by Eve Langlais
“I’m up for the challenge and I’m ready for this assignment,” Colin said. “Liam isn’t going to be a problem. He’ll be concerned, but I know he’ll see things my way once I talk to him. I’m anxious to get to work.”
“Good.” Wade rested his arms on the desk. “We need a dozen more like you, Colin. We’re glad to have you come aboard.”
In the span of a couple of days, Colin had everything he’d ever wanted. A family. A pack. And now a purpose, and a mate. Life couldn’t get any better. So why couldn’t he quell the sense of foreboding that intruded on his happiness?
CHAPTER 4
Colin left his meeting with Wade riding a high of optimism. His moment of nervous anxiety was long forgotten as he parked his truck along the Kirkham trail, ready to do a little scouting and track some game. He hadn’t intended to scout so far from Stanley, but Wade had let him know that the deer had been hanging out close to the ridges at the top of the trail and Colin was anxious to see for himself. A sure thing was better than chasing his tail closer to home any day of the week.
Besides, when he was done Colin planned on stopping by the Sourdough. He needed to make peace with his mate and start them off on the right foot before his wolf intervened. Unfortunately, the animal part of him wasn’t half as diplomatic.
Bright autumn colors painted the brush and trees that dotted the hillside. Fiery reds, bright oranges and yellows. Muted browns and golds. The previous winter had been hard, which saturated the mountains with plenty of groundwater to sustain the land throughout the summer heat. The grass didn’t crunch beneath Colin’s feet as it had last year. A good sign. Game would be easier to track when the grass and underbrush didn’t give away his presence.
Thanks to his preternatural senses, Colin had one up on the animals he tracked. The sound of the wind, of every blade of grass that stirred, was intensified so he recognized even the tiniest shift of motion or bending branch. He continued to hike upward, searching for a vantage point to scan the lower hillsides and valley below. He didn’t need binoculars thanks to his keen eyesight. Aside from a light daypack with water and a couple of snacks, Colin didn’t need anything else in the way of gear.
The Kirkham trail was popular with hikers. From the top of the ridge, the trail wound downward for five or six miles and ended up near the hot springs, which was one of Lowman’s main tourist draws. Colin had stopped at the hot springs once last winter with his brother, Owen, and Owen’s mate, Mia. But being the third wheel was never fun and Colin hadn’t found the soak in the geothermal waters all that relaxing.
Maybe now that he was mated and no longer a tagalong, he’d find a reason to go back there.
Colin’s mind wandered to Ellie as he continued to hike. The wonders of the mate bond were as sudden as they were unfathomable. He didn’t know anything about her other than her first name and that she coveted Frank’s Sunday-morning cinnamon roll with a ferocity that rivaled that of the wildest of wolves. Magic clung to her, although Colin had been certain she was human. A curiosity he planned to get to the bottom of ASAP. Her heritage could be considered problematic but not insurmountable. His alpha, Liam’s, mate had been human and she’d become a werewolf soon after their mate bond was established. If Ellie was, in fact, human, a simple bite would ensure that she would be stronger, infallible to human sickness and injuries. She’d be practically immortal like Colin.
He could ease her into the idea. Give her all of the facts and let her come to the conclusion on her own that becoming a werewolf was the best course of action. That is, if he could get that hot temper of hers to cool long enough for her to hear him out. Even then, the chances of her believing him were slim to none. Hell, Colin hadn’t believed in things like werewolves either until he’d been bitten by one. To say there was a bit of an adjustment period after learning creatures you only thought existed in myth actually walked the earth was an understatement.
His mind turned even deeper inward as he continued to hike. He found himself greedy for information about Ellie. How did she end up in Lowman of all places? How long had she worked at the Sourdough? What did she do for fun around here? What sort of music did she like and what were her favorite books and TV shows? Did she have a favorite flavor of ice cream? What was her go-to comfort food? Were her lips as soft and inviting as they looked? And how would she react if Colin leaned in and put his mouth to hers to find out for himself?
His wolf grew anxious in his mind, no longer interested in stalking prey and more than ready to get back to their mate. It further divided Colin’s already half-assed focus. Not good. Especially when the pack was counting on him to scout good hunting grounds. He could think about Ellie later. When this part of his responsibilities had been fulfilled. Right now, he needed to get his overactive mind—and his wolf’s overactive mind—off of her and back onto the game trail.
The path began to narrow the higher uphill Colin walked. His balance was better than a human’s, and he was infinitely more surefooted. It was easy for him to track game in places a human couldn’t get to. The narrow trail didn’t bother him. Neither did the steep drop to his right. It wouldn’t bother the deer either. They’d be hanging out in terrain like this, without a doubt.
Colin took a step and the trail gave way without warning. The ground fell out from under his feet and there was nothing he could do to stop himself from falling backward. Not even superior werewolf instinct and reflexes could save him when there was nothing but air beneath him and to either side of him. Gravity affected even supernatural creatures and Colin could do nothing but bow to its will and fall.
The sheer cliff face offered him nothing to gain footing on and the lack of foliage on this side of the mountain gave him nothing to grab on to. He tumbled ass over teakettle down the steep embankment, arms and legs flailing like a rag doll. Over rocks, tree stumps, and the hard dirt. His body felt as though it had been run through a meat tenderizer as bones broke, muscles bruised, and his body contorted in ways that no human would have rebounded from.
Colin grunted as a rib snapped and he reached for a clump of grass with a hand that refused to work after the bones in his forearm shattered. Pain exploded through every nerve ending in his body as his wolf let out a howl in the back of his mind. The fall wouldn’t likely kill them, but it would sure as hell fuck them up.
He continued to roll, tumble, flip, and fall for what felt like forever. There wasn’t an inch of his body that wasn’t broken or battered to shit. The hillside began to taper and then level off, which meant his wild ride was about to come to an end. He would have let out a sigh of relief if he weren’t worried about his broken rib puncturing his lung in the process.
One last flip toppled Colin’s body over itself and he landed hard on his spine. The back of his head hit a large rock and the sickening pop of the impact nearly made his stomach heave. Stars swam in his vision as darkness encroached at the periphery. He was going to pass the fuck out and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.
Colin only hoped his supernatural healing would kick into high gear and get him back on his feet before some hungry cougar or bear came along to finish what the mountain hadn’t managed to do.
Damn it. His day had been going so well.…
* * *
So far, the first of her two days off alone with her thoughts definitely hadn’t done Ellie any good. Rather than clear her mind, she’d spent too much time overthinking every little detail of her existence to death.
Existence, because she absolutely didn’t have a life.
When she’d left the house this morning, Ellie had thought a hike might do her some good. It had been a while since she’d gone out and worked her muscles, and she’d yet to get out and really enjoy the autumn colors. For as much as this stretch of land felt like a prison, its beauty had always captivated her. Left her breathless at times and made her feel small and insignificant at others. It wasn’t the wild beauty of this place that hadn’t changed much over the course of a few hundred years that s
addened her. It was her own inability to break from the land and her own body that, like the land, hadn’t changed with the passing of so much time.
Ellie had always considered the land surrounding Lowman as such a lonely, isolated place. It was a mirror image of her own loneliness and isolation. Unchanging. Inescapable. Bleak. Hopeless … Snap out of it! She gave a shake of her head as though to dislodge the depressing thoughts. Today was supposed to be about banishing those dark emotions, not wallowing in them.
A low groan drew Ellie’s attention and her heart leaped up into her throat. It wasn’t uncommon to come across animals on the trail. Deer, elk, the occasional raccoon or chukar. Predators were a little rarer, though she’d seen a cougar once and heard the wolves howl. This wasn’t a predator’s growl, however. Or the grunt of a buck or bull elk. The sound was all too human for Ellie’s peace of mind and it wasn’t a pleasant sound by any stretch of the imagination.
She turned toward the rustle of brush to her left and caught sight of an arm jutting out from the crisp yellow leaves. A gasp lodged in her throat as she ran toward the still body sprawled out on the ground. Ellie paid no mind to her own safety. Didn’t even wonder why anyone would be out in the middle of nowhere, passed out on the ground. Whoever he was, he needed help. And Ellie would do whatever she could to make sure he got it.
Her chin dropped as she stepped over a fallen tree, wound her way through the sage, dried weeds, and grass, to set eyes on the nearly unconscious man tangled in the brush.
“C-Colin?”
His name caught on her lips, awkward and yet so familiar. Ellie dropped to her knees beside him. Her breath raced in her chest and her heart slammed against her rib cage to pump the blood through her veins. Adrenaline dumped into her system, causing her limbs to quake.
“Hey.” Her voice sounded small, fearful, in her ears. “Can you hear me?”
He appeared relatively unscathed. Weird. Dried blood and dirt crusted his skin and his clothes were torn as though he’d taken quite a fall. His chest rose and fell with slow breaths and Ellie’s gaze ventured upward, to the sheer cliff face of the mountain. Had he fallen from there? If so, he should’ve been dead, or at the very least battered and broken to a pulp.
“Colin?” She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and she marveled as the muscle flexed beneath her grip. The guy was absolutely cut from stone.
His eyes flew open and Ellie stifled a gasp. An otherworldly gold light blazed behind his irises, lending him a wild, feral quality that made him seem more animal than man. She jerked backward, blinked, and leaned in only to find the gold light gone and his eyes once again blue. Tamer. Though much less lucid. Had she imagined what she’d seen? If so, he wasn’t the only one in trouble.
“It’s Ellie.” She brushed the hair away from his brow, wondering at her own tenderness. “Do you remember me? We met yesterday at the Sourdough.”
Had it really only been yesterday? It felt more like a year ago. Colin studied her for a quiet moment and his gaze cleared of the confusion that had glazed over his beautiful blue eyes. He brought his arm up and cupped the back of Ellie’s neck with his palm. His lips moved and his voice rasped in his throat as he uttered a single word. “Mine.”
Mine? His what? Ellie’s brow furrowed. Had he been up here with someone? A wife or girlfriend, maybe? A friend or even a child? What—or who—was he looking for? “Are you missing something, Colin? Someone? Can you tell me what happened?”
Without warning, he pulled her down and put his mouth to hers. Ellie was too shocked, too off balance, to do anything but fall headlong into the kiss. Colin’s mouth was soft yet insistent as it moved over hers. Warm, wet, conveying a passion Ellie couldn’t fathom or understand. His hand on her neck went limp and fell away as his mouth went slack. She pulled away, confused, only to find him unconscious. Out like a freaking light.
She didn’t know if she should take it as a compliment or an insult.
Ellie had no car, no phone, no way to move what she assumed was a mass of muscle that couldn’t weigh less than two hundred pounds. She might have been immortal, but that’s where her freakiness ended. She’d kill for a little superhuman strength right about now. Without help—a truck, four-wheeler, extra bodies, a crane—she had no idea how she was going to get Colin out of here.
“Colin!” Ellie shook him by the shoulder. “You’ve got to wake up.”
He didn’t budge. Ellie cringed as her hand flew out and delivered a slap to his cheek. Apparently, today was for doing all sorts of unexpected shit. He let out a groan and he stirred. A good sign. Maybe a couple more slaps to the face and she could get him up and walking.
“Colin!” She slapped him again. Harder. “I can’t carry you, so you need to get the hell up!” She had no idea if she was helping or hurting. At this point, she didn’t know if it even mattered. His eyes came slowly open, once again alight with something she could neither identify nor understand. She had a feeling whatever it was, she’d managed to piss it off. Were they sitting over some sort of natural gas vent that caused her to hallucinate or what?
He pushed up from the ground, much too quickly for someone who’d managed to survive a life-threatening fall. Ellie scrambled to her feet, reaching out to steady him as he swayed and stumbled to his right. He was upright, at least. Progress.
“Hang on. I’ve got you.” Okay, so maybe that was a bit of an overstatement. Ellie’s knees nearly buckled under the bulk of his weight. Two hundred pounds? More like two-fifty. She propped her shoulder under his right arm and gripped his wrist. He hadn’t managed to speak a single word since passing out, which made her worry that maybe he had a concussion. The nearest hospital was a couple hours away. She could call the ambulance and have a Life Flight helicopter airlift him to the city faster, but none of that would happen until she got back to her cabin and a phone.
“I know you’re not doing all that hot, but do you think you can walk? My cabin is about a mile and a half downhill from here. I definitely can’t carry you, because honestly, I think you weigh as much as a bull elk, but I can help you if you promise to stay on your feet.”
Colin leaned against her and buried his face against her hair. “Mmmine.”
Oh shit. She’d almost forgotten. “Colin? Is there anyone else up here with you? A person? Pet? I don’t want to leave anyone or anything up here.”
“No.” She was thankful he was upright and talking. Even if it was only monosyllabic words. “Just. Me.”
“Good to know. Okay.” She hitched her hip against his leg for extra support. “This is going to be slow going, so let’s get a move on.”
Mine. Ellie wasn’t sure why the simple word gave her pause. Maybe it was the emphatic way Colin had said it. She sure as heck hoped she wasn’t getting herself into trouble by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Because for once, she really wanted to be in the right place at the right time.
CHAPTER 5
It was far enough from the full moon that Colin’s body didn’t want to heal as quickly as it usually did. It hadn’t helped that he’d rolled for nearly a mile without stopping, breaking every bone in his body, sustaining multiple cuts and contusions, before smashing the back of his skull on a chunk of granite. No one—not even a werewolf—healed from that shit in an instant.
He’d been tangled in the brush for twenty-four hours, exhausted, hurting, and forced to lie there while the preternatural force that lived within him healed every tiny square inch of him from his toes upward. Thank the gods he’d been unconscious for most of it. The first few hours had been excruciating. Colin might have lain tangled up in that fucking brush for another twelve hours if Ellie hadn’t come along. His mate had awoken the wolf first.
In times of distress it was common for the wolf to occupy the forefront of their shared consciousness in order to protect the human part of their dual nature. All it had taken was Ellie’s scent, her voice, her gentle presence, to wake the wolf. But no matter how much the overanxious bastard
wanted to get up and tackle their mate to the ground so he could run his nose along her fragrant skin, it wasn’t going to happen when their shared body wasn’t ready to cooperate.
It would have been lights-out for a few more hours if Ellie hadn’t gotten frustrated and decided to go slap happy. Whereas it had amused Colin, the wolf hadn’t found her hard-core slaps half as entertaining. Her tactic had gotten the job done, though. It had roused the wolf enough to get Colin up on his feet. His head still pounded like a motherfucker and his footing was as sure as if he were standing on a boat deck in a storm. He just needed a few more hours. A little more rest to get him back to 100 percent. Easier said than done with his mate within such close proximity. She was a beautiful distraction who could tempt a male from the grave.
She sort of already had, hadn’t she?
His body might not have wanted to cooperate, but with every step Colin’s mind sharpened. What bothered him more than his sorry physical state was that his second impression on Ellie couldn’t have been much better than the first. He was a werewolf for fuck’s sake. Vicious. Powerful. Strong. Practically immortal and more than capable of protecting what belonged to him. The male Ellie had come upon on the hillside was none of that. The blow to his pride was far worse than any other injury he’d sustained in the past day.
Colin was going to have to do some serious damage control. Once he could actually stand on his own two feet.
“You’re doing great, Colin. My cabin is just over this next ridge.”
He swallowed down a groan. Yep, he was the epitome of male power and strength. The last one hundred yards of the mile-and-a-half walk were by far the hardest. Not because Colin was weak. On the contrary, he healed more and more with every step. Rather, it was the knowledge that once he was at full strength he’d be alone with Ellie. In her house. All he could think of was kissing her again.