Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (6 page)

just shredded clothing here and there, clumped with

bloody flesh and muscle, writhing with maggots. A sliver

of garment that used to be white caught his eye, however.

Reaching for a stick on the ground, he used it to lift the

white strip of cloth from the clump.

“It’s part of a bra,” he said, then dropped the stick in

disgust. “Rowan’s right.”

“There’s her backpack,” Micach observed. Everyone

turned to look at it. “But it’s strange that it’s not torn up

and there’s no blood on it.”

Ryon stared at it, chilled. “It might not belong to the this

victim.” He gestured to the mangled body.

“A companion?” Nick wondered aloud. “Or the woman

who came to you for help?”

Just then, Ryon’s eardrums were nearly shattered by a

high-pitched wailing noise. “Shit!”

Bracing a hand on the ground, he searched for the

source of the shrieking. He wasn’t surprised to note that

none of the others heard the racket. Nor was he shocked to

see the spirit of the female victim sitting beside her own

body, covered in blood, rocking as she wailed out her

terror.

“Ryon?” Nick barked. “What is it?”

“The woman,” he said hoarsely, pointing to the ghost

they couldn’t see. “She’s there, screaming. She’s rocking,

too, staring at the blood all over her.”

“Christ.”

Ryon tried getting her attention, reaching out a hand.

“Ma’am? Hello? Can you tell us your name? What

happened to you?”

The wailing stopped briefly as she blinked at him. He

hated that vacant stare. The mind that no longer was at

home, working like it should. She couldn’t make sense of

him.

And just like that, she vanished.

“She’s gone,” he told them. He heard someone say

“thank fuck” and silently agreed. “She didn’t tell me

anything.”

Nick blew out a breath. “Okay. We’ve either got a

crime scene or a grizzly bear mauling, but it’s going to

take experts to tell which one. I’ve got to radio Sheriff

Deveraux, get the county folks on the way. Then we’ve got

to find Miss Bradford before we run out of time.”

At the reminder of the missing biologist, Ryon stood.

Sniffed the air. At first it was hard to smell anything but

the awful odor from the body, and he began to doubt he’d

be able to pick up her trail again. But then it was there.

Her sweet scent, beckoning him on.

“Daria was here,” he told them. “I’m positive. Her

scent is all over the backpack. I think it’s hers.”

They waited as he made a circuit of the area.

Frustration grew as the scent faded in and out, weaker in

his human form. His wolf snarled again, demanding to be

unleashed. His companion could track her much faster, and

he was getting hard to control.

He turned to Nick. “I need to let my wolf out. Tracking

is too dicey in this form.”

“And if the humans see you?”

“You can say I’m your pet. A wolf-dog hybrid. Please,

we don’t have much time to debate about it.”

Nick hesitated, but gave in. “Fine. Put your clothes in

your pack, and someone will carry it.”

He heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

Undressing quickly, he shoved his clothes into the pack

and immediately dropped to all fours. The shift happened

in a blink, leaving him disoriented for a second. Never

had it been so fast, and he knew the woman was the

reason. Vaguely, he heard one of the guys exclaim over the

speed of his shift, but he lost the comment amid the

overwhelming scent of the female his wolf sought.

There was nothing now but her. The need to find and

protect the woman. She wanted him, had come to him. No

one else. He had to find her, to know why.

Forgetting about the body, he honed in on Daria’s scent

and bolted in the opposite direction of the trail, farther

into the forest. She had discovered the body, and had run.

He understood that something had frightened her into

taking off, causing her to move in the wrong direction.

Something more than just finding a corpse.

The tangible prickle was still in the air. Stronger now

than before. He ran, the pain of his own injuries a distant

memory, of no importance. Not when he was on the

precipice of losing something monumental, something he

couldn’t name. And if she didn’t survive—

No. That could not happen. He wouldn’t allow it.

He ran so fast, he almost tumbled headlong over the

edge of the ravine she had told him about. Skidding to a

halt, he scrambled back from the edge and then peered

over. Stared into the gorge and wondered how far she had

fallen. Where could she be?

Pacing the lip, he put his nose to the ground and

searched. Up and down, again and again. Until finally, he

found where she’d gone over. He felt her then, her life

fading. Heartbeat slowing. How was this connection

possible?

Sitting on his haunches, he let out a long, lonely howl.

Then he plunged over the side and hit the rocky slope,

sliding, aware of shouts from above. He almost lost his

footing once or twice, but managed to control his descent.

He was nearly to the bottom when he saw her.

Daria was lying wedged in a tight crevice, her arm

sticking out at an impossible angle. Her clothing was torn

and bloody. Scratches marred her arms and what he could

see of her face. Long raven hair covered much of her

features, billowing slightly in the wind. She didn’t stir as

he rushed over. Didn’t move at all as he nosed her good

hand, licked her face. Whining, he huddled as close to her

as he could, his wolf taking charge of the man for the first

time in his memory. In a heartbeat, in the wake of her

suffering, he was lost to the beast within.

Daria. Hurt.

The wolf heard the calls from above, and tensed,

growling softly. A menacing warning to those who

approached. They would not get near her. He would not

allow it. She suffered, and he along with her.

“You found her!” a dark-haired man said, moving

closer. “Good work. Let me—”

Baring his fangs, he moved to place his body between

the man and his female. Crouched, ready to spring, and

rumbled a warning deep in his chest.
Hurt. Mine.

“Shit. Ryon, it’s me, Nick.” Holding out a hand, the man

edged closer. “Ryon, get hold of your wolf.”

Mine!
He snarled at the man called Nick and the others

who crept up behind him, wide-eyed.

“We know, buddy. But she’s hurt and needs medical

attention, remember? We can’t help her if your wolf won’t

let us near her.”

“Christ, has he gone feral?” someone asked.

“No,” Nick said quietly, eyes never leaving the wolf’s.

“He’s protecting his mate.”

“His
what
?” A pause. “Oh, fuck.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

Mate? Mate. Mine!

Nick raised his voice, speaking urgently. “Ryon Hunter,

do you hear me? Make your wolf stand down now or she’s

going to die. Your mate will
die
. Do you understand?”

Your mate will die.

Ryon struggled to gain control over his wolf, but forcing

him into submission wasn’t easy. The beast was so

enraged by his female’s suffering it was damned near

impossible. But gradually, he exerted his will over the

snarling beast and won the battle.

Mate
. Nick had said . . . the woman was his mate? She

would die?

Sitting back, he let the shift flow and in seconds found

himself in human form, blinking at the others. “Nick? What

the hell is going on?”

“Later. Right now we’ve got to make sure she survives.

I’m going to be honest and tell you there’s only one way to

do that.”

“Which is?” He had a feeling he knew what his

commander was going to say. His serious expression said

it all before he even spoke.

“If you want Daria to live, you’ll have to bite her.”

With those simple words, Ryon’s life was changed

forever.

Three

I
f you want Daria to live, you’ll have to bite her.

Ryon stared at Nick, heart thudding in his chest. “You

mean claim her.”

“Yes. Give her some of your blood first, then the bite. If

she’s going to survive, you have to hurry.”

There was no time to sit around debating how this one

act was going to completely alter his life, and the beautiful

young woman’s as well. No time to fear how much she’d

resent him for playing God, not a second to lose agonizing

that she’d hate him forever.

There was no choice, really. Because no way in hell

was he going to let his mate die.

Working carefully, he helped Nick and Jax extract

Daria from the crevice and move her to level ground, on

her back. She was too still, her tanned face gray, lips

turning blue. The biologist was clinging to her life thread

with every ounce of strength she possessed, and her core

of inner strength gave him hope.

He wasted no time in shifting one finger into a claw,

using it to slice open his wrist while Nick pried open her

mouth. Blood welled and he placed his wrist to her lips,

squeezing to hurry the flow. The crimson liquid dribbled

between her lips, a macabre sight and yet a lifesaving

measure. If only her body would accept the offering.

Embrace it. Heal.

“Come on, honey,” he encouraged. “Drink this.”

For several long moments, nothing happened. Ryon

stroked her throat, encouraging her to swallow, to no

avail. Despair began to weigh heavily on his heart, much

greater than the sadness of not being able to save a

stranger. His wolf howled inside him, forlorn.

Ryon and his wolf had scented their mate. If Daria died,

so would they.

“Daria, please,” he whispered. “Work with me. Live.”

She twitched, her head moving slightly to the side. Then

she coughed and swallowed. He let out a sigh of relief as

she repeated the action, licking her lips to get the life-

giving blood that had spilled there. Her eyes remained

closed, but he felt it. A spark flared within her, a tiny light

of hope that reached out to him tentatively, seeking an

anchor. Meeting the light halfway, he pulled it into

himself, holding on tight.

A hand landed on his shoulder. Nick’s voice was

urgent. “Bite her now, Ryon. Bind her to you, or she won’t

survive.”

“Where? She’s hurt all over.” Desperate, he scanned

for a good spot.

“Anywhere. Her wrist will do for now.”

He’d been alone for so long, had never dreamed he’d

find a mate. A wave of disappointment washed over him

that it must happen here, like this, in front of his Pack

brothers, as he fought for her life. Then he shoved down

the self-pity. There would be time for intimacy later. He

should be grateful fate had sent her into his world.

Gently, he lifted her good arm and brought her wrist to

his lips. His fangs lengthened and his wolf growled in

anticipation. Reining in his aggression and possessiveness

wasn’t easy, but he managed to sink his canines into the

tender flesh without ripping or clamping down too hard.

Instantly, his tongue was flooded with ambrosia. He had

a mere five seconds or so to marvel at the rush that

quickened his pulse before his world detonated into a

brilliant solar blast that almost knocked him backward.

The thin light that had been threaded between them when

she accepted his blood was anemic compared to this. A

thick golden bond arced from his body to hers, crackling

with electricity and then detonating like a supernova. His

fangs slipped from her wrist and he felt himself fall

backward, into a strong embrace.

“Gotcha,” Jax said in his ear. “You okay?”

Was he? He blinked into the cloudless sky, taking stock.

Nothing hurt. In fact, he’d never felt better in his life. Even

the pain left over from the vampire attack seemed pushed

so far into the background as to be almost nonexistent. All

that remained was the fiery glow that spun between him

and Daria.

“Yeah. I think so.” With Jax’s help, he sat up and

studied the woman anxiously. “She looks better, doesn’t

she?”

“Her color has improved.” Nick patted his shoulder.

“You’ve given her a chance she didn’t have before. Now

get dressed before Jesse sees you naked and thinks

something really kinky is going on.”

“Would serve him right, the grouchy bastard.” In spite

of the seriousness of Daria’s situation, he smiled a little.

Sheriff Jesse Deveraux knew their main secret and had

kept it well, even if he didn’t much like it. Bastard or not,

it was good to have a human ally in law enforcement.

Ryon almost felt sorry for the sheriff. Whatever was

going on in the Shoshone, the man was going to have his

hands full real quick.

Nudging Ryon aside, the medical team—minus Mac,

who was forbidden by Kalen from descending the steep

hill—went to work hooking up the biologist to an IV and a