To Tempt the Wolf

Chapter 12

HUNTER SUSPECTED THE WORST--THAT ASHTON HAD shapeshifted in plain view of Tessa and now he was faced with a new dilemma.

Rourke swore under his breath.

Hunter clenched and unclenched his hands. Damn Ashton. "Ashton, the window's open in the master bedroom. The door is locked. Go around the front and climb in, shut the window, and unlock the door, why don't you?"

"I'll go with him," Rourke hastily said.

When the men left, Hunter pulled off one of Tessa's cold wet gloves and then the other.

Meara said, "I'll make lunch."

"I'll help her," Cara quickly added, and the two disappeared into the kitchen.

"Tessa, what did you see?" Hunter's gut clenched with concern for what she was feeling.

If he could undo the last few days in a heartbeat to save her from what now had to be done, he would. He couldn't believe Ashton had caused so much trouble. No wonder changing humans wasn't a good policy.

Tessa swallowed hard and stared at the fire while Hunter rubbed her cold fingers. "Ashton was acting crazy, pacing all over the place, and then he went outside and stripped off his clothes in the snow. I thought he was rabid, and I was afraid he would hurt Cara. Instead he... he changed. Transformed into a wolf. Cara wasn't surprised. Your sister told me nothing had happened. And if neither of them was shocked, it meant they were whatever he was also. And you, too."

Wanting her, despite everything--her cousin, his own feelings about changing a human, the fact she had a brother, which would cause even more problems-- Hunter unbuttoned her coat, knowing now he had no choice but to explain his world. "I'm sorry."

"That you have to terminate me now? I won't tell anyone." Her eyes glistened with tears. "How could I? They'd lock me away."

He let out his breath, unsure how to approach the problem. He didn't want to upset her any further, but he couldn't be dishonest with her at this point. "Letting you go, isn't one of our options." Their laws had kept them alive and their secret intact for this long, he wasn't about to break one of the most important rules they lived by.

She blinked away tears and looked back at the fire. "Will you at least help my brother get his release?"

Her tearfulness cut straight through to his soul. "Changing you was the other choice." Or giving her up to Devlyn Greystoke.

"Your sister said it wasn't an option for you."

He shook his head. Leave it up to his sister to be truthful at the most inopportune times.

Tessa's bedroom door opened, and Rourke stomped back down the hall. "What else did you need done?"

Ashton slinked in behind him.

"Rourke, why don't you take a nap in the guest room? Ashton, you take one in Michael's room. We'll need some sleep so we can pull guard duty tonight."

Rourke cast a sympathetic look Tessa's way and gave Hunter a hard look. Then he and Ashton headed down the hall.

"If I turned you..." Hunter said.

"I don't want to be crazy like Ashton."

"You'll be the same person you are now even after the change. Maybe he was already a little crazy." Hunter stroked Tessa's hand. "There are benefits for being what we are."

"What exactly are you?"

"Shapeshifters. Lupus garous. Werewolves. We normally don't associate much with humans, and we don't normally change them."

Tessa's eyes were so big, Hunter knew telling her the facts of life wasn't going to be any easier than it had been when he told the guys.

"You can't have been born this way."

"Yes, we're born this way. Normally, it's much easier to stay with our kind since we've grown up this way. Teaching a newly turned human can be a real trial. Both Rourke and Ashton have already made innumerable mistakes. If I could, I'd take them to my home and keep them there, isolated from humans until they more thoroughly understood how dangerous it is for us to let down our guard."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes. Can you imagine if people knew of our existence, what would happen? DNA testing, for one, to learn why we heal so quickly, how we can shapeshift, what makes us age so slowly."

"You... you don't have the life span of a human?"

"No. Although we can die." He pulled off her coat. She looked so petite sitting there, he again wondered if she could handle being his mate. "Think on it, Tessa. I won't pressure you into making a decision."

She snorted. "Death or life as a werewolf. No pressure. Right." She took a ragged breath and stared at the floor. "You wanted to take a nap."

And the fact she wouldn't look at him made him worry she was intending on trying to slip out while everyone was napping. "With you."

She looked so damned vulnerable, he didn't want to push her into accepting any of this until she could handle it. What was he supposed to do? Letting her know their secrets, but allowing her to live on her own as a human was not an option. But killing her wasn't either.

He ran his hands through her silky hair, wanting to bury his face in the sweet peach-scented strands. "In part, you and your brother are already one of us, if it helps any. It seems Jeremiah Cramer, your great-grandfather, was Seth Greystoke, a friend of my great-grandfather's. One of his great grandsons still lives. Which creates another situation. Maybe the solution, or not. Once Devlyn Greystoke learns of your existence, I'd be willing to bet, he'll want you to join his pack."

Tessa looked so distraught, Hunter took her hand and kissed it, and he noted how small her fingers were compared to his, just like the rest of her--petite, delicate, not tall like his sister or Cara, which meant she'd be a small wolf when she shapeshifted, and most likely unable to deal with the heftier grays if one of them tried her. But touching her turned his body into a torrent of need--the desire to claim her overcoming any rational judgment.

Trying to get his mind off what Tessa's sweet body did to his, he considered the matter of turning her further. He didn't object to making her one of their own for the same reason Leidolf did because of his roots, even though he and Meara were of royal lineage also, but having offspring who were not, didn't matter to him. Turning a reluctant woman did. But if she had wolf roots already and she was willing... "You have a choice, Tessa." As much as he hated to admit it.

"You mean to go with some stranger?" She sounded slightly hysterical, her eyes wide, scared. "I can't leave. My brother--"

"As the last of his kin, I'm certain Devlyn would want to do whatever he could to help free your brother."

Although Hunter had every intention of freeing her brother himself, somehow.

Tessa's expression changed subtly--almost as though she thought family might be more of a help than he would be. And the notion irked him. He was her savior, no one else.

But then she squeezed Hunter's hand and his groin tightened. "What about you?"

Hell, he wanted her, but in reality, since Devlyn was a pack leader and her kin, by their laws, he should decide her future. Hunter chided himself. That was one law he wasn't willing to abide by--not when it came to Tessa's fate.

She bit her lip, her hands nervously rubbing her jeans. "What, Hunter? If it pertains to me..."

"Hell, Tessa." He tugged her from the floor and pulled her toward her bedroom. "If I was being perfectly honest with you, I'd tell you it's out of my hands. That according to our laws, your cousin would decide what would happen to you and your brother."

She slumped a little. "But...? " She looked up at him with a mixture of emotions--hope, worry, insecurity.

"I don't want to give up control." Well, a hell lot more than that. He didn't want to give her up, period.

Her lips twitched up slightly.

"Yeah, well, it's a natural curse when you're an alpha pack leader. Give no quarter."

"But...? "

"If I make you mine to prevent the other grays from having you, Devlyn might choose to fight me because of it--if I didn't get his permission first. All packs have female shortages. He may want to give you to one of his own sub pack leaders."

Not that Hunter wanted that, but alpha leaders didn't mate betas. Both an alpha male and female ran the pack. If Tessa wasn't alpha enough, she would never survive as his mate. Devlyn could pair her off with a subleader or a beta. If Tessa stayed with Hunter, there wasn't any way he was giving her to anyone else and that could put her in harm's way. He couldn't do that. But he didn't have the heart to tell her she might not be able to be an alpha's mate.

He took her into the room and shut the door.

She folded her arms and glowered at him. "Right, damn it. Like some guy I don't even know can come here and tell me who I have to marry."

"Mate. We don't marry."

Her brows rose.

"I have a lot more to tell you about us before you really know what you're getting into." Although he wasn't sure how much to reveal all at once.

For a moment, she looked annoyed, and he figured it had to do with not saying he'd fight for her. He had no qualms about fighting Devlyn for her, but the fact of the matter still remained he had to do what was right for Tessa's safety.

But then Tessa began unbuttoning her blouse. He recognized that devious look in her eyes that meant she was up to something. Get him so worked up he didn't want to give her up, perhaps. He didn't want to give her to anyone, but if it meant keeping her safe, he'd... well, he'd have to do what was right for her.

Hesitating, he didn't want to give her the wrong message. She gave him a wickedly sinful smile in response and that decided it. Talk about having no willpower when it came to the red-haired goddess.

She ran her fingers down Hunter's chest with a provocative stroke of her long nails and reached for his waistband. "What happened to your pack? Are they the ones Leidolf said were in Portland?"

What pack? Hell, his other head was thinking for him now.

He yanked her shirt down to her elbows, leaned over, and kissed her soft throat, his voice husky when he replied, "They weren't happy about losing their homes in California to the forest fire. They thought living in a city would be a nice change. But we're not urban wolves. Leidolf's pack is established in Portland. He has every right to defend his territory against encroachers."

"Hmm," she murmured, lifting her chin as he ran his mouth lower, trailing kisses over her collarbone, down to the top edge of the lacy bra covering the swell of her breasts.

Despite not looking to see where her fingers roamed, she dipped them inside his sweatpants and a shiver of need stole through him.

Lower, he silently pleaded, wanting her to stroke the itch she'd created. And she touched him, smiling when his arousal jumped in her hand.

Unable to restrain the urge to rip off her clothes and have his way with her, he reached down and attempted to unbuckle her belt, vowing she'd wear sweats like him from now on, less to remove and lots quicker.

She chuckled as he fumbled with the belt, and he growled. Somehow, despite his lust-soaked brain, he was able to remove Tessa's clothes without destroying them, baring all that luscious skin, her pert breasts, the nipples already peaked, but screened by her silky mane of red hair. She trembled in the frigid room, and Hunter scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

"Then you'll have to go to Portland and bring them back."

Bring who back? Hell, all he cared about was Tessa at the moment. And he sure was rethinking the Devlyn situation, cousin or no, alpha leader problems notwithstanding. "I can't leave you behind while I deal with my pack."

He set her on the bed, then climbed onto the mattress and pulled the covers over them to keep the chill out. Trailing a finger around his nipples, she tortured his body, caressing with featherlight touches. "Why does the stalker want me for real?"

Jeez, she had to ask? Everything about her was sexier than sin--just to look at, to touch, to taste, to smell her special scent. But beyond that? She drugged him with her easygoing manner, her innocence, yet her strength to right wrong, to persist when everything told her the situation was futile, to risk her life to protect him. What more could a lupus garou ask for in a mate?

He gave a ragged sigh, hating that she'd garnered others' interest as well. "Your pheromones, looks, actions. You caught his attention, but he's cautious in taking you because he's a beta."

He kissed her lips, possessively, craving every inch of her, to hold, to protect, to keep her for his own forever.

"Ahh, betas, of course. Your sister and Cara are alphas, aren't they?"

He groaned inwardly. Some part of his brain realized it was important for her to talk about this, but he sure as hell wanted to get on with what his other brain felt was important. "Yeah."

"And Rourke and Ashton?" Her fingers slid over Hunter's arm, her gaze focused on the way his muscle tensed.

"Betas."

"What would I be?" Her eyes shifted to his, and he could see the concern there.

Hunter took a deep breath. "All that I want in a woman."

Her jaw tightened, her green eyes spearing him with a determined look. "I'm an alpha," she said, with great conviction. When he smiled, she pinched his pebbled nipple with a gentle squeeze. "You don't think so?"

He nuzzled her face, wanting to make love, but wanting to clear the air between them first. "Sometimes you're definitely an alpha." He couldn't lie to her and say she was always one, because he wasn't sure how she'd fare among the alpha of his kind, but he hated the way her brows pinched together, when he wanted to reassure her instead.

"A beta's not good, is it?"

He cleared his throat. Without betas, a lupus garou pack would constantly be in turmoil, alphas butting heads, what a mess. "Betas in a pack are fine. Alphas must lead the pack though."

"So if I were a beta and you turned me, I'd be stuck with someone like Rourke?"

Hunter tightened his hold on her. Hell, no way.

"Or someone of Devlyn's choosing," she whispered.

"We'll talk about it later." He ran his fingers over her smooth cheek and kissed her velvety lips, loving the way every bit of her felt to him, melding to him.

She parted her lips for him and touched her tongue to his, a sexy dominating caress, and then thrusting into his mouth, exploring, conquering, nearly undoing him.

He moaned and pushed her onto her back, her silky hair falling against the sheets, and he couldn't deny she was the most sensual and intriguing woman he'd ever met.

With a gentle push of his knee, he spread her thighs, opening her sweet body to him, her short red curls drenched, her swollen pink lips wanting. Her eyes half-lidded, she more than obliged, her hands tugging at his hips to join her.

Sliding his engorged arousal into her tight sheath, he savored the way her body stroked him as he thrust into her, clenching, tightening, wringing him to the nth degree, heightening the exquisite pleasure. He cupped her face and conquered her mouth with his, her lips and tongue fueling his desire. Tightening her hands on his back, she arched against him, deepening the bond, their hearts beating hard, their breathing heavy and ragged.

For the moment, she was all his, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough unless he could have her for all eternity.

As if she felt it was her last chance at convincing him she wanted him to choose her for his mate, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his ass, pressuring him to deepen his thrusts. And he gladly did her bidding, diving deeper, craving completion, wanting to find release in the only woman he'd ever desired making his own.

She moaned, her orgasm gripping him with waves of pleasure, pulling him to the edge, and he quickly followed with a staggering climax that left him sated, but he knew it would never be enough.

Before he could roll off Tessa and pull her into his arms to enjoy the afterglow, someone pounded on the bedroom door as the wind roared over the house. Ignoring whoever it was, he shook his head and drew Tessa on top of him, wanting to snuggle and sleep, to recharge their batteries before they faced much more trouble.

"Hunter, I got through on the phone to the sheriff's office. Wind's are gusting up to one hundred miles per hour. Tessa's roof sounds like it's about to go. The sheriff's department wants everyone evacuated from the coastal areas," Rourke warned.

Tessa kissed Hunter's cheek, her hand caressing his chest. "Maybe it's time to go to Portland."

Hunter agreed. "Pack two vehicles, Ashton's pickup since it made it before, and Meara's SUV. We'll be out in a minute, Rourke."

He yanked the covers aside and grabbed Tessa's clothes and handed them to her, taking a long look at her tantalizing body, her breasts heavy, her nipples taut, a slight sheen of perspiration making her skin shimmer, and slightly red from all the hot friction they'd created. She gave him the same kind of salacious look, grinned at him when he caught her eye, and dressed.

When they entered the living room, something crashed outside and Tessa jumped. Ashton and Rourke ran to the front window and peered out.

"Ah, hell," Ashton said. "There goes my new truck."

Hunter shook his head, not happy about having to take Rourke's truck instead.

"We'd better hurry before another tree comes down." Rourke jerked on his parka. "Do we take my truck now?"

"Yeah. Ashton can drive if he's more used to the conditions." At least Hunter hoped so.

Rourke scowled as if Hunter had unmanned him. "No one can get 'used' to these conditions."

Tessa handed him an armful of blankets for the trip, and Rourke carried them out to his truck.

"Cara, you and Rourke ride with Ashton. He'll lead the way." Hunter turned to Meara. "You and Tessa will ride with me."

"Why two vehicles?" Cara asked. "Wouldn't it be better if we all stayed together in the SUV?"

"If one of us has trouble, the other can pick up the stranded passengers. Let's go." The way things had been going since they had arrived here, he had hopes for the best, but planned for the worst.

Shingles on the ridge of the roof flew off, and Tessa rushed to lock the front door. Then she and the others climbed into their respective vehicles.

Once they were on the road, Hunter hoped Rourke's truck would hug the road better with Ashton driving it.

"What are you going to do about our pack?" Meara stretched out on the middle seat, covered in blankets with a pillow underneath her head.

"Force them to leave the city. Either they'll return with us or they'll have to go elsewhere. Staying in Portland is not an alternative."

But only three miles from Tessa's house, Ashton slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching, the taillights coloring the snow cherry. The vehicle slid perpendicular to the road.

"Oh, oh," Tessa gasped.

His skin prickling, Hunter pumped the brakes and tried to avoid colliding with Rourke's truck. Tessa gripped her seat. The SUV slid to a halt. Rourke's pickup tore off the road, plowing into saplings down the steep incline.

"They'll be all right," Hunter said, his voice gruffer than he intended. At least he prayed they were all right. He cut the engine. "Stay here."

Tessa pulled on her parka. "You might need my help."

Not only did he not want her to see what had happened in case anyone had died, he didn't want her injured. Hunter grabbed her hand and shook his head, his look meant to make her obey. "Stay, Tessa. They'll be all right. We heal quickly, remember? If you become injured, we might not be able to get you any medical attention for some time. So stay." All he needed was for her to get hurt. No way was he going to permit it.

She pursed her lips, and then gave him a tight nod. He wanted to reassure her further, but time was of the essence and despite her noticeable reluctance, he was glad she'd listened to him.

Meara poked her head out from under the covers in the backseat. "What now?"

"Rourke's truck went off the road." The fact no one hollered up the hill to let them know everyone was all right furthered his disquiet.

"Oh, I'm coming with you." Meara jerked on her jacket, hat, and gloves. He could use his sister's help no doubt, although he hated to leave Tessa behind by herself.

She folded her arms and looked cross, her eyes narrowed, her brows pinched, a real hellion.

Hunter patted her leg, trying to reassure her. In a heartbeat, he would have taken her with him, except for the potential danger, and he really didn't want her to see the wreck if any of them hadn't survived. "We'll be right back."

He opened the driver's door and the frigid winds blasted him.

"Rockslide? What next. I told you we should have gone to the city to live or at least stayed in California where it's not so wet and cold," Meara grouched, then slammed the door behind her.

This was their home, for better or for worse. Hell, the forest fires were worse. Hunter closed his door, gave one last long look at Tessa, still feeling she was safer locked in the vehicle, and then at a rush, he and Meara headed across the road and down the hill.

Tessa rubbed her hands together. Now that the SUV's heater was off, the chilled wind quickly cooled the interior of the vehicle. She watched where Hunter and Meara vanished. This is ridiculous. She wasn't a fragile piece of glass that could break with the slightest motion. With her brother, she had hiked and climbed every trail into the wilderness and... well, this was just nonsense.

She buttoned her parka. Why should she stay in the car while everyone else was helping out?

She yanked on her ski cap.

Just because they could heal fast, Hunter thought she could never do anything, just to avoid being injured?

She jerked on one glove, then the other. As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw lights approaching from behind, glowing softly in the curtain of blowing snow. What if the driver didn't realize the danger ahead? Tessa dove back into the SUV and looked for the hazard lights button. Where the hell is it? There! She switched it on.

Glancing over the seat, she watched as the light blue pickup parked about twenty feet behind Hunter's vehicle. She shivered from the cold.

The truck's engine remained running. She waited, looking back in the direction Hunter and Meara had gone. Rubbing her gloved hands, she warmed her chilled fingers. Come on, come on, Hunter.

She sat on her hands and looked out the back window. The occupants of the truck didn't make a move. Did they think she was going somewhere, and they were waiting for her to do so? She climbed out of the SUV and shut the door. Stomping her boots to warm her feet, she shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at the tinted windows of the truck. Come on. Get out of your vehicle and either ask to assist, or turn around and leave.

The truck inched forward and slipped on the ice and snow. She waved her arms, trying to tell them to go back the way they came. All Hunter would need was to have this truck plow into his vehicle. Then where would they be?

The truck stopped again. Tessa glanced back at the trees Rourke's truck had plowed down. Hell. She had to help them. Hunter and Meara were taking too long. She turned around to look at the pickup. Fine. She would go to them.

She stalked toward them and slipped, nearly falling. Heat suffused every pore. She slowed her step to keep her footing, but halfway to the pickup, her spine tingled with apprehension. No matter that the air was frigid, her hands felt sweaty and her skin perspired.

Fearing the motorist was silly. After all that had happened to her concerning the stalker, she was becoming paranoid. But no matter how much she rationalized her fear, she still couldn't move. The driver could get out and ask her what the matter was. That's what froze her in place. If it was a woman, surely she wouldn't fear another woman. Which made Tessa worry the driver was someone more sinister.

The truck continued to idle, its exhaust leaving a wake of frosty smoke in its path. Fine.

"A rock slide's blocked the road," she hollered, motioning to the road ahead.

The driver didn't respond.

She whipped around, figuring she had done as much as she could to warn the idiot. Now it was high time she helped Hunter. She slipped on the ice-covered snow and nearly fell, her arms flailing to keep her balance. One of the pickup's doors opened. Another shiver stole up her spine. She didn't look back. Unable to shake free of the fear that gripped her, she walked as quickly as she could in the direction where Rourke's vehicle had disappeared, her heart racing faster than she could move.

Then running footfalls behind her, crunching on the crusted snow, warned her of the danger. Her heart in her throat, she tried to run, slipped, and landed on her butt. The person behind her was nearly at her back. Hoping her fear was unfounded, she turned. The man's ski-mask-covered face loomed in front of her before his fist slugged her in the forehead. She fell backward. Cried out. Knew at once this was the stalker. Had to be. And she was in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Amber eyes peered at her from the black knit mask. His lips turned up and she screamed, just before he clamped his gloved hand over her mouth and yanked her up from the road.

The truck inched closer. There were at least two of them. She tried to knee him in the groin, but he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.

She screamed, "Hunter! Help!"

"Tessa!" was the reply from down the hill.

He was too far away. Too deep in the ravine to come to her rescue. She struggled so hard against the man, squirming to get loose, he fell on his backside. Scrambling to her feet, she managed to jerk her arm free from his iron grip. The driver's door flew open and the one behind it, too.

Ohmigod, how many were there?

She dashed away from the truck and slipped on the ice, falling on her knees. Pain shrieked through her kneecaps.

"Get her, damn it," the man on the ground growled.

She jumped to her feet and took a step, but one of the men grabbed her arm, spun her around, and hit her in the cheek. Her vision blackened. She was doomed if she didn't do something--and quick.

Using her knee, she gave a hard, short jab to the man's groin. He dropped to his knees, clutching his crotch, swearing.

The first man seized her arm and dragged her toward the truck. She dug in her heels and tried to jerk free. With as quick a move as she could manage, she slipped her right leg in front of him, and he tripped and fell.

And pulled her down with him.

"Get in the damned truck!" the one yelled, who she had hopefully maimed for life.

She noticed then, the third man was standing next to the truck still, his leg in a cast. Thank god he couldn't help them.

A wolf howled, and then another. Her hope soared, Hunter would come to her rescue. The injured man ran with his hands clutching his crotch at a fast limp toward his truck, cursing violently. The other was behind him and jumped into the driver's seat. He shut the door as three wolves raced by Tessa and slammed their bodies into the truck, snarling and clawing. She was damned glad they were on her side.

Before she could react, the driver drove forward, ready to run over anyone in his path while he tried to turn the vehicle around. A new flood of adrenaline rushed through her.

With her heart in her throat, Tessa scrambled to her feet and dove off the road into the woods. Tumbling down the steep incline, she smashed into trees until she slammed into a giant fir. Upon impact with her right side, the breath whooshed out of her. Up above on the road, the truck roared off. Beyond the pain she was in, she prayed Hunter and the others hadn't been injured.

Her heart beating furiously, Tessa lay next to the tree, her face bruised, her ski hat snagged on a branch several feet up the hill. Icy snow filled her boots and gloves and clung to her hair. She couldn't stop shaking, wishing she'd had a fur coat and wicked teeth to deal with the brothers herself.

Three wolves peered down the hill at her from the roadway. "I'm all right," she hollered, feeling foolish to be talking to wolves, yet immensely relieved to see they were unharmed.

Two tore off down the incline toward Rourke's truck that was even deeper in the ravine than she had envisioned. Trees blocked her view of the truck. The biggest wolf of the three, a beautiful gray, his face masked in white, made his way slipping and sliding to her. And she wanted so to give him a big hug and kiss.

He nuzzled her hand and then her face where she hadn't been hurt. But she couldn't get over the fact that this big furry beast was a god in the flesh when he wasn't in his wolf suit.

"I'm... I'm all right. What about the others?" As if he could say anything more in response than woof. She sighed. Although she was damned glad he scared the men off, she was having a hard time believing Hunter and the wolf were one.

She tried to pull herself up, but as soon as she put weight on her right ankle, pain shot through it. She gritted her teeth and forced herself up. "Go. Help the others. I'll be fine." As long as she hadn't broken anything. But she wasn't going to be a burden to them. Not when two of them were still unaccounted for, and she imagined they had been badly hurt.

Hunter watched her struggle as she grasped at tree branches, trying not to put any weight on her ankle. She could crawl up the hill if Hunter wasn't observing her. He began to shapeshift, his gorgeous wolf form quickly shifting into the bronzed god she knew best. One minute, a feral wolf, and the next, a dangerously seductive semi-immortal.

"Jeez, Hunter, you're going to get frostbite."

Naked, he lifted her in his arms and hurried her up the hill to the SUV, his tight embrace heated, comforting, possessive, but still, she couldn't combat being annoyed with herself for her helpless condition when the others desperately needed Hunter.

As soon as he set her on the car seat, he commanded, "Stay. And lock the doors."

She didn't want to delay him, especially while he was standing naked in the frigid weather, but she had to know. "What happened to the others?"

"Rourke's unconscious. Cara's hurt. We can't get the doors unjammed. I'll be back soon." He kissed her forehead and locked the door, then shut it. Then he stretched, and began to shift, the transformation so fast, she couldn't get over how he could be a human in one moment and a wolf in the next. The change was fluid in its sensual elegance, powerful, seductive, and for a moment, she wanted to know what it felt like--exchanging skin for fur, brace-straightened small human's teeth for killer canines, having the speed and endurance and strength of a wolf instead of human frailties.

God, he was beautiful, no matter what form he took. Strong, gentle, protective.

A flash of a thought crossed her mind. What would she look like as a wolf if he changed her? Small, raggedy? Red?

Hunter loped off in his wolf coat and vanished down the hill.

Great. Just great. Here the others needed her and she was totally useless. Worse. A handicap.

She yanked down the visor to look in the mirror and see what a mess she really was. Cheek red and swollen. Matching knot on her forehead. Runny nose, red as Rudolph's. But her ankle throbbed worst of all. Although a pounding headache and aching hip came in for second place. Damn the stalker and his brother.

She peered out the window. How badly were Cara and Rourke hurt?

Headlights shone in the side mirror. She jerked her head around.

Ohmigod. It couldn't be.

The adrenaline in her system spiked again.

Had they been watching, waiting for Hunter and the others to leave her alone again? Or was it another truck that looked like the stalker's, pale blue, darkly tinted windows, slowly making its approach like before.