Wolf Hunter

by Jane Godman

  But the difference between suspecting and knowing for sure would allow him only a split second in which to make a decision. And he had Cindy to think about. Sweet, vulnerable Cindy. Who was actually looking not very sweet or vulnerable as she faced him with her hands on her hips and a militant expression on her face.

  “There have to be knives in this place, right?”

  “There are more than a dozen wolves out there.” As much as he admired her spirit, he couldn’t imagine how Cindy, even armed with a knife, would cope against such odds. “This goes against everything I believe in when I’m faced with danger, but there’s only one thing I can think of to do right now.”

  “What’s that?” Her eyes were huge in her pale face.

  “Run.”

  “Won’t they just run after us?” Cindy asked.

  “Probably. Which means we have to make it difficult for them.” Sebastian took another look out of the window. The wolves were within a few feet of the cabin now. Between them and the car. Of course.

  “Tell me what to do.” Her voice was strong and unwavering.

  “Okay. If I’m right about this, that is not an ordinary group of wolves out there.” She cast a flickering glance toward the window and nodded. She had already thought of that? Interesting. “But they’re not werewolves. If they were, we’d have been in even bigger trouble. So, we need to scare them. Make a noise. There is a shotgun in here. We go out firing into the air. If that doesn’t stop them, we shoot at them. You’re right about the knives. An ax would be even better. And we need to go out there brandishing fire.” He studied her face. “But be under no illusion, Cindy. They will be fast.”

  She squared her shoulders. “Then we have to be faster.”

  Without another word, she turned away and went into the kitchen. He heard her rummaging around in there. Leaving her to it, Sebastian went to the locked cupboard in the bedroom. He took out the shotgun and loaded it. When he returned to the family room, Cindy had a machete in her hands.

  “No ax, but I found this.”

  He nodded. The logs in the fireplace had been cut thicker than he’d have liked, but they would have to do. Searching around for something to wrap around them, he decided his friends would have to sacrifice their expensive, hand-embroidered cushion covers. He would buy them new ones and hope to avoid any explanations. Taking two of the logs, he wrapped a cushion cover around each and used the matches that were left by the fire to set light to each. He kept hold of one makeshift torch and handed the other to Cindy.

  “No matter what I do, you head for the car. Get in, lock the doors and start the engine. If I’m not with you in two minutes, drive away without me.” He gave her the car keys and she placed them in the pocket of her jeans before gripping the machete in one hand and the burning log in the other. “I can take care of myself. Understand?”

  Her throat made an audible clicking sound as she swallowed. When she tried to speak, nothing happened, so she nodded.

  “Are you ready?”

  She stepped up alongside him. This time, her voice worked. “No . . . but let’s do it anyway.”

  * * *

  It was eerily quiet when they stepped outside. The wolves were so still they could have been statues. Cindy wanted to reach out and take Sebastian’s hand. Except she couldn’t because they both had their hands full. With weapons.

  Four years of knowing the brotherhood, and she had only ever been a spectator. Now she was plunged into the action with no idea how she got here, or what she should do next. All she knew was she wasn’t going to give in without a fight. She would die first. The submissive part of her life had ended four years ago when Samson rescued her.

  Sebastian took a step toward the wolves and Cindy matched the forward motion. Nothing happened. She allowed herself to breathe. But not to hope. There was a reason why these wolves were here and it wasn’t a good one. She agreed with Sebastian. This was tied in to the strange watcher who had been pursuing her. There was no evidence to support that. It was just a feeling. A very powerful one.

  The next step provoked a reaction. One of the wolves bared its teeth in a low, rumbling growl, its breath pluming in the cold air. Sebastian halted, turning to face the wolf, holding his torch out in front of him.

  “You want to show me your fangs? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Hoisting the shotgun aloft, he fired into air. The sound seemed unnaturally loud in the night air, echoing around the silent valley. Nothing. The wolves didn’t move. Cindy didn’t think they even blinked.

  “Let’s go.” Sebastian gestured toward the car. “If they come at you, go for their eyes or their balls.”

  He moved fast and Cindy kept pace with him. As they drew level with the wolves, two of them broke the circle and darted toward them. Sebastian didn’t hesitate, firing off a couple of rounds from the shotgun. She heard a wolf body fall, but another one lunged at her. Go for the eyes or the balls? She could barely see which part of the wolf was which as a blur of fur and teeth came at her. She dropped the torch and gripped the machete with both hands, swinging it wildly. It connected solidly with the wolf’s body and the animal gave an agonized yelp. Seizing the advantage, she dashed toward the car. Was it her imagination, or could she hear paws scrabbling on the gravel drive behind her? Even feel hot, fetid breath on the back of her neck?

  With a gasp that was closer to a sob, she fumbled the car keys from her pocket, slamming into the vehicle in her mad dash. Scrabbling wildly to point the electronic fob at the door, she didn’t dare look around. It wasn’t her imagination. It—they?—were right behind her now. Her relief when she hooked her fingers around the handle and got the door open was short-lived. As she hurled her upper body into the car, sharp fangs closed around her ankle.

  Screaming with a combination of pain and fury, Cindy twisted around. She was half sitting, half lying in the driver’s seat. The wolf had latched on to her left ankle, just above the top of her boot. Cunning eyes gleamed gold in the moonlight as her blood coated its teeth. Behind it, two more wolves crouched low, preparing to pounce.

  Although her instinct was to try and get away, Cindy remembered Sebastian’s words. Keeping the key clenched tightly in her fist with just the metal rod extended, she moved fast. In one swift movement, she brought her hand up and plunged it down so that the thin metal bar pierced the center of the wolf’s eye. It didn’t make her feel good, but it did make her feel strong. And that mattered. More than anything, being in control mattered to her.

  The animal’s wail of pain was like something from a horror movie. Its bloodcurdling howls cut through the unnatural quiet and provoked a chorus of answering cries. At least it let go of my foot so it could yowl. Taking no chances, Cindy pulled the key out of the creature’s eye and brought the machete up. One swift downward stroke embedded it firmly in the center of the wolf’s skull. It collapsed onto its side and, after a couple of feeble twitches, lay still.

  No more ankle biting for you.

  Hooking her hand under her knee so she could drag her injured foot into the car, she quickly slammed the door before the other wolves could finish the job their buddy had started. Collapsing into the seat, she used a shaking hand to insert the key into the ignition. Would it work now it was coated with the gunk from a wolf eye? She doubted whether information about the impact of wolf bodily fluids on the electronics would be in the manual. To her relief, the engine fired into life at the first try.

  In an ideal world, at this moment she would be able to give in to her desire to collapse into her seat and cry uncontrollably. But Cindy had learned at an early age that the world wasn’t ideal. It didn’t work the way you wanted it to. And sometimes it did exactly what you didn’t want it to. Like now. As she attempted to peer through the windshield to see what was happening with Sebastian, one of the wolves leaped onto the front of the car.

  Startled, Cindy let out a little cry. The wolf’s massive, dangerous jaws were just inches from her face, only the glass of the windshield separa
ting them. So close she imagined she could smell the rotten meat odor of its breath, feel the vile moisture that sprayed from its jowls.

  As she gunned the engine in an attempt to scare it from its perch, it was joined by another. And another . . .

  * * *

  Sebastian was aware of Cindy following his instructions and running for the car as three of the wolves launched themselves at him. He went with his instincts. Throwing the shotgun aside, he shifted. It was quick and easy, unimpeded by too much clothing. Shifting was never a big deal. It wasn’t the pain-filled, long, drawn-out process of popular culture. Werewolves shifted. It was as natural as breathing. It was better than breathing. More like a mini-orgasm. Fast and satisfying.

  As soon as he had shifted, the huge Artic werewolf tore into the gray wolves with a fury that had them squealing in terror. Over the centuries, the brotherhood had honed their fighting skills, becoming a deadly force. Together they were invincible. Even individually, they could be unstoppable. Sebastian put his experience and skill to devastating use now. His fangs and claws ripped and slashed through the other wolves. Blood sprayed, fur flew, bone cracked, and muscle tore.

  Usually, when Sebastian shifted, his human instincts were subdued and his wolf took over. This time, for some reason, his human retained an element of control. He wasn’t simply acting on instinct; he knew what was going on. And he knew there weren’t enough wolves here. They were going after Cindy. He was being distracted. She was the target.

  With a howl of fury, he swung away from the group around him. Leaving them torn and bleeding, he streaked toward the car, closing the distance in a few bounds. What he saw made his blood run cold. The vehicle was barely visible beneath a mass of snarling wolves.

  Cindy is in there!

  Even in his wolf form the thought had perfect clarity. He had never fought with as much single-minded purpose as he did now. Like a white-coated demon driven by rage, he bounded into the middle of the pack on the hood of the car. Sinking his fangs into the neck of one wolf, he hooked his lethal claws into the underbelly of another, flipping it over onto its back as he seared its flesh. Twisting and turning, spitting blood and raking his claws, he plowed through the beasts like a frenzied machine, pitting his supernatural powers against their natural ones.

  For Cindy.

  As he tossed the broken bodies aside, he could see the pale oval of her face through the broken, blood-streaked windshield. See the shock in her huge blue eyes, the quiver of her lips, and the tension in her body.

  Stay with me. I’m coming for you.

  As he hurled the last wolf away from the car, he heard a sound that chilled him to his bones. More howls.

  Reinforcements.

  Shifting back, he dived naked and bloodied for the passenger door. He only hoped Cindy, and the car, would be able to cope with the demands he needed to make of them. The engine was running, but Cindy was frozen into her seat, gazing at the point where Sebastian had just been slashing through the wolves.

  “We need to go.” He spoke gently, turning his body around to face her.

  She gulped in air a little too fast, making it difficult for her to speak. Taking a moment to get her breathing under control, she started again. “They”—she gestured at the cracked windshield—“they came for me.”

  “We’ll talk about that when we’re out of here. Right now, you need to drive.”

  She was shaking so hard he wasn’t sure she could do it, but she put the car into reverse and began to back it out of the space in which he’d parked it. Her lips turned down as the wheels bumped over wolf bodies but she continued the maneuver.

  “You can do this.” He gripped her knee, trying to impart some of his own strength to her.

  “You have no clothes on.” There was a new tremor in her voice.

  “Don’t worry about me. I don’t feel the cold.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Her eyes traveled down his body, widening slightly as they rested on his cock. “I know we have more important things to worry about, but could you cover up? It’s kind of distracting.”

  Sebastian laughed and reached into the back of the car where he’d left his jacket when they went into the cabin. He placed it over his groin. “Better?”

  “A little.” Cindy turned her attention back to the windshield. “I can’t see much.” Her voice was nervous as she pulled away from the cabin.

  “These roads are quiet. The important thing is to get away from here.”

  “Where do you want me to go?” Cindy ducked her head, finding a part of the windshield that was less damaged and peering through it as she drove along the narrow track toward the highway.

  It was a good question. Not back to Hendrik’s house. Not some place where they would be alone and vulnerable. They needed help. In Sebastian’s world that meant only one thing. The Brotherhood of the Midnight Sun. He needed other Arctic werewolves around him. And he needed some answers about what the hell was going on.

  “Lowell’s place.”

  Chapter Four

  Of all the surreal things that had happened to her lately, the fact that she was in a car with a naked man shouldn’t have been uppermost in her mind. That was what Cindy kept telling herself. It didn’t work. Even now he was covered up and she was concentrating on the road, the memory of his glorious nakedness kept intruding.

  If she caused a road traffic accident, could she use that as an excuse? Well, you see, Officer, I have a very good reason for my lack of concentration. Surely no one would convict her in the circumstances? Show any jury a photograph of Sebastian and they would understand. Of course the wolf blood and body parts smearing the car would take more explaining . . .

  Deciding she might be slightly hysterical—And who could blame me?—she forced herself to focus on the road. Those white-knuckle twists and turns had been frightening enough when Sebastian had taken them in daylight. Now, in complete darkness, as she peered through the only clean portion of windshield, Cindy lived in constant fear of sending them hurtling off a precipice. It felt like hours later when the road leveled out and they reached the restaurant where they had eaten earlier. Her hands ached from gripping the steering wheel so tightly and her shoulders seemed to be touching her ears. Her body had stopped shaking, but the rigidity that replaced it was hardly a welcome exchange.

  Although being the target of a concerted attack by a pack of half-crazed wolves had affected her badly at the time, the effects had now faded. The here and now and taken over, making the events of the last hour feel like a distant dream. Since she had come close to losing her life under the onslaught of lethal teeth and claws, surely she should feel something more? Where was the shock? Both physical and emotional? Instead she felt composed and in control, with only a slight sense of relief and a residual tension in her muscles as a reminder that anything had happened.

  Maybe I have been around the brotherhood for too long? Or maybe her faith in Sebastian was too strong? She didn’t feel any fear in his company. Even when those wolves had piled onto the car and tried to force their way through the windshield to get at her, she had been confident that he would come for her.

  “Pull over.” Sebastian indicated a side road.

  “Here?” She did as he asked. “Why?”

  “You’ve done the hard part by getting us away. Now I’ll take over the driving.”

  She could barely see his face in the light of an overhead streetlamp. “I don’t know how to feel about that.” Was he questioning her ability to keep going?

  “Feel relieved that you can take a break and rest that injured ankle.”

  “Can I feel interested at how you’re going to get out of the car and keep that jacket wrapped around you?” She quirked a brow in the direction of his groin.

  “All these years we’ve known each other and I never knew what a wicked woman you were.” He shook his head with mock sadness, motioning for her to change places.

  When she stepped out of the car, Cindy found her legs were still doing the
ir best to let her down. She knew it was a reaction to the shock, but her brain couldn’t get her limbs to do what she wanted. As she met Sebastian partway around the car, she stumbled and he caught her. Oh, how lame can you get? Would he think she’d done it on purpose? As he held her close to his chest, she didn’t care.

  All that mattered was his hard muscles flattening her breasts, his warm breath touching her cheek, and his jacket dropping to the ground. She felt his erection, hot, hard, and demanding, pressing into her stomach.

  “Are you okay?” His hands slid under her sweater, tracing the curve of her spine, molding her closer to him.

  “I am now.” Goodness, where had that new husky, sex-siren note in her voice come from?

  “This is so fucking tempting.” His lips brushed her cheek as he gave a shaky laugh. “But there are a number of reasons why I’m going to resist the temptation to take this further. One is the possibility of someone coming along while I’m naked in a public place. Two, I have wolf blood on me. And three, you and I still have some talking to do.”

  He released her and stooped to pick up the jacket. Cindy caught a glimpse of the most delicious, muscular male buttocks it was possible for her overheated imagination to conjure—except they are not part of my imagination—before he disappeared into the driver’s seat.

  Shaking herself out of her strange, mildly erotic, trance, she hurried to join Sebastian in the car.

  “Why are we going to Lowell’s place?” she asked, as he swung the car around.

  He flicked a glance her way. “Do you want to go home?”

  She thought of Hendrik’s house, the place where she had lived and worked for the last four years. From the moment she had walked through the door of that elegant mansion, it had felt like home. Not any longer. Now, it was a hostile environment. That invisible watcher made her feel hunted. She no longer had a home.