Desert Hunt

by Anna Lowe

  Ty stuck his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground as if maybe he could find a cue card among the pebbles and dirt.

  “How you doing?” he asked after a long, quiet minute had passed. “I mean, how are you settling in?” His gaze was reluctant, the corners of his dark eyes sad.

  That was the only thing that kept Rae from sprinting off. Ty wasn’t there to harm or demand. He was there to…to… Wait. Why had the second-highest ranked wolf in the pack gone out of his way to talk to her, looking at her like she was a problem he couldn’t solve?

  “Um…fine.”

  In truth, she was more than fine. Arizona suited her perfectly, and her heart sang with every whisper of the clean, dry wind. There was nothing she missed about Westend pack, and nothing she could fault in the way Twin Moon pack worked in quiet harmony with the earth.

  But she’d be even more fine if Ty left her alone—and finer still if Zack were around. The tracker had a way of either soothing her pulse or making it thump in excitement. Ty, on the other hand, set off all her alarms. Who he was and what he represented scared her. He was a man of power, and power had a way of corrupting men—even good men.

  “Good.” Ty nodded, but his tone was unenthusiastic, as if he might have preferred a different answer.

  “Good,” she echoed.

  God, this was awkward. What did he want? She looked south, avoiding his eyes, and he looked north, avoiding hers.

  “You coming to lunch?” he finally asked.

  She couldn’t quite say no, but she didn’t want to say yes. “Soon.”

  He nodded and stared into the distance with the hollow gaze of a man who’d given up on wishes and hopes. So much, she almost ached for him. Even with everything she’d had to escape in her past—two brutes in Colorado and a suffocating pack in Nevada—she’d never given up hope. Hope to find a place she could call home. A place like this, maybe.#

  If only everyone would just leave her alone.

  Ty might have read her mind, because he gave her a grim nod and strode away. Quickly.

  She watched him go, wishing it was Zack coming and not a man she had no interest in going. But at least Ty was giving her some space, and she was happy for that.

  She checked another three sections of fence before pocketing her hammer and heading back to the heart of the ranch. What had that strange encounter been all about?

  She loitered every step of the way, watching a bird sip from the irrigation ditch, then flit into the shade of a palo verde tree. Her feet took her on a long detour to the ranch gate, as they’d done nearly every day. Something about the way the proud, simple structure framed the landscape fascinated her. The solid trunks of two ponderosa pines formed the sides, supporting a long cross-beam high overhead. At the midpoint hung the ranch brand: two circles, overlapping by a third.

  Twin Moon Ranch. The name fit the place perfectly.

  She stepped to the threshold of the gate then paused. One step farther and she’d be in the outside world. One step back and she would be firmly on the ranch. She rocked on the balls of her feet, undecided. Was the ranch a prison or a sanctuary? Which way to go?

  Forward, she coached herself. Out. That was the way to go. To find her freedom and her destiny, whatever it might be.

  Her wolf sniffed. Or free to stumble into the biggest mistake of your life. Your choice. Our destiny could be right here.

  She wavered, and then took a step back, wondering what held her in place.

  We’re waiting, silly, her wolf said.

  Waiting for what?

  For Zack to return.

  Rae wanted to snort. That’s pathetic.

  It’s romantic, the wolf insisted.

  If it’s so romantic, why did he leave?

  The wolf just shrugged. Duty.

  Ah, the simplicity of a wolf’s mind.

  A wolf might be content with that kind of life—waiting at home like a good little mate—but not a woman who could stand on her own two feet.

  Well, Zack’s not here, and now we have Ty sniffing around. That’s the last thing we need.

  The wolf gave a lazy huff. He wasn’t sniffing. He wasn’t interested. Not a whiff of lust on him.

  “Thank God.” Rae said that part out loud. But what did he want?

  Not us, her wolf shrugged.

  Rae had to give the wolf that. Whatever Ty wanted, it wasn’t her, and she was happy for that. Let the other women heave longing looks him at that mountain of a man. She wasn’t interested. Not in him, at least.

  She glanced at the sky, where a hawk soared in broad circles. There was something magical about watching a fellow hunter at work: wheeling, gliding, choosing exactly the right instant to swoop in toward its prey. She knew what the casual lift of its feathertips meant: today was just another day of many, but tonight… Tonight was the night of the new moon.

  Even her wolf couldn’t hold back a shiver of anticipation, knowing what that meant. The blackest, deepest night, a night when time stood still but for the slow arc of stars overhead.

  A new moon called to her the way a full moon called to the others. Every wolf in every pack had a duty, but Rae—she had a higher calling, one that superseded duty to any one pack.

  Tonight, she promised herself. She’d put Zack, Ty, and everyone else out of her mind and remind herself who she was and what she had to do.

  To do that, though, she needed more space, because roaming too close to the others might expose what she was. A glance at the sun, swinging past its zenith, said she’d better get moving soon. She would have to drive a couple of hours north then set out on foot to find what she sought.

  So she headed to the dining hall, gobbled down a quick meal, and jotted a note to leave on the guesthouse bed. She ought to ask the alpha’s permission before leaving the ranch, but technically, she was headed to a distant corner of the vast property, so that didn’t quite apply.

  Be back soon, the note said.

  Soon? Her wolf laughed.

  Well, soon sounded more polite than Whenever I damn well please. She stared at the paper, wishing she could write exactly that. Would she ever find a pack that understood what destiny had intended for her?

  She waited until the others had all settled back into work then grabbed her bow and arrows and headed for the battered old Ford she’d driven over from Nevada. She’d scrimped for months to buy it just for the sake of independence and pride. For convenience, too, and the security of an escape pod, should the need arise.

  The thrill of car ownership was still there as she hopped in and took off. Driving out the gate was easy once she’d picked up a little mental momentum. She drove three miles down the dirt road, made a sharp left onto the highway, and headed north, where the pull in her bones pointed.

  North. That’s where she would find her prey.

  Chapter Eight

  It started well, as every promising hunt should.

  Rae drove a couple of hours north and then out on a long, winding side road, letting instinct guide her to her prey. But then the engine started laboring and spouting steam before finally rattling to a stop.

  She got out, popped the hood, and studied the smoking engine long enough to conclude she had no idea what to do.

  Crap.

  She lifted her head and looked around. Closing her eyes, she sniffed and found a whiff of hope. A broken-down car she could deal with—later. The important thing was, she was close enough to continue on foot. She could sense her quarry out there, not far away. Soon it would be dark, and the hunt would be on.

  The hunt. Her lips curled into a smile.

  Anvil-shaped clouds rumbled along the horizon like an enemy army in full march, but that hardly mattered. Her quarry’s scent was strong and vibrant. Of course, finding her prey was rarely an issue. The trick was catching it.

  It was still daylight, though; a little too early to close in on her prey. She pulled a water bottle from the back seat and drank her fill. Let the sun set. Let the clouds thunder in. Let the car w
ait. She would be like the hawk wheeling in the sky, biding its time.

  She lifted the bottle to her lips, but stopped abruptly and turned. A plume of dust rose from the dirt road, coming her way. The back of her neck prickled in alarm when she caught sight of a dark red pickup with tinted windows. Every muscle in her body went stiff.

  Trouble. Trouble for sure.

  She pulled her bow out from the open window of the back seat along with a silver-tipped arrow—just in case. Then she spun back to the road, notching the arrow just as the truck came to a halt and the front door creaked open.

  Her fingers stroked the fletching as she waited, prepared to fend off the stranger if necessary. She had several weapons to choose from: words, fangs, or the tip of her arrow. She’d start with one and move on to the others as the situation called for.

  It was only when her nose got hold of his scent that she trembled inside. Behind the scent of tobacco, stale beer, and a cheap cologne was the unmistakable peaty musk of a shifter. A wolf shifter, one of her own kind.

  A big brute of a man unfolded himself from the car.

  “Hello, Sunshine.” He grinned. “It’s been a long time.”

  Rae froze. It had been years since anyone used that stupid nickname. Her eyes flicked to the car and found the green and white ridgeline of Colorado plates. When they jumped back to the stranger’s face, everything clicked into place.

  A cocky man driving a truck with Colorado plates. One with a cleft chin so deep, you could hide a dime in it. One who called her a name she hadn’t heard in years.

  A nightmare straight out of her past.

  “So happy to see me, you’re speechless?” he chuckled.

  “Jed.” She nodded, forcing all emotion out of her voice.

  It really was him. Or more like an extra-large version of the old Jed. He’d always been big and cocky, and she’d always known he’d grow into a force to be reckoned with. But this? The teenager who’d been growing like a weed had bulked up and added eighty pounds of muscle. His chiseled face was accented by a sharp line of facial hair that followed his jaw from ear to either side of that cleft chin. He stroked it as he looked her up and down, his gaze slow, sure, and hungry.

  “Little Sunshine, all grown up,” Jed murmured. Then his eyes narrowed and he launched right into conversation as if they’d left off ten minutes ago instead of ten years. “I meant what I said, Sunshine. You and me got great things ahead of us.”

  He was just as crazy as he’d been back then. Crazier, even. Rae stepped back and held the bow higher, keeping the arrow notched.

  “How did you find me?”

  He grinned like the devil on a hot, sultry night. “Got a nose for my mate, Sunshine.”

  “I’m. Not. Your. Mate.” She broke the words up, so that maybe this time, they would penetrate that thick head.

  He only grinned wider, flashing the points of his canines. “You always did like to play.”

  She eyed the empty landscape for some avenue of escape. Jed’s version of play most likely meant violent sex followed by a mating bite that would bond her to him forever. No way. She ordered her racing heart to calm down, her freewheeling mind to think.

  Last she had heard, the alpha of North Ridge pack in Colorado was still Greer Roberts. And last she’d heard, he was still a ruthless tyrant. Had he sent Jed to track her? Unlikely. Jed would have been cast out a few years ago, before he stirred up too much trouble. Less stable packs did that with powerful up-and-comers, lest they challenge the leadership. The young bucks roamed restlessly, causing trouble until they found a place they liked the look of and staged a takeover, challenging the local alpha in a fight to the death.

  “You and me, we’ll head back home.” Jed outlined his plan in a tone more suited to weekend plans than a major power play. “I take out Greer, we rule the pack. What?” He paused, seeing her jaw go slack. “Greer’s a self-centered, greedy ass who has no business being alpha.”

  So are you, she nearly pointed out. Did Jed really think he could take on Greer, the biggest, baddest alpha she’d ever seen?

  But this new version of Jed was pretty damn big and bad. Maybe, just maybe, youth would triumph over experience. Not that North Ridge pack would benefit either way.

  “I’m never going back,” she insisted, scanning the area. Using her bow at close range was a fifty-fifty proposition, but if she shifted into her wolf form, she could outrun Jed. The question was, had he come alone?

  “Sure you will.” He nodded, all smiles but for the warning in his eyes.

  A second engine sounded in the distance, and her gut sank.

  “Friend of yours?” Jed growled, turning to the source.

  A sleek black motorcycle came roaring down the road, kicking up a trail of dust that reached toward the ever-darker sky.

  Right. She wished. A friend with a fast bike and a perfect sense of timing would come in awfully handy right now. A friend with an old-fashioned black helmet and biceps that bulged as he roared up and squealed to a stop. A friend with a fierce countenance who would jump off the bike and toss his helmet aside.

  “Who is this asshole?” Jed jabbed a thumb in the newcomer’s direction.

  Rae blinked. “Zack?”

  It really was him, though his whole bearing had changed. He was taller, darker, meaner. For a moment, he looked more like a man who could shift into a fire-breathing dragon instead of a wolf.

  “Who is this asshole?” Zack growled back.

  Chapter Nine

  Zack looked the intruder up and down, slowly taking him in. Then he glanced at Rae. Did she know this ass?

  Step by wary step, he and the intruder circled each other, two paces apart.

  “You’re looking at the future alpha of North Ridge pack,” the ass had the nerve to say with a perfectly straight face.

  Cocky son of a bitch. Zack sniffed and got a lungful of raw wolf power. But it was all bulk and bluster, no brains or balls.

  “Give it a break, Jed,” Rae muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Jed? Zack’s wolf bristled. Who the hell is Jed?

  A good thing he had arrived in time, before…before… Well, he didn’t want to imagine what this ass wanted with Rae. Only that it wasn’t good, and she didn’t want any part of it. That much was crystal clear.

  His pulse spiked just from seeing her again. It had only been a couple of days, but the ache for her had only gotten worse. He’d been rushing through his tracking job as fast as he could.

  Normally, it was the opposite with him: he loved the feeling of being out in the desert alone. But this time, something felt off. The minute he’d left the ranch, he’d been haunted by the feeling that he’d forgotten something in that timeworn shack he called home.

  Something. Maybe even someone.

  Zack had told himself it wasn’t her, but the minute he did, his wolf got all worked up again, pulling him away from duty and back to her. So he’d tracked long and hard to hurry up and get the job done. So far, he’d tracked and rid the property of three intruders. Two had the good sense to run off, while the third was stupid enough to think that he might best an angry werewolf on his home turf.

  That one was dead.

  He’d had a fourth in his sights when the call came. Rae had been reported missing on the ranch, and old Tyrone was throwing a fit.

  “She’s run off,” the old alpha snarled into the phone. “Track her. Find her. Bring her back.”

  Zack didn’t like the alpha’s urgency. Audrey had once taken off for three weeks when she’d hooked up with a passing trucker and no one had blinked an eye. Why the three-bell alarm when Rae had only been gone for a few hours? Why did she merit the special attention?

  Was she the daughter of another alpha, maybe? She didn’t seem like the type. Too flighty. Too defensive. Too damn modest.

  He just didn’t get it. But he’d done as he was told and dropped everything to track her—which was easy, as it turned out. She’d been in his general area, and it wasn’t like
he could miss her scent once he was tuned in to it. He’d picked it up from miles away; there was something regal and Old World in it. Then it was just a case of racing after her. That was one of the advantages of his Harley—the one useful thing his father had ever left him, even if it had been half-wrecked at the time.

  The crazy thing was, he’d not only found Rae, but another trespasser, too. This jerk, Jed.

  “Future alpha, huh?” Zack asked, unimpressed.

  Jed puffed his chest out another inch. “Got that right.”

  If it were just him and the intruder, Zack would have launched straight into a fight, even if he knew it meant risking death. Jed might not know much, but he obviously knew how to fight. Big, young, and cocky added up to danger in its own way, and Jed had the brash confidence of a young gun who’d yet to be put in his place.

  Zack would have been happy to do just that, even if meant the fight of his life. But Rae was standing right beside him, and prudence held him back from launching into flesh-tearing violence. Right now, it was better to keep his cool and go for the diplomatic solution.

  He could always kill the motherfucker later.

  The prospect was tempting, given the way the ass was crowding Rae. Like he owned her. Like she was his.

  Zack’s wolf growled. Mine!

  He superimposed an even tone over the low rumble in his chest. “Well, future alpha of North Ridge pack, you’re trespassing on Twin Moon territory.”

  Jed threw his head back and laughed. “This ain’t pack territory.”

  Zack lifted an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

  Jed’s cool gaze lost its edge. Definitely not the brightest bulb. They were on ranch property, but the far outer fringes. There was no one here to contest Jed’s intrusion but Zack. Not that he was going to tell Jed that.

  “Of course, we can fight here and now to solve this,” Zack started.

  “We will,” Jed growled and stepped closer. “And I will wipe your sorry ass straight into the dust.”