Instead, she turned forward. She was better off heading down. If she took a diagonal path, eventually she’d run into another ski trail, right? And then she’d follow that down to the base lodge.
She removed her skis and slung them over her shoulders. She wouldn’t dare try to ski downhill through trees after that dangerous tango through the forest.
As she trod in her heavy ski boots, her body heated despite being covered with cool sweat. The unsettling vibe of being alone in the woods crept under her skin, and her eyes darted in the direction of every small sound.
It’s probably just a squirrel, she attempted to soothe herself.
She shivered despite the rising perspiration. The temperature was expected to drop into the single-digits tonight—not as warm and cozy as she’d anticipated spending the evening with a spiked hot beverage while she warmed up near a fire.
She had to get out of the woods and soon.
Damon
The last run of the day.
Damon climbed off the chairlift for one last check before he could head back to his cabin and unwind with a hard cider. Come dusk, he’d head into the forest so his wolf could hunt.
As part of ski patrol on Franconia Mountain, his responsibilities included ensuring that all the guests were safely off the mountain. This double black diamond trail had left more than one skier or snowboarder removing their equipment and walking down the steep pitch after discovering they weren’t up for the challenge.
Damon positioned his skis downhill and scanned from left to right for signs of any struggling skiers as he navigated downhill. Some of the fresh snow from last night had been brushed away by a full day of skiers and snowboarders, exposing a few icy patches. He steered around them. Approximately a third of the way down the mountain, ski tracks veered into the woods.
Either it was someone trying to ski off trail in a dangerous location—or someone was in trouble.
He skied toward the tracks. And then it hit him like he’d suddenly bolted awake from a dream—her scent.
His wolf stirred. We found her.
Damon grunted. He’d been arguing with his wolf for six months, ever since Sophie had run out of that club in Massachusetts. His wolf had urged him to pursue her, insisting they couldn’t let their mate get away. But Damon had refused.
He wouldn’t let one dance with a woman upend his life and all the drama he’d struggled to keep out of it. He wouldn’t be swayed by the notion of one fated mate—especially a human.
Still, he couldn’t deny the primal need that Sophie had stirred within him when they danced. It returned now as instinctive as muscle memory.
Was he imagining it? He took another inhale. It was her, no doubt. All his instincts flared, and his focus homed to one critical task—to find her.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and tried to calm his excited wolf. He would go after her, yes, but simply because it was his job. He had to make sure this woman was safe—if she was even in the woods.
The scent was fresh though, and as he followed her ski tracks into the woods, it grew stronger. His wolf clamored inside, hyped up with tremulous anticipation.
She’s close. Our mate!
Damon grunted and refused to acknowledge his wolf.
The terrain was steep. She had to be an expert skier to navigate the tree line. Hmm. Maybe not. No tight turns around the trees. The path veered off to one straight line through the trees, indicating that she might have lost control.
Sophie could be hurt. Or worse.
Damon’s throat felt tight and parched. He swallowed. He would find her.
He had to find her.
The ski tracks ended and were followed by footprints. She must have removed her skis and attempted to walk. But where was she going?
Shit. The direction was bad. She was heading diagonally across the mountain toward the Sacco pack’s territory—which was off limits to his pack.
Not good.
Damn it. Damon had to go after her.
He took off his skis as well, since it was far too dangerous to try and navigate this pitch through the dense forest. Her scent grew stronger. His wolf romped inside. We’re close.
And so was the boundary to Sacco lands.
Her footprints crossed it.
Damon’s heart thumped like a warning signal. He stared at the invisible boundary line between the mountains that every pack member knew not to cross. To end territorial battles, the Sacco and Franconia packs had come to an agreement ten years ago, dividing the mountains.
The differing pack mentalities had exacerbated their differences. While the Franconia pack led by their alpha Rafe developed their lands into a massively successful ski resort with a flourishing village that welcomed humans, the Sacco pack chose to live in solitude, embrace a simple life in nature. The peace treaty agreed to live and let live, and that meant staying off each other’s lands.
A breach would break the treaty. Breaking the treaty could lead to a renewed battle over territory. A battle over territory could lead to full out war between the packs.
Damon had a choice. He could turn back to keep the peace and stay off Sacco land. Or…
Find her, find her, his wolf insisted.
She was in Sacco territory. What dangers awaited her there, he didn’t know. With their aversion to humans, he couldn’t risk it.
Or one of the wolves could try to claim her himself.
Damon growled. He wouldn’t let that happen. He’d never let that happen.
In the end, he didn’t have a choice at all. Instinct took over, and he leaped across the boundary, into forbidden territory, breaking the treaty with the Sacco pack.
He had to protect Sophie.
Chapter 3
Sophie
As the minutes passed, Sophie’s anxiety bloomed. The cold of night might be the least of her worries. She turned at every ruffle in the trees and sounds of movement throughout the forest. Animals lived out here. Predators?
Likely.
Hopefully, none with a penchant for human flesh.
She laughed to herself. You’re freaking yourself out. You’re just scared and cold and disoriented. Soon you’ll be down at the base with a refreshing cocktail and you’ll have a wild story to tell Tara.
Ahead, there was a break of white through the trees. It wasn’t artificial light, but a wide, open space covered with snow. Sophie cried in jubilation and she rushed toward it. She couldn’t wait to break free from these woods.
Once she exited the fringe of the forest, she trekked forward onto the trail and glanced around. It didn’t appear to be a ski trail. No ski lodge below. No chair lift over the trail. She searched for cables. None.
Where the hell was she?
She whimpered. All the anticipation of finding her way out plummeted.
She attempted to shake off the despair. No. Feeling overwhelmed wouldn’t help. At least, she was no longer in the woods. She was closer to getting back. She just needed to get her bearings and figure out the best direction to walk from here.
Movement in the trees on the opposite side from where she’d emerged caught her eye. What was that? Her heartbeat quickened. It was larger than a deer.
The shadowy creature then stepped out from the forest. A wolf as white as the snow but with piercing blue eyes. Only it was massive, much more so than any wolf she’d ever seen.
Any? It was the only one she’d ever seen.
But she never imagined they could be this massive, dwarfing her. It stared at her, eyes flashing as bright as a warning.
What the hell should she do? She was a city girl. Dealing with the insanity of driving in Boston traffic, fine. But surviving in the woods with a wolf staring her down?
Nope. No freaking clue!
The wolf took a few steps closer to her. She dropped her skis into the snow and clutched the poles like a weapon as she stepped backwards.
Although every cell in her body screamed not to go back into the deep, dark, dangerous forest, she had to get
away from this predator.
The wolf curled its lip and growled, and the vibrating sound made the hair at the back of her neck rise.
Not good.
It leapt at her and she screamed.
She turned backwards, desperate to escape, but stumbled in her ski boots into the snow. As the wolf approached, she covered her throat.
It lunged past her.
What?
She turned and looked over her shoulder, following the direction of growls.
Another wolf. Shit.
The white one clashed with the newcomer, a gray one, in a vicious flash of fangs and claws. They barked and then growled before circling each other in the snow. While they were distracted, she stole back into the forest to get the hell away from them.
She spotted her tracks and followed them back up. Despite how hellish the climb would be in ski boots, at least it would bring her back to the ski trail. To people.
If the wolves didn’t follow her and hunt her down.
Her heart sped and lungs burned. Her entire body burned with sweat.
She spotted the wolf’s footprints along hers and gasped. How long had that gray wolf been tracking her?
Wait, the prints disappeared. She couldn’t stop to investigate and continued to trek up the mountain.
More footprints. This time they were similar to hers, but a larger size. Had a person been following her? But where did the footprints disappear to?
The wolf. She couldn’t think it. She covered her mouth and kept going.
Still the terrifying thought twisted her mind. Maybe it had taken the other person and would be happy to have her for dessert. She laughed to herself, as if she were losing her mind.
She rushed, breaking into as much of a run as she could manage with the encumbering ski boots.
A flash later, they relieved her of their weight. She was airborne.
She’d slipped. Her ski boots flashed in the air before her and then she came crashing back down. Despite the helmet, the impact was strong enough to rattle her.
And then, the world turned black.
Damon
Damon’s gut twisted as he sat in his log cabin and stared out the picture window up at the mountain. He leaned forward, elbows on knees and head resting on one hand. He had to confess to his alpha what he had done. His breach into Sacco territory and fighting one of their wolves broke the peace between the packs.
He tapped his foot and stood. He reached out to communicate telepathically with his alpha. Rafe, I have something to tell you.
Good news or bad?
Damon swallowed. Not good.
His alpha groaned. I’m in my office. Come to me.
Damon glanced at the closed door in his cabin and sighed. I can’t leave right now.
Why not?
I can explain when we talk.
Where are you?
In my cabin.
I’ll be right there, Rafe snapped.
It wasn’t conventional for the enforcer to ask the alpha to come to him, but the gravity of the situation called for it. Damon couldn’t abandon Sophie. If she woke up afraid and confused—and worse, walked out of his life—he’d never forgive himself for letting her get away once more.
Damon stepped outside and paced across the paved road in front of his slope-side log cabin. He inhaled the pine-scented air, but it didn’t clear his head. An inch or two of snow had fallen since the road was last plowed, so he left footprints, which he attempted to walk in on each turn—a useless form of distraction before the unsettling task ahead.
Minutes later, Rafe pulled up and parked his black BMW. “What happened?” he barked.
Damon rubbed his jaw. “I need to start back a bit. Back when we visited that club in Massachusetts, my wolf thought he found our mate.”
Because we did, his wolf challenged.
Rafe’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. “That sounds like great news.” He patted Damon on the back. “Oh.” He narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Now I see why you think it’s bad. You’ve said you don’t want a mate. I know the situation with your parents makes you wary, but that doesn’t mean it will happen to you.”
Wary was an understatement. More like dead set against it. The idea of wolves only having one mate was insane and had destroyed his family. Just because Damon had found her didn’t change any of that. He wanted to make sure she was safe, sure. But that was because protecting others was part of his job, part of his nature.
He exhaled. “It’s more complicated than that.”
Rafe tapped his fingers at his sides. “Go on.”
Damon swallowed. “I found her again today here on the mountain.” He rolled his tense shoulders back. “And I tracked her over to Sacco land.”
“You what?” Rafe’s eyes bulged. He took a step closer to Damon, curling his hands into fists.
“She was in trouble,” Damon quickly explained. “She went off trail into the woods and appeared to be in trouble. I had no choice but to go after her.”
“You had no choice?” Rafe repeated. “Of course you had a choice!” His nostrils flared. “Do you know what this means?”
Damon groaned. “Yes.” His alpha was pissed, and Damon hadn’t even finished the story. “I’m afraid it gets worse. As soon as I found her past the boundary line, one of their enforcers engaged.”
A rumbling growl vibrated from Rafe’s chest. He spun on his heels and rubbed his beard as he paced in his expensive black boots over the plowed asphalt. “Let me get this straight.” He stopped and faced Damon. “You crossed into Sacco territory and fought one of their enforcers?”
Damon gulped, but the shame didn’t dislodge from his throat. “Yes.”
“Shit.” Rafe ground his jaw. “This isn’t good. How did it end?”
“I had the upper hand, but released him.” Damon snorted inside. As if letting the enforcer go would make anything better. A wolf with wounded pride could be erratic and extremely dangerous.
Rafe blew out a low exhale with a whoosh and pinned his gaze on Damon. “You know this breaks the condition of our peace treaty?”
“I do,” Damon admitted with a solemn nod and lowered his head. “And I will do whatever it takes to make amends.”
“I need to think about this before I talk to their alpha.”
Damon kept his head bowed. He’d violated pack law and endangered his fellow wolves’ safety. “I apologize, alpha. I will do whatever you think best.”
Rafe didn’t speak for a few seconds. “Why was she wandering from territory to territory? Is she a lone wolf?”
“No. She’s not a wolf,” Damon admitted. “She’s human.”
Having a human involved in shifter affairs was dangerous. Everything about this situation was dangerous.
No wonder he had wrestled against the idea of a mate his entire life. They were nothing but trouble.
“A human,” Rafe repeated with incredulity. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. That’s what makes this situation exponentially worse. My mother was a shifter, she knew better. But what happens if who your wolf senses is your mate doesn’t even know your kind exists?”
The anger dropped from his alpha’s face. “Still, you’ve found your mate. So many others are still searching. Like me.” His expression turned sympathetic, maybe a bit wistful. “An alpha without a mate is empty, lacking. Craving.”
Rafe’s yearning for a mate was well known among the pack. Many female wolves had offered themselves to him, but he didn’t want to settle with a partner. He wanted to find his fated mate.
Damon let out a mirthless laugh. “Too bad we can’t swap our situations.”
Rafe snorted. “Nope, Fate doesn’t work that way.” He released a low sigh. “How did your mate end up in Sacco territory, anyway?”
His mate. That sounded so odd to Damon. Still, now wasn’t the time to argue the fact. Despite what his wolf desired, Damon would not claim a mate.
He ran one hand over his temples and through his hair. “Maybe
she got lost in the woods. I don’t know. I haven’t asked her.”
“Why not”
“She must have hit her head. She was unconscious when I carried her into my guest room and hasn’t woken yet.” Damon gestured back toward his cabin. “That’s why I need to stay here.”
Rafe exhaled and shifted his stare from Damon’s house to the direction of Sacco territory. “I need to go deal with this situation before it escalates.” He treaded through the snow back to his SUV. He paused before climbing in. “Congratulations. I envy you.” He drove out of the parking space with a squeal.
Envy? Damon had screwed up the treaty and possibly his life. After pinching the bridge of his nose, he turned back to his cabin.
Chapter 4
Sophie
Sunlight drifted over Sophie’s face. Her eyelids were still so heavy, and she dragged them open.
Where the hell was she?
She scanned the log walls, through a window revealing snow-covered pine and spruce trees, and then over a dark wooden dresser before skidding to a halt at a man sitting in an armchair.
The stranger she’d danced with at the club. And kissed. The one with massive shoulders.
Damon.
She bolted upright. “Where am I? Why am I here?”
She peeked under the white down comforter that covered her. When she saw that she was clothed, she exhaled. She’d been stripped down to her base layers, but remained covered.
“It’s okay, Sophie.” His deep voice was gentle. He motioned with a downward gesture. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
What was going on? She tossed the comforter off her and lowered her feet to the floor. As soon as her bare feet touched the hardwood floor and she put her weight on them, gravity interfered. Her knees buckled. As she collapsed, she reached back for the bed. Before her hand met the soft fabric, he was there. He wrapped his arms around her and prevented her from falling.
“Easy. You need to recover.” He lifted her to an upright position.
She stared up at him. He kept his hands on her sides, ensuring she didn’t fall, which was a good thing since her legs were definitely unsteady. A flash of how he’d held her in a similar embrace in the club when they danced flooded her. She’d never felt so hot, burning with need. Never wanted someone like that before.
The Reluctant Wolf and His Fated Mate: A Howls Romance (White Mountain Shifters Book 1) Page 3