Wolf Creek Alpha (Texas Pack 1) (26 page)

“I bet she knew what you were doing, you know,” Lisa said.

Niall had ridden his horse across the clearing, going around the perimeter to check the area.  Rafe knew he was trying to give them some time alone. 

“
Well, when we’d come home bruised and bloody, I guess that may have given us away,” he said ironically. 

The
y had already been riding for an hour
when they
arrived at
the clearing.  Rafe dismounted and went to help Lisa from her horse
.

“Hungry?” he asked as he placed a blanket on the grass.

“Yes, I have
n’t eaten since that omelet this morning,” she said.

“What? I’m not taking good care of you.  Sorry, I should have made you something for lunch,” Rafe said shaking his head.

“Rafe, you don’t have to take care of me.  I would have made myself something if I were hungry.  Now forget about it.  Where’s Niall gone?  It would be rude to eat without him.”

“He’s in the woods, keeping an eye out.  Don’t
worry about
him;
he wouldn’t want to be a third wheel.”

Shrugging, Lisa reached for the fruit Rafe had brought.  He handed her a sandwich and water bottle to go along with it. 
Simple food was so much better out in the open
air
, she thought. 

After eating, Rafe packed away their trash,
and then
pulled Lisa between his legs so she could lean back against him.  She s
ighed, thinking this was the life
.  She
had her back against his chest, with his arms folded around
her
stomach. 

Lisa laid her head b
ack against his shoulder.  Her eyes drifted closed
as she nodded off.
She woke feeling Rafe nibbling on her neck. 
She murmured
her pleasure
, tilting her head b
ack so he could reach her lips.  It was as he was kissing her she remembered where they were.

She pulled back quickly, looking around.  “Um, where’s Niall?”

Laughing, Rafe pulled her back.  “He’s
out there patrolling.  Relax, he’ll only glance this way once in a while to make sure we’re still okay,” he quipped. 

“Ha
ha
.  Very funny,” ignoring Rafe, she yelled out for Niall.  “There’s food left if you’re hungry!”

Niall came riding in from the far side.  Sliding neatly to a stop, he jumped off his horse, bowing to Lisa.

“Thank
you,
my lady.  I could use a little sustenance,” he said grinning.

“Cut the crap,” Rafe snorted.  “This isn’t medieval England.”

Lisa laughed, liking this
fae
warrior.  She dug into the bag,
digging out a sandwich and water for him. 
Niall ate quickly,
not wanting to spend too much time leaving the area unprotected. 

Suddenly, both Rafe and Niall stood, sensing danger.  Rafe bristled, pulling
Lisa up and behind him.  Niall transformed in to the Queen’s warrior he was, wearing his kilt with his sword in his hands.

“What is it?” Lisa asked worriedly.

“It’s
not a
fae
,
I think he’s human,
”
said Niall.  “Rafe, take Lisa and hurry back.  He’s across the way now, in
the woods.  I’m going to transport myself where I felt him last
.”

“No!” Lisa shouted, turning to Rafe.  “We can’t leave him alone.”

“He knows how to fight.  My first priority is you,” Rafe said ignoring her pleas as he leapt on his horse. 
Pulling her up, he placed her in front of him, protecting her with his body. 

They flew
through the wood
s, Rafe guiding his horse with proficiency
through the forest.
  Lisa kept trying to glance back, hoping to see Niall.  It was awkward with
Rafe’s
huge
body blocking her and the trees
flying by so fast.
 

Out of the blue, Lisa heard a shot.  Was someone out hunting?  She heard Rafe grunt, but he
kept going. 

They were still fifteen minutes from the castle when Rafe abr
uptly pulled the horse to a stop
.  He jumped from the horse and handed Lisa the reins.  Glancing down, she saw blood soaking his shirt across his chest.

“Oh my God! You’ve been shot!” she cried, trying to slide off the horse to help him. 

“No!  Stay on the horse.  I need to shift.  I’ve lost too much blood.  Stay on the path, it’ll lead you straight back to the castle.  I’ll follow along behind.  If I slow down, keep going.  Don’t wait for me.  Promise.”  He was speaking in short sentences. 

Rafe start
ed pulling off his clothes.  “I’ll send a warning to my pack. Now go!”

Lisa kicked his horse, spurring it forward.  She heard a long howl behind her and looked back to see him following.
  She could not ride as fast as Rafe, afraid she would end up falling off the horse.  Crouched low over his neck, she kept glancing ba
ck to make sure he was behind her
.
  She gripped the
reins, ho
ping the horse did stay on the right path
. 

Rafe knew his pack would come as soon as they heard his warning.  He badly wanted to chase after the human scent he picked u
p while following Lisa, but
he couldn’t leave her unprotected.

He heard another horse coming up behind him and realized
that
Niall was catching up to him.  He felt a surge of relief flow through him, knowing Lisa was protected now and he could follow the scent.

Rafe quickly shifted back, stopping Niall on the trail.  “I’ve been shot
, but I’m
already healing.
Follow Lisa back, I’m going after the shooter.”

“He was already gone when I transported.  He must have had some magical help.  Maybe you can get his scent,” Niall told him. 

Shifting once again, he took off into the woods.  He already felt stronger
, his wolf’s metabolism healing the wound.  He knew it wouldn’t take long for his brothers to pick up the scent and follow him.
 

Niall caught up with Lisa, urging her along and telling her not to stop.  Up ahead, he saw a pack of
wolves running
towards them.  He reached over and slowed Lisa’s horse, then stopped them both to meet the wolves.  Two of the wolves shifted and they saw it was Ian and Devlin. 

“What happened?” Ian demanded.

After Niall explained what had happened, Ian directed the other wolves to make sure Lisa got back safely, then he and Devlin shifted back to follow Rafe.

“I’m following them
too.
The
pack will
see you back to the castle,” Niall said turning his horse.

Lisa watched for a moment as they disappeared into the woods.  The wolves surrounded her, urging her horse forward.  She had the absurd thought that she needed to ask Rafe later why his horse didn’t freak out with all these wolves around.

Arriving back at the castle, Lisa rode her horse to the stables.  One of the men changed back to take her horse from her.  Lisa tried to ignore the fact that he was stark naked. 

    “Thanks,” she murmured, hurrying toward the patio doors.  

Several of the wolves followed her inside, going into the utility room where spare clothes were kept.  Lisa kept walking, going to sit in the great room.

Stephanie came running in, asking what had happened.
  Following her were Dunstan and Colin, along with the other men, waiting to hear also. 

Lisa explained about Raf
e and Niall sensing the human
, then the wild ride and Rafe being shot. 

“We heard the shot,” said Colin.  “Ian was just about to send someone out to investigate when we heard
Rafe’s
warning.”

Colin sent the other men back out to their post around the pond, telling them to inform the other guards what had happened.

“It sounds like a scouting expedition,” Dunstan said.  “My father probably sent someone to check out your security.
  He would have no problem send
ing a human out with a gun either.
”

Lisa felt herself start to shake
.  Reaction was setting in.  Stephanie grabbed a blanket and told Colin to
get her something to drink.  Lisa
was worried about Rafe.  Seeing his blood soaking his shirt kept flashing through her head. 

“He was losing so much blood,” she sobbed. 

Colin sat down next to her, putting his arm around her.  “Listen to me.  He’s an alpha wolf, stronger than most.  He’ll be fine.  You said you saw him run off into
the woods.  He had already healed and was going after the shooter.”

Realizing what Colin said, Lisa was now furious.  “That idiot! 
He had
just been shot.  Why didn’t he just come home?”

“I love you too
,
dear,” Rafe said coming in from
the
kitchen.  He had changed into the same sweatpants and t-shirt the other men had gotten from the laundry room.
 

Lisa knew he was just
joking, but felt a little shiver
hearing it.  She
launched herself at him, hugging him close and sobbing into his shirt.  “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

Rafe
hugged her to him, picking
her up to sit with him on the couch.
Ian, Devlin and Niall had followed him inside. 

“What did you find?” asked Colin.  He wanted to go after the shooter too, his cop instinct
s
kicking in. 

“I didn’t get to him in time.  I heard a car taking off and we weren’t near enough to get the make or model.
Whoever he was,
I have
his
scent
now.  If he comes anywhere near
us, I’ll recognize him,” Rafe said.

Before Niall could give his report, Lisa was demanding to know how Rafe was.  He pulled up his t-shirt to show her the wound was almost healed
.  She could see the bullet under the skin, working
its
way out.
He had washed the blood off in a stream on the way back.

“My God, I can see the bullet!” she exclaimed.

“I’ll want that when it pops out.  Maybe I can get some ballistics on it,”
Colin said calmly. 

Rafe
nodded.
He
knew it would come out soon now that it was near the surface.  He looked to Niall, wanting to hear his report.

“Whoever that was, he was gone by the time I got to where he’d been. 
I believe there was strong magic involved for him to be able to move so fast,” Niall said.

“Don’t be sorry.  It would have done us no good if you had ended up
hurt
,” Rafe stated. 

Niall huffed, insulted.  “No human, even magical could take me.”

Lisa
smiled, reaching to pat his arm.  “We all know what a tough guy you are.”

Niall felt a smile tug at his lips.  Most humans feared him.  Yet here she was, consoling him like a child.

“It was probably Stephen, under my father’s command.  He would have given him a small amount of magic so he could accomplish his errand,” Dunstan said.

“
We have learned something though.  H
e must have tracked Dunstan here. 
I’m be
tting Lisa was his target and Stephen
missed.  Thank God.
The vision Melissa saw had
him calling
Lisa
to him
, but I want someone in Anna’s room too,” Rafe said.

“So basically we don’t know if it’s Dunstan he wants or Lisa,” Ian said. 

“I’ll watch over my sister,” Dunstan stated. 

“All right, I think we’re done here for the night.  I’ll be in Lisa’s room if you need me. 
We’ll be patrolling inside also, starting
tonight.  Ian, Devlin, I wan
t you in the
hallway outside
their
room
s
,” Rafe said.  He asked Niall to stay inside also, hoping if a dark
fae
made it i
nside, Niall would sense it. 

Lisa left saying she was going to shower.  She wanted a little time alone before she lost her privacy.  The others headed off to shower in their own rooms also.  Running through streams in wolf form didn’t leave them feeling clean. 

Lisa searched through her bag, trying to find something
comfortable,
yet concealing for bed
.  No way was he touching her with his brothers right outside the door, she thought. 
Grabbing her baggy shorts and oversized t-shirt, she headed for the shower. 
After her shower, she sat rubbing lotion over her legs.  Once dressed, she slowly opened her bathroom door, glancing around for Rafe.  Not seeing him, she quickly jumped into bed, pulling the covers up to her neck.