by Terry Spear
Then running footfalls behind her, crunching on the crusted snow, warned her of the danger. Her heart in her throat, she tried to run, slipped, and landed on her butt. The person behind her was nearly at her back. Hoping her fear was unfounded, she turned. The man's ski-mask-covered face loomed in front of her before his fist slugged her in the forehead. She fell backward. Cried out. Knew at once this was the stalker. Had to be. And she was in a hell of a lot of trouble.
Amber eyes peered at her from the black knit mask. His lips turned up and she screamed, just before he clamped his gloved hand over her mouth and yanked her up from the road.
The truck inched closer. There were at least two of them. She tried to knee him in the groin, but he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.
She screamed, "Hunter! Help!"
"Tessa!" was the reply from down the hill.
He was too far away. Too deep in the ravine to come to her rescue. She struggled so hard against the man, squirming to get loose, he fell on his backside. Scrambling to her feet, she managed to jerk her arm free from his iron grip. The driver's door flew open and the one behind it, too.
Ohmigod, how many were there?
She dashed away from the truck and slipped on the ice, falling on her knees. Pain shrieked through her kneecaps.
"Get her, damn it," the man on the ground growled.
She jumped to her feet and took a step, but one of the men grabbed her arm, spun her around, and hit her in the cheek. Her vision blackened. She was doomed if she didn't do something--and quick.
Using her knee, she gave a hard, short jab to the man's groin. He dropped to his knees, clutching his crotch, swearing.
The first man seized her arm and dragged her toward the truck. She dug in her heels and tried to jerk free. With as quick a move as she could manage, she slipped her right leg in front of him, and he tripped and fell.
And pulled her down with him.
"Get in the damned truck!" the one yelled, who she had hopefully maimed for life.
She noticed then, the third man was standing next to the truck still, his leg in a cast. Thank god he couldn't help them.
A wolf howled, and then another. Her hope soared, Hunter would come to her rescue. The injured man ran with his hands clutching his crotch at a fast limp toward his truck, cursing violently. The other was behind him and jumped into the driver's seat. He shut the door as three wolves raced by Tessa and slammed their bodies into the truck, snarling and clawing. She was damned glad they were on her side.
Before she could react, the driver drove forward, ready to run over anyone in his path while he tried to turn the vehicle around. A new flood of adrenaline rushed through her.
With her heart in her throat, Tessa scrambled to her feet and dove off the road into the woods. Tumbling down the steep incline, she smashed into trees until she slammed into a giant fir. Upon impact with her right side, the breath whooshed out of her. Up above on the road, the truck roared off. Beyond the pain she was in, she prayed Hunter and the others hadn't been injured.
Her heart beating furiously, Tessa lay next to the tree, her face bruised, her ski hat snagged on a branch several feet up the hill. Icy snow filled her boots and gloves and clung to her hair. She couldn't stop shaking, wishing she'd had a fur coat and wicked teeth to deal with the brothers herself.
Three wolves peered down the hill at her from the roadway. "I'm all right," she hollered, feeling foolish to be talking to wolves, yet immensely relieved to see they were unharmed.
Two tore off down the incline toward Rourke's truck that was even deeper in the ravine than she had envisioned. Trees blocked her view of the truck. The biggest wolf of the three, a beautiful gray, his face masked in white, made his way slipping and sliding to her. And she wanted so to give him a big hug and kiss.
He nuzzled her hand and then her face where she hadn't been hurt. But she couldn't get over the fact that this big furry beast was a god in the flesh when he wasn't in his wolf suit.
"I'm... I'm all right. What about the others?" As if he could say anything more in response than woof. She sighed. Although she was damned glad he scared the men off, she was having a hard time believing Hunter and the wolf were one.
She tried to pull herself up, but as soon as she put weight on her right ankle, pain shot through it. She gritted her teeth and forced herself up. "Go. Help the others. I'll be fine." As long as she hadn't broken anything. But she wasn't going to be a burden to them. Not when two of them were still unaccounted for, and she imagined they had been badly hurt.
Hunter watched her struggle as she grasped at tree branches, trying not to put any weight on her ankle. She could crawl up the hill if Hunter wasn't observing her. He began to shapeshift, his gorgeous wolf form quickly shifting into the bronzed god she knew best. One minute, a feral wolf, and the next, a dangerously seductive semi-immortal.
"Jeez, Hunter, you're going to get frostbite."
Naked, he lifted her in his arms and hurried her up the hill to the SUV, his tight embrace heated, comforting, possessive, but still, she couldn't combat being annoyed with herself for her helpless condition when the others desperately needed Hunter.
As soon as he set her on the car seat, he commanded, "Stay. And lock the doors."
She didn't want to delay him, especially while he was standing naked in the frigid weather, but she had to know. "What happened to the others?"
"Rourke's unconscious. Cara's hurt. We can't get the doors unjammed. I'll be back soon." He kissed her forehead and locked the door, then shut it. Then he stretched, and began to shift, the transformation so fast, she couldn't get over how he could be a human in one moment and a wolf in the next. The change was fluid in its sensual elegance, powerful, seductive, and for a moment, she wanted to know what it felt like--exchanging skin for fur, brace-straightened small human's teeth for killer canines, having the speed and endurance and strength of a wolf instead of human frailties.
God, he was beautiful, no matter what form he took. Strong, gentle, protective.
A flash of a thought crossed her mind. What would she look like as a wolf if he changed her? Small, raggedy? Red?
Hunter loped off in his wolf coat and vanished down the hill.
Great. Just great. Here the others needed her and she was totally useless. Worse. A handicap.
She yanked down the visor to look in the mirror and see what a mess she really was. Cheek red and swollen. Matching knot on her forehead. Runny nose, red as Rudolph's. But her ankle throbbed worst of all. Although a pounding headache and aching hip came in for second place. Damn the stalker and his brother.
She peered out the window. How badly were Cara and Rourke hurt?
Headlights shone in the side mirror. She jerked her head around.
Ohmigod. It couldn't be.
The adrenaline in her system spiked again.
Had they been watching, waiting for Hunter and the others to leave her alone again? Or was it another truck that looked like the stalker's, pale blue, darkly tinted windows, slowly making its approach like before.
Chapter 13
SEEING THE BLUE PICKUP APPROACH, TESS A INSTANTLY forgot all her aches and pains. Her heart beat with renewed dread as she watched the truck's progress. The driver paused again some distance from the SUV. It had to be them. She looked in the backseat for a weapon. Ashton's rifle! Relief washed over her.
Her hands shaking, she grabbed the weapon and then unlocked the SUV's passenger door. With the greatest care, she managed to climb out without putting any weight on her ankle and leaned against the SUV's icy metal. Aiming the rifle at the pickup's windshield, she hoped they would get the message and back off, turn around, and leave for good, no matter who they were without having to fire a shot. No way did she want Hunter and the others to come running to protect her when they needed to rescue Rourke and Cara.
The driver didn't back off. In fact, the truck inched forward. She fired a warning round in between the driver and front seat passenger, blasting a hole in
the glass, the gunfire reverberating in the woods. The rifle butt recoiled against her shoulder blade, bruising it, like the last time she'd shot at the stalker, only in wolf form that time. The truck spun around, slid, stopped, and retreated. She let out her breath, feeling she'd had a reprieve.
"What the hell's going on?" Ashton hollered, carrying Cara across the road. Her head was bleeding, and she looked dazed, her eyes focusing on nothing.
"Oh, Cara." Tessa nearly dropped the rifle when she got the door for Ashton and stepped with her full weight on her injured ankle. Pain shot all the way up through her thigh, and she gritted her teeth, stifling a pathetic whimper.
"I've got my hands full," Ashton grouched. "I can't be carrying both of you at the same time."
"Oh, shut up, Ashton," Cara mumbled. "Give the poor woman a break."
Despite his scowl and the hint of sarcasm in his voice, he sounded upset to see Cara hurt. "You're bleeding to death, and you think I'm not shook up about it?"
Cara cast him a sardonic smirk. "It's one way to get rid of your mate in case you're already dissatisfied."
"You'll live." Ashton helped her into the SUV. "At least Hunter warned me you would."
Cara puckered her lips and blew him a kiss. "Hmm, the honeymoon's already over."
But Tessa didn't think so. Rather, the way he acted so tenderly toward her, despite his disdain, he seemed to suit Cara perfectly. A match made in werewolf heaven.
Tessa hurried to sit with Cara and slipped her hat over the head wound, wishing she had a scarf instead. She applied pressure and hoped Cara would be all right.
"Go help Hunter. Tessa's taking good care of me," Cara ordered Ashton.
He grunted, considered her for a moment longer and then checked to make sure the truck hadn't returned. "Stay in the vehicle this time," he said to Tessa, then closed the door, and took off across the road, disappearing down the hill.
As if she planned on going anywhere now. "Are you really going to be all right?" As big a gash as Cara had, Tessa figured she might need a blood transfusion and stitches.
"Yes. Don't look so worried. On second thought, continue to look worried. It's nice having a friend who's anxious over my welfare. It's not really part of our lifestyle. We get hurt. We get better. Life goes on. Everyone knows that in a pack. No worry."
"What about Rourke?"
"He'll be fine."
But the way Cara avoided looking at Tessa, she was pretty sure Cara didn't know the truth.
"Did you kill any of them? The men in the truck?" Cara asked, her voice hopeful.
"I was afraid it wasn't them. What if it was some other motorist with a pickup that looked like theirs?"
"It was them. The truck had the same engine rumble.
Hunter couldn't leave Rourke's truck, as he was wedged in between the half-jammed door, trying to get it opened wide enough to get me out. Ashton was in the same predicament, and Hunter didn't want Meara leaving, figuring you were safe inside the locked SUV. But when you fired the rifle, he swore you'd never mind him if you joined the pack. Meara said you nearly unmanned the one guy, and if she'd gotten a hold of him, she would have done the rest. You got her vote. Guess you're an alpha after all."
"Sure." Like Tessa really believed that now, laid up with an injured ankle, unable to help anyone.
The sound of footfalls crunching on the frozen roadway caught their attention, and Tessa was relieved to see Hunter and the others, although seeing Rourke unconscious made her heart hitch.
"Here comes the rest of the crew. Help me into the very backseat, will you, Tessa? It's going to get a little crowded."
Tessa helped Cara into the backseat and was mad at herself for saying ouch when she pressed against her ankle. Cara and Rourke were the ones with the real injuries.
She smiled at Tessa. "Believe me, my head doesn't hurt a bit. I know what it's like to have torn ligaments or a broken ankle. It hurts. Nothing to be ashamed of. And if you hadn't dove over the cliff, that maniac might have injured you a hell of a lot worse."
Meara jerked the car door open, letting in a whirlwind of cold and snow. Hunter lay Rourke on the middle seat, his eyes shut, unresponsive.
Her heart hammering, Tessa leaned over the seat to touch Rourke's forehead. "Is he going to be all right?" He had to be. Didn't their kind have recuperative abilities? Yet, what if-- "He's got a concussion. We're returning to your place," Hunter said, his voice dark and strained.
"I'll sit with Rourke." Meara climbed in and lifted Rourke's head onto her lap.
Ashton got into the front seat with Hunter, then slammed the door shut.
"You didn't happen to get a license plate number off that truck, did you, Tessa?" Hunter backed away from where Rourke's vehicle had left the road and turned around.
"Before or after the one guy slugged me?" she asked. Hell, she was lucky to see that the truck was pale blue and had tinted windows in this snow. And now a bullet hole with a spider web of cracks trailing out from it in the center of the windshield. If they didn't replace it, she would recognize it anywhere.
Hunter chuckled darkly. "Yes or no would have sufficed."
"What are we going to do about them?"
"End their pathetic existence."
Rourke moaned.
"Can you hear me, Rourke?" Meara asked.
Tessa leaned over the seat again to get a look at him, keeping her hand still planted on the hat over Cara's wound to stem the bleeding. He focused his eyes on Meara and gave her a devilish smile.
Meara leaned away from him and folded her arms. "He's going to live."
Hunter looked in the rearview mirror and caught Tessa's eye. He hadn't thought Rourke would be all right. But now his shoulders relaxed, and he concentrated on the road again.
She took a deep breath of relief.
"Did you at least shoot one of them?" he asked.
"I shot the windshield. I wasn't sure the truck was theirs."
"It was them."
Rourke said, "I... got... a... call... just... before--"
"Shh, let Ashton tell the story," Meara said.
Ashton cleared his throat. "The Department of Transportation sent out the word that the coastal highway was closed because of downed electric lines, flooding, slides, and fallen trees and--"
Tessa looked up from pressing the cap on Cara's forehead to see why Ashton had quit talking.
Hunter pulled to a stop in front of a Douglas fir blocking the road. "Unless anyone thought to bring along a chainsaw, looks like this is the end of the road."
"How many miles left before we get to Tessa's place?" Meara asked.
"Two." Hunter shut off the engine. "Ashton and I can go back and grab your chainsaw, Tessa, and cut up the tree, then we'll drive home."
"No," Tessa said. Everyone waited for her to speak further on the matter. She had expected Hunter would just ignore her response. She straightened her shoulders. "We can't wait here like proverbial sitting ducks. Unless you think Cara and Rourke are too injured to move, and then we'll have to take our chances."
"Not me," Cara said.
"I'll be all right. Just someone help me up." Rourke tried to sit up with Meara's help.
"I'm thinking of you, Tessa," Hunter said.
"Well, I'm perfectly fine."
"We'll discuss this stubborn streak you have later. If everyone is agreeable, we'll all walk back to Tessa's place."
Both Rourke and Cara looked paler than normal, but they put on stoic faces and began the trek home. Tessa had planned to somehow walk on her own, but Hunter lifted her in his arms.
"You can't carry me all that way."
Everyone chuckled.
"If I didn't have a lupus garou's strength, you'd probably be right."
"I don't think I've heard anyone question Hunter's strength before and get off that easily," Meara said, her voice amused. Rourke stumbled and she took hold of his arm and kept glancing at him as if to make sure he was okay.
Ashton had his arm around Cara's waist, a
nd she snuggled under his arm.
"About the driver of the truck, I couldn't kill him. I was afraid he might not have been the same guy who was stalking me. And even if he was..." Tessa let her words trail off. She couldn't have murdered him in cold blood. If he had tried to run her over with the truck again, she wouldn't have hesitated then.
Hunter shook his head. "The bullets wouldn't have killed him."
"Unless they were silver?"
"So legend says. I don't know of anyone who shot a lupus garou with silver bullets. But it could have happened. That's often how legends get started."
They all grew quiet. The snow fell around them, the wind still blowing hard, and they slipped as they walked on the icy road. After a mile, Rourke had slowed his pace even more, and he seemed to be leaning on Meara's strength. Ashton finally lifted Cara and carried her. But before they reached the house, Tessa saw a black Hummer parked in the driveway. Her heart tripped.
"Leidolf," Hunter said, his voice couched in annoyance.
"The red lupus garou is back for the redhead," Meara said. "Don't you think?"
"Back for me?" Not that there were any other redheads in their little party. "Red lupus garou?"
"There are red and grays," Meara explained.
"Better not be the reason why he's returned," Hunter responded.
Tessa didn't see any sign of Leidolf in the Humvee, then observed him looking out the picture window.
"How'd he get in my house?" Her frigid skin turned icier.
Leidolf opened the front door and came outside. "Back door was unlocked. Road was blocked by downed wires the way I was headed. Looks like you ran into some trouble, too."
Tessa felt sick to her stomach. At least she was pretty sure she had locked the back door. Unless someone had gone out that way and hadn't relocked the door.
"Rockslide our way. Then on the return home, a tree had fallen across the road," Hunter said.
Leidolf dropped his gaze to Tessa as if he had only now noticed her in Hunter's arms. "Is she injured badly?"
"No, she is not injured badly." Tessa frowned at him.
He didn't have to act like she was a child or didn't exist.