Nine
The last thing Niko wanted to do was run his wolf in the forest less than twenty-four hours after finding his mate, but he had a job to do. One that would make her job easier—and hopefully, safer. Soon, he could go back to her. Smell her, taste her. Make love to her. His heart sped at the thought. He never expected to find his mate, much less a human one, but now that he had, he couldn’t imagine his future without her.
Glancing at the sun, he pushed himself faster. He wanted to get home before supper so he could fix her another meal. Rylee hadn’t eaten half the steak he’d prepared for her the night before, but the sounds she’d made as she’d enjoyed it had been enough to make him hard as hell and ready to pounce as soon as she’d swallowed the last bite.
Scouring the forest had taken longer than he’d expected. He and Luca knew these wooded acres like the backs of their hands, but there were so many different smells all around them that it had been difficult to decipher each one. Most had been innocent enough, but one in particular—the one they were chasing now—worried him.
Cat, his wolf growled into his mind. There was no mistaking the scent. It permeated the air and clung to the moss where the creature had lain in its shifted form. The beast had had the nerve to rub itself against the trees and rake its claws into the damned bark as though it had every fucking right. This was Wassookeag Pack territory, and it would do well to remember that.
Resisting the urge to howl, Niko widened his search. Between him and Luca, it wouldn’t take long to catch the animal’s trail. It wasn’t bad enough his mate was being chased by vampires, but now cougars were in the mix, as well. Whatever information that hard drive contained had to be damned important if everyone was after it. At least the blood suckers couldn’t easily get to her during the day. The cougars, however, had no such impediment. Part of him wanted to race home to make sure she was okay, but he had a funny feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it.
Luca’s yip a short distance away drew him from his thoughts. It said, “I’ve found what I was looking for and unless you want to get left behind, you’d better get your ass moving.”
His brother was relentless when pursuing prey. Where Niko exercised more caution to get the job done, Luca plowed straight ahead—always. He wasn’t careless, but patience wasn’t in his vocabulary, either. It was what made them an unbeatable team. They balanced each other out. Niko loped off in the direction Luca led, leaving the now empty campsite they’d come to behind.
Tawny fur, nothing but a blur, sprang from a branch high above. Niko gave a sharp bark, warning his brother, but it was too late. Luca’s yelp a second later cut through the forest. Putting on a burst of speed, Niko dug his claws into the earth. Wolves were powerful, but a single wolf against a cougar? That wasn’t a fair fight.
The coppery scent of blood blasted his nose before he reached them. Vicious growls rumbled from both beasts as fangs and claws clashed. Luca fought hard, but already, crimson coated his left flank.
When he was finally within striking distance, Niko leaped, sinking his teeth into the back of the cougar’s neck, hanging on with every bit of strength he had. It released its grip on Luca, jumping and twisting in the air, nearly dislodging Niko with that one move alone.
With a wicked roar, the cougar twisted, swiping with its paws, teeth gnashing. Fiery heat seared his left side, but Niko wouldn’t let go. Not for a couple of scratches and a bit of pain. Not when Luca’s life depended on him keeping the enemy off him.
The cougar sprang up, giving a rough shake, and Niko’s grip slipped. His body tipped to the side. He tried to right himself, but the cat was fast. It twisted its spine and opened its jaw wide, a wicked glint in its grey-green eyes, and bit down. Bone crunched, and agony bloomed from Niko’s left hind leg, stealing his breath. He tried to get away, but the creature didn’t release him. Ligaments and tendons tore. Fuck.
In a flash, Luca was in the cougar’s face, barking and snapping. Just when Niko thought he might lose his leg, the cougar released him and lunged for Luca.
Try as he might, Niko couldn’t put weight on his leg. Scrambling, he got out of the cougar’s reach. A howl, immediately followed by another, rang through the forest. Relief poured through him. He knew those wolves. He’d recognize his Alpha and former Alpha anywhere. He breathed through the agony in his leg and willed the black spots dancing in front of his eyes away. Son of a bitch, it hurt.
Snarls and growls rumbled around him. For a second, he thought the cougar might stay and fight, but then it bounded off. Luca paced close to him, limping but still mobile. It hadn’t been a pretty fight, but they’d both survived.
“What the hell?” Jaxon roared the second he shifted. He crouched next to him, examining his leg without touching it.
Niko tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t hold, and he stumbled back to the ground.
“Don’t you fucking bite me,” Jaxon ordered, his tone firm. Both Luca and Emmett remained in their wolf forms, keeping guard.
Niko gritted his teeth. If he thought the pain of the broken limb was bad, setting the bone would be worse. When Jaxon gripped his paw and his hip, Niko heaved a deep breath into his lungs. One second, pain exploded through him, and the next, everything went blessedly black.
***
Rylee paced Maple’s kitchen, ignoring the worried looks she was getting from her new friends. She popped another candy into her mouth, chewing the sweet treat like her life depended on it. They were delicious, and under different circumstances, she’d enjoy them a hell of a lot more. “Yes, definitely this one. You have to sell it,” she said as she spun on her heels and strode to the window again.
When she turned and saw both Maple and Bonnie staring at her, she sighed. “I said that already, didn’t I? Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Seriously, though? It takes a lot to keep our men down. Try not to worry,” Maple assured her for the third time in the last five minutes.
When Jaxon had texted Maple a little over half an hour earlier, saying that there had been an attack in the forest, to her credit, Maple hadn’t tried to hide the information from her. She’d come right up to her and told her that Niko was injured. Jaxon hadn’t said how badly he was hurt, just that they were bringing him in and that he’d be in his wolf form. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to see him in his shifted body, but not under these circumstances.
Bonnie’s head snapped up seconds before Maple’s did. “They’re here,” she said just before the sound of a vehicle coming into the drive drifted to Rylee’s ears. Then a car door slammed, followed by two more.
Rylee’s heart pounded. “Will he know who I am if he’s in his wolf form? Should I stay away from him?” Animals could be unpredictable when hurt. Crap. She wished she knew more about the shifter world.
“He’ll recognize you. If anything, his wolf will even before the man does. He won’t admit it, but he’ll want you close. Men are big babies like that,” Bonnie said in a loud whisper.
A man Rylee didn’t recognize entered first, holding the door open. His gaze went to Bonnie, then slid to Maple, and finally, to her. He gave her a small nod but didn’t say a word.
The second to come in looked a whole lot like Niko. Same dark hair, same brown eyes. An inch shorter—maybe. “Luca?” she asked, her voice shakier than she’d expected it would be.
He gave her a pained smile. “He’s okay, little sister. Jaxon’s trying to calm him before bringing him in.”
Some of the tension that had been coiled so tightly inside her released. If his brother wasn’t worried, she shouldn’t be, either. Right?
Luca guarded his stomach as he gingerly stepped forward. Under his arm, a splotch of drying blood stained his blue T-shirt.
If he was hurting and coming in under his own steam, what kind of shape was Niko in? They might expect her to stay inside and wait, but she couldn’t. Deep, vicious growls greeted her as she approached the door.
“He wouldn’t want you to see him this way,” Luca said but didn’t try to stop her.
“I’m not bringing you in until you calm the fuck down. I swear, if you bite me, I’m going to break your other damned leg,” Jaxon said from just outside the door in a voice that brooked no argument.
Rylee gasped and rushed from the kitchen. Alpha or not, if he thought for one second she’d let him lay a hand on Niko, he had another thing coming.
In the grass, not ten feet from the door, a brown wolf lay on its side, panting. Blood matted the fur of his left leg and ribs. Growls rumbled from his chest. The second he spotted her, they grew louder, and his lips curled up in a snarl. Not aimed at her, but at the man who was standing there, towering above him with his arms crossed over his chest.
Ignoring the warning glare she got from Jaxon, she went to the wolf’s side, kneeling next to him. Niko was somewhere in there, and if what the women had said was true, then he wouldn’t hurt her. His body trembled, and muscles bunched beneath the fur in what looked like a wicked spasm, making the wolf whimper.
“What’s happening?”
“He’s being a stubborn ass. He’s going to shift and rip apart all the healing his body has done already,” Jaxon said, his voice filled with censure.
Niko’s wolf’s body contorted again.
“Don’t,” she snapped at him. “Stay as you are.”
The spasms in the wolf’s body subsided.
“Why is he doing that if it’s going to hurt him?”
The man ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re not mated. Having any man near you is going to drive his wolf crazy.”
As though reinforcing the Alpha’s statement, Niko growled again.
She stroked her fingers over the wolf’s neck. “Does he need a doctor?”
“Not if he stays as he is. If he shifts, he could do permanent damage. He needs a few hours to heal.”
She nodded. “If you can give me directions, I’ll take him home.” She didn’t know how she’d get a wolf that size into the house, but she’d figure that out once she got there.