Seduced by the Wolf

Chapter 18

"You can't follow her dressed like you are," Carver warned Leidolf. Carver looked as if he was ready to dive into the river himself to go after Cassie.

Leidolf was already stripping out of his clothes while he kept Cassie in sight. The water had swiftly swept her downstream as he was having a hell of a time fumbling to untie his wet bootlaces. "Tell the rest of the men where I've gone. Elgin, you're in charge while I'm away. I'll take her to the cabin until she's well enough to return. Just leave my clothes hidden nearby."

Carver frowned at him. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"You have your girls to look after." But Leidolf thought Carver was interested in the other red wolf, in the event she was a lupus garou also, and wanted to have first chance at her before the other bachelor males did.

"What are you going to do about this Alex character?" Carver asked, staring off in the direction Cassie was headed farther downstream and struggling against the current to reach the opposite shore.

Leidolf let out his breath and ditched his jeans and then his shirt. "He can see Cassie once I've returned her to the ranch and she's feeling better. And then she can tell him to take a hike."

He quickly shape-shifted and, as a wolf, raced down the rocky riverbank to reach the location where Cassie had drifted. Then he dove into the cold river, sending the water flying, and swam toward her. By then, she'd reached the halfway point across the river.

Was the other wolf Cassie's sister, which would explain why Cassie had been so hell-bent on returning here? But why hadn't she just told him the truth? All of his men would have been searching for the woman. Which maybe was the reason she hadn't told him the truth.

As a wolf, Leidolf paddled across the river, swearing it was growing wider as he traversed it. He sure as hell could run faster as a wolf than he could swim as one. Even with her having a head start, he was catching up to Cassie as she fought against the current to reach the other side. Then, she suddenly went under. His heart flipped.

His men shouted on the beach near where he had jumped into the water. "Hell, Leidolf!" Elgin said, his voice rife with concern.

"Do you want us to come in?" Carver shouted.

But Leidolf kept swimming to reach the last place he'd seen her, his gaze searching for any sign of her, his heart beating spastically. God, Cassie, I can't lose you now.

Then Cassie's head bobbed up, her ears perked high, her swim slow and plodding. She was getting closer to shore. Hell, he wished he could wolf paddle faster. If he could reach her in time, he'd grab her by the scruff of the neck and pull her in. Or swiftly shape-shift to his human form and carry her the rest of the way to the shore.

She finally reached the beach and stumbled, landing on her stomach. Cassie.

Stay! Just stay there! he wanted to shout at her. He wanted to pin her down, like a wolf in charge would another, to make her obey.

Her chest heaving, she sat on the shore. He thought he might reach her in time before she could run off. Until she looked back and saw how close to shore he was. Damn. Her ears twitched, her eyes widened, and she closed her panting mouth.

He gave her the best steely-eyed, you'd-better-obey-me look that an alpha pack leader could convey. And hell, she took off running for the woods with a heavy limp.

When he reached the other side of the river, he glanced back at Carver and the rest of his men, all watching him to see that he made it. Then he bowed his head to them to acknowledge he was fine and to ask them to abide his wishes. After shaking off the excess water dripping from his coat, he whipped around, and took off in the direction the little red wolf had gone--his little red wolf. The other... well, if one of his men could convince her to stay with the pack also, so much the better. But Cassie was his. Like Alex had stated, Leidolf just had to convince her of that fact. Only he'd be the winner, not some lame human wolf biologist.

After racing through the forest for about a mile, Leidolf came upon Cassie sitting in ferns shielded by Douglas firs, panting and staring off into the distance, her energy totally spent. As soon as she smelled him coming, she whipped her head around, her gaze riveting to his. Yeah, here's the big, bad wolf coming to take you safely home, young lady.

Cassie's face looked ragged with pain. Warily, he approached her, not wanting to chase her off and cause her any more pain, but wanting to ensure she didn't run away again, either. He saw no sign of the other female and assumed Cassie just couldn't go any further with her shoulder so injured.

She didn't make any move to leave. In fact, she lay down on her side, taking the pressure off her injured shoulder.

He drew close and nuzzled her face. She didn't growl at him, like she would have if she hadn't wanted his attention. She didn't lick him back either, though, as if she was too tired to make the effort or had given up and wasn't happy about it. Deciding she was just too worn out, he planned to carry her to his cabin by the creek where she could rest until she was able to return with him.

Leidolf nudged Cassie's nose, trying to get her to stir, but she'd closed her eyes and appeared to be sleeping or just ignoring him. He hoped they could reach the cabin without running into anyone in the woods--and soon.

Not liking what he had to do next, he shape-shifted, and in his naked, chilled form, he leaned down and lifted Cassie as gently as he could. She yelped. "I'm so sorry, Cassie."

He figured his apology would have garnered a couple of chuckles from his men, had they witnessed it. He hated hearing the pain in her yelp, and he tried to carry her as carefully as he could. At least it would be dark for several more hours, and if all went as planned, she could heal while she rested. Then again, without clothing, they would have to remain there until darkness fell again so they could return to his Humvee in their wolf suits.

As he began hiking, he worried about the other wolf. She would be in as much danger as he and Cassie were in their wolf forms if hunters located them and wanted to eliminate the wolf threat. As soon as Cassie was safe in the cabin, he'd take a look for the other wolf. In his wolf coat. Faster to travel, but he wasn't sure whether it would scare off the wolf or not.

For half an hour, Leidolf carried a sleeping Cassie tight against his chest, surprised--considering how much he cursed when he stepped on blackberry bramble thorns or stumbled over exposed tree roots he couldn't see for carrying her--that she hadn't awakened.

She'd been really still in his arms, but all of a sudden, she began to wiggle as if she didn't care for being confined.

"I'll drop you if you don't mind," Leidolf warned, tightening his hold on her and trying not to lose the squirming wolf. She tried to jerk away from him, but he squeezed tighter. "Behave yourself," he said in a hushed voice close to her ear as if he were whispering sweet sentiments to her.

Her subtle feminine fragrance stirred his senses, made him long for her, and all he could think of was how he was going to convince her she was staying with his pack--with him.

He reconsidered that maybe as a newly turned lupus garou, she wanted to change a human male for a mate so that he would be the same as her. Which made him think of the new Arctic werewolves he'd had to deal with in Maine. He wasn't going along with Cassie taking a human for a mate.

Then Cassie struggled harder, and before he could prepare himself, she was shifting again. Either she didn't have control over the shifting, which meant it was tantamount that she stay with a pack, his pack. Or she preferred his holding her tight in his hard embrace as a woman, instead of as a wolf. Carrying a woman would be easier to manage, but he didn't like that she'd be as chilled as him.

Still, when she shifted and he was holding the silky-skinned nymph in his arms, he gave her a devilish smile as she frowned up at him and he said, "Much better." He readjusted his hold on her and pressed her hot, little body closer, trying to ensure she didn't get too cold.

He had every intention of setting the rules. "So let's get some things straight between us, Cassie Roux, little wolf biologist. You're a loner, don't have a pack, and have the hots for me." He grinned at the last.

She closed her eyes and groaned. She could pretend all she wanted that she wasn't interested in him the way he desired having her. She snuggled closer to him and breathed deeply. Enjoying the way his pheromones revealed how much he craved having her? Hers were driving him insane.

"And you're not going to take some lame wolf biologist for a mate."

She let out her breath in a painful sigh, her gaze staring up at him, beautiful, eyes narrowed a little in confrontation... and he loved it. "I have no intention of mating with Alex. It's all his idea, and truthfully? He couldn't make a commitment to one woman if his life depended on it. But I have a job to do, for which I'm getting paid, and no one's stopping me."

"You're not running through the woods on your own, Cassie. Not wounded like you are and not when those murderers could still be out here searching for that woman's body."

Ignoring him, she growled, "And furthermore, quit telling everyone we're engaged."

Then she scrunched up her face in pain, shivered in his arms, and started to move again. Before he could warn her he was about to drop her again, his hold tightening on her already, she shifted once more. She had to be really newly turned. Which made him wonder if some werewolf had turned her and she'd run away before he mated her.

He ground his teeth, figuring that although he didn't want her exploring the woods further, he ought to at least ask her what job was so blamed important. The female wolf? What had she intended to do with her? "So what is the reason you had to return here?"

She appeared to be sleeping and didn't shift back to her human form or seem to have heard his question. He growled under his breath. As soon as he could, he was learning the truth.

And then a breath of relief gave him hope as he saw the log cabin nestled in between trees, about five hundred square feet in size, a full rock wall on one side, rounded logs for the other three walls, grimy unwashed windows in the three wooden walls, and a mortared stone extension on one end. All the materials but the glass looked to have been salvaged from the surrounding countryside. The roof was covered in moss; tall grass and ferns brushed the sides of the building; and a hemlock's branches poked at one wall. A human's version of a wolf's den. Perfect for Cassie's recuperation.

He shoved open the door with his hip and stared into the gloom. A couple of rough-hewn wooden chairs sat at a small table next to one wall. A fireplace was built into the rock wall, blackened with soot from years of use. A deflated velour mattress lay on the dusty wooden floor. As a wolf, Cassie wouldn't mind. Although as soon as he had the time, he'd try to inflate the mattress or make up some other kind of bed.

He laid her down next to the fireplace. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her wolf's expression tired.

"I'll be back, Cassie. I'll get some wood and build a fire. Just stay here."

She closed her eyes, and he worried she might get sicker before she was better, as lethargic as she was.

"Cassie?" He crouched in front of her and touched her nose. It was wet and cool. He knew that a warm, dry nose didn't immediately signify illness. Lethargy, in addition to it, and loss of appetite could be more serious. "I'll... I'll be right back."

He headed for the door and turned to look at her, but she didn't open her eyes or acknowledge in any way that she knew he was leaving. The thought did go through his mind that she was only faking it, and that as soon as he left her, she'd run off again. Hell. He hated second-guessing her.

He walked outside, shut the door, and sniffed the air, trying to smell any sign of another wolf or humans that had been in the area while he waited to ensure Cassie wasn't planning to leave. He smelled nothing but the hemlocks and the water from the creek nearby, pines and pinesap, and a rabbit that had been in the area recently. He peered in through one of the dusty windows. Cassie hadn't moved a muscle.

He sighed and went to gather wood, which naked, wasn't much fun. Chill bumps covered every inch of his skin, but he didn't have any choice. When he returned to the cabin with an armload of firewood, he found Cassie still dead to the world. He loaded the wood into the fireplace and found a cache of waterproof matches on the mantel. After a fire began to really catch, he watched Cassie's chest rise and fall, rise and fall. Her legs kicked a little as if she was running in a dream, and she whimpered.

Forever it seemed he watched her, not wanting to leave her alone, but he had to look for the other wolf in case she was in trouble. He leaned down and scratched between Cassie's ears. "I'll be back, Cassie, after I look for the other wolf. Just sleep. I'll be right back."

She didn't wake or at least didn't react to his attentions.

The cabin was so small that it was heating up nicely, making it even harder for him to leave the place. He went outside, closed the door, and welcomed the shift. Not that he wanted to run around in the daylight as a wolf, but the fur coat was welcome in the chilly breeze.

As a wolf, he ran back to the river where they'd crossed, where they'd seen the other wolf and began searching for her trail. His men were gone, and he hoped they weren't off looking for the wolf on their own.

But the wolf was a female, for sure. Her footpads had left a scent, and he ran along the trail until he came to a creek. And then that was the odd thing. The wolf had entered the creek, but when he traversed the fast-running water over the slippery stones, he didn't find her scent on the opposite bank. He followed the creek for some time downstream and then tried again upstream. Nothing. Hell, it was if she just vanished. Or she'd stayed in the creek for a much longer time than he'd imagined. He wondered if Cassie had pulled the same thing when he'd tried to find her and then gotten shot by the zoo men.

Leidolf recrossed the creek and hurried downstream, figuring maybe the red female wolf had entered the creek, walked along it farther than he imagined she would, trying to catch a fish, and then exited it. He still couldn't find her scent that way, or upstream either. Which was more than bizarre. Then again, she was beginning to sound like she might truly be a lupus garou trying to avoid him, just like Cassie, and not a lupus who wouldn't think like a human.

Following the trail again, he tried to see if she'd backtracked her path as wolves would do and then went across the river. He couldn't tell. If she had backtracked, she'd just remarked her scent. Frustrated with not getting anywhere with the search, he shook his head. Time to return to Cassie and take care of her.

He raced back toward the cabin, hoping he might still catch a glimpse of the other wolf, but no luck. When he saw the smoke coming out of the chimney of the little square cabin, he felt an inkling of truly being home despite how austere it was. He'd never needed much of a place to feel at home. And if he had the woman of his dreams with him, that was all he could ask for. If he could convince her of it.

Without his whole pack watching his every move, this was as good a place as any for the conflict of wills to unfold.