Pack Hunter (3 page)

They went their separate ways. Kurt headed inside the house and Clint continued on around the side of the building. He jogged towards the line of trees and once under cover started to strip.

He knew the rotation of the guards and had timed it where no one would come up on him in the middle of his shift.

He breathed deeply, double checking he was, in fact, alone. Satisfied, he dropped down and started to shift.

In wolf form he was huge. Kurt had taken a picture of him once and Clint had been impressed with his animal form. He loved to shift. The freedom of being able to do so anytime he was in the compound was one of the reasons that he was thinking of accepting the Council’s job offer.

Once he was on all four furry paws, he took off to run the length of the fence that surrounded the property. He kept his attention on the scents around him, making sure no one and nothing had come over the barrier and only those that belonged where present. He also kept an eye out for any weakness in the fence.

He was proud that the security was still holding strong. The compound was secure. Once he was certain everything was in place, he trotted back under cover. Instead of shifting back right away, he decided to lay under the shade of one of the trees to rest.

The events of the morning hadn’t been too bad. He had handled worse. But the possibility that he could be putting Sara and the coffee shop in danger really bugged him.

It pissed him off, as matter of fact.

He would shift later and sneak back into town. He knew that Kurt would go with him if he asked, but this was something he wanted to do on his own.

Kurt would understand. His friend had been pushing Clint to make his move on Sara for a while now. Clint had been waiting until he’d made a decision whether to stay or not before he approached her for anything more than coffee.

The strangers in town had taken time away from his plan. But he knew he could protect Sara. Watch over the entire town if he needed to. It was what he was trained for.

He was the hunter of the unit. His senses were the sharpest of them all, and the unit he’d been assigned to had never been ambushed in all their years of service. He had experience blending in with his surroundings and knew he could get to town and back without anyone seeing him.

Resting his head on his paws, he closed his eyes and just let the sounds of the leaves in the breeze sing him to sleep.

Chapter Three

Sara closed the door of the dishwasher with her hip, then remained leaning against it. She gazed out of the kitchen window that overlooked her back yard. Her night ended as most people her age were just beginning theirs.

Having to get up at four every morning and be at the coffee house by five, she rarely stayed up past nine-thirty or ten.

She poured a half glass of white wine before she walked to the back door. It was dark out, but the light from her porch illuminated her garden and flowers.

Her backyard was one of her favourite projects. All her extra money went to having an oasis to relax in day or night. She had several wicker chairs and couches that were just perfect to snuggle in and read on the big wood deck. She even had a couple of wood benches close to her planters.

This late in the evening, she enjoyed sitting outside and just relaxing. Nothing to do and no one she had to talk to.

The cool night air felt like a caress as she stepped out of the back door. The last days of fall were approaching and soon winter frost would cover her yard.

Since it was such a nice night, she moved to the bench at the edge of the property. There was a small opening that led to a trail she liked to hike on her days off.

She had a perfect view of the snow-covered mountains during the day, but even though she couldn’t seem them clearly just then, she didn’t mind. She’d stared at the view so many times that she could paint it with her eyes closed. That was, if she could paint at all.

She tucked her legs under her and brought the wine glass up to her lips. Another soft breeze blew over her and she shivered a little even in her pyjama pants and long-sleeve Henley.

She heard a rustling sound by the trail and bent forward. Her eyes had adjusted to the low light, but she couldn’t make out the shape. She squinted to see if there was any movement.

Yes, something was there.

She straightened but kept her eye on the spot where she could see the shadowed figure. It was some sort of animal, a dog or something.

She grinned. “I know you’re there, and you know that I know. Why don’t you just come out of hiding?” she called. She didn’t feel stupid talking to an animal. It wasn’t like anyone else could hear her.

She almost dropped her wine glass when the animal started crawling forward. As soon as she got a good view, she knew it wasn’t a dog. It was a wolf!

And the size of it. Wow!

She lowered her feet to the ground and the wolf stopped.

“Oh no, baby, don’t stop now,” she murmured.

She should be out of her mind with fear, but she was so excited. She hadn’t seen anything so gorgeous in her life.

The wolf crept forward. Pure white—not a spot of another colour that she could see. She sat her wine glass on the ground next to her and gripped her knees to keep from reaching out to the animal.

She stared down at the wolf and when he lifted his head she noticed the deep chocolate eyes.

Her breath caught. Could it be Clint?

She scooted to the very edge of the bench. The wolf crawled forward a few more inches.

She tried to remember everything she had read about shifters. If she talked to him, would he understand her?

“You are so pretty. Can you come closer?”

The wolf moved forward and she gasped in surprise. Did he understand her?

“Do you…?” she stumbled over her words. How could she ask?

The wolf cocked his head to one side and the movement surprised a laugh out of her. She had no doubt he knew exactly what she was saying.

She waved her hand, asking the animal to come closer. Finally he was on his stomach right in front of her. She bent and with a shaky hand petted his back.

The hair—or was it fur?—was super soft, much like dogs’ fur, and she buried her hand deeper, rubbing harder. The wolf made a sound, something between a moan and growl, but it didn’t scare her.

Very carefully she slid off the bench and down next to him. He remained low and let her guide him to his side.

It was awesome having the wolf laid out like a pet while she ran her fingers over the muscles and toned flank.

“I never would have believed I would be petting a wolf like this,” she said.

The animal lifted his head and looked back at her.

“But you’re not just an animal, are you?” she questioned.

The wolf shook his head.

“Clint?”

The wolf actually nodded.

She laughed. “Wow!” she said in awe.

They sat there for a long time, the wolf on his side and her next to him, rubbing his fur up and down. The night got cooler and she started to shiver.

She was disappointed when he rolled back to his feet and stood. He nudged her shoulder with his head.

“I know—I should go in, but this was just so cool.” She stood and stretched. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

The wolf ran his head under her hand and she patted him.

“I hope to see you for coffee tomorrow?” she told him. She hoped this appearance didn’t mean Clint was leaving. Maybe this was his way of saying goodbye or something.

She wanted to get to know him better. And his sharing this secret side had to mean he wanted the same, right?

She gave him one last stroke before walking inside. At the door, she paused with her hand on the knob and looked back. Clint, still in wolf form, remained in the yard. She smiled and went inside. She locked the door behind her and only then did the wolf turn and trot out of view.

Sara, floating from the wonderful experience, turned off the lights and made her way to bed. She had a feeling that she would be dreaming of Clint again that night.

She undressed then slipped beneath the covers. With a smile, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

* * * *

Clint stood in front of the coffee shop with Kurt and braced himself to see Sara again.

He hadn’t planned on letting her see him in his shifter form the night before. He had just been checking on her, making sure no one else was around and watching her.

But when he’d caught a glimpse of her standing at the kitchen sink, he hadn’t been able to make himself leave. So he had crouched down as she’d made her way to the door.

In his shifted form he’d been able to see clearly and watch. When she’d started outside, he had frozen, wanting so badly to be close to her.

He’d known he was taking a chance. She was human and didn’t understand the world that he lived in. He didn’t want to put her in danger, but she called to him. Never before meeting Sara had he felt the intense attraction that swept over him every time he was close to her. He wanted to know more about the woman, though he knew it wasn’t safe.

Clint opened the door to the coffee shop and stepped inside with Kurt on his heels. The first thing he noticed was the two men from yesterday. They didn’t glance in his direction, but they were most certainly aware of him and Kurt.

He then noticed that two other tables held patrons who were dressed like the two men. All the patrons watched him and Kurt openly.

There were no other customers in the place.

Sara stood behind the bar talking with her employee and when she caught sight of him, something like relief spread over her features. She nodded over at them.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” she greeted.

It was the most formal welcome he had ever received. He frowned and made his way over.

“What can I get for you this morning?” she asked as he stepped up to the counter.

He wanted to reach for her. To reassure her that he would get to the bottom of whatever was going on. He would protect her.

“Large house blend, please,” he murmured, trying to catch her eye.

“Right away,” she told him and motioned to her assistant. She placed a napkin on the counter in front of him and turned to Kurt. “For you?”

“The same, please,” Kurt responded, glancing between her and Clint.

He hadn’t said anything to Kurt about his visit to Sara the night before, but if she was wigged out about it, maybe he would need to. He shifted his body and let his gaze wander around the room. The patrons of the coffee shop might be sitting at tables, drinking coffee, but their attention was fully on the two shifters.

He spun back to the counter and glanced down. The napkin that Sara had placed in front of him had writing on it. Discreetly, he read her note.

They have been here all morning. Every time a customer comes in, they question them about the shifters in the area. It made everyone uncomfortable so they left. Be careful.

Clint slid the note to Kurt and glanced at Sara as she brought the two coffees over. She finally met his eye and he winked. She gave him a small smile in return.

Kurt balled up the napkin and shoved it in his pocket before pulling out some bills to pay for the coffees. “Thank you,” he said to Sara.

She nodded and backed away.

Clint and Kurt picked up their coffee cups and faced the room.

“So how was your hunt last night?” Kurt asked loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Clint shrugged. “Disappointing. There doesn’t seem to be much…prey around here.”

Kurt shook his head. “That’s sad. Maybe that’ll change soon.”

There was no truth to their threat. They didn’t hunt humans but they had been called evil so he could see where Kurt was going with this.

Clint eyed the six men in the shop. “I can think of one or…six ideas for that.” He gave each man the biggest predatory smile he could.

Several of them paled.

Kurt snorted. “Not much of a challenge.”

Clint elbowed his friend and he couldn’t help but grin. He was waiting for one of the men to pee himself. “Oh, I don’t know about that. We could give them a head start. Drop them off in the middle of the woods and let them think they have a chance at escaping. Maybe we could have our own edition of the Hunger Games.”

Kurt waved his hand at the two men they’d encountered the day before. “They don’t look to be in great shape.”

The men huffed and, as their faces reddened, the man farthest from him and Kurt stood. “That is enough!” he snapped.

Clint blinked innocently at the man. “What?”

The angry man straightened his tie. “My name is Perry Costa and I work for Reverend Carter. I believe you received my card yesterday and were told of my desire to meet with the shifters of the area, especially the Alpha.”

Clint tilted his head. “Perry? Really? I didn’t know anyone was actually named Perry. Your parents didn’t like you much, did they?”

Clint heard a small giggle from behind him and remembered Sara was still close by. He needed to get the strangers out of there.

“Are all of you so…so immature?” Perry questioned, stepping closer.

Clint rolled his shoulders, stretching to his full height, causing the man to hesitate.

“Guess you just got lucky,” Clint replied cheekily.

Frowning, Perry narrowed his eyes. “Did you even pass my message along?”

“We did,” Kurt replied. “Sorry, no one here is interested in anything you or Carter has to say. Although, I hear the authorities in Riverwood are interested in speaking with him.”

Clint grinned at Kurt’s reminder that the last time this group had gone after shifters, it had not turned out well for them.

“I would strongly suggest that you let me speak with the person in charge. It has been brought to my attention that you…you people are holding two men against their will,” Perry stated. “As a matter of fact, I believe the two of you are the ones that kidnapped the men to bring them here.”

“Kidnapped?” Clint sputtered. “You’re accusing us of kidnapping?”

Kurt gripped his shoulder. Clint hadn’t even realised he had taken a step forward. How dare the man accuse them of kidnapping when it was that group that had actually kidnapped a friend of theirs from the side of the road and held him against his will?