Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (29 page)

him.

“Watch.”

Ryon tossed the dried meat into the center of the pond.

Nothing happened at first, but gradually, tiny ripples broke

at the surface of the water, like a pot beginning to boil.

The action, however, never became frenzied. The fish

nibbled at the treat until nothing remained, then

disappeared. All was calm again. Nothing else moved.

“You were testing the pond for dangerous critters,” she

remarked. “I’m impressed. I probably wouldn’t have

thought to toss out bait.”

“Just a precaution. We’re close to the estate again, and

getting eaten by something mutated that August helped

create would ruin my day. It appears safe enough, but I’ll

go first. Pull up a tree root and try not to get into any

trouble.” He gave a lopsided grin. “And no peeking.”

“Huh. Don’t flatter yourself.”

From his smirk, he knew she was teasing. She didn’t

turn away as he peeled off his dark T-shirt. When he

tossed it aside, sent her a smoldering look, and went for

the zipper on his fatigues, she did moan. A low, deep

laugh rumbled from his chest, warming her like a shot of

the whiskey she wished she’d brought along.

Daria sat on a big root, eyeing him as removed his pants

and rustled through his belongings. The water swirled

invitingly as he waded in. Dear Lord, Ryon belonged on

one of those hunk-of-the-month calendars. The man

possessed a body to rival a Greek god. Silky blond hair

brushed his neck. The lean muscles of his back and arms

bunched under golden skin. His chiseled butt cried out for

her hands.

He waded out until the water lapped at his hips and

turned so that she had a great side profile. Then he leaned

back and dunked his head, giving her a tantalizing view of

his chest and ripped abs.
Whoa, baby!

Ryon straightened and began to lather his hair with a

bar of soap she hadn’t noticed in his hand. He repeated the

procedure all over his upper body until she actually began

to feel envious of the bubbles. He dunked himself twice to

rinse, then swiped the water out of his face with his free

hand. Without warning, he spun and grinned at her.

“Enjoying the show, baby?”

“I was just scouting the area for danger,” she quipped.

His grin widened into a blinding smile. “Your concern

for my safety is heartwarming, but the only dangerous

animal around here will be me if you keep eyeballing me

like I’m a steak.”

“Deal with it.”

Laughing, he finished up. Then he got out, used the

blanket to pat dry, and got dressed. Too bad. She rose

from her gnarly perch as he was pulling on a clean shirt,

still favoring his side. He donned clean fatigues as well.

“I’d like to wash our dirty clothes before we leave so

we can lay them out tonight to dry,” she commented. “No

telling when we’ll find another good place to get clean.”

“Good idea.”

Daria discarded her clothing as fast as humanly

possible, grabbed the soap, and dashed for the water. She

plunged into the pond and faced Ryon, making sure her

breasts were well within his appreciative view.

“Oh, it’s so warm!” she called to him. “This feels

terrific.”

“Doesn’t it?” He didn’t look like he was thinking about

the water as he eyed her.

“I’ll never take my shower at home for granted again.”

He laughed once more. She loved the rich sound. As she

scrubbed herself from head to toe, she spent the time

contemplating how to get him to do it often. And that

voice, made for a darkened bedroom and tangled sheets on

a hot summer night? Made her wet.

Rinsing the last of the soap from her body, she pushed

her wet hair back and opened her eyes to see Ryon

grinning at her like a fool. “Nice show.”

“Hey, no fair!” she squeaked playfully. She smiled back

—and then a strange thing happened.

Ryon’s grin withered, and he rose slowly, frowning,

looking past her.

“What is it?”

His expression bloomed into a mask of horror, and he

yelled at her. “Get out of the water! Get out!”

Ryon stooped, retrieved the knife from his boot and

broke into a dead run as Daria spun about. Nothing but a

weird ripple in the water, no more than fifteen feet away.

No, not just a ripple. More like something gliding, but she

couldn’t see what. At first.

“Daria, get out!”

Ben was here. And the beast was in control.

She barely caught the distorted outline of the creature’s

huge bulk, then turned and lunged for the bank, too

terrified to scream. Her feet slipped on the slimy bottom

and she went down. Scrambling, she dug her toes in and

shoved forward, heart pounding in her throat. Frantic, she

glanced back to see the beast sloshing through the water

now, right at her back, jaws gaping. Snaggled, ugly teeth

were ready to tear into her skin. She found her voice.

“Ryon!”

He plunged into the water and leapt at the creature,

landing on top of it just as it reached her. Daria stumbled

onto the bank, panting in fear. Ryon was straddling the

monster’s back, his arms wrapped around the large head.

The thing had to be more than twice his height, its strength

incredible. The beast tried to pull him off, then twisted in

a violent roll, over and over, moving Ryon into deeper

water where it would attempt to drown him. Or tear him

apart.

“Oh my God! Ryon!”

The water churned with the force of their battle. Each

time the creature would roll, it held Ryon under longer,

wearing him down. Toying with him, it showed a keen

intelligence that was more frightening than if it had been

blindly slashing at its prey like before. As it flipped Ryon

upright, he’d emerge gasping, arms straining to hold on to

the beast and the knife.

Desperate, she considered his rifle. No good. She

couldn’t shoot the creature without perhaps hitting Ryon.

And the bullets would likely have no effect anyway.

The knife flashed in Ryon’s hand. With one mighty

lunge, the beast thrashed, dislodging Ryon from his back.

And disappeared. Treading water, Ryon sucked in gulps

of air, casting about for the beast.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I stabbed it,” he sputtered, chest heaving. “It

went under.”

It couldn’t be that easy. Terror rose, for her mate and

for Ben. “Hurry and come out of there.” He glanced at her,

nodded, and began to swim without a word about her state

of undress.

Daria had slipped into a pair of panties and was

reaching for her bra when he stopped swimming. “What on

earth are you doing?”

Ryon’s body jerked in the water. His eyes widened in

disbelief just before he was slammed. He threw back his

head and screamed in agony, flailing. Then he was yanked

downward, and the water closed over his head. This time

he didn’t resurface.

“Ryon?
Ryon!
”

Daria stood immobile, unable to comprehend for a

moment what had just happened. Bubbles rose from the

depths, along with a bright stain of blood. So much of it

that the entire area where he’d gone under ran completely

red. Her stomach clenched, and she fought back the

sickness, clamping a hand over her mouth.

“Nooo.” A sob welled in her chest, then another.

Ryon was gone. He’d suffered a horrendous death, and

it was her fault for insisting they stop here. For keeping

after him until he agreed to help her save Ben—her ex-

lover. The man, the creature, who’d murdered him.

My mate.
Tears streamed down her face.

Shoulders shaking, she stared out over the water. She

didn’t care if Ben came back and ate her as well. Not

now. Then, abruptly, the water swirled and Ryon

exploded to the surface, choking.

Numb with fear, she ran to meet him as he swam to

where he could stand. He staggered toward her, limping

badly. She waded out to him, draping one of his arms

around her neck and grabbing him around the waist.

Ryon made it to the bank before his knees buckled. She

sat beside him, patting his back as he knelt on all fours,

coughing and gagging. Ironic, but she’d never beheld a

more welcome sight than her mate hacking up his lungs.

“I was scared to death,” she murmured, wiping at her

tears. They wouldn’t seem to stop. “I thought you were

dead.”

“Me, too,” he rasped. “But I think you would’ve known

for sure if I was gone, because our bond would’ve been

severed.”

Pausing, she realized the golden thread was still there,

humming with life, energy. Letting out a sigh of relief, she

nodded. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking straight or I

would’ve felt that it was still intact.”

“I lost my knife during that round.”

“All that blood in the water,” she said, shuddering.

“Most of it was his, but I think he still got away. Or he

came to himself enough that he let me go.”

“What do you mean,
most
of the blood was his?”

His strength spent, Ryon slumped to the ground. Daria

rolled him to his back, and he grimaced in pain, closing

his eyes. His head listed to the side and his body went

slack. He’d passed out.

Daria brushed his sunlit hair out of his face, and love

welled in her heart. Ryon had placed himself on the line

for her again, and this time, his bravery had nearly killed

him. The truth she had already accepted and voiced to

Ryon seeped to every corner of her soul; she loved this

man and would not accept life without him.

She dressed quickly, then began a thorough inspection,

making certain all of his limbs were intact. Then she

spotted the holes in his fatigues, high on his right thigh.

Dread consumed her, and she bent close. Blood darkened

this area of his wet pants, and wicked bite marks were

visible through the tears in the fabric.

She scooted to kneel by his shoulders, and shook him

gently. “Honey, wake up. Come on, big guy.” After several

more tries, his lashes fluttered open, much to her profound

relief. Which was short-lived.

“What . . . happened?” His eyes were dazed.

Daria’s fear escalated. She prayed that his wolf could

fight off the creature’s venom and that he wasn’t going into

shock, because she’d never tended to anyone severely

injured. “You duked it out with Ben’s creature.

Remember?” She took one of his large hands and rubbed it

between hers.

“Yeah. God, that shit burns.” He gazed at her through

half-closed lids. She let a thread of steel creep into her

tone.

“I know it does, but you
cannot
check out on me. It’s

going to be dark in a few hours, and we need to finish

what we came here to do so we can get the hell out of here

and head home.” She pulled at his arm. “Get your ass
up
! I

need to get you somewhere so I can see about that leg.”

To her amazement, he rose, pushed to his feet. “My

pack. And the rifle.” His voice was breathless, heavy with

exertion.

Her mate’s wolf must have the strength of ten men. And

the heart of a lion. Her admiration grew exponentially as

she retrieved both, and assisted him in shrugging the pack

onto his back. “I’ll get the rifle,” she offered. He

surrendered the weapon without a fuss, and her concern

mounted.

They set out, but Ryon managed only a few miles before

coming to a halt. He stood swaying, then braced an arm

against a tree for support. With a wave of his hand, he

indicated a temporary place to stop.

“Over there.”

Daria led him to the spot, hidden well off the trail. He

looked dangerously close to passing out again, but gritted

his teeth and carried on. She spread the blanket on the

ground, then ordered him to take off his pants.

Under normal circumstances, the Ryon she’d come to

know would’ve given her a disarming grin and made good

use of their privacy. But he merely complied, his face

gray. That scared her more than anything.

Leaning against her for support, he eased the fatigues

past his hips, and off. Daria sucked in a sharp breath. “Lie

down.”

Ryon settled down on his back, eyes fixed on the trees.

He hadn’t looked at the wound and Daria didn’t blame

him. Lord have mercy, how was he going to be able to

walk? At best, they had a day left to travel before their job

was complete and they reached the team.

“How bad is it?”

She touched his shoulder, dreading what she had to say.

“Let’s put it this way. Your part in this op is over. Starting

now.”

• • •

Ryon propped himself up on his elbow and squinted at the

wound. A vicious oath sprang to his lips, but he

suppressed it. Two rows of bloody punctures marched

horizontally across his right thigh. The creature had

attacked from the side, clamped down on the leg, and

pulled him to the bottom of the lagoon. Their struggle had

been brief, but vicious.