If the tracks had been of one woman's smaller-sized prints, he would have sworn Cassie had hooked up with a wolf pack and had herself carried the red female off to safety. She couldn't have lifted a female and carried her any distance, and there were no signs of her tracks at all.
Which was more than bizarre since he'd pursued her tracks for hours headed away from her pickup and then lost them. To wolf tracks. And those led him to the one female red wolf. At least the shooter who had wounded her didn't seem to be venturing in this direction. Probably afraid he'd be facing hunters with bullets. Still, he worried about Cassie and where she'd disappeared to. And that the men who had shot the wolf might run across Cassie and shoot her also.
Alex searched through the men's pockets and found the bigger man's driver's license. Henry Lee Thompson of Portland. And the other, Joe Smith, also of Portland. And ID cards for the Oregon Zoo. Hunters, but the kind who put wild animals in a zoo.
Alex leaned over and tried to wake the men. "Henry," he called out, shaking the bigger man's shoulder. "Henry Lee Thompson." No success. Then he tried with Joe, first attempting to pull him to a sitting position and then shaking him a little, but the guy's head fell back, his mouth dropped open, and his eyes remained closed. "Joe, wake up."
Having no luck with either of the men, Alex pulled out his cell phone to call 911.
But what the hell was he supposed to say? Two men down, tranquilized. One wounded red wolf missing. Two more wolves--red wolves, of all things--running through the area with a pack of men. One female biologist had vanished. Two murderers on the loose, one in bad shape, maybe suffering a concussion. And a woman's body was somewhere out in this location, maybe hauled off by a cougar? Or some very abbreviated version.
Alex knew one thing. His report wouldn't include his name.
Chapter 10
Snapping her eyes shut, Cassie groaned, feeling like crap. Her shoulder hurt like the blazes, and Leidolf'scarrying her was jarring her way too much to be appreciated. The tranquilizer was still making her brain fuzzy, and her thoughts drifted from memories of studying Arctic wolves in the frozen Canadian Arctic to checking out the red wolves in hot, muggy Florida. And then a flicker of memory that she'd so longed to suppress--her home and her uncles' homes all ablaze, choking smoke filling the air, as she hid in the woods nearby, unable to save them, unable to do anything but save herself. And the horrible guilt she always felt that she'd lived and they'd died.
She blinked away tears and closed her eyes again, the drug making her feel loopy, out of control. She breathed in the masculinity of the virile lupus garou carrying her. She had to know where she stood with this pack and how much trouble she would have with having invaded their territory.
Yet it was their own damned fault. No one had been in the area in eons. No one had left scent markings to claim these particular woods. That much she remembered. Why was she running through the woods as a wolf during the day? Too dangerous: it wasn't like her.
Her thoughts drifted again, back to Leidolf who held her tightly against his chest, as if already claiming her. Possession was nine-tenths of the law, right?
He squeezed her tighter against his hard body as if he was afraid he wasn't holding her close enough. Any closer and she'd be joined to him permanently. Even now, she could smell he had the hots for her. His pheromones had kicked in, screaming he wanted her.
The aroma was so tantalizingly seductive that he triggered her own hormones to give her biological drives away. Which, for her, was just too bizarre to consider. She hadn't felt like that toward any male lupus garou ever. Probably because she tended to stay clear of their kind of packs. Much safer to... her thoughts drifted again like a slip of scent in the breeze that scattered and disappeared.
He glanced down at her, his expression dark as he stalked through the woods, his men pulling branches away so he could walk unimpeded with his head held high, like the king. But his olive green eyes caught her attention, and his lips curved up a hint. He knew, damn it. She couldn't hide her physical reaction to him, not with them both being lupus garous. Not with their all too sensitive sense of smell.
He took in a deep breath, and his smile broadened, a killer smile that could entice any woman to strip off her clothes and scream, "Take me, oh godly one."
And she was ready to do just that, no matter what she stood for. For now, she hadn't a clue what that was. She didn't think she wanted to become any male's mate. But the memory of dancing with Leidolf returned with a vengeance, loving the way he felt, the physical closeness she hadn't shared with anyone in eons. And emotionally, it had felt just as satisfying. But staying with him didn't fit in with her... plans.
Her gaze focused on his bare chest, sculpted abs begging her to explore every inch, to a light smattering of hair trailing down his chest and disappearing into... she couldn't see. Exposing his torso, he wore a leather jacket left open. His stubborn chin, proud and set high, with a light stubble of reddish hair covering it, made him appear sinfully roguish. He looked down at her and smiled, slyly this time. Yeah, he'd caught her ogling him again, showing too much interest.
She moaned and shut her eyes, trying to block out the sight of him, the smell of him, the feel of him holding her close, the heat of his body, the hardness, the firm hold he had on her. His. That's what his whole posture shouted. And for an instant, she enjoyed the feeling, even though she fought against it.
She tried to recall what had happened earlier, before she found herself in his arms. Why was Leidolf carrying her, where was he taking her, and what the hell had happened?
Her mind kept drifting, preventing her from focusing on anything for long. She caught only scattered fragments that didn't make a whole lot of sense--something about hunters and tranquilizers, zoos and veterinary clinics--and then the thoughts faded again, the streaks of pain the only thing that kept her thoughts from shutting down completely. And the smell and heat of him. He exuded danger, although she believed he meant to keep her safe. It was a different kind of peril. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she recognized the threat for what it was--her freedom, not her life, was at risk.
She glanced at the two red wolves running ahead of them and at the two older men keeping pace with the macho wolf who carried her. Every once in a while, the two men with him would look at her, smiles on their faces. They thought their leader had found his mate and were mightily pleased.
A big, black Suburban came into view, and two men hurriedly opened the doors. The wolves jumped into the very back seat. The other men waited, looking her over, smiling appreciably.
Elgin hurried around to the driver's side of the vehicle. "Guess old Satros was right when he told us about her fishing for salmon earlier in her red wolf form."
Leidolf laid her gently on the seat. "Head for the ranch." He climbed in and pulled her into his arms so the other men could get to the backseat, while the last one climbed into the front passenger seat. Leidolf's embrace was warm and comforting.
"Why didn't anyone tell me Satros learned about her earlier?" Leidolf finally said, his voice irritated.
"I figured that she was just a wolf," Elgin said.
Fergus cleared his throat. "Ever since you became pack leader, Satros has made it his mission to locate a mate for you."
Leidolf raised his brows at Fergus. The man smiled back and shrugged. "He's quiet, doesn't ever say much, but he's always had the pack's best interests at heart. And that means making sure you're well satisfied staying with the pack and having a mate to ensure we have offspring to carry the pack forward a generation or two."
"He wasn't wearing his wolf coat when he was trying to track down my mate earlier then, was he?" Leidolf gave Cassie a devilish smile.
She closed her eyes. The old wolf must have been watching her when she was at the creek fishing, but she'd never caught sight of him. And she had news for Mr. Overly Confident One... she was not his mate. She sighed. Just because she danced with him all night long, and just because she couldn't quit gawking at him at the lake or said what she did to get him on his feet when he was drugged didn't mean she wanted Leidolf for a mate now.
"Old Satros didn't say," Fergus said. "He and five of our men are still looking for Sarge."
Leidolf ground his teeth, and Cassie was sure he figured the old man had been wearing his wolf coat earlier today and didn't like it. Or maybe Leidolf's annoyance had something to do with whoever this Sarge was, most likely a real troublemaker.
"Did you see the female red? Had she been with you?" Leidolf asked Cassie, his tone gentle. She still heard the hint of command in his voice, as if he was so used to being in charge that he was having difficulty switching roles to being a concerned male. On the other hand, he probably didn't want his men seeing him in the role of besotted male.
She rested her cheek against his bare chest, his skin warm and his muscles hard, and she vaguely wondered why on this cold spring day his chest would be naked, while his arms were covered in leather. He wrapped his arms around her in a comforting way.
She lifted her head to take another look at him, but the movement sent another sharp pain digging into her shoulder. The last thing she remembered was dropping her head hard against his firm chest and hearing him curse under his breath.
Seeing the number of vehicles at his ranch house as Elgin drove up to the front walk, Leidolf suspected all his pack members had arrived to see Cassie. Wanting to be alone with her until she was better, he growled, "Who called the pack meeting?"
In the Suburban, no one said a word as Fergus hurried to get Leidolf's door for him and Elgin let Pierce and Quincy out of the back of the vehicle. Both jumped out and bounded to greet Leidolf as if they hadn't seen him in ages, maybe attempting to get into his good graces again after this latest fiasco.
Leidolf carried a sleeping Cassie to the house, but Elgin's and Fergus's jackets exposed too much of her long shapely legs in front of the rest of his men to his liking, despite the fact they were used to the nudity issue when shifting. But changing form occurred quickly as a means to prevent humans from catching them in the middle of a shape-shift. This wasn't at all the same. At least that's how he rationalized his not liking his men seeing Cassie so exposed.
