The temperature was dropping. She had no other leads to go on and felt desperate to locate her brother if he was still in Climax. Garret would already want to kill her for running off on her own again. In the very least she wanted to accomplish what she set out to do and find her brother. “Okay…Is it far from here?”
“No. Actually, he’s camping not far from here. He said something about looking for lions. I thought he was half-mad so I left him be.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair. “There is a serial killer on the loose, you know. We can’t be too safe.”
“Lyons. My last name is Lyons! It must be him. It has to be. Please, take me to where he’s camping.” Excitement made her nearly giddy. She’d found Scott, and he was looking for her. A sense of peace and love filtered through her veins. Nobody had ever made such an effort to find her before besides Garret and Travis.
“I hope you’re not afraid of the forest at night.” There was an odd inflection in his tone. She wasn’t sure if he was serious, teasing, or threatening. Should she go or stay? Her instincts warned her to refuse his offer, but then again, he’d mentioned Lyons. It had to be Scott. Why should he suffer in the freezing Climax night just because she was too afraid to go with Corbin? Her inner doubts didn’t matter, not when she was so close to finding Scott. Cassidy swallowed her fears and followed the man who’d lead her to her flesh-and-blood brother.
Chapter Two
“There’s their truck!” shouted Garret, grabbing the steering wheel from Evan. He turned the truck sharply to the left to block the road. Evan slammed on the brakes.
“Warn me next time,” said Evan, unimpressed as he left the truck. Garret joined him, only the beams of light from both trucks creating illumination in the pitch darkness around them. Forests closed in from both sides of the road, creating only a narrow alley for cars to pass. Nature continually tried to reclaim the land from human development.
Two more truck doors slammed shut before Travis and Patrick joined them. A flurry of insects danced in the light between both vehicles, briefly scattering as the other two men cut across to lean against the front of their truck.
“What is it?” asked Patrick. “You going for a run?”
“We’re looking for Cassidy,” said Garret. It was hard for him to hide the urgency in his voice. He couldn’t wait to have his woman safely in his arms. She was obstinate, not listening to a word he said. After her last close call, he thought for certain she’d heed his warning about running off on her own. This wasn’t a safe area, certainly not a place for a helpless female to be roaming around, encouraging all the predators she didn’t know existed. There was a fucking stalker after her, the Rockford wolves knew she was important to them, and a killer roamed the forests.
“What for? I thought she was with you.”
Garret growled low in his chest, but loud enough for his pack mates to hear. “She’s run off on another goose chase, this time thinking she’ll find that bastard brother of hers. It’s dark and I don’t like her wandering around Climax unprotected. Did you see that truck of his around town?”
The cowboy shook his head. He could feel Patrick and Travis’s concern before either of them spoke. The curse of being alpha.
They’d said they knew something was off with her brother when they’d caught up with him originally. It was Scott’s scent near Cassidy’s house, and they suspected him of leaving the threatening letter on her door, even though he denied it.
Garret hadn’t even had a chance to do a thorough check on this guy. For all he knew, it was some gold digger trying to benefit off Cassidy’s inheritance, or some crazed boyfriend who couldn’t take no for an answer. There was no proof he was a blood kin, and even if he was, that didn’t make him a saint. Whoever Scott claimed to be, Garret didn’t feel safe knowing his woman was alone with him. Neither did his pack. The malevolent energy emanating from the men was palpable. Their thoughts were bombarding his mind, making his blood race with the rage they each felt.
“Then let’s find her,” said Travis.
“No sign of her or the brother at the diner? Nothing suspicious around town?” asked Garret.
Patrick tested the air. “We didn’t think to look. As far as we knew Cassidy was at the mine with the two of you.” Garret could also hear Patrick’s unspoken words thanks to his so-called gift as alpha. The blame, the accusations.
“Red, if you have something to say, say it,” he goaded.
The crazy shifter crossed his arms over his chest. “For a male claiming to be mated, you’re being pretty lax with Cassidy’s safety. You should have marked her for the pack while you had the chance.”
“I didn’t let her leave. Evan did.”
“Well, nobody told me she was a fucking prisoner. If I had known she’d leave the mine on her own, I would have stopped her, so don’t look at me like that.” Evan began to walk around to the driver’s side of the pickup truck. “Are we driving back to town or breaking out the fur?”
Garret couldn’t think clearly. He’d finally found the woman he knew was his mate, the one he planned to offer his pack as their one and only. Now she was out of his protective grasp, and he felt like a cornered dog, desperate and dangerous. His wolf clawed at his innards, begging to be freed. It took all his control to keep his human skin and focus on the task at hand. Garret opened the passenger door, but paused before entering.
He swore he could sense the fifth member of the pack now that they stood silently on the edge of the forest. He’d traveled these woods in search of Matthew for weeks and never felt such a connection. Was it his imagination or a sign that Matthew was still alive? Or was his mind such a mess he couldn’t think straight? Right now Cassidy had to come first.
“Let’s drive by her place and then hit the town. If she’s not there, we’ll regroup and decide what to do.” Garret got in the truck, eager to get moving. Evan didn’t spare any time, reversing on the gravel road and doing a three-point turn so they could check out Cassidy’s house.
She hadn’t lived in her cottage-like home since she first arrived in town. It needed too much work, and after the threatening note pinned to her door, Garret didn’t like her being there alone. Not to mention she claimed to hear wolves clamoring outside the walls by night, wolves not belonging to the Gregor Pack.
“You’re sure about her?” Evan asked after a lengthy silence. Garret had his window rolled down as they drove, listening to the drone of insects, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary. “She’s the one. The woman you choose for our pack?”
He knew Evan wanted to claim Cassidy. She’d been a topic of conflict between them ever since she arrived and Evan got a hard-on for her. He wasn’t good at masking his emotions like Patrick and Travis, making it more than clear he wanted Garret to mark her for the pack. He’d gone so far that Garret wondered if he’d defy him, turn on his alpha for the love of a female. So far he’d remained loyal, but Garret wasn’t foolish enough to think it would have lasted much longer if he hadn’t claimed the human girl.
“I’ve already made my choice clear. After spending those nights alone with her, I discovered what my wolf already knew. She’s ours. Explaining that to a hotheaded human isn’t going to be so easy.”
“She feels it, too. She must. The gods wouldn’t bless us with the mating call for nothing.”
Garret shrugged. He wasn’t sure about much, not even the wisdom of the gods—not with his friend missing for so many weeks. But he knew Cassidy was the one woman for him. Her body was ripe, responding to his touch as if they were made for each other. Her scent aroused his beast, called to him like a beacon. He had no doubt. Yet, he was foolish enough not to mark her. He had to stop thinking like a man and listen to his wolf in matters of the heart.
“Maybe.”
Evan pulled in the small clearing beside Cassidy’s deserted house. There was no fire burning inside so he doubted she was there. The night was cold, and Evan had cut her enough wood to last a lifetime when she’d originally moved in.
“Apparently our little wildcat likes being punished. When we get her back, I’ll enjoy branding her ass.” He slipped out of the truck as the other pickup pulled in behind them, crunching along the gravel and twigs. There was no fresh scent of Cassidy or a male near the house, but he could make out the rancid markings of foreign wolves. Those bastards from Rockford thought they owned everything in sight, but Garret would never give up his land, his mine, or his woman.
“Well?” asked Patrick. He’d pulled on one of his toques, the evening chill setting in quickly. Garret couldn’t help but imagine Cassidy scared, cold, and alone somewhere.
“I scent nothing.” He kicked the tire of his truck. “Damn it!”
“What if she’s back at the mine already?” asked Travis.
He shook his head. “We would have passed her.” His mind was reeling, trying to decide where to look next. He was the alpha and had to make the decisions for the pack. So far he felt like a failure, not worthy of the title. Matthew was missing, and he couldn’t even keep tabs on his mate.
* * * *
Cassidy followed Corbin as he approached the black wall of forest ahead. He didn’t even have a flashlight, but walked with confidence, not the least bit leery of the darkness about to engulf them. She wasn’t so sure about her decision to follow this stranger into the secluded woods. Nobody knew where she was, not even Evan. With each tentative step, she thought more about all the recent events in Climax. There were either man-eating wolves or a serial killer lurking in the shadows awaiting their next victim. Garret continually blamed the crew at the Rockford Mine for all his troubles, including Matthew’s disappearance. She wasn’t sure if his claims had any validity, but she knew the foreman loved the missing miner like a brother. Every time he spoke about his memories of the man, his eyes would take on a different light and the energy around him would soften.
“How far out is he?” she asked when she could no longer see her next step.
“Not too far. Try and keep up.”
“But I can’t see.” With her luck she’d trip over a downed log or get whipped in the face with sharp twigs. All she could go by was the sound of Corbin’s voice because even his steps were silent as if he walked above the grass.
“If you want to see your brother, you need to try your best.”
She decided to stop complaining and just follow before he got tired of leading her. As much as the situation screamed for her to escape, to run back to her car and the safety of the Gregor Mine, she had to find her brother. Not only were the elements a danger to him, but he may give up his search for her and leave town, stealing away her only chance of meeting him. She put her fears aside for the sake of her brother.
Cassidy trudged through the forest, feeling around, and cautiously stepping her way along. Occasionally Corbin would whistle and shout back for her to keep up. His voice was her only link, the only thing grounding her in such a frightful place. She could hear leaves crunching and twigs snapping to her sides. Animals scurried in the branches high above and wolves bayed in the distance. Her body was stiff with fear, her heart racing as she followed blindly through the obstacle course of old-growth trees.
“Are you sure you remember where he is? Should we go back for a flashlight?”
There was no response.
She stopped dead and listened. “Corbin?” Her own voice startled her now. Even the forest critters seemed to silence at once. Cassidy felt as if she were in a black void, a vacuum in time where no light or sound existed. She’d never find her way out of the forest alone. Not tonight. Corbin had led her a good twenty minutes into the thick of it. “Corbin!” she screamed, just the once. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t dare to keep calling him and rouse the attention of bears or wolves. What else lurked around her? Fear of the unknown nearly brought her to hysterics. Instead, she squatted down, determined to bunker down until the light of day gave her the courage to move again. A small part of her, deep down, hoped Garret would rescue her. Why hadn’t she listened to him?
“You smell sweet.” The male voice came from behind her. It didn’t sound like Corbin. She stayed in her position, not moving, not speaking. How could someone see her if she saw nothing? Did they have special night-vision goggles?
“Delectable,” said another male from her left. What the fuck was going on? She heard no footsteps, no rustling of leaf litter. It was as if ghosts were tormenting her, whispering in her ears to drive her mad.
“Who’s there?” she finally asked. Cassidy wanted to wake up in her bed with the blankets over her head. She felt like a terrified child—cold, alone, and vulnerable.
“Get up, Cassidy. It’s not much farther,” said Corbin. He reached down and grabbed her upper arm, tugging her to her feet. “You have to walk. I’m in no mood to carry you.”
“What’s going on? Who else is here?”
He laughed, the sound no longer safe and comforting. It had a sinister edge, making her shiver like a fingernail scraped down a blackboard. She believed his intentions were honorable when she had first agreed for him to lead her to Scott. There had been no hint of deception in his tone. That false assurance had motivated her to follow him into the darkness. She should have listened to the concerned voice in her head, but now it was too late.
“It’s just you and me, Cassidy.”
She knew what she’d heard, but didn’t argue. Maybe she really was losing it. They finally reached a slight clearing where the faint light from the moon was able to cast a soft glow. She could see shadows, the outlines of trees, and the large man in front of her. Corbin backed her up until she struck a large tree. She reached behind to stabilize herself. The moist moss covering the tree trunk had her pulling her hand back.
“What are you doing? Where’s Scott?”
He chuckled, cupping her face in his palm. She cringed away from his touch. When her head turned slightly to the left, she noticed the figures of several other men. She swore her heart stopped. If she were with Garret, Travis, Patrick, and Evan, she knew she’d feel safe, aroused, and at peace. But being surrounded by these strange men crippled her with fear. She wanted no part of them.
Cassidy nearly laughed out loud. She’d gone her whole life living in the so-called bad areas of the city and never had a problem. Now she was faced with God knew what at the hands of these bushmen. So much for safe country living.
“Who?” He lowered his head and nuzzled her neck, his stubble scratching her sensitive skin.
“My brother. You were supposed to lead me to him.” She tried so hard to keep the fear out of her voice, somehow knowing it would only encourage such a predator.
“You’re getting weak in your old age, Corbin,” said another man. “You have to resort to tricks to get a female to follow you.” The group of men laughed, the sounds coming from all around her. She was surrounded with no chance of escape.
“She looks more frightened than a prairie mouse trapped by a barn cat. What are your plans? Are you claiming her for our pack?”
How many men were out here? How could they see with such ease?
Corbin snorted. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t take her as a mate. She’s been soiled by our rivals.” His hand traveled lower, down her arm and around her back. He tugged her against the firmness of his body.
“Please…” she pleaded.
“There’s no room for mercy in these parts. I’m just sorry we didn’t meet under different circumstances.” Then he leaned forward and crushed a bruising kiss to her mouth.
Chapter Three
Patrick shoved open the door to the diner. There were a few hunters sitting at the counter wearing heavy orange reflective coats and beaver hats. Earlier in the evening, he’d left with Travis as soon as they came in. There was no love between the Gregor miners and the hunters and loggers of Climax. They represented a threat to their inner wolves, an enemy of nature’s delicate balance. Since Garret banned them from hunting on his land, the hunters hated them just as much in return. They had to either travel far east or risk hunting illegally. Garret wasn’t friendly with trespassers.
“Back so soon?” asked the waitress.
His other three pack mates entered the diner behind him. “A girl. Brown hair, blue eyes. You see her in or around here recently?”
“You talkin’ about that little thing you hired at the mine? She only left here about twenty minutes ago.”
Patrick’s heart began to race. She’d seen Cassidy. “She say where she was heading?”
The woman lowered her brow and fiddled with the straps of her apron. “Can’t say I recall. She said something about looking for a stranger to town.”
He stifled a growl. Patrick had no patience for the woman in front of him or the men eavesdropping.
“You have any luck finding that missing miner of yours?” asked one of the larger hunters. He had a thick beard and rounded gut, his skin glistening from a diet rich in fats.
Garret brushed past him. “Why you asking?”
“Just curious with all the wolf killings in the area.”
Patrick placed a heavy hand on his alpha’s shoulder. The topic of Matthew’s disappearance was a sensitive subject for him. None of them were sure where to point blame. Hunters? Loggers? The Rockford wolves? Patrick often blamed himself. If they hadn’t split up in the forest that fateful day last month, Matthew would likely still be here. Life wasn’t the same with a pack of four. As much as Patrick kept his feelings to himself, losing Matthew was like missing an arm or a leg. He could function, but even the simple things in life made him weary.
“Let’s go,” he said. Then he whispered for Garret’s ears only. “We’ll be able to pick up her scent outside if she was here recently.” His alpha butted shoulders with him as he turned, reluctant to leave without a fight.
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