by T. S. Joyce
Petting Rosy’s neck, Emily asked curiously, “How did you two meet?” A good old country boy and a pink-haired, tatted-up pin-up girl were definitely a striking couple. Chuck was all camo and hiking boots and beard, and Abby was piercings, bright red lipstick, and thick eyeliner over her baby blues.
“We grew up in the same town if you can believe it,” Abby said through a laugh. “We were small town, and I liked him so much when we were in school, but the timing was never right for us to date. When one of us was single, the other was dating someone—you know how it goes. So after graduation, he stayed put and picked up construction work, and I moved to the city and found myself.” Abby tossed a grin over her shoulder at Emily. “I loved the city, but I got lonely and couldn’t figure out why. I had all these friends, you know? This great social life and parties all the time. I majored in art in college and got an apprenticeship at a tattoo parlor right after graduation. And yeah, I get that I didn’t need the degree to tattoo, but I kind of found the scene when I was a junior in college and fell in love with body art.”
Emily smiled and relaxed into Abby’s story as Chance slowed and slipped his horse beside hers. He squeezed her leg with an apologetic look on his face. Emily lifted his knuckles and kissed his hand quick. Nothing to forgive. He was worried, and so was she. There was no wrong or right way to handle this trip.
“…so then I was like, it’s our five year reunion, and I have no reason to go back to my hometown except for one thing.”
Chuck twisted in his saddle and gave them a grin. “And that reason was me. She couldn’t get this old boy out of her head all those years. So we met up at the reunion, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. My mom just about shit herself when she saw Abby for the first time. I love her tattoos and piercings. I think they’re sexy as fuck and fit her personality, but she sticks out in our town. My girl is adaptable though, and she set up the Tattoo Barn right next to the tobacco shop and liquor store, and now she’s a bona fide business woman.” There was such deep pride in Chuck’s voice when he spoke about his wife. “And now everyone is used to the hair and the tats, and you should see my girl in the grocery store. You’d think she was queen of our town, holding court.”
Abby laughed. “Not quite. I just like talking. I’d missed that small town feel and hadn’t even realized it. I like going to the store and knowing most everyone in there. So if you ever need a tattoo, you come see me down in the lower forty-eight, okay?” she asked Emily. “I’ll give you a real good deal and paint your skin up pretty.”
“I approve,” Chance said, and there was that heart-stopping grin of his that she’d missed all morning. “Em would look hot with some ink.”
“Yeah she would,” Abby said, stripping out of her purple hoodie. The direct sunlight was warming up the land nicely. “Hey, how did you get into”—she waved her hand around the wilderness—“being a mountain man?”
“Ha!” Chance laughed, the single syllable echoing through the valley. With a wink at Emily, he said, “I guess I was just kind of born with an instinct for guiding.” Wily wolf. “That and I’m related to Dalton.”
“Dalton the dark-haired, Native American looking guide is related to you?” Abby asked, her eyes gone round.
“Yes ma’am. He’s my cousin. More like brother, though, and when he started getting an interest in guiding, well I thought that was the perfect profession, and we could just work together and be a couple of bachelors drinkin’ beer every night and hunting and fishing every day. That was the dream.”
“And how’d that work out for you?” Chuck asked.
“We drink beer and hunt and fish a lot, but it’s a lot more work than that.”
“And as you could tell from dinner last night, they like to give each other shit all the time,” Emily said through a laugh.
“Yeah, and you didn’t stay bachelors,” Abby said, swatting a fly from in front of her face.
“No, ma’am, we didn’t. I held on longer than Dalton though. He and his lady have a baby on the way.” Chance’s voice had gone low.
“Aw, you’ll be kind of like an uncle then!” Abby said.
“You want to see a picture of her? Hang on.” Chance pulled his phone from his back pocket. That thing had zero bars way out here, but he pulled up his pictures just fine. “I took this one when Kate told Dalton she was pregnant. He’s been wanting to be a daddy for a long time.”
Chance handed over the camera, and Abby let off a long, mushy, “Awww,” showed Chuck, then handed the phone to Emily.
In the picture, Dalton was down on his knees kissing Kate’s belly while she had her hands resting on his head, twin tears streaming down her face. It was such a poignant moment it drew stuttering breath from Emily’s lips. She’d seen Dalton funny and sarcastic, but she hadn’t seen this vulnerable, tender side of him.
She handed Chance his phone as another wave of nerves washed over her. Dalton was out in these woods right now, watching them, in harm’s way, and he had a pregnant wife waiting for him back in Galena. She would not let anything happen to Chance or Dalton. Would not.
Chance was watching her with a troubled look, but she shook her head. Softly, so the Rodericks wouldn’t hear from in front, she whispered, “That’s going to be us someday.”
Chance’s face went slack, and his eyes widened for an instant before his shocked expression gave way to a slow smile. “Really?” With a nod, she handed the phone back to him, and Chance looked down at the screen for a few moments before he looked back up at her and asked again louder, “Really?”
With a thick laugh, she reached for his hand and squeezed. This was her oath. She would keep him and Dalton safe, would make sure the pack stayed whole, and someday, she would be good enough for Chance to give her a claiming mark. She would bear him a pup and be the luckiest woman on earth that he’d chosen her to be the mother of his child. There was work to do yet, but someday, somehow, they would have their moment where she would tell him he was going to be a father.
“Jesus, woman, I won’t be able to think on anything else now,” he murmured with a faraway look at the mountains beyond the valley.
Chance was quiet over the next hour as she chatted with Chuck and Abby, and in that time, they rode over some indescribably beautiful scenery. She’d known Alaska had places like this—a paradise far removed from any city—but she’d never seen it with her own eyes until now. This wasn’t what she’d expected when she’d booked the tour with Chance. She’d only had thoughts for spending time with him and getting a first-hand account of what he did for a living, but this was incredible.
He was confident, straight-backed in the saddle, always scanning the woods and listening with those heightened senses of his, always pointing out little animals that she would’ve never seen otherwise, and never once did he look at a map as he led them through winding animal trails. Chance knew this land like the back of his hand. That much was clear, along with his obvious love for this stretch of wilderness. He was at home here and, damn, it was a sight to see her man in the heart of the country he loved. As they rode their horses across a babbling stream, the ground around them turned mossy, and the landscape morphed into such a bright green it was almost too beautiful to look at. Birds called out to each other in the canopy above as Emily rode beside Chance, her saddle creaking under her shifting weight. Rosy splashed her hoof into the river, and she laughed at how silly her naughty horse was being. Rosy took a deep drink, then went back to splashing while the other horses drank their fill and moved out of the cold water.
Chance took a sharp right and led them along a riverbank for ten minutes before he gestured for them to stop. “We’ll sleep at a place called Wolf Camp tonight, and we still have a bit to go, but this spot up here is special. It’s a honey hole I found a few seasons ago, and it doesn’t get fished often, so I want to see if we can get somethin’ on your line.”
“I’m in,” Chuck said, sliding from his horse.
“Get your waders on, and I’ll get your
poles ready. We’ll fish for an hour and then do lunch before we head out again.”
Chance was a good teacher, patient, and a good listener, and he also foresaw frustration and cut it off with compliments. Emily sucked at the wrist flick and got the fly stuck in the back of her shirt, but as time wore on and she waded deeper into the frigid stream water, she got her confidence up. And when Chuck brought in a shiny, silver fish, well, Emily was just about as excited as if she’d reeled it in herself. And from Abby’s squealing, she likely felt the same.
All it took was that first fish and the pictures that followed of Chuck proudly holding up his one-pounder, first Alaskan catch that got Emily real motivated to catch something, too.
Chance positioned himself near Abby, and when he got something on the line, he said, “Come here. Abby, come land this fish.”
Pink messy bun bobbing, Abby bounded through the water like a Labrador and switched Chance poles.
“Oh, my gosh, I’m getting it!” she yelled. “Chuck, take pictures! I’m really doing it!”
The click of the Rodericks’ camera was constant as Chance talked her through reeling in a fish on a fly rod. Abby jumped up and down on the bank, then ran in place really fast when Chance lifted the line with the flopping fish up for her to hold. She grinned big for pictures while she held the line.
Chance shot Emily a sexy wink, and she couldn’t stand it anymore. Couldn’t be away from him. He was amazing. Sure, she’d known he was a good guide, but hearing he was and seeing him actually interact with clients was totally different. He was giving these people an adventure of a lifetime. He was giving them an anniversary to remember, and Emily felt so lucky to be here to witness how capable he was out in the bush.
Dragging her feet through the water, she made her way toward him, pole in the air. Chance met her halfway and gripped her waist. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, “I don’t think anyone has ever looked so fucking sexy in waders.”
A giggle bubbled up her throat as she pushed up on her toes in the stony shallows of the stream and kissed him. The instant their lips touched, relief flooded her. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been when she’d thought him angry with her, and now she was having genuine fun.
“We’ll get you a fish, too,” he said.
Emily clamped her teeth gently onto his bottom lip, then whispered, “I’m going to catch my own.”
Chance squeezed her ass and growled a sound of approval. “That’s my girl.” He checked the fly on the end of her line, then made his way back toward the Rodericks to cut Abby’s fish loose.
And as she watched him with his clients, easy smile on his face as he complimented Abby and took the hook from the fish’s mouth, Emily fell in love with him a little harder. Uncle Victor and Dad had been so wrong about werewolves.
She hadn’t thought it possible to care for Chance any more than she already did, but then he would do something sweet and expose another side of himself that demanded her respect, and she would fall again. And again.
Her adoration for him sometimes surprised her and rendered her breathless, like right now as her mate stood on the banks of the stream, sunlight reflecting off the waves and illuminating his striking green eyes. Eyes he couldn’t keep from her for long. And she got it. She hadn’t been able to stop watching him today either.
Chance Dawson was unquestionably the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Chapter Twenty
Today had been the best day of Emily’s life.
It shouldn’t have been. It should’ve been one of the scariest, but as the day had worn on, she’d convinced herself the plan she and Dalton had come up with was foolproof and pushed Uncle Victor to the back of her mind so she could relax into the Alaskan adventure.
They’d had a successful first day of fishing and had even seen a black bear and her tiny, fuzzy cub just fifty yards off the trail they travelled to Wolf Camp. Chance had put himself between his clients and the danger, but the momma herded her baby close and barely looked up. She was too busy desperately eating grass after a long hibernation. Abby had freaked out at the time, but afterward had gotten really excited about the pictures Chuck had taken of the momma and baby. The horses had been skittish but controllable, even Rosy, a testament to how accustomed to the woods and other animals they were.
It was full dark now, the woods only illuminated by the moon and the green northern lights in the distance, but in the middle of camp, the fire was built up and the row of fish they’d caught today were lined in a long, flat skillet. They were stuffed with herbs and lemon slices, each bound in string to keep the flavor in, and below the rack over the open fire were four foil-wrapped, butter-soaked baked potatoes.
Chance was a damn good cook over open flames, but that was probably part of the job description. He needed to not only feed his clients on the trail, but make it an enjoyable experience for them.
Chuck and Abby were across the fire, talking quietly, mugs of hot coffee steaming between their palms. Behind them were two tents Chance had set up quick as a wink.
Wolf Camp. Emily gave a private laugh as she settled onto a sitting log near the crackling fire. Chance’s hand was a comfort when he gripped her shoulder in a slow massage. His lips brushed her neck, and she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes against the world just to immerse herself in the feeling of safety he brought.
“We’ll do it tonight when the Rodericks are asleep,” he murmured against her ear.
And just like that, the warm, safe feeling was gone. She was suddenly glad she’d let Chance in on the plan, because with him in on it, she felt stronger. She felt braver. They’d been free to do what they wanted today because Hell Hunters followed strict rules, and Uncle Victor practiced tradition to a T. No human casualties. No human death on a Hell Hunter’s hands unless a human had sided with the “evil ones.” Like she’d done.
The Rodericks didn’t know it, but they had served as their safety net all day. But this was the place Dalton had picked to lure Uncle Victor from the shadows. Wolf Camp would be different after tonight.
Tilting her chin up, Emily kissed Chance, then nodded her understanding. A couple more hours, and it would be time to end this. He slipped his tongue past her lips once, then drew away with a crooked smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Chance was nervous, too.
“I have an embarrassing question,” Abby said from her seat across the fire.
“You have to go to the bathroom?” Chance guessed.
Abby scrunched up her nose. “Yes. But I’m totally scared of bears, and it’s dark.” She swung her gaze to Emily. “Will you go with me?”
Huffing a laugh, Emily set her own half-empty mug of coffee down in the dirt and stood. “Let’s do it quick before dinner is ready. I’m starved.”
“Oh, Emily, thank you. I have been mulling over ways to ask you for an hour.”
Abby kissed Chuck and strode off toward the tree line, Emily following promptly with a roll of toilet paper.
In the woods, Abby stumbled over a log, turned, and squinted at the firelight. “I’ll be honest. I know the boys probably can’t see me, but I still feel super exposed out here. I’ve never peed in the woods before today.”
Emily smiled and pointed at a thicket that would shield her from the firelight. “They won’t see you over there.”
“What if there is a bear in there?”
“You would hear a bear. They aren’t quiet animals.”
“Can you come with me? Just…turn around while I go.”
With a sigh, Emily followed her into the thick alders and turned her back to give Abby privacy while she piddled.
“I’m totally night blind,” Abby grumbled as she picked her way back slowly toward the fire, and when at last they broke through the final line of birch trees, Emily looked around for Chance with a ready smile on her face. What she found was Chuck, rocking slowly on the ground, holding his calf with a white T-shirt that was soaked red.
“Chuck,” Abby rasped out
, running a few steps and sliding to a stop before she reached him.
“What happened?” Emily asked, panic flaring in her chest as she dropped down beside him.
“I was carving on a limb with my knife and the blade slipped. Fuck, it hurts.”
“Let me see it.”
She looked under the cloth and swallowed a gasp. He’d cut deep into the muscle down half his calf. She’d seen plenty of injured animals in vet clinic she’d worked at before and had done many stitches over the years. “It’s okay. It looks worse than it is. Non-life threatening, and I can stich you up with the first aid kit. Don’t worry.”
Chuck lifted his chocolate brown eyes from his injury to her face, and there was something more than fear swimming in their depths.
“I can’t do this,” Abby whispered.
Emily pressed the rag hard onto Chuck’s leg and frowned over her shoulder. Abby was crying. “He’ll be okay, I promise.”
“Abby,” Chuck warned.
Gooseflesh blasted up Emily’s forearms. “Chance?” she called, standing slowly.
“We did something bad,” Abby sobbed.
Frantically, Emily scanned the camp, but he wasn’t here, and Rosy was missing.
“Chuck, I can’t. I can’t,” Abby wailed.
“Abby, shut up,” Chuck gritted out.
“She’s nice, Chuck! Emily, a man contacted us yesterday,” Abby said in a rush. “He paid us a lot of money to split you up. My business is failing, we’re drowning in debt, and he put fifty thousand dollars in our account and said he would give us another fifty thousand. All we have to do is split you and Chance up. That’s all. Just split you up for a minute.”
“Where the fuck is Chance?”
Chuck gritted his teeth so hard a muscle jumped in his jaw. Emily pulled her buck knife from her belt and leaned over him. She pressed the blade against his jugular and promised him, “I will split your neck open if you don’t tell me where my man is right now.”
Abby was sobbing louder, wailing like an Alaskan storm wind, but with fire in his eyes, Chuck jerked his chin toward the trail that led to the river. “Abby and I emptied the canteens earlier. Chance is getting water to clean my leg.”