The whining thump of the helicopter’s rotors grated on Luke’s fraying nerves. His sensitive ears rang despite the protective headset the pilot, Dev Crandall, handed him as soon as he’d hopped on.
He didn’t know how Isabelle could stand it.
“Team 1 has reached the first checkpoint,” Dev said. His mate, Liz, led that team. “There’s no sign of them, yet.”
Luke knew Dev was receiving communications from Ellis at the Search and Rescue command post. All information from the various S&R teams and local government agencies would be funneled through there. “The Forest Service rangers’ bird is up and searching the northern section. A team from Spokane is hitting the west. They just dropped their ground team.”
“Are we sure they crashed?” Please, goddess, Luke prayed. Let this be a mistake.
A look of pity crossed Dean’s face. “They should have been back three hours ago. Freddie called Rissa right before they left Spokane. He would have let her know if they were stopping anywhere else. We’ve confirmed with the tower there that they lifted off a few minutes later.” He laid a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “They’re not responding to radio calls or their cells.”
A crash. Luke looked out the window at the darkening sky, the dense forest, and high mountain peaks below. Never had his territory looked more forbidding and deadly. So few. There were so few places a helicopter could safely land.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Maybe it was something else? Maybe Freddie had decided to take his sister somewhere Luke couldn’t find her? That would hurt, but it’d mean they were okay. Jesus, he needed them to be okay. But no. There was no way Freddie would worry Rissa like this.
“Oh, Christ.” His wolf howled and he couldn’t keep the echo of it from his own throat.
Dean squeezed his shoulder again, the look in his eyes made Luke’s stomach clench in cold fear. “Rissa said she could feel Freddie through their mating bond. He’s hurt.”
It took several seconds for Luke to finish running through every swear word he knew. “Then why aren’t we flying directly to their location?” he asked. “I thought all the Towneses’ aircrafts had those locater devices. Don’t we have them on GPS?”
“Their emergency transmitter isn’t broadcasting,” Rissa’s brother-in-law, Rick Macomber, said.
“Doesn’t make any sense,” Dev said. “Those things are designed to turn on automatically in a crash.”
Luke’s wolf howled and raged, making it nearly impossible to keep his skin.
Isabelle’s all right, he told his beast. She had to be. They’d just met. This couldn’t be all the time they were allowed. Keep it together. We can’t help her if we panic.
Outside, the sun set, leaving the sky a dark gray. In minutes the hazy twilight would fade to black. It would be hours before the moon rose enough to help the human searchers.
Good thing Luke and his teams weren’t human. Isabelle, Freddie, and their two passengers needed all the help they could get. The forecast called for heavy snow tonight, with temperatures dipping into the teens.
“They’ll need shelter,” he said.
“Freddie’s bird is a good aircraft,” Rick said. “I should know. I help him service it. It passed every check this morning, Alpha.”
Dev twisted in his seat to look at Luke. “Freddie’s a helluva pilot. And if that sister of his is anything like him—well, you just hold on to hope, Alpha. They’ll figure it out.”
Luke gave a tight nod. “How long until we reach our drop point?”
“’Bout two minutes.”
He nodded again and stripped. Naked, he leapt from the helicopter before its landing skids even touched down on the high plateau. Dean, Rick, and the other three searchers dropped out the side door.
Dev called out to Luke, “The winds are picking up and the forecast is crap. I’ll look as long as I can, but if I’m not careful, you’ll be out here searching for my hairy ass next.” The words were flippant, but Dev’s eyes were dead serious.
Luke could order Dev back out, knew the male would come without question. “Don’t give Liz a reason to skin me,” he said instead.
Dev snorted. “Good hunting.”
As the helicopter lifted off, a wave of power washed over Luke as the others changed, shifting from human to wolf. In their beast forms, they were larger than ordinary wolves, almost twice the size, generally keeping the weight of their human form. Dean was the largest male in the pack and his wolf weighed over two hundred fifty pounds.
Normally, Luke’s dominance and tight control meant he had to mentally untie the restraints that bound his beast within. But today, with his mate’s life on the line, his wolf stood poised at the gates, vibrating with frantic need and purpose. The wolf burst, instead of flowed, from Luke’s skin. Bones twisted and reshaped, fangs and claws erupted, and fur stormed over his hide.
He barely registered the pain. Isabelle needed them.
Easing back, he ceded control to the wolf.
As soon as the metamorphosis ended, Wolf rose and shook himself, settling his thick black fur. Beta, a dark, warm presence on his right, nudged him with a shoulder.
Freezing wind whistled over the hills and through the trees. Branches creaked and pine needles rustled. It didn’t bother Wolf. He had thick fur and a strong hide. But his mate did not. He had smelled the sickness on her human skin. She could not call on her lupine strength. The mountain night would be trouble for her.
Many scents hung in the air. Spruce and pine, snow and bird. The stink from the flying machine. He sneezed then cocked his ears, listening to the forest, listening for things that didn’t belong.
Moving easily on swift paws, they fanned out into the forest.
Tonight, they hunted quarry they could not lose.