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THE FOREST BLAZED as the sun sank behind the mountain, dipping the landscape in fiery reds and yellows. Michael felt the moment Nakai shifted to his wolf form. Once twilight cloaked the woods, the old wolf would boldly scout the cottage in hopes of drawing the men out. Michael would go in through a back window, find Liz and the pups, and spirit them away. If the men could be lured into the woods. If Liz was there... No. Every fiber of his being insisted she was inside that house. He could feel her, had caught tantalizing hints of her scent.
Shadows gathered under the trees and small animals skittered away, far more attuned to the atmosphere than the men inside the cottage. An unearthly howl froze any stragglers. Stripped down to the bare minimum of weapons, Michael edged into position. Clouds played tag with the three-quarter moon and he saw Nakai pad into the cleared area in front of the cottage. He worried for a moment then remembered the old wolf could take care of himself. Each of them had a mission. He focused on his—get inside, snatch Liz and the pups, and get the hell away.
Nakai howled again. The front door creaked open followed by whispered voices. The old wolf growled and backed away. Two of the men followed. The third remained inside. It was now or never. Michael forced the window open and slithered through. He hit the floor and rolled to his feet, his .40 H&K automatic pistol in his hand. His nostrils flared. Liz. Her scent teased him and he followed like a bee homing in on a succulent flower.
With the sound of the first shot at the front of the house, he dashed down the hall following Liz’s scent. He hoped she had the good sense to get away from the door because he slowed down only long enough to kick it in.
“Michael!”
“Get the pups!”
Thankfully, she didn’t gawk at him for long. She ducked into a box and came out with a squirming bundle clutched in her arms.
“Stay behind me.”
“But...how? I thought—”
“Later.”
Silent, she stayed close. He led the way back to the bedroom and she slipped through the door. A bullet thwacked into the wall next to his head. He slammed the door shut, locked it, and hustled Liz toward the open window. “Get out and run up the mountain. Keep going. I’ll be right behind you.”
Liz clamored through the window using only her legs as she fought for control of the wiggling pups. He growled and the pups stilled immediately. She flashed him a questioning look but didn’t speak. The door shattered and he snapped off a full clip before diving through the window, reloading even as he hit the dirt and rolled. Liz had already disappeared into the trees. With preternatural speed, he followed suit. He paused long enough to grab the rest of his weapons and the bundle of Nakai’s clothes. Snarls and growls echoed through the trees and then a man screamed. A barrage of shots followed.
Instinct urged him to go after Nakai to cover the wolf’s back, but Michael headed deeper into the pine forest. Liz huffed and puffed up ahead. She wouldn’t last long. They needed to go to ground until the old man rejoined them and they could reach his vehicle to get away—despite his urge to just kill the men. In a few long strides, Michael caught up to Liz.
“Just a little bit further. There’s a dead fall that will give us cover.”
She nodded rather than waste her breath talking, clutched the pups tighter, and kept climbing. He wrapped his hand in the back of her shirt to give her added support and to guide her. Five minutes later, she collapsed behind the log and buried her mouth against her arm, sucking in air as soundlessly as possible. The little wolves peeked up at him from where they cowered inside her jacket. He reached over and ruffled their ears and they butted against his hand. “Easy, Liz. You’ll hyperventilate. Hold your breath and let it out slow.”
She nodded but didn’t look up. Even so, she followed his instructions until her breathing returned to normal. “I really need to hit the treadmill.” The words wheezed out in a whisper.
He bit back his grin. “You look just fine to me.”
She raised her head and stared at him, blanching when she saw the wound on his head. “They said you were dead.”
“They were wrong.”
She shivered and he realized how deadly his voice sounded. He gently touched her chin and turned her face so he could see her bruised cheek. “They’ll pay for that.” He resisted the urge to kiss her as time and place were completely inappropriate and checked his weapons instead. He set up his sniper rifle in seconds and settled in to wait.
“You aren’t just a forest ranger, are you?”
Her words whispered across the bare skin of his arm and his groin tightened. “No.”
She remained silent for a few minutes. “Are you like...them?”
“No.”
She opened her mouth for another question but snapped it shut as something crackled through the underbrush. From the corner of his eye, he watched her curl into a ball around the pups. Good girl.
Liz glanced up almost as if she’d heard his thoughts. He touched her cheek with the tip of his forefinger and offered her a smile. He was in his element now. In the distance, a wolf howled. Moments later, a second wolf answered. Nakai still hunted. With help now.
A branch snapped to his left. Michael swiveled the barrel of his rifle.
“I should have checked you closer when I took you out back at your cabin.”
Michael’s lips curled into a one-sided snarl, but he didn’t reply, knowing the guy had only a vague idea of where they were hidden.
“Just leave the wolves where you are, take the girl, and get the hell out.”
He remained silent.
“Fine. You wanna do this the hard way?”
Michael squeezed the trigger a millisecond before a muzzle flash exploded in the dark. The bullet flew over his head as the scent of warm blood filled his nostrils. Someone heavy and clumsy thrashed through the underbrush.
“Boss? Boss, where are you? Joe’s dead.”
“Shut the fuck up and help me!”
Michael remained quiet as a spray of bullets erupted. He could hear both men breathing in the silence that followed.
“Girlie? You still out here? I know I hit your boyfriend back in the house. C’mon out. You help me get the wolves to our employer and I’ll let you go.”
“Oh right!” Liz responded before he could stop her. Her eyes glinted as a sliver of moon ducked out from behind a cloud. She held her index finger to her lips. Curious, Michael waited to see what she’d do next. “I should believe you why?”
The man laughed. “I’ll sweeten the pot. I’ll make sure your boyfriend gets medical attention. Otherwise, I’ll just come get you and leave his ass to bleed to death out here.”
“Ha! I have his gun and I know how to use it.”
Michael turned his head, listening. The big mercenary was on the move, despite being injured. The guy was attempting to sneak around behind them, even as his cohort tried a pincer maneuver. He wasn’t worried about the subordinate. He unholstered his automatic pistol, anticipating the action. He tracked the stupid one, squeezed off two quick rounds and covered Liz’s body with his own as the man squealed and fell. He whipped his arm around and fired almost blindly, emptying the clip a second time.
“Fuck!” The big man stumbled back down the mountain, followed by the sounds of the second man scrambling along behind.
Damn but he was out of practice with the short stuff. He needed to set up a firing range. He reloaded his pistol and leaned in briefly to whisper, “Let’s go,” in Liz’s ear. He couldn’t stop his lips from brushing across her temple. He paused just long enough to get his bearings and then urged her to the right, following a faint game trail.
A few minutes later, they reached the SUV. Nakai, still in wolf form, sat beside the front wheel, tail curled across his front paws, tongue lolling. Michael tossed the bundle of clothes toward him. The wolf picked them up in his teeth and trotted around the front of the vehicle and headed into the woods.
Liz stared at him. “You...own a wolf?”
He chuckled. “No man owns that wolf. Here...” He moved to the SUV and opened the back gate. He took the pups from her and put them into the cargo area. They pressed close to his hands wanting pets and reassurance. He indulged for a few moments until the crack of a dead branch had him jerking Liz to the ground as he crouched, his pistol in his hand.
“Glad to see you have not lost all your reflexes.”
Liz’s fingers dug into his shoulder as she gasped. He stood and helped her up, but kept his body between her and Nakai.
“Liz Graham, Jacob Nakai. We served in the Army together.” He did his best to stop the growl rattling in his chest and also ignore the knowing gleam in the older man’s eyes. He was not moonstruck. The whole idea was unacceptable.
“Wh-wh-where did you come from?”
“The woods.”
Liz relaxed a little as she recognized the humor in Nakai’s voice. “Where’s the wolf?”
“What wolf?”
“The wolf that...” Her jaw snapped shut as she gulped. “What are you people?”
And there it was—the question Michael had been dreading. Wolves tended to mate within their community for this very reason. Mac McIntire mating Hannah Jackson had been an anomaly, but one that worked out, despite a very rocky start. And Liz Graham was far too astute for her own good—or his.
“We need to get out of here, in case those men have reinforcements closer than we do.”
Nakai chuckled. “Best I take shotgun.” He hustled Liz into the back seat and shut the door on her protests.
Michael stared at the other man for a long moment before trotting around the vehicle and climbing into the driver’s seat. He put the SUV in gear and pulled back onto the fire trail but headed up instead of back to the main road. He knew this area, knew how the roads and trails intersected. He could only hope the mercenaries hadn’t done their homework.
A WOMAN SHE didn’t recognize waited on the front porch of Michael’s cabin and Liz was curious about her. While Michael and Mr. Nakai were both Native American, she didn’t get the sense they were related beyond a deep tie from time spent in the military, which would certainly explain a lot. But not everything. She had not hallucinated that wolf taking the bundle of clothing from Michael and the appearance of the man dressed in those same clothes moments later. She didn’t believe in werewolves. Or skinwalkers. Or any of that voodoo mumbo jumbo. Just the thought raised the hair on her arms. She absently smoothed her palms across her forearms.
“There’s no such thing,” she muttered under her breath just as the back door opened. Mr. Nakai’s face crinkled and there was a smile hidden in the wrinkles.
“There are many things in this world, child, both unseen and unheard.” Mr. Nakai’s eyes twinkled.
Had he somehow read her mind? If not, his statement was much too cryptic for her brain to decipher. She believed in empirical knowledge, test results, and facts she could prove. Not mindreading or...disappearing wolves. And reappearing men. The old man nudged her toward the house.
The woman waiting on the porch waved as they approached. Mr. Nakai introduced them. “My wife. Tala, Dr. Liz Graham. She is Michael’s...friend.”
Liz caught the nuance in Nakai’s tone. “No. We’re not...friends.” The older couple just laughed and exchanged what could only be called a knowing look. She thought she caught a word that sounded something like moonstruck but she had no clue as to what it might mean. Michael appeared at her side holding the wolf pups. Despite his strength, he handled them with great gentleness.
“Thought you might want to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” She blinked rapidly, studying his face for some idea of what he was talking about.
“To the pups. Nakai and I are taking them back to the den.”
She shook her head adamantly. “You can’t!”
He arched one brow, his expression daring her to explain her denial.
“They smell like humans. The pack won’t take them back. They’ll...the pack will kill them or drive them out and they’ll starve. They aren’t even fully weaned yet.” One corner of his very interesting mouth quirked. She struggled to pull her focus back to his eyes, only to get lost in his warm, caramel-brown gaze. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
“You will have to trust me. The pack will accept them. And nurture them.” He offered the pups for her to pet and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I will teach you about Wolves, their mating, and how they take care of their families.”
His breath whispered across her skin and she shivered. Swaying under the rush of emotions swirling toward her middle, she tightened her knees and clenched her thighs in order to remain standing. Oh, but that felt good. Clenching her thigh muscles sent wonderful little spasms through other muscles, buried deeper...buried exactly where she wanted Michael to be. She gasped and opened her eyes just as he stepped back from her.
“Stay safe, little doctor. I will return to you soon and start our lessons.”
Oh, lord, he had a wicked grin. Every last one of her girly bits donned a cheerleader’s uniform and started shaking pompoms. He winked at her and if her knees hadn’t remained locked, she would have planted her butt in the dirt. Bemused, she watched Nakai kiss his wife before following Michael into the woods. The woman waved her toward the cabin.
“Come. You look like you need a bath and fresh clothes and food in your belly.”
Liz nodded and followed. “Thank you, Mrs. Nakai.”
“Tala. We are not formal people. Come in. I made stew and cornbread. Michael, he’s not such a cook but I found enough to make a meal. After you eat, you can clean up and change clothes.”
She followed the older woman blindly. The aroma emanating from the cabin made her mouth water and her stomach rumbled ominously. Tala laughed and urged her to sit at the table.
After a quick bowl of stew, a longer shower, a change of clothes, and now a lingering second bowl of stew with hot cornbread, Liz felt almost human. At the same time, she wondered if she’d fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole. Tala had loaned her a skirt and after rolling it at the waist a couple of times, she could walk without tripping over the hem. Her bra and panties were draped over the shower rod in the bathroom to dry and she wore a khaki tee shirt Tala had borrowed from Michael’s dresser upstairs in the loft bedroom.
Liz swallowed a bite and returned the other woman’s penetrating gaze. “What?”
“I wonder if you are ready for what is to come, Doctor.”
She almost choked on the next bite. “Liz, please, but what do you mean?”
“You are a woman of science. But sometimes, a person has to see and believe with their heart, not their brain. I hope you will be able to do this when the time comes.”
“When the time comes? I...Mrs. Nakai...Tala. I...forgive me. I’m totally lost here.”
The woman’s eyes crinkled with mirth. “As were we all. It is not my place to explain what comes. But I offer these words to consider. Believe what you cannot prove but feel in your heart to be true. Laugh. At yourself, at your mate, at life. Laughter sees you through the tears.”
“Wait...what? Mate? What the heck are you talking about?”
Tala chuckled. The sound reminded Liz of brownies fresh from the oven. “Finish your food, Dr. Liz.”
She helped Tala clean the kitchen and straighten up the cabin, though it was obvious the woman had already been busy cleaning up the mess made by her kidnappers. Glass no longer littered the floor, lamps had been uprighted, and things put back in some semblance of order. They settled into chairs out on the front porch to relax. The wind teased the pine trees and she could almost imagine voices whispering out in the forest. Liz smoothed down the hairs on her arms and attempted to dissect her feelings. She’d never reacted so strongly to any man. She wasn’t a virgin, technically speaking. Most of her encounters had been of the “Slam-bam, thank-you, ma’am” variety. She didn’t think she was frigid. She liked men.
Okay, she liked men with broad shoulders and muscled thighs and all those shallow things she really thought a woman of science should ignore. Men with brains were desirable as mates, too. She shivered. There was that word again. Mate. Had being out in the woods, kidnapped, rescued, shot at, and forced to live out some sort of thriller plot ignited her basic instincts? The muscles deep in her middle clenched and quivered. If she didn’t know better, she’d think her womb was doing the happy dance. Natural selection. Biggest, strongest, fiercest. Oh, yeah, that described Michael Lightfoot to a T.
Lost in thought, she jumped a foot out of her chair when said alpha male’s low laughter startled her.
“Where the heck did you come from?” She slapped at his arm and connected, then had to shake her hand. “Ow.”
She stared at his face and her middle went all squirrelly again. She’d never seen a man look so...hungry.
