Christmas Moon (7 page)

Hell, he hadn’t felt magick like that except
for his one run in with a witch. He’d known Hounds had a little bit
of magick but what he’d felt back there hadn’t felt
little
.

“I don’t know what he wants with your wolf,”
she said, finally breaking the silence that lingered between
them.

“What did you find back there?”

She lifted her shoulders in a half-shrug.
“That he’s pissed at me for something. He killed that deer as sort
of a way to relieve frustration. I think it happened after his
little window-smacking scene at my house.”

Hunter kept pace beside her as he let her
words sink in. He could see the deer killing as a frustration kill.
Hell, the rogue hadn’t eaten any part of it. Just left the body
there. Could even see why it had been his yard. After all, the
rogue had probably watched while Hunter had cleaned the spray paint
off her garage and gone inside for a drink. Maybe it had just been
rage he’d needed to let out.

The part of this he didn’t like was the fact
that this time he didn’t have a deer, he had a member of Hunter’s
pack. “Do you think he took Rylie for the same purpose as that
deer?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced at him, her gaze
hard but there was an edge of sympathy to it. He could see where
she would have made a damn good cop. “But we’re going to find
her.”

Then, before he could ask anything else, she
shifted. The woman vanishing into a large red dog that was suddenly
running through the trees in the direction of his house. His wolf
leapt under his skin, ready to follow, and Hunter let the beast
have its way. In a breath he was on all four paws running through
the snow covered woods, gaining on the sprinting dog ahead. She was
fast, he was just faster.

Over the course of a mile he drained away the
lead she’d had on him and caught her, easing his stride until he
could keep pace with her. Bree seemed determined to run herself
into the ground. He couldn’t smell anything she was chasing, so it
had to be whatever they’d found back there, she was trying to
outrun. And if that was the case, he was going to run with her.

The forest broke around them and she slowed,
her breath coming out in puffs. She shifted back and stumbled, but
Hunter was there to catch her. His hand clasped her elbow as he
steadied her.

“You okay?”

“Yes. Let’s just get to Rylie’s place. If it
is like the deer, it’ll be a spur of the moment snap. The rage just
suddenly getting too much. I want to get there first.”

There was something else, something she
wasn’t saying, but it wasn’t his place to pry right? He reached out
and touched her cheek and she leaned into his touch. A soft smile
touched her lips and she turned to look at him.

“I want to save your wolf, Hunter.”

“He’ll come for you. Stalkers normally do and
if you’re right, he wants you dead.”

She reached towards her hip and let the palm
of her hand rest on her gun. There was steel in her eyes as she
stared him down. She’d been an alpha once. He’d read everything he
could get on his new neighbor when she’d arrived. Ex-Hounds weren’t
exactly normal. Looking into her eyes he could see the strength
that had let her lead a pack of Hounds after rogue
shifters—killers, rapists, even just those with a bad rap and beast
side to make them more dangerous.

Whatever fear he’d caught glimpses of back
there in that makeshift house was gone now. The woman full of
uncertainty and wanting to disappear from the other day, she was
gone too. The shift was remarkable. He’d wanted to know everything
about her then, and now the desire had only strengthened. Made him
want more.

He let his hand fall and they headed for his
truck. Bree glanced at him as she reached for the passenger door.
“Do you have a way into her apartment?”

“Yeah I got a key. We didn’t find anything
last night, but like I said I don’t think that Hound cared.”

“What made you think I would?”

“Because you cared about the kids leaving
graffiti on your house. The ones you thought were behind the calls
too. The local Hounds wouldn’t have given a damn.” He pulled open
the door and paused, meeting her gaze. “Because you could have shot
me the other night, because you accepted me into your home and let
me stay the night to ‘protect’ you even when you didn’t need it.
All of that told me you had a heart, you gave a damn, and that you
might just help me.”

She waited until they were on the road before
she said anything in response, but when she did, her voice came
quiet in the truck, barely louder than the radio. “You didn’t treat
me like someone you wanted to get the hell out of your territory.
You showed me respect and showed me an alpha who cared about his
pack and cared about keeping them in line. You showed me kindness
and concern when instead of chasing down that rogue you came to
make sure I was all right. I think we both learned a lot about each
other that night.”

Hunter looked at her. “I’d like to learn
more.”

“Oh. I would too. After we catch this
bastard.”

The truck picked up speed as it rose over the
hill in front of Bree’s house. It had become automatic to look,
just to make sure all was well, when he spotted something on her
door. He slowed. “Was that there earlier?”

“What?” Bree leaned forward in her seat. “I
don’t think so.”

“Let’s make a pit stop.”

He turned the truck up the slope of her
driveway. It was a piece of paper hanging on her front door. Bree
hopped out and headed for her front door, only to rip the piece of
paper off. She climbed back in the truck and slammed it on the
dash.

One look at the paper and his blood went
cold.

An photograph of Rylie tied to a chair, a gag
in her mouth was taped to the paper. Below it in a rough scrawl
was:
Want to save her? Wolf’s Peak, 7 PM. Come alone.

Her jaw was tight as glared down at the
paper. “Should we call the Hounds?”

He hated to make that offer, because as much
as he trusted Bree, he didn’t trust the others. She pulled out her
phone. “No.”

“Then who are you—” The words died. She’d
pulled up Google. He recognized what she was searching for. “I know
where Wolf’s Peak is.”

“How far?”

He glanced at the clock. “An hour and a
half.”

It was barely two in the afternoon. They had
time. She jerked her head in a nod. “Get us there early.”

That he could do. He backed the truck down
the drive and angled it in the direction of the small clip of
mountains to the north. “What are we going to do when we get
there?”

“Save your wolf and figure out what this one
wants with me.”

He nodded. In the meantime though, they had a
drive ahead of him. He flipped on the radio and let the Christmas
carols fill the car.

After a few seconds Bree whispered, “My
daughter loved this song.”

“You were looking through her pictures last
night.”

“You were right. I don’t have anything in
that house. Nothing that’s me. Nothing to remember her by.”

He didn’t remember quite phrasing it that
way, but it was the truth so he didn’t argue. “It’s easier that
way,” he said, mirroring what she’d said the night before.

“Only if you never want to move on.” She
looked out the window. He could see the rush of snow covered land
whisking by the truck. “I’m tired of trying to disappear. Of
hiding. Didn’t work so well anyway.”

Someone had found her, and not just Hunter.
He focused back on the road, but not before he reached over and
took her hand in his, giving it a light, reassuring squeeze. “I
don’t think you were meant to hide.”

She trailed fingers over his knuckles before
clasping his hand between hers. “I guess not. But for awhile it was
too painful to live.”

“Everyone has that every now and then.
Sometimes you have to pull back, give yourself a break. Then when
you feel strong enough—”

“I’m not sure I’m strong enough.”

Hunter shook his head. He knew she was. “That
look you get in your eyes when you’re working a case that tells me
you’re strong enough. It’s pure steel. Raw determination.”

He admired the hell out of her every time he
glimpsed it in her gaze.

“Thank you.” She pulled his hand to her lips
and he felt her warm breath across his knuckles a second before she
kissed his skin. “For offering to clean my garage and just...being
insistent enough for me to realize I was tired of talking to empty
walls instead of people.”

Hunter smiled. “Any time, sweetheart.”

Chapter Nine

The wind whistled around the peaks as they
stepped out of the truck, the doors slamming shut behind them. Bree
shoved her hands into her winter coat pockets and looked up at the
marked trail that led up the slope. There was a map on a sign next
to the start of the trail.

“It gets used a lot in the summer months, not
so much in the winter outside of a few diehard joggers in the
mornings and the pack on full moon nights.”

Bree stared up at the barren trail and blew
out a breath. This was what she knew how to do. Track a bad guy,
protect the innocent. She turned her attention to Hunter. “You need
to hide.”

There was nothing in her tone that brooked an
argument. That note had said she was to come alone, and whoever
this bastard was, they had an issue with her. Hunter was there as
back up, but she’d be damned if she got this girl killed by having
him waltz up the slope with her.

“You said the pack uses this on full moon
nights. Then you know the layout well, right?” When he nodded, she
bulldozed on. “Then get to the peak without getting seen. If you
can, get within sight of me so if anything goes wrong you can get
your wolf out of there.”

Hunter nodded. She could see he wanted to
argue, it was there, simmering just under the surface in his gaze.
The alpha in him—the protector—didn’t like the thought of only
saving his wolf and leaving her behind. Bree met his gaze,
unyielding. She needed to know he could do this and that he
wouldn’t get in the way.

Her goal was to get them all off this
mountain alive—including the rogue who’d dragged Hunter’s wolf up
here. But the victims and civilians came first. They had to. “I’m a
big girl,” she said softly.

His lips quirked slightly in a half-hearted
attempt at a smile. “I know. And you’re armed.”

“Don’t do anything stupid and if things go
south and I’m engaged with our rogue, get your wolf out of there.
Don’t worry about me. Get her down to this truck and call in the
Hounds. But you two need to be safe.”

His jaw tightened but he nodded.

“Hunter...”

“I’ll get her safe.”

“And you.”

She could hear his teeth grind together,
frustrated. “I won’t do anything stupid and I’ll make damn sure
Rylie is safe. But don’t ask me to leave you there alone.”

Bree knew she should argue. They had time.
They were still early, despite the dimming sky over the peak. But
all she could remember was the last case she’d worked. The Hound in
charge should have held her back. After all, it had been her
husband they’d been chasing. And he most definitely should have
held back Lennox’s lovers. But Bree and the two lions shouldn’t
have been there and all three of them had been liabilities.

Looking at Hunter though, and there were just
some things she couldn’t argue. Even if she ordered him to stay, he
was going to protect his wolf, and like it or not, if he could, he
was going to try and protect her too.

Bree leveled him a glare. “Rylie comes first.
Promise me that. Priority of life, it’s always civilians before the
Hounds.”

Surprise flickered through his gaze and his
head cocked. “I’ve seen Hounds save one of their own over helping
another shifter.”

“Not with me.”

There was a flash of respect and then he
nodded. “Rylie first.”

“Then stay hidden.” She jerked her head
towards the mountainside. “I’ll meet you at the top.”

She saw the flash of impulsivity flare in his
eyes before he reached out and cupped the back of her neck, pulling
her closer. His lips brushed hers. “You be careful. Whatever this
rogue wants, he has an issue with you.”

And just like that, he let her go and slipped
into the forest, leaving her to stare into the shadows. Bree fisted
her hands at her sides and turned towards the sloping incline. The
trail was snowed over but she could still make out the winding path
up the mountainside.

Bree headed up the trail, her senses on high
alert. She felt the Hound magick rise inside her, swirling just
under her skin, her inner canine rising to the surface as well.
Fear prickled at the back of her neck. Whatever this was about,
apparently it was personal, and that tended to make everything more
dangerous.

She slipped her magick out into the forest
around her, searching for any signs of danger as she headed up the
path. She didn’t want to be taken by surprise. A small smile
quirked the edge of her lips. Heck, she actually wanted to make it
to Christmas this year, actually
cared
. There was even the
possibility that she might want to take Hunter on a date soon
enough. A real one. Her smile widened.

For the first time in a long time she was
looking at the potential possibilities of having a future, of
moving on with her life. And as she looked up at the snow covered
peak, felt the Hound magick swirling inside her, she realized that
she was at peace with herself. Right now, the Hound in her was
back. The woman who actually wanted to help people, to make a
difference, she was back.

And that was the woman who had wanted to live
life, find happiness, learn to love once more. Maybe she had needed
time to find herself again, and maybe the quiet and solitude of
White Pine had done that for her, but as she got closer and closer
to the top, Bree knew it had more to do with the wolf hiding in the
shadows guarding her back than anything else. Hunter Reed hadn’t
just barged into her life; he’d breathed life back into it.