of water. The women were laughing and talking. A petite brunette, her hair short and curly, really caught his eye. She was wearing a robin’s-egg-blue dress, the water plastering the bottom half of the gown to her calves and thighs in a sensual way.
Another woman with her back to him had long brown hair and a mint green dress. She moved in the water, which effectively blocked his view of the woman in the blue dress.
The area was great for fishing, and he was mesmerized by the woman in blue, thinking what a delicious catch she’d make.
“You know, Pepper,” a blonde said to the woman in the blue dress, her voice darkening, “he wants you for his mate.”
Eric straightened a bit. No one used the term mate but lupus garous. He couldn’t smell their scents from where he was, nor could they smell his. He would have to cross the creek upwind of them to learn if they were really wolves. But he suspected the woman he was carrying must be a member of the same wolf pack these women belonged to. Why else would the wolf lead him in this direction?
The male wolf suddenly detoured and Eric was taken away from the creek and back into the woods, on a path that led straight to a small cabin. A few more people were there, warily watching him. So the pack was camping here, not just visiting for a few hours. As many of them as there were—he’d seen about fifteen—they must have rented a couple of cabins.
The door opened for him, and a man stepped aside so Eric could carry the wolf inside. To reach these more isolated cabins, the pack would have had to hike in on foot. There were no vehicles here and no parking next to the cabins. Another reason he would have preferred to take her to Dr. Weber in Silver Town.
The wolf in charge ran into a room, then came out wearing a pair of jeans. “I’ll take it from here. Just lay her down on the bed.”
“Is your pack from around here? Our town is only two hours south,” Eric reminded the man, hoping he would listen to reason. If the pack didn’t have its own doctor, Dr. Weber would welcome the chance to take care of her.
“We’ll take it from here,” a woman said, and Eric swung around to see the brunette with the short, curly hair from the creek—Pepper, the other woman had called her. The other women were with her and some of the wolves were at her side, as if guarding her. “Thank you for bringing Susan here.”
She was even more enchanting up close, and his image of her as a goddess remained the same. She was beautiful. He wanted to make an impression on the she-wolf standing before him, who was obviously in charge, and not in the least bit hesitant. She was an alpha and he was in love. It was the first time since he’d lost his mate that he’d felt any interest in another she-wolf.
Eric bowed his head a little to her. “I’m Eric Silver, a park ranger, and I’m with the pack of Silver Town. I was telling this gentleman we have a wolf doctor in town if you don’t have one of your own who can see to her. It helps to see one of our own kind.”
“We’re fine. Thank you. We’ll take care of her.”
Did that mean they had someone in the pack with medical training? Most packs had some, but not many that he knew actually had trained doctors in the pack.
Eric turned and said to the injured wolf, “Take care, young lady. I hope you heal up soon.” Then he took one long, last look at the she-wolf in charge and bowed his head again before taking his leave.
The whole way back to his truck, he couldn’t stop thinking about Pepper. Was she running the pack? Or was she just a sub-leader when the pack leader wasn’t around? Either might be the case, since she made the decisions once she arrived, and not the male who had lead Eric there. She didn’t seem interested in mating the other male, who was clearly interested in her. Which was good, if Eric could meet up with her again. Then his law enforcement training kicked in. What if the reason the woman didn’t want him to take care of her pack member was because they were involved in the illegal activities in the park? Perhaps she didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone who was in the business of law enforcement, particularly when that someone was a wolf too and could smell things that humans couldn’t?
Hell, he hated when his law enforcement training took control. He really wanted to listen to his wolfish side on this one. Damn it.
When he reached his truck, he tossed his medical pack inside, stripped off his clothes, and looked at the bloody bandage on his waist a second before yanking it off. Stinging and a roaring ache accompanied every movement, and he bit back the pain. Then he locked up his truck and shifted. If the wolves had been foraging for new places to take cannabis plants, he wouldn’t smell anything in the camp. But he hadn’t smelled all the wolves who were there, either. If he didn’t check
out the campsite, he couldn’t clear them for certain, but the possibility of another pack’s involvement in the illegal operations would seem more viable at that point.
He raced back along the path and when he finally reached the area near the cabin, he slipped around to where he could see it from a distance. They were packing up. Good. The campsite would be cleared out, so he could sniff around to his heart’s content.
He remained silent. No one would be able to smell his scent unless they ventured in his direction. He watched the party as they all hoisted packs and began to move the injured lady. Their movements were quiet, but complementary, as if they’d been together as a pack forever.
A few of them took off down a trail leading away from him when Eric saw a flash of gray and beige fur in the woods off to his right. Before Eric could react, the large, male gray wolf lunged from the trees and attacked him. Why would they need to post a guard?
“Ohmigod,” one of the women said as the attacking wolf growled and snarled.
Adrenaline pouring through his veins, Eric shot around to defend himself against the male wolf’s vicious attack.
Eric didn’t know if the pack continued to move away or if they were monitoring the situation, but he couldn’t understand why the male wolf would attack him. Unless they were doing something illegal. Or maybe this wolf didn’t know he was the same man who had carried the injured wolf to the cabin. Unless they’d seen him before as a wolf, or could smell he was the same man who had helped them, he could be anyone. Even a wild wolf.
Eric snarled and bit at the hostile wolf, telling him to back off. The wolf was aggressive, alpha, not like any of the beta wolves he’d met in the pack. Since Eric hadn’t met this wolf, it made him wonder where the wolf had been all this time. He had to be the pack leader, and should have been helping the injured wolf long before this.
Eric intended to take off, his stance firm as he eyed the snarling wolf, who now stood still, half listening to the people clearing out of the cabin, half concentrating on Eric. Eric didn’t dare turn his back on the wolf just yet.
He didn’t take a step forward to dominate the space, instead waiting for the wolf to give up and take off with his pack mates. When the wolf didn’t, which was real alpha posturing, Eric had a choice: run off and leave the wolf’s territory, or wait him out until his pack was far enough away that he felt the need to keep up with them to protect them. Without proof the wolf was involved in anything illegal, Eric didn’t want to take him down. Protecting his pack would be a natural instinct for the wolf, one Eric could understand.
The wolf took a few steps back and turned as if to go, and Eric assumed the wolf wanted to rejoin his pack. Eric turned slightly to race off toward his truck, with every intention of returning when all the wolves were gone so he could conduct his investigation. Then the wolf swung around and lunged at him, biting Eric in the shoulder.
Hell and damnation!
Sharp pain wracked his shoulder, he swore it went straight down to the nerves on fire in the wound to his flank. Eric pivoted and clashed with the wolf. Snarling and growling, he matched the alpha’s anger, the pain of the wounds fading into the background as their teeth clashed.
Eric didn’t want to kill the wolf and upset the pack, when Eric was damned interested in the she-wolf named Pepper. Even so, he wanted to prove he wasn’t about to be bullied by another wolf. Any wolf. He’d had his fair share of wolf fights over the years, and he never backed down from a fight another wolf started.
Before he tore into the wolf and killed him for the unprovoked attack, Eric ran off, his tail straight out behind him, not tucked between his legs. It was his way of saying he wasn’t afraid in the least, but he wasn’t going to fight him.
Even so, the wolf doggedly tracked him, though Eric had a good lead on him by several hundred feet, until he heard another wolf growling and snarling at his attacker. Eric figured the other wolf was warning the alpha that the wolf he was chasing had just helped them out, and he didn’t want him fighting Eric. Or maybe they were afraid Eric would get suspicious of their activities because one of them had attacked him.
Then the woods were quiet. Eric assumed the guard wolf and the other wolf had caught up to their people.
His shoulder and flank still burning where the wolves had bitten him, Eric finally stopped and listened to the sound of the breeze rustling the tree limbs and crickets chirping. He heard an owl hooting in a tree several hundred feet away.
Despite how much he hurt, the woman in the blue gown—Pepper—fascinated him. He was dying to know more about the mystery wolf pack and this woman who had pinned him with a look that said she was in charge and he’d better mind. She could challenge him any day. He couldn’t help but love it. Then he wondered if the wolf who had attacked him was the one who wanted to mate her.
Ah, hell, that would be his luck. He wasn’t into stealing another wolf’s potential mate—at least not normally.
Still, he was dying to check out the wolf smells at the campsite. But he had to take care of his injuries first.
When he reached his truck, he shifted, got his clothes out, and quickly threw on his briefs, jeans, socks and boots.
Tomorrow early, he’d go back to the campsite.
Then he pulled out his medical pack, reapplied a bandage to his waist, and did the best he could to bandage the shoulder wound. He pulled on his shirt just to keep blood off his seat, climbed into the truck, and drove to Silver Town to see Dr. Weber.
Eric never would have thought he would be the one injured when he only meant to help a wolf in need. Now he would have to see Dr. Weber about his own injury instead. He was about to call CJ with an update when the truck’s digital screen lit up with an incoming call. It was his brother Sarandon, and Eric knew he’d have to tell him what had happened, even though he’d rather not mention the second wolf fight to anyone. His own pack would be furious he was attacked when helping another wolf pack out.
Chapter 2
Pepper Greycoat couldn’t believe it when she heard two wolves fighting in the woods. She’d seen a glimpse of both male wolves, the snarling big tan and gray that bit at Waldron Mason, a beige wolf with a white front and a smattering of gray hairs. The mystery wolf had snapped at Waldron before he raced off. The way he didn’t tuck tail meant he wasn’t cowed by the aggressor. And that had intrigued her.
She was furious that Waldron was pulling her away from her own pack to deal with him when she wanted to ensure Susan was properly cared for. As quickly as she was able, she stripped off her clothes, shifted, and ran like the devil to chase Waldron down. Whoever the other wolf had been, he had posed no threat to them. When she ran after the two wolves, she smelled their scents. The mystery wolf was indeed Eric. No way had she wanted Waldron to hurt him after Eric had helped Susan.
She was so angry, she could have killed Waldron for his unwarranted actions.
When she spied Waldron still chasing after Eric, she tore into Waldron, growling and snapping to let him know just how angry he’d made her. He whipped around as if to attack, then recognized her, and realized he’d lose any chance he had with courting and mating her—not that he had any—so he backed off. From his narrow-eyed, harsh gaze, she could tell he was irritated to the max with her. If he could have, he would have continued to hunt the other wolf down and finished him off. She worried about Eric—she smelled his blood on Waldron. How badly had Waldron hurt Eric?
But she knew Eric had been injured even before this because she’d smelled both an antiseptic and blood on him when she first met him.
She listened, but didn’t hear any sign of Eric. Growling at Waldron again, she turned and ran off. She continued to pay attention to the sounds around her, making sure he wasn’t following her back to their campsite. She didn’t want to have to say a word to him about any of this when she reached camp. Her only intent at that point was seeing that Susan was taken care of.
&nbs
p; She wondered if he’d gone after Eric again when she didn’t hear him follow her.
As for Eric, she already had trouble with one alpha male wanting to court her. She sure didn’t need a second one bugging her, if Eric had any such notion. Still, she felt badly Waldron had attacked him, and she really hoped he wasn’t hurt too seriously.
* * *
Later that night, after a doctor had x-rayed Susan’s leg and found her cousin had suffered a hairline fracture, Susan and Pepper settled on the couches for a late night glass of wine and chips at Pepper’s home in the woods. Susan had her wrapped leg propped up on Pepper’s coffee table to help reduce the swelling.
“You should have played in the creek with us instead running off and starting a rock slide,” Pepper said, unable to let go of the annoyance over Waldron. “It would have been safer that way.” Had Waldron been watching the women playing in the creek before he attacked Eric? Most likely. She was certain Waldron wouldn’t have been spying on the rest of the pack.
She still couldn’t believe that Eric Silver had stood up to her about taking Susan to see his own pack’s doctor. The challenge in his whole expression had said he didn’t agree with her and that he wanted to do things his way. She didn’t know anything about his pack, and she had no intention of relying on a doctor she didn’t know. She and her pack might not have a wolf doctor, but they trusted the human ones they saw. Not that their doctors knew anything about the lupus garous.
She still could envision Eric finally bowing his head in concession, giving in to her ruling.
“Yeah, but then the most handsome of wolves wouldn’t have carried me back to the cabin,” Susan replied. “I couldn’t believe it when Richard told Eric he couldn’t take me to see their doctor. Their pack actually has a doctor! Now how cool is that?”
“Cool.” Pepper thought it was great, but she didn’t want to get involved with another pack. She was surprised there was another pack living only four hours south of where she and her people lived. Still, since each pack tended to run in their own territory, Pepper could see how they wouldn’t have encountered each other before.