Caleb stripped out of his clothes and shifted on the front porch. His link with Elijah told him that Elijah and Lucy had been making progress back in Portland. They’d made love, which made Caleb glad. The sooner he and Elijah got their mate back, the sooner they could start making pups.

He trotted down the stairs and broke into a canter as he passed by the gardens and into the meadow before he broke into the forest. The creek filled his nose with the scent of fish and water weeds.

Stepping through the brisk, cool water, he emerged on the other side of the stream. He picked up a new scent. The coyotes had returned. He was sure of it. Their scent was fresh, little more than an hour old. Growling, he broke into a full gallop as he tore through the springtime forest.

Soft sunlight filtered through the alders as new leaves sprang from the ripening buds. The scent grew stronger as he came to a stand of Douglas fir that dripped with moss and lichen. He clawed at the underbrush, bringing the strong smell of coyote into his lungs. Someone had marked these woods. This was his territory. He and Elijah marked this land at least once a week, and the land belonged to them by law.

Furious, he growled and yipped as he followed the scent farther into the dense forest. The smell of fresh deer blood rankled his nose. They’d been hunting his deer! He galloped after the scent and found the pack of coyotes in a clearing standing over a fresh kill. First they’d stolen from his traps, and now they were openly hunting on his land. This had to stop now.

Caleb lunged for the leader of the pack, not thinking twice about the fact that he was outnumbered six to one. He gripped the leader’s neck and bit down hard. The coyote had already taken two injuries from Caleb, but he just kept coming back. The idiot didn’t learn.

The rest of the pack jumped on Caleb, biting and clawing at the alpha wolf. He fought them off with his superior strength and size. They scurried back and circled him. One of them had taken a deep bite out of Caleb’s foreleg, and it bled profusely.

Caleb could feel the wound draining him of strength as the pain coursed through his body. He took a step forward, but the bleeding gash caused him to limp. The circling coyotes took advantage of his momentary lapse and charged at him all at once, teeth bared and snarling.

 

* * *

Lucy came home to find Elijah frantically pacing the apartment.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, dropping her things on the kitchen table.

“Caleb’s been hurt. We need to go?”

“Is it bad?” she asked, her heart leaping with fear. She’d barely thought since she’d left Bars & Associates. Hearing that Caleb was in trouble snapped her into focus.

“It’s bad. I need you to drive me back to the coast. Pack some things and let’s go.” His suitcase was already packed and waiting by the door.

“Sure. Why not? I quit my job today,” she said, moving to the bedroom.

“What happened?” he asked, pulling snacks out of her cabinets and putting them in a bag.

“My boss was threatening to fire me if I didn’t let him fuck me over his desk, so I told him off.”

“He what?” Elijah growled, his face and hands half shifting into wolf form. The amber glow of his eyes shone brightly in Lucy’s dim apartment.

“It isn’t a problem anymore. I’m never going back there. I should sue his ass. I have evidence.”

“We should chew him up and leave the remains in a dumpster,” Elijah growled, dropping the bag of snacks on the table.

“Calm down. No one is eating anyone. I’ll figure something out. Okay? Just don’t go eat him. It will be fine.”

“We will talk about this later. Now, please go pack.”

Lucy pursed her lips and turned to the bedroom. The idea of tearing Mr. Bars to shreds did have a certain appeal, but that wasn’t the way mature people handled things. Once she’d settled her nerves, she’d look into suing, if not for herself, for any other woman who might work for that bastard or any other bastard who would do the same thing.

She threw some clothes in a suitcase and met Elijah by the front door with her jacket. “Let’s go,” she said.

Elijah drove most of the way to the coast, saying he could handle the twisting highway more quickly than she because of his shifter reflexes. She was more than happy to let him drive. Avoiding the stress of maneuvering over the coastal mountain pass would be a good rest for her frayed nerves.

They made it to the coast an hour faster than she would have without even speeding. Elijah certainly was a good driver with those shifter senses. It made her wonder what it would be like to be a shifter herself.

As they drew closer to his property, Elijah grew darker and more growly every second. Lucy had been terribly worried about Caleb the entire way. It made her realize just how important he and Elijah were to her. She couldn’t fight it any longer.