Rushing to the edge, I climbed out, and went to the tree. If a large predator was hunting me, there was no chance I would ever be able to outrun them. I had to be smarter than that. Throwing the oversized T-shirt over my naked form, I did one more sweep of the area with my eyes and reached inside the crevice, taking out the only things that could help me now.
Standing with my back to the vast trunk, I hugged the shotgun to my side, and prepared the sound grenade in my hands. The grenade was definitely my first option, since it wouldn’t kill the bear or whatever was out there, but it would emit such a loud boom that it would scare them for good—allowing me to escape their claws.
Hurriedly, I placed the ear plugs on, to protect myself from the attack, and continued to search the woods.
Stay calm… I chanted in my mind. Stay alert. Stay ready.
Movement from my left caused me to turn, and my heart jumped into my throat when I did. A white wolf came out of the bushes on the other side of the river. He was larger than anything I had encountered, his head as big as the one displayed on Dad’s fireplace.
Luckily, I had never encountered a Wolf Shifter before, but I feared this would be my first time.
Forcing myself to breathe, I watched him, somewhat entranced. Anxious fingers tightened around the sound grenade, but I couldn’t seem to make myself do it. He was far enough for me to throw it and get the perfect chance to run away, but I just… I couldn’t move. I was frozen in place.
I wasn’t sure if it was fear, shock, or admiration that kept me rooted to the ground, but I just stood there, seeing him take measured steps toward me. His intense yellow eyes were fixed on mine.
He was stunning.
Yep, that was what was going through my mind in the face of danger. What a beautiful animal he was. He easily reached a bear’s height, a huge ass bear, and his fur was the purest shade of white I’d ever seen. It was like looking at freshly fallen snow on a Christmas morning. His movements were gracious and imposing all the same while he hopped from one rock to another, crossing the river towards me.
The thunderous beating of my heart was the only thing I could hear as he stopped several paces away, glancing at me from head to toe—probably sizing up how big a meal I would make. Unfortunately for me, my wide hips and thighs made the perfect buffet serving for him. And still, I was entranced by him.
Move! My mind screamed at me, but instead, I thought about how ironic it was that the one thing that kept me sane in this weird life, my unrestrained love of animals, was going to be my undoing.
When the grenade fell from my trembling hands, the wolf didn’t even flinch, he just watched me. He was probably thinking this was the easiest kill he would ever get.
“Please just go away,” I begged. My hand lifting to get the shotgun I was fiercely hugging to my side. “Please…” I still wasn’t sure if the Wolf Shifter meant me any harm; he hadn’t done anything to attack me yet and he had plenty of chances.
Wolf Shifters were vicious killers. They attacked without remorse to satisfy their bloodshed against the humans they despised, which was why many considered my dad and brothers heroes. I supposed Billy Joe was right, my family kept others safe, and I should respect that even if I hated the way they did it.
Taking advantage of his hesitation, or scrutiny of me—probably the later—I took a tentative step back, then another, until I reached the crooked branch. He just observed me as I climbed it, and began to inch my way up. Yellow eyes shifted from my form to the shotgun in my hands, but he didn’t react to it, only assessed me.
That was definitely not a regular wolf. The level of intelligence he held was clear in his eyes as I sat on a high enough branch where he couldn’t reach me. One thing was for certain, wolves could not climb trees. That was a fact about their species. I was safe.
A second later, he easily hopped onto the crooked branch, throwing my whole they can’t climb theory out the freaking window. Mother Fudger! A whimper left me as I pushed back against the trunk, and true fear began to pump into my veins.
My grip tightened on the weapon while the white wolf made his way closer, and he looked up at me defiantly, without breaking eye contact. I was as good as dead.
Chapter Four
I could have stopped him already with one shot—or several, since Wolf Shifters were harder to kill than a regular wolf. The point was, I could have gotten away if I just lifted the stupid weapon and pressed the trigger...
I could save my life, I just needed to end his.
The gorgeous white wolf jumped to the next branch, making his way to me like he couldn’t help himself. I guessed that was exactly the problem. He was a predator, he couldn’t help but to kill, and there was only one way in which I was going to survive this.
Emotion clogged my throat as I lifted the shotgun, properly holding it under my arm. My hands trembled while I half aimed it at him in warning. “Please leave me alone. I don’t want to shoot you.”
The intensity in his eyes became all-consuming, traces of anger clouding the intelligent eyes I had admired. Yet, he tilted his head, assessing how likely I was to actually shoot. The white wolf sauntered forwards, stopping on the thick branch just under me. He could maul me from there so easily, and yet, he was hesitating.
Why?
“Please…” I begged again, pain coursing through me at the mere thought of what I had to do.
Killing an animal went against everything I believed in, but I didn’t want to die. With tears brimming in my eyes, I took a calming breath, attempting to control the trembling of my hands, and finally aimed at him.
“I don’t want to shoot you...” I whispered, the first tear falling. “I don’t care about what you are, I don’t hate you… but I will press this trigger if you give me no choice.”
Yellow eyes bore into mine and he slowly stood on his hind legs, easily reaching my branch from the sheer size of him, and put both paws on the trunk. As one of his paws lifted, he pushed down the barrel of the weapon, ending the immediate danger.
Tears fell freely from my eyes as my finger slipped off the trigger. I couldn’t shoot him. I was going to die in the most horrible way possible, terrified out of my mind, and torn to shreds by a creature my family wouldn’t hesitate to destroy, yet I couldn’t.
Shaking so hard I could barely hold myself against the trunk, I looked down at the ruthless predator, noticing for the first time that his chest rose and fell frantically with his forced breaths. His paw was still on the weapon I held, making it so I couldn’t lift it again, and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe he was scared too. He was confronting me when with one shot, I could blow a hole in his chest.
When my attention returned to his eyes, more teardrops leaving mine, I found something in those yellow irises that left me cold. Pain. It was as though it hurt him to see me so petrified of him.
Vicious growling suddenly came from below, and my heart sank when I saw two more wolves arrive. They were white and just as striking as my predator was, but unlike him, they didn’t seem to want to wait for their next meal.
Idiot. I had played right into their trap. He had distracted me while the rest of his pack arrived. My father was right. My brothers were right. I was a stupid woman, and now I was going to die for it.
Rabid barking erupted in the air as the shifters looked from their pack member to the shotgun I held. The wolf before me looked down to them, barking ferociously. And there it was, the merciless killer my family hunted.
No. I was not going out like this.
Yanking the shotgun away from him, I swung it like a bat. The butt crashed against the side of his face, the blow thrusting him off the tree until he slammed on top of the others. Adrenaline rushed through me as I jumped from the branch on the other side, and ran as fast as my feet would take me.
I wasn’t a killer, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t smack the crap out of him.
Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I saw him fighting the other two wolves instead of coming after me—it seemed like some
territorial brawl—and the relief I felt gave me the strength I needed to run faster. I was totally going the wrong way, away from my house instead of towards it, but as long as I got as far as possible from those beasts, nothing else mattered.
“Wolves!!” I shouted at a couple, bursting into a public camp in the lower hiking area of the mountain. “You have to leave, there are huge wolves after me!”
“Patrick!” the woman shrieked and rushed back to their car with her husband on her heels. “Get in!” he urged me, turning on the ignition without even bothering to pick up the tent that he had just finished building.
“To the town, go!” I urged from the back seat, looking back as he burned rubber out of there. I couldn’t see anything in the woods we were leaving behind, but my heart was still slamming against my chest, terror tearing through my veins.
Maybe the white wolf was still fighting the others because I was his kill and they wanted to take that from him, I didn’t really know pack behavior and I didn’t care. I was just glad to be alive.
* * *
By the time I made it back to the house, I was filthy once more and mentally—not to mention emotionally—exhausted. Washing the dirt from my arms and legs with the hose at the back of the cabin, I made my way into the house quietly so the others wouldn’t notice, changing into clean PJs.
After serving dinner—for the others because I was in no mood to eat—I ironed my brothers’ and my dad’s camo uniforms, laying them on their beds for them to change into later tonight. When I began to pick up the mess they had left in the living room, my gaze travelled beyond the window to see that the crate had finally been opened in the backyard. Several large pieces were strewn around the grass; whatever that was, it still needed to be assembled.
What the hell was that thing?
“You are not using that tonight?” I asked, picking up the empty ammo boxes and beer bottles, and throwing everything into the trash bag I held.
Dad looked through the window too, then glanced at me indifferently. “Does it look like it is ready to be used?” he asked, exhaling like he couldn’t deal with my stupidity. “No, that is for tomorrow’s job.”
“It’s dumb question time apparently,” James scoffed, and the twins chuckled.
Sighing, I ignored their remarks. After what I had been through today, nothing bothered me as much. I was still shaken up from the experience. “What are you hunting later? Wolf Shifters?”
“Not tonight,” Jacob answered. “We have a black bear that just started to trespass on the Smith’s ranch. They are fed up and want its head on a platter. Literally.”
Dad laughed at his son’s ill joke, and my brothers joined him like the kiss-asses they were. “Why? Did you see something?”
Father’s voice brought my attention back to him, and I saw him carefully studying me. “No, nothing. I was just curious, that’s all,” I lied, taking the empty cases of broad-bladed arrow heads, and walked into the kitchen.
He took another bite of the barbecue ribs, but his eyes didn’t leave me. “So you didn’t see anything by the river?”
Fudge Nuggets! The way he asked said he’d already heard about what happened, and was just baiting me to answer. “Nope. Nothing. Should I have seen something?”
Dropping the empty bone onto the plate, he sucked his fingers and reached for the corn. “There was talk of shifters in the area this evening. They called me to handle the situation, I was just wondering if you’d seen something.”
“Sorry, I have no idea,” I shrugged, holding my ground. “It probably happened after I left, thank God.”
“Those bastards are on our kill list tomorrow. I might not be able to sleep after this job.” Jeremy added excitedly.
“And that’s what our new toy is for,” Jimmy finished with a sinister grin. “I cannot wait to fuck them all up.”
“We are going to shred their furry asses!” Jacob joked, high-fiving James.
“Yes, we are.” Dad chuckled at his sons’ enthusiasm, pride beaming from his eyes.
What a perfect family. One I was not part of, clearly.
Turning, I washed my hands. “Well, goodnight, guys. I don’t feel too well so I’m going to bed. Could you please leave the dishes in the sink when you finish? I filled it with hot water and soap already, just drop them in there. I’ll finish washing them tomorrow morning.”
Dad nodded a response, but his attention went back to the boys when they started discussing tonight’s operation.
I began to walk to the front door but stopped before I could reach it. “Oh, I need to go to town tomorrow morning for groceries and whatnot… and I’d like to spend some time in the vet’s office, if that’s okay.”
Glancing at me again, Dad took out his wallet and handed me four hundred dollars from the cash he kept with him. “Get more beer too.”
“And the vet’s office?” I asked tentatively.
“Whatever,” he huffed. “Just make sure to be here before we go hunting tomorrow night.
“Will do.” Taking the win, I rushed out of the house. It wasn’t often that my father just said whatever and looked the other way, letting me go work with the vet.
They all thought that wanting to help and save animals was pointless, but I knew different.
A breath of fresh air entered my lungs once I headed for the barn, glad to be out of the haunting lodge of head trophies. Gripping the money tightly, I climbed the wooden ladder to the renovated attic in the barn, also known as my room, and stepped inside. The cabin only had three bedrooms. One for my dad, and the other two shared by my four brothers, which left me—the youngest child—in the barn. That was fine by me. This was my space, and I could relax here.
After leaving the money on the small nightstand next to my twin bed, I shut the window/door to my attic tightly and got under the covers. My gaze went to the bright full moon in the sky, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the wolves.
The images of what I had gone through returned. So did the fear that had gripped me, and the tears to my eyes. I still couldn’t believe I made it out of there alive.
Unable to help it, I reached for the drawer in the small nightstand, pulling out the only picture I had of my mom. She had died when I was little and I couldn’t really remember her face anymore, but I remembered her voice as she sang to me at night, and the feeling of her arms when she held me. Memories were a funny thing.
Big grey eyes as light as water and brown hair looked back at me, just like my own, as I memorized her. It was a tiny and crinkled picture that seemed about to crumble to pieces, but it was the most valuable thing I owned.
God, how I missed her. Dad never talked about her. I guessed maybe it hurt too deeply, so I didn’t know much. Not how they met, how they fell in love, or how she died. She was so young; it was hard to think it had been natural. I had the terrible suspicion Wolf Shifters had something to do with it, but I didn’t dare ask. Not again.
First, because I was scared of the way my father reacted when she was mentioned—my last attempts hadn’t gone so well, so I knew better than to try. And second, because I was terrified of the answer.
Kissing her picture softly over the plastic that protected it, I put it in the drawer again and closed my eyes, hoping a better day would find me tomorrow.
Chapter Five
“Okay, Mr. Lopez. Continue to spray the irritated area for about one week and bring this princess back to see how the injury is improving. Her skin should be much better by then. Keep her inside in the meantime, and make sure to fumigate your yard to kill those terrible fleas doing this to her.”
“I will. Thank you, again.”
“Sure.” Smiling, I glanced down at the long-haired Dachshund puppy and scratched her long ears. A whine escaped her, and she tried to lick her back—good thing she couldn’t reach it. “It’s okay, Peanut. Soon it’s not going to itch anymore. You’ll be better in no time.”
Dr. Roberts was out to lunch, so I went back to tidy the exam room,
disinfecting the examination table for our next appointment. Mrs. Cartwright was supposed to bring Chewy, a blond Shih Tzu that hadn’t been feeling too well.
The doorbell rang as I finished, and my gaze went to the clock on the wall. I still had half an hour before Mrs. Cartwright came in, so that had to be a walk-in. I swung the door open, returning to the reception area, and froze. The sexy stranger. My gut immediately tightened, pulse quickened, and I walked back inside like someone had pressed rewind.
Flushing my back to the wall, I took a calming breath that came out more like a whimper, and peeked around the corner. Yep. It was him. Still as sexy and mysterious as yesterday, he stood in front of the chairs, glancing at the colorful animal drawings that hung from the wall. What looked like a huge growling dog stood next to him—on a leash. Apparently, his pet wasn’t too thrilled about being restrained, and I didn’t blame him.
Looking at his master again, I bit my lip. Darn it. Even Pretty Boy’s profile was drool worthy. He moved towards the next drawing a few feet away, and I instinctively stuck my head out a bit more, my eyes following his movements. He was dressed in light jeans and a fitted black T-shirt that read “Woof-woof.”
A chuckle escaped me and he turned. Eyes widening, I hauled myself back, pressing myself to the wall again. Oh my God. Had he seen me?? Nah. He hadn’t. I was sure he hadn’t. I was behind the wall. Holding my breath, I peeked out again, to see him still glancing there. His hands slipped into his front pockets while his dog bit the leash furiously, trying to rip it away.
A lazy breath filled the sexy stranger’s lungs and he exhaled contentedly. “I know you are there. You might as well come out.”
Mother Fudger! He had totally seen me.
After silently throwing a toddler tantrum, for like a second, I loudly closed the door to the exam room, making it seem like I had just come out of it. Taking a calming breath, I stepped into the reception area but stopped mid-stride, my gaze falling on him ‘surprisingly’. “Oh, hi. Have you been here long? I didn’t know anyone had entered.”
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 19