Call of the Cougar

  She suspected her run would be uneventful and she'd return way before she needed to shift, wash up, and dress for her first date of the day.

  At least—that was the plan.

  Chapter 4

  Tracey hadn't realized just how much she needed to run until she was wearing her cougar coat, exploring her surroundings, running free and wild. She always felt a runner's high when she stretched her legs as a cougar.

  Darkness claimed the forest when she left the cabin and a cold breeze stirred the aspen's leaves, making them dance around on the branches. A western screech owl sat inside a hole in a tree way up above, his eyes closed, his feathers a pretty gray color. But then he must have smelled her. He opened his amber eyes and twisted his head around to watch her, a predator of the night every bit as much as her cougar kind were. He must have been the one making the loud screeching noise last night.

  She moved through the mountain mahogany, junipers, pinyon, and ponderosa pines, and, avoided getting close to the lake where tents were standing, and camping trailers beyond that.

  She was certain no one would observe her in the dark, and that no one would be running around in the woods or mountains at this hour. The only problem she'd have was if she didn't return before dawn when hikers were about and someone spotted her.

  She watched for any sign of either big predators like bears or wolves, but she hadn't smelled any trace of them. Just cougars. She wondered then if the shifters in the area had been leaving their scent trail all over, clawing trees, marking their boundaries with piles of dirt and twigs, or scrapes, left to warn other cougars that this territory was taken, and to keep other predators away. Wolf packs weren't intimidated by a lone cougar or bear. But a cougar could handle a lone wolf. A pack of cougars? Evened up the odds a bit against a pack of wolves. Though that would sure take them by surprise since cougars didn't run in packs.

  Wolves and bears would probably leave a pack of cougars alone. She leapt onto the rocks, and landed nearly on top of a rattlesnake coiled up in the groove of one of them. The temperature proved too cold for him to react, but even so, her heart was pumping hard from the bit of a scare she'd gotten. She leapt away from him in a heartbeat, just in case he was primed to bite, and landed on the rock ledge above him. The trees thinned, then disappeared completely as she climbed above the timberline. She jumped to the next boulder and continued on up until she reached the peak and saw a faint glimmer of light on the horizon.

  Crap!

  She must have been so wrapped up in the scents and sounds that she had misjudged how far she had traveled and the lateness of the hour. Though for a minute, she enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise. She'd never get back to the cabin before the sun fully rose, though.

  She headed down the rocky escarpment in a hurry, her balance, strong leg muscles, and large paw pads allowing her to be extremely adept at climbing. When she reached the ground, she sprinted through the trees. Though cougars could run at a top speed between 40 to 50 mph, they were much better able to accomplish powerful sprints. She knew she couldn't race all the way back and reach the cabin before the summer campers would be up and about.

  Not that it would mean she would run across any, but mentally, she liked to be prepared. Luckily, no hunting was allowed right now. Though someone still could shoot her and say he feared for his life. Great story to tell to all his buddies, at the very least.

  She still had plenty of time to reach the cabin, shift, shower, and dress well before Hal arrived to treat her to breakfast. Her stomach rumbling, she was really getting hungry.

  Before she got very far, she saw movement to her right. Big movement and it was headed straight for her. Nothing but bad news would come after her. She turned to see three gray wolves racing in her direction ready for the kill.

  Her heart thumping against her ribs, she did the only thing she could safely do as a cougar. She jumped into a pinyon pine tree, scrambling to get higher. She turned and looked down at the wolves leaping at the tree trunk, growling, and snapping their wicked canines at her. Thank God wolves couldn't climb trees. One of them let out a howl, calling for pack reinforcements to help them eradicate the cougar in their territory. Even up in the rocks, she realized she hadn't smelled any sign of cougars. She must have gone beyond their marked territory.

  Flattening her ears, she snarled and hissed back at the wolves, wrinkling her nose as she bared her own, very wicked canines. Her posturing didn't scare them in the least. But the effort made her feel better. She climbed higher and laid down on a branch, settling in to wait them out. She might as well rest for the time being since she had no other option. Two more wolves ran through the underbrush and joined the pack. Damn it.

  They lifted their heads and looked up at her, sniffing the air, verifying she was their enemy. Their amber eyes were beautiful. They were beautiful. But while she was in her cougar coat, they were deadly adversaries. Even if she shifted, most likely they'd still think she was a cougar because of the way she smelled.

  No way in hell was she coming down from the tree.

  She still had plenty of time to reach the cabin if the wolves got bored or sighted some other prey in the meantime. But as the day dawned and the air warmed a bit, she was afraid that extra time she was going to have to get ready for her breakfast date with Hal was dwindling by the minute.

  The wolves moved around at the base of the tree, sniffing the ground, not leaving. Every once in a while, one would look up to see if she was still there. And then every member of the pack would raise their heads as if mimicking the one wolf's actions.

  She looked off in the direction of the cabin, wondering what would happen when Hal came to pick her up to take her to breakfast and she wasn't there.

  She snarled in annoyance at herself and the wolves. She couldn't believe she could live through firefights with the bad guys and then be treed by a pack of gray wolves.

  ***

  After calling Tracey to make sure she was up and about, Hal grew worried when the call went straight to voice mail. Not that there had to be anything wrong. She could be in the shower. Yet, given that Mick wanted her watched, Hal did worry about the guys who had gotten away at the scene of the gunfight tracking her down, and that she might be off investigating the trafficking ring—on her own.

  Though it was a little early, he called Chase to share his concerns and headed on over to the resort.

  "I'm supposed to be picking up Tracey and taking her to my place for breakfast, but she's not answering her cell. I'm on my way over there now, but do you mind dropping by her cabin and letting me know that she's all right? It'll take me a while to get there from my ranch."

  "Yeah, sure thing. I'm headed out the door right this minute. Hang on the line."

  Hal listened as Chase said, "Shannon, I'm going to check on Tracey. Be back in a minute."

  "Is everything all right?" Shannon asked.

  "I'm sure she's just busy and not answering her phone."

  "Okay."

  The door opened and closed, then Hal heard Chase's footfalls crunching on gravel as he trucked it toward the furthest cabin out. "When were you supposed to pick her up?"

  "In about forty-five minutes."

  "She could be in the shower," Chase warned.

  "Yeah, but I've been trying to reach her for an hour."

  "Okay, buddy. No problem. Always better to be safe than sorry in this business."

  "Agreed." Still, no matter how much Hal was trying not to worry about Tracey, he was concerned.

  "I'm at her cabin. Her Hummer's here." Chase knocked on the door.

  If her Hummer was there, that had to be good news, in a way. She hadn't taken off. Unless something else had gone down.

  When there was no answer at the door, Hal worried even more.

  Chase called out, "Tracey? Are you in there? It's just me, Chase Buchanan."

  Hal floored the gas pedal, driving way over the speed limit, sure something was wrong. He didn't like that Tracey wasn't answering the door eithe
r. He assumed, considering the kind of job she did, she was punctual and on top of things. She would be ready to go ahead of time.

  "I'm unlocking the door," Chase told him.

  The door creaked open and Chase called out, "Tracey? Are you here? Hal called and he was just worried about you."

  No response.

  "Chase, I'm ten minutes from there," Hal said.

  "She's gone. Her night clothes are sitting on the floor beside the door. Her phone is on the coffee table. It looks like she shifted. I'm taking a walk around the place to see if I smell her scent leading away from the cabin."

  "She wouldn't have gotten lost," Hal said. Their instinct was too great. Though he'd had a dog once—mangy old, good-natured mutt—that took off after a rabbit, he guessed, and got lost. What kind of a dog would get so lost that he couldn't find his way back home?

  "She's taken off through the woods."

  "I'm on your road. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Wait for me."

  "I'm headed back to my place. I'll let Shannon know we're going for a run in our cougar coats, and I'll tell Dan we're going on a search, possible rescue, and to get someone up here for Shannon, in case she goes into labor."

  "Ah hell, Chase. You need to stay with Shannon. Stryker or Dan can follow. You need to be with your wife."

  "Two of us should be going in case Tracey's in trouble," Chase said, then the door squeaked open.

  "I'm not waiting. Someone can follow me."

  "All right."

  Hal drove past Chase's cabin and headed for Tracey's. When he reached it, he pulled to a stop behind her silvery-blue Hummer, and jumped out. Thankfully, each of the cabins was surrounded by trees, giving them full privacy, so shifting out of doors was no problem. He began yanking off his clothes on her back deck, then called Chase back. "Getting ready to shift. Any last words?"

  "Dan and Stryker are both on their way. They said to wait."

  Hal smiled a little. They had to say so, but they knew he wouldn't. "Okay, out here."

  The day being slow to warm up, he called on the shift, his body heating in the cool breeze, his muscles warming with the change. He welcomed the flexibility in his limbs, the fur covering his skin, and his ability to move swiftly and without a lot of detection.

  His tail whipping behind him, Hal began searching for her scent and took off at a sprint.

  ***

  Despite being in danger because at some point she'd have to leave the tree, Tracey worried more about Hal. She was certain he'd come in search of her eventually. Hell, he'd alert Chase and then she worried about him too. She feared if anyone came in their cougar coats they could be attacked if they were upwind of the wolves, didn't smell them in time, and the wolves smelled them first.

  Even though she knew it was fruitless to feel this way, she hated the humiliation of being treed by a pack of wolves. Yes, they were deadly to her kind. And no, she didn't feel any animosity toward them. They were doing what nature dictated—keeping predators that had the same dinner menu as her kind out of their territory—if she'd been strictly cougar.

  The problem was that even with two cougars, unless Hal had brought back-up, she and he would still be at a decided disadvantage against a pack of five wolves.

  She stared down at the wolves. They had all laid down to rest—underneath the pinyon pine. Two had their heads down, resting or sleeping, while two were on guard duty, watching and listening. The other was lying on his side, totally sacked out while the others guarded him.

  She knew if she even moved an inch, the sleeping or resting wolves' heads would snap up and take notice.

  She watched as the day grew later and could imagine Hal coming for her and wished he wouldn't risk his own neck. But she was certain she couldn't leave here on her own if the wolves didn't vacate the area.

  ***

  The farther Hal got from the resort, the more he worried Tracey was in trouble or he would have encountered her returning to her cabin. He was certain she wouldn't have forgotten their date. And even more sure that she wasn't attempting to avoid seeing him. He was fairly certain the guys she was after hadn't been in the vicinity and she was tracking them.

  Which meant she was in trouble. He knew he shouldn't second guess what had happened, but he couldn't help it. If she'd been shot, or she'd somehow fallen and injured herself, well, he couldn't keep thinking of what-ifs.

  She'd been all over the place, happily exploring, so up to this point, she'd been fine. But the longer he looked for her, the more worried he got. She didn't know the area, or where their shifters had marked the territory to warn other predators away.

  Then he'd gone beyond their marked territory and smelled a wolves' scent trail. Their paws left a scent as well. He smelled…four, no five. A brand new trail. Damn it. She'd continued on her way, so the wolves must have arrived after she had passed through the area. She probably climbed to the top of the rocks in the distance to see the view like he would have done, had he not known any better.

  He knew he had to wait for backup. But he couldn't force himself to wait. What if she was injured or dying? What if the pack had moved off?

  But the wind was blowing the wrong way. Well, hell, even now, the wolves could be smelling his scent.

  Then he heard them. All of them like a stampede of horses running toward him. Ready to attack. Crap!

  He leapt into the branches of a pinyon pine just in the nick of time as the wolves reached the base of the tree and snarled and growled at him, jaws snapping, teeth bared, though his were a lot more wicked than theirs. And his claws a lot more deadly. Still, against five, he'd never stand a chance.

  Suddenly, Tracey called out. "Who's there?"

  He shifted. Bare assed, he sat on the rough pine bark, worried still about Tracey, but she didn't sound as though she was in pain, and he was grateful for that. "Your breakfast chef."

  "Oh, God, Hal. Are…are you okay?"

  "Yeah, what about you?" He tried to envision her sitting naked in a tree, which took his mind off the fact that he was also, and the wolves were circling, so to speak.

  "I'm fine. I'm so sorry that I've gotten you into this mess."

  "Well, I'd say we have a good start. First in a gun battle, and now with a pack of wolves on our tail, I'd say we have what it takes to make a winning team."

  She started laughing.

  He smiled, glad she still had a sense of humor, despite the circumstances. "You're really okay?"

  "Yeah. I'm a fast climber. So, what are we going to do?" she asked.

  "Dan and Stryker are bound to be coming any time soon."

  "And then we'll all be in trees."

  He laughed. "I'm sure they'll be coming with rifles and medical supplies, just in case there's a medical emergency."

  "As humans."

  "Yeah. If you were injured, I would have to carry you out of here naked. So I'm sure they're not going to shift before they search for us."

  "Well, that's good news. What time do you think it is now?"

  "I'd say, depending on how long it takes for everyone to get here and for us to head back, it will be time for brunch."

  "Great. Well, good thing that I told Stryker I'd have supper with him and not lunch."

  Hal took a deep breath and let it out. He knew he should have tried harder to talk her into having lunch, and then gone for broke and asked about the evening meal with him too. "How about we go out for drinks after that? A movie?"

  She laughed. "Maybe tomorrow."

  He really didn’t want to think of what would happen if she decided to stay the night with Stryker. "Okay, supper, drinks, and a movie tomorrow. And I'll run with you as a cougar if you'd like and be your tour guide. No doing this on your own again."

  "All right by me. I never wanted anyone to get into trouble like this on my account."

  "No problem. It makes for the start of a really different kind of date."

  She chuckled.

  They lapsed into silence for a while and then she said, "Ma
ybe I should get down and warn the men you're in a tree."

  "No. It's way too dangerous for you. If the wolves realize you're on the ground, they could rip you to shreds."

  "What if the guys don't come?"

  He had worried about that. But he suspected they would, since they'd be concerned about the both of them when they didn't return to the cabin. "They will. They had to grab their gear. I was already headed to your location when I couldn't get hold of you."

  "I'm sorry."

  He smiled, thinking again of just what she'd look like in the tree. Naked. "Well, it wasn't quite what I had in mind to do before breakfast, but it sure will make for some interesting conversation when I get around to making it."

  "What about the mare and her foal?"

  "I've got someone there watching her. She'll be okay." At this point he was more worried about Dan and Stryker.

  "I guess the wolves are still there, even though you're no longer a cougar."

  "Yeah. They smell cougar in this tree and they aren't budging. Wait."

  Two of the wolves stood, their ears twitching back and forth. Their noses wrinkling as they smelled the air.

  "Someone's coming," Hal said. "Don't shift back just yet." He shouted, "Hey, is that you, Dan? Stryker?"

  "Yeah, we're coming. What's going on?"

  "Pack of five wolves are straight ahead of you."

  "Ah, hell, Hal, don't tell me they've treed you." Stryker was enjoying this a little too much. "Where's Tracey? Have you seen her?"

  "She's in another tree nearby."

  "Over here." She sounded totally resigned.

  The wolves wouldn't attack the men and neither Dan nor Stryker would shoot them, but they fired off a couple of rounds to send them on their way.

  "Are they clearing out?" Dan asked.

  "Yeah, but I think I'll sit up here until you get a little closer in case they come back."

  "Everyone all right?" Dan wasn't just asking about everyone's health. He was making enough noise to keep the wolves away.

  "Yeah," Hal said.

  When Tracey didn't respond, he assumed she'd shifted back into her cougar form.

  "I'm changing back before you get here." Hal shifted, leapt from the tree, and ran to the location where Tracey had to be.