What the hell was she doing?

  Duncan immediately caught the scent of her blood. Cold air hit his skin as his fur bristled in outrage. The growl that rose up from deep within his chest was low and angry. How dare they harm his lass? The fact that she was safe in the tree and would heal as quickly as he could made absolutely no difference to him.

  No longer two against one, the other wolves swung their heads in his direction. Ears pricked, they stared at him in challenge.

  And Duncan was more than ready to take them up on it.

  They charged him as one, and Duncan braced himself for the hit. The fact that he could not win this fight never crossed his mind. The moment they’d gone after Ryanne, they’d given him no choice.

  The attack came from both sides at once, leaving him no room to maneuver. But he had a male’s rage on his side, and he fought like a wolf possessed, taking out chunks wherever he could, the blood lust so strong, every bite only made him want more.

  As the two wolves circled their prey, searching for a way to hit a vulnerable spot, Duncan stood stiff with his tail straight and his teeth bared in a snarl. His eyes followed them, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before they were on him again.

  The only way this was going to end was if they killed him. And he was prepared to go out protecting his female.

  “Hey!”

  The two wolves whipped around toward the sound.

  Ryanne stood there, looking like some sort of angry goddess risen from the sea. Her dark curls stuck to her face, her jaw was set, her feet braced apart, and her hands fisted at her sides. Blood ran down her left arm and calf, the rain washing it away as quickly as it appeared.

  No, no, no, no! Go back into the tree!

  Dammit! What the fook was she doing?

  She looked right at him then. “I know. Wolf’s honor and all that business. But I’m not just going to sit up there and watch you die, Duncan.”

  He growled at her in warning.

  Ryanne raised one eyebrow. “Did you seriously just growl at me when I’m here to save your life?” She eyed the two wolves slowly stalking her and shrugged. “Or, you know. Maybe you could still give me a hand.”

  Duncan sprang forward at the same moment the first wolf went after Ryanne. By nothing but dumb luck, he’d chosen the right one. As she zapped the first one, he tackled the second one, taking it down to the ground. Jumping back up to his feet, he took a good chunk of bloody fur and muscle from its shoulder with him.

  With Ryanne now in the line of fire, his purpose was renewed, and with the help of her zapping the first wolf, it gave him the time he needed.

  In a flurry of snapping jaws and teeth, Duncan took out the first threat. When he turned to face the one who’d gone after Ryanne, he found it limping away, back legs dragging the ground, presumably hoping to find their leader.

  As the adrenaline drained from his system in a rush, Duncan swayed and then stumbled, landing on his haunches in the mud. He was wet. And cold. And utterly exhausted, physically and emotionally. The wounds he’d sustained hit him all at once, every beat of his heart sending a pulse of agony through him.

  Ryanne rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him as far as they would go to keep him from toppling over. And when he tried to scare her off, she ignored him completely. “Hush, wolf.” Digging her fingers into the fur on the sides of his throat, she swung his large head around until he was forced to look into her eyes, bright with colors from the fight.

  His two natures warring with each other, he tried to pull away, but she was strong, and he couldn’t allow himself to hurt her.

  “I’m not here to hurt you, Duncan. Let me help you.” Still holding his head, she looked around. “We can’t go back to your Jeep. Not yet. And we’re too far from my cabin.” Catching his eyes, she said, “Stay here. Don’t move. Please.” And then she ran off into the darkness.

  As soon as she was gone, Duncan’s front legs gave out and he slid down into the mud. Blood covered his fur, the coppery smell strong in his nose. Was it his? He didn’t know, though he felt a number of good-sized wounds. Some burned and throbbed still, others were merely a slight sting when the rain hit them.

  He kept his mind carefully blank. Or maybe he was just too tired to think. For now, he would rest and heal, right here in the middle of the forest. And hope another large predator didn’t sniff him out and come to investigate.

  When Ryanne returned—if she returned—he would need his strength.

  His wolf snarled at the insinuation.

  He didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally came back. She had a blanket folded up in her arms. His heart leapt within his chest at the sight of her in spite of himself.

  “Can you walk?” she asked him. “Or can you shift?”

  Duncan huffed out a response. No. He didn’t think he could. But he would try. For her.

  It took him a few minutes to do it, and when he finally managed, the process was long and excruciating. When it was done, he fell to his side. His chest heaved as he desperately sucked in oxygen through his teeth.

  But with the return to his skin, all of the chaos in his mind returned. Once again, he was back in the cave, beaten and broken. His physical wounds manifesting themselves in his head, translating into the psychological terrors he’d endured, reliving months of torture in a matter of moments.

  Ryanne slapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes roved over his nude form, and when he rolled his burning eyes to her face, hers were filled with tears. She lowered herself to her knees and her hand fell into her lap. “Duncan,” she whispered. Slowly, she reached out to touch him.

  He jerked out of her reach, ribs screaming in pain. “Dinna touch me!”

  She froze, her hand paused in mid-air. “I just wanted to see—”

  “No! Dinna touch me!” Wet leaves stuck to his ass and back as he tried to put some distance between himself and his torturer. She couldn’t fool him. She didn’t want to help him. She was there to hurt him. To laugh at him. To make him scream until his voice was nothing but a rasp of air bursting from his lungs.

  Throwing himself to the side, he managed to get his legs beneath him and then pushed himself onto all fours. She touched his shoulder and he threw up his arm, throwing off her hand, baring his teeth and snarling at her.

  A sound came from her. A sound of distress that made him pause, but only for a brief second. Gathering what little strength he had, he pushed himself to his feet and staggered away.

  Water hit his skin, aggravating his wounds and dripping into his eyes. He blinked fast, trying to clear his vision, but there were no colors to be seen. Only dark figures surrounding him, swaying with the breeze, their skin rough like bark to abrade his skin when he stumbled into them.

  What new kind o’ hell is this? What new creatures brought tae life by th’ Faeries?

  He had to get away. Had to get back to his pack. Where were they? Were they alive? Were they dead?

  I just want tae go home.

  Tears joined the rain on his face. He didn’t know how long he wandered through the cold night. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. But eventually, he heard a wolf howl far off in the distance, and then, closer, a familiar voice.

  “Duncan!”

  “Cedric?” His voice cracked. He tried again. “Cedric?” His legs gave way and he fell to his knees. “Help me, Cedric. Dinna leave me. Help me.” The words stumbled over each other, making no sense. But somehow, his alpha heard him.

  Warm hands gripped his upper arms, pulling him to his feet, and he found himself staring into ice-blue eyes.

  “I’ve got ye, Duncan. I’ve got ye.”

  “Dinna let them have me, Cedric. Please. Please. Dinna let them have me!”

  Powerful arms wrapped around him, and he was pressed close to his alpha’s hard body, the heat of his skin burning his wounds and warming his soul.

  “They will no’ have ye. No’ ever again.” The words were thick and heavy in his ear. “No’ ever again.”

  Chapter 14

  Ryanne ducked behind a tree and watched as a very large, very nude male with long, black hair ran up to Duncan and pulled him off the ground and into his arms.

  The blanket she held fell to the mud at her feet.

  A burning sensation ripped its way through her chest, immediately overridden by a wave of loss so profound she lost her breath and feared she would drown beneath it as the world spun around her.

  Twisting around until she was completely hidden with her back to the tree, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the world to stabilize. When she peeked around again, the large male was gone. And so was Duncan.

  She took a deep breath. And then another. Too late, she saw the error of her ways. Getting involved with this wolf beyond using him as an informant had been a mistake of immense proportions. Ryanne had no time to feel forlorn.

  But…

  It had been so long since she’d felt any kind of a real connection with anyone. So, she’d give herself these moments to feel these emotions, and then, when it was over, she would lock them down tight where they wouldn’t hurt her anymore and get back to doing what she needed to do to stop her father.

  A few minutes later, she took a shaky breath and stepped away from the support of the tree. The rain was finally letting up. Wringing out the skirt of her dress, she now deeply regretted her choice of clothes. For one, she was freezing. Two, although it did allow her a good range of maneuverability, the dress did nothing to protect her skin when in combat. And three, it tended to get snagged flowing out behind her when she ran through underbrush or low hanging branches.

  And that wasn’t even mentioning her boots. They, also, were very pretty. But were not made to run through mud and moss and leaves. They were only good for scooting around a dance floor or perhaps sitting pretty on the open tailgate of a pickup truck.

  At least she hadn’t wasted any money on them.

  She wondered if Duncan’s Jeep was still there. Maybe she should go back and check on it, instead of standing alone in the middle of the forest looking like the swamp creature.

  And, maybe, if she was lucky. She’d run across something that would tell her where Thomas’s wolves were hiding out. If she could get one of them alone, she could try getting some information out of him about her father’s plans.

  Exhaling another breath, a little stronger this time, she pushed the last swells of emotion down and locked them away. Later, perhaps, she would pull them out again and examine them. But for now, they were just getting in her way.

  As she pulled off her boots and prepared to run barefoot back to the Jeep, Ryanne knew deep down she wasn’t fooling anyone. Least of all, herself. The myriad of feelings she felt for the shifter were not something she was just going to be able to push aside and ignore. They were still there, simmering beneath the surface, creating a hodgepodge soup made up of a combination of her feelings for the wolf and her own insecurities.

  A few minutes later, she cautiously entered the small clearing. The Jeep was still where they had left it. She assumed Duncan or someone from his pack would be back to get it in the morning.

  Ryanne suddenly hoped it would be unlocked. If it were, it would be able to provide her a temporary shelter for the night. The fact that she could easily run back to the cabin hovered on the edge of her thoughts, and it would be the healthier thing to do, but she was reluctant to leave the memories here. Both good and bad.

  As Ryanne approached the vehicle, she heard something snuffling around the other side. Thinking it was an animal, she smiled, always glad for company. But when she rounded the back bumper, it was no cute little bear cub she found nosing around, but a grown werewolf. To be exact, the one she’d zapped earlier.

  Knowing she had no more than a second before he knew she was there—and thanking the gods for the direction of the winds that had kept him from scenting her before now—she raised both hands and tapped into the core of her power. Blue lights burst from her fingertips, hitting him square in the area of his heart.

  It was enough to stop him where he was, but not enough to kill him. She didn’t want to kill him. This was exactly the opportunity she’d hoped for, although the other wolf—the beta—would have been a better option. This one was nearly as dominant as Duncan and would be harder to crack.

  Once he was on the ground, she tried the doors of the Jeep and sent up a prayer of thanks to find them still unlocked. Rummaging around, she wasn’t surprised to find a thick length of chain. Anyone with an off-road vehicle should have the tools needed to pull it out of ditches and such.

  Or, in this case, restrain another shifter.

  Ryanne wasted no time dragging the wolf’s body over to a tree and securing it to the base of the trunk. Luckily, this wolf was a bit smaller than most and it was merely a matter of flipping him onto his back and running the chain around his front legs and chest and waist, just in case he shifted when she wasn’t paying attention. She had no idea how long he would be out, as she might have put a little more juice into those jolts than she’d meant to. But, hey, she’d panicked.

  Once she made sure he wasn’t going anywhere, Ryanne climbed into the Jeep and locked the doors to wait. In the process of searching for the chain, she’d also discovered another blanket. It was thin, but warm and dry, and she pulled it over her with a grateful sigh.

  Now, she would wait.

  It was almost dawn when the shifter finally stirred. He had, in fact, shifted back to his skin while he was out. But luckily, Ryanne hadn’t slept, so she’d seen it happen and hurried to secure his hands and arms better.

  When he woke and found himself chained to the tree, he was not at all happy. Yanking on the bindings, he tried to free himself, with no luck. And when Ryanne jumped out of the Jeep, drier and warmer than earlier if still tired, he growled at her.

  “Release me, soul sucker.”

  She squatted down in front of him, crossed her arms over her bent knees, and grinned at him. “Is that supposed to insult me?”

  He jerked at the chains. Ryanne let him do it. Rising to her feet, she stretched her arms over her head and then behind her as she tilted her head from side to side, easing the stiffness of her joints.

  When he had calmed down again, she told him. “Okay, look. I know you know who I am. And we can make this easy or we can make this hard.”

  He glared at her, lips closed so tight they were nothing but a thin slash in his face.

  “Tell me what my father’s been up to. I know he’s been working with your alpha for a long time. And I need to know what his next move is.”

  “Why should I tell ye anything?”

  “So, I can stop him.”

  The shifter laughed. “You will no’ be able tae do that.”

  She sighed loudly. “Look. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll let you live. I might even release you so you can take a message back to Thomas for me.”

  “I dinna believe ye.”

  “I get that.” She gave him a nod. Then brushed her hair out of her face. “That’s smart of you. I wouldn’t trust me, either. But really, what choice do you have?”

  He clamped his mouth shut and turned his head.

  Ryanne lifted an eyebrow as she regarded the male. His body was relaxed, his expression stubborn, and his attitude plain to see. He thought she was a joke.

  Well, she would just have to show him the punchline. “All right, then. The hard way it is.” Squatting down in front of him, she took his skull between her hands.

  “What are ye doing?” he cried.

  “Finding out what I need to know,” she answered. “I gave you a chance, wolf. Remember that.”

  Blue lights shot from her fingers, worming their way into his mind. His body stiffened, and he screamed as his eyes rolled back into his head.

  Thirty minutes later, the shifter was slumped at the base of the tree. He was alive, and he was awake. Kind of. Though it would probably be a while before he could speak a coherent sentence.

  She’d learned her father appeared to be playing the packs against each other. Telling Thomas’s pack one thing and Cedric’s pack another. Thomas knew who and what her father was, and it seemed he had promised the wolf an immunity of sorts if they helped him.

  And they weren’t the only ones.

  The prince had been very busy, ingratiating himself into the world of the Fae’s biggest threat, the wolves, and making them all similar promises.

  Except for Cedric’s pack. That alpha was too fair and too honorable to bribe, so the prince was handling him and his pack a different way.

  And the way he was taking out the threat? By mating the shifters with Faeries. Wolves would do anything for their mates. They would die for them. And, if the prince has his way, that’s exactly what they’ll be doing, unless they come around to see his side of things.

  She wondered if he’d been in contact with the vampire covens, but they apparently had their own issues they were dealing with at the moment. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t be a problem for him later on. However, for now, they were a non-issue.

  An engine roared and her head whipped around to the trail Duncan had used to get up the mountain. They were coming to retrieve the Jeep. Or perhaps it was Thomas looking for his missing wolves.

  Either way, it was time for her to get the hell out of there.

  Reaching into the Jeep, she got the blanket out and wrapped it around her shoulders, then pulled her boots out and tucked them under her arm. She closed the door as quietly as she could and faded into the trees.

  She needed a hot soak in a tub, clean clothes, and some sleep on a thick, padded mattress. But the rustic bathroom and cot at the cabin would have to do.

  Maybe her little raccoon friend would come and keep her company.

  Chapter 15

  Duncan sat on the recliner in his apartment, one beer in his hand, six empty bottles on the end table near his elbow, and the television on. But if anyone had asked him what he was watching, he couldn’t have told them, even though he’d been sitting there for a while now.

 

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