Wolf on the Hunt (4 page)

“Come back here,” she ordered. She might as well have been talking to the wind. Shadow was gone. Gunshots sounded again. No way could she leave her beloved companion out there. With his size and heritage, he could easily be mistaken for a wolf, especially with this trigger-happy bunch.

Swearing under her breath, Gray hurried after her pet. She’d scold him to within an inch of his life as soon as she got him to safety. “Shadow,” she called in a loud whisper. “Where the hell are you?”

He answered with a soft woof. She hurried toward him, all the while praying the animal he’d gone after wasn’t dangerous. Although any animal was dangerous if it was hurt or cornered.

She skidded to a stop and almost ended up on her butt when her sneakers slid on the pine-needle-covered ground. Shadow was standing over a wolf that was sprawled out on the ground. A really, really big wolf.

She shook her head. It had to be a cross between a wolf and some big-dog mix like a Mastiff or Great Dane or something. He was bigger than Shadow, and that was saying something.

Shadow whined, and it was then Gray saw the red on the wolf’s side. It had been shot. She knew it wasn’t safe or smart to approach a wounded animal, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“Don’t kill me,” she crooned as she crept closer. “Please don’t eat me.”

The animal was magnificent with a pelt that consisted of many different shades of brown. It growled as she approached, and she held out her hands in supplication. “I won’t hurt you.” Another gunshot echoed in the distance. “But they will. This is so stupid,” she muttered under her breath, but no way could she leave the wolf here to die.

She felt mildly surprised when she reached the creature’s side and it didn’t immediately snap at her. She did a quick visual scan of the wolf’s large body. It was definitely male, and he was bleeding from several different places.

“I won’t hurt you,” she promised. “You’ve got to come with me. Can you stand?” She knew the creature couldn’t understand her, but it helped her to talk, kept her from freaking out. Her heart was pounding even as she tried to project calm, knowing the animal would sense her emotions. She slid her hands beneath his flanks and shoved, grateful when he didn’t bite her hand off. “Please get up. I can’t carry you.”

The animal seemed to understand she was trying to help and struggled to his feet. “Shadow get on his other side,” she ordered. The dog seemed to know what she was trying to accomplish and allowed the wolf to lean against him. Between her and Shadow, they got the wolf moving. The three of them staggered toward the house. It wasn’t pretty, but she didn’t care as long as they got there.

The animal hesitated at the base of the stairs until another gunshot broke the silence. “Come on. Come on.” She was panting hard now. It wasn’t easy to get such a big animal moving in a direction it didn’t want to go in. But she was stubborn and determined and shoved at him until he took the few steps. He staggered in through the door before collapsing on the floor.

“Shit.” She leaned against the wall and sucked in a breath. “Stay with him, Shadow. I’ve got to try to cover the trail of blood leading here.”

She took one last glance at the wounded animal and ignored the voice of reason that told her she was nuts for bringing it into her home. A woman had been attacked by a wild animal last fall. Could this be the same creature? Even if it was, she knew she couldn’t leave it out there to be slaughtered by the hunters. It just wasn’t in her. She had a natural affinity for animals, and her instincts were telling her that while the wolf was dangerous, it wouldn’t hurt her if she didn’t hurt it.

She prayed she was correct as she hurried out of the house. She’d seen a rake propped up against the side of the house, so she grabbed it and dragged it over the dirt and smattering of grass on the lawn, desperately trying to obliterate any blood stains. There wasn’t as much as she’d thought there would be. She was thankful for that small blessing.

When she reached the spot where she’d found the wolf, she hunted around and found several small branches and dipped them in the wet blood. She carefully made her way in the opposite direction of the house and dropped them in several strategic spots. She even snapped off a branch to make it appear as though some large animal had charged through the underbrush.

It wouldn’t fool an experienced tracker, but she didn’t think whoever was out there was the brightest bulb in the box. Otherwise they wouldn’t just randomly be shooting. “Maybe they’ve been drinking.” That was likely given such reckless use of their weapons.

Gray was shaking hard now and her knees were weak. She used the rake as a makeshift walking stick to help her keep going. The extra support helped as she hurried back to the house. What if the wolf had died while she was gone? It hurt her to even consider the possibility that the magnificent creature wouldn’t make it.

Her clothes and hands were stained with the wolf’s blood. She needed to get cleaned up in case the hunters decided to stop by. It wasn’t likely, but she didn’t want to take the risk. First, she had to see if the wolf was still alive. And, if it was, if it would allow her to treat it or would it attack.

She set the rake against the house, took a deep breath and opened the door.

Chapter Four

Louis knew he was in trouble. Not because he was going to die, because he wasn’t. Or at least he didn’t think he would. At least six bullets had hit him, but only three had actually penetrated. His body was already rejecting the foreign objects and slowly pushing them out.

Not every werewolf had that particular ability, but his line had always been particularly strong healers. It was one of the reasons his bastard father had managed to stay alive for so long. LaForge men were damn hard to kill. Louis knew he’d lost a lot of blood, but some rest and food would put him to rights in no time.

No, the biggest problem was the woman.

She was either the bravest woman he’d ever met or the craziest. It was still a tossup. What kind of woman approached a wounded wolf and brought him back to her home?

A compassionate one.

He wanted to shift but didn’t dare. She’d be likely to shoot him herself if she returned to find a wounded naked man lying on her floor. He gave a small growl and the big dog next to him whined. He was indebted to both the beast and the woman. If left outside, the hunters might have found him before he was able to get away.

There were a lot of them. At least five, maybe more, and all with hunting rifles. It would have been easier if Louis could have simply killed them, but that would have only brought more hunters searching the area. It had been a stroke of bad luck for him to be seen in the one place where he didn’t have much natural cover.

One of the men had yelled and shot. The others had quickly followed. He was surprised they hadn’t hit anything vital. Most were flesh wounds, but three were more serious.

The dog—no, Shadow was what the woman had called him—Shadow licked at one of the flesh wounds, wanting to help. Louis appreciated the effort.

Maybe he could shift, clean up and disappear before the woman returned. He gathered his strength to try when he heard her on the porch. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. He’d lost his chance and would have to wait until later tonight. Just as well with the hunters still out there.

The door handle turned, and he opened his eyes a crack to watch her slide inside. She pressed her back against the wooden panel and he got his first good look at her. During her daring rescue, he’d been too focused on simply moving and staying alive to notice her appearance. Now he wondered how the hell he could have missed it. Maybe he was injured worse than he’d thought, because the woman slowly walking toward him was exceptional.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but several long, curly brown strands had escaped, giving her a slightly wild look. Her eyes were true sky-blue without a hint of any other color. She was a tall woman and she packed a hell of a lot of curves on her frame. His mouth began to water the longer he stared at her.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she cautiously approached. “I’ve got to move you to the bedroom.” She glanced at the door. “And I’ve got to get cleaned up in case one of those idiot hunters comes knocking at the door.”

Louis growled, and she froze in place. The smell of her fear burned his nostrils and he whined in apology. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

She huffed out a breath and seemed to gather herself. “Okay, I can do this.” She hurried out of the room and returned seconds later with a blanket. “If I can get you on this I can pull you into the bedroom out of sight.”

He didn’t think so. He was over two hundred pounds, and while she might be strong, he didn’t think she was up to his weight.

An image popped into his head of both of them naked with him lying on top of her. She would certainly be up to his weight in bed. He tried to swallow back a growl and it ended up sounding more like a whine.

He hated to whine.

He shoved his front paws into the floor and pushed himself into a seated position. From there, he dug deep and pushed his back end up. The flesh wounds that had started to heal tore open again and he growled before he could stop himself.

“I know it hurts.” She was by his side again in an instant. “You seem to understand me. I bet you’re a cross mix of some kind like Shadow and belong to someone around here.”

If he could have laughed he would have. She had no idea.

“In the bedroom. Come on.”

She didn’t have to ask him twice. He just wished he was going there for all the right reasons. He looked longingly at the bed but didn’t think she’d appreciate his bloody body there. Once again, she surprised him. She spread the blanket over the top and patted it.

“Can you get up here?”

Sure he could. He placed his front paws on the mattress and tried to jump. It ended up more of a crawl. Embarrassing as hell. He was a lot weaker than he’d thought. He closed his eyes. Rest. All he needed was some rest and he’d be fine.

He felt his body being covered by another blanket but didn’t have the strength to open his eyes. He’d have a little nap before he headed home. He had to warn the pack about the crazy-ass hunters in the area.

He wondered who they were and why they were there. Come to think of it, he didn’t know the name of his rescuer either. Pleasant thoughts of her followed him into oblivion.

Gray was relieved to see that the animal’s wounds had almost stopped bleeding. They must have been flesh wounds. He was one lucky wolf. Still, he was going to be weak for a while. She should call the local authorities and see if she could find a vet in the area to see to his injuries. He probably needed a blood transfusion.

“Watch him, Shadow.” The big dog jumped up onto the bed beside the wolf and sprawled next to him, their noses almost touching.

She had more pressing concerns now that the wolf was out of immediate danger. She hurried into the bathroom, stripped off her clothes and jumped in the shower. She clenched her teeth as the water ran cold at first but didn’t wait for it to warm up before she started washing the blood away. Pinkish water rolled down her arms and hands before disappearing down the drain. She tried to keep her hair from getting too wet. There was no time to wash and dry it.

She was in and out of the shower in record time and quickly toweled off. Naked, she strode into the bedroom and yanked clean clothes out of dresser. She felt someone watching her and swiveled to see both dog and wolf staring.

“What?” she demanded. “I’m in a hurry.” It wasn’t like Shadow hadn’t seen her naked before. The dog often followed her into the bathroom when she was taking a bath and sprawled on the floor to wait for her. Still, she quickly yanked on clean underwear, jeans, a tank top and her sneakers. The wolf closed his eyes again and huffed out a sigh. Shadow rested his head on the pillow and continued to watch her.

She left both of them there and went to assess the damage in the living room. There was blood there, but not as much as she’d feared. Since she’d cleaned only yesterday, she knew where to find all the necessary supplies. It didn’t take her long to fill a bucket with warm water and cleaner and grab the mop.

Gray was already compiling a list of things she’d have to buy to replace what she was ruining. A new mop, several blankets, a towel, and depending on if the wolf bled through the blankets on the bed, she might have to spring for a new mattress.

“It’s worth it.” She quickly mopped the floor, a sense of urgency pushing her. Something rolled across the floor and landed near the leg of the table in the foyer. Gray bent down and picked it up. It was metal of some kind. Compacted and oddly-shaped.

It took her a second to realize what it was—a bullet.

“It must have come from the wolf.” She curled her fingers around it. “How is that possible?” It probably hadn’t been too deep and all the moving around had loosened it. That settled the nerves in her stomach until she found another one and still another one.

Impossible. Bullets didn’t just fall out of a wound. She swallowed hard and glanced toward the bedroom, a deep feeling of dread filling her. What had she done?

Sweating, she grabbed the mop and bucket and quickly disposed of both. After a quick peek in the bedroom to make sure the wolf was still sleeping, she put on a pot of coffee and forced herself to rationally think about the situation.

When the brew was done, she poured a big mug and took a fortifying sip. She heard a noise outside and jolted, sloshing her coffee over the rim of the mug. She swore, grabbed the dishcloth and wiped up the spill.

Shadow appeared by her side and began to growl. Not good.

Gray hurried to her knapsack and dug out her phone. She didn’t hesitate to hit the number she’d programmed in.

“Salvation Realty. Mark Harrison speaking.”

“Hi, Mark. It’s Gray Everson.”

“Hi, Gray. What can I do for you?”

She hesitated and that prompted him to speak again. “Everything okay?”

“I’m not sure,” she told him. “There are a lot of gunshots in the area. I didn’t think it was hunting season. I was down by the stream sketching, but it got so close I came back to the house.”

“Damn. Okay, let me call the sheriff and get back to you.”

“Thanks, Mark. I appreciate it.” Gray hung up and tucked her phone in her back pocket to keep it close. She gathered her coffee and went back to the living room window and looked out.

Two men stepped out from the woods, both wearing camouflage pants and shirts. It was the rifles they had in their hands that gave her pause. She was still trying to decide what to do when they headed toward her front door. That made her decision for her.

She gave Shadow the signal to stay. He sat just out of view but his gaze was intent on her. She hurried to the door, flung it open and stepped outside. She didn’t close it in case she needed to get back inside in a hurry.

She immediately went on the offensive. “I heard the shooting. I didn’t think it was hunting season.”

The men seemed surprised to see her. The taller of the two studied her intently. “Thought this place was empty.”

Was that the reason they’d come here? “I’m renting it.”

“That so.” He spit a long brown stream of tobacco juice off to the side.

“It is.” She took a sip from her mug, trying to seem more relaxed than she actually was.

“You see anything unusual?” he asked her. His slightly shorter companion seemed content to let his buddy do all the talking. She took a good look at both of them until she was pretty such she could produce an accurate sketch of both.

She forced herself to frown. “What do you mean by unusual?”

“A wolf.” The man stared intently at her. She had a feeling he’d followed the wounded animal’s path in her direction.

“There are no wolves around here.” Her tone was decisive. “Bears and the occasional cougar, maybe, but no wolves.”

The other man finally spoke. His voice was deeper. “Didn’t you hear about the woman who got mauled out this way last fall?”

“Yes, I did.” She could tell her honesty took them off-guard, as though they’d expected her to deny it. “I researched the area before I decided to visit. But didn’t the officials think it was a bear or a wild dog?”

Shadow chose that moment to come to stand beside her. Both men yelled and pointed their guns at her dog. She threw herself in front of Shadow. “Stop. It’s my dog.”

Both men slowly lowered their weapons but not quite all the way. “A dog?”

“Yes. I’ve had him since he was a pup.” She set her mug down on the railing in case she had to move fast.

“That’s a wolf,” the taller man stated.

Gray shook her head. “No, he’s a mixed breed and I have his papers to prove it.” She took Shadow’s veterinary records everywhere in case there were problems. It proved he was indeed her pet and had had all his shots.

A car pulled in the driveway and Gray breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it belonged to the sheriff’s office. Both men swore and lowered their weapons when the officer stepped out of his vehicle. He put his hand on his sidearm and glared at the men.

“Everything okay here, ma’am,” the deputy asked.

“I’m not sure. These gentlemen were threatening to shoot my dog. Plus, they were out shooting up the woods a short time ago.”

Both men glared at her. A shiver of unease trickled down her spine. She knew she’d just made two enemies.

“You boys know there’s no hunting this time of year. This isn’t your usual hunting ground, Fergus.”

Gray’s heart sank. She knew what was coming. The lecture and a pat on the back as the hunters walked away.

“I figure you and the boys are just out shooting off some steam and doing a little target practice.”

The taller man, the one the deputy had called Fergus, nodded. “That’s exactly what we were doing, Randall.”

Gray leaned against the doorway. “Funny, I thought you were hunting for a wolf.”

The deputy swore. “Haven’t you given up on that, Fergus? I told you it wasn’t a wolf that hurt Anny Conrad. There aren’t any wolves around. And even if there had been, it would be long gone from here. We searched for weeks last fall for any wild animals—bear, cougar and, yes, wolf—and found nothing.”

Deputy Randall turned to her. “You’re that artist lady that Harrison rented to.”

She nodded. “Gray Everson.”

“How long you staying?” There was no welcome in the man’s tone.

“I’d planned on two weeks.” She glanced at the hunters. “Now I’m not so sure.”

The deputy turned to Fergus and his quiet companion. “You and your brother and cousins leave the lady alone while she’s here. She has any trouble, I’ll come knocking on your door.”

Gray breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the law was going to protect her.

“What about the wolf she’s got in her house?” Fergus demanded.

Her knees went weak. How did he know about the wolf? What should she do? Then Shadow poked his head around her and gave a woof. She almost laughed as an enormous sense of relief swamped her. Of course they didn’t know about the wolf. They were talking about Shadow. Even the deputy took a step back.

“This is Shadow, my dog.” Shadow sat next to her, a silent protector.

“That’s some animal.” He stared at Shadow. “You sure he’s a dog?”

She nodded. “As I was just telling these gentlemen, I have all his veterinary files and all his shots are up to date.” She rubbed Shadow’s head. “He’s a wonderful companion and great with kids.”