SEAL Wolf In Too Deep (23 page)

Read on for a sneak peek at Terry Spear's

Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply

As a law enforcement park ranger, Eric Silver hadn't expected to be chasing down pot-growing wolves at San Isabel National Park. Humans, no problem. He would get hold of his boss, who would contact various law enforcement agencies to take the criminals down.

But Eric couldn't let anyone know about this—
not
when the lawbreakers were wolves.

The moon was full, the cool, dry wind whipping the pinyon branches around, and he caught the scent of a wolf—one of the wolves involved in growing the illegal cannabis—that was loping through the trees dead ahead. Eric and his pack had to catch the bastards running this operation before humans did. Keeping
lupus garous
secret from humans was paramount.

Eric had been doing one of his usual searches for more of the illegal plants when he'd come across the scent that evening. He'd already found ten areas where they'd been growing. But he needed to actually catch the culprits, and this was the first time that Eric had been this close. Yet Eric was in a real quandary. Darien, his cousin and the leader of their pack, would be furious if he learned Eric had gone after the wolf on his own without calling for backup, but what could he do? He couldn't let him get away.

All he could do was concentrate on the wolf's scent ahead of him. It was confident, not fearful—the wolf didn't yet suspect that Eric was trailing him. Eric glimpsed a tuft of black fur stuck to some of the underbrush, and it smelled of the wolf he was following.

They reached a goatlike path that led to a secluded patch of marijuana. So far so good—there was no sign of any other wolves in the area.

Eric moved in to take the wolf down, but saw movement to his right. Another wolf, this one more beige than gray, had been hiding in the brush. Hell, one gray wolf against two big gray males? Darien would kill him for getting himself into this bind, if Eric lived through it. He didn't have a choice now. Kill or be killed.

Eric whipped around before the wolf had a chance to attack. He dove for the wolf's right foreleg, hoping to bring him down before he had to deal with the other wolf. The wolf wasn't prepared for Eric's quick assault, and with two hard chomps in quick succession, Eric brought the wolf down. The wolf yipped and growled, backing away from Eric on three legs, favoring his injured one.

Eric swung around to face the new threat. The wolf he'd been following had tried to sneak up on him silently, like a wolf on a hunt. Eric feinted, then swung around and bit into the wolf's other leg. With a snap, he broke the wolf's leg.

Neither wolf was totally disabled. That was the problem with just breaking their legs. He knew of a wolf—a real wolf—that had lost a leg in a trap. She continued to have pups, and when she lost her mate, she began attacking sheep as a way to provide for her young. Luckily, the sheep owner humanely caught her and took her to a wolf sanctuary where she and her pups were cared for. But it proved a wolf could still manage to survive on three legs. Which meant these wolves were still dangerous to him.

Neither attacked, but both eyed him, growling, which made him suspect they were both beta wolves. When one lifted his chin to howl, Eric knew he was calling his pack for help. And then Eric would really be a dead wolf. He leapt in a single bound and tore into the wolf. He bit him in the throat just as he felt the other wolf tackle his back.

Once Eric took out the first wolf, he twisted around, but fell on his side. The wolf took advantage, but not for long. The injured wolf couldn't manage well on three legs. He was in pain, trying to kill Eric with all his might, but it wasn't good enough. Still, the wolf managed to bite Eric's flank, and then he lifted his snout to howl.

Hell. His heart racing, furious with the damn wolves for doing something illegal and putting all their kind at risk, Eric tore into the wolf. He only wanted to take him in. He didn't want to have to kill him. But when he heard another wolf coming, Eric finished the injured wolf off, and raced back down the mountain. The other wolf would have to deal with his dead pack members. Eric could fight another, but not a whole pack if there were even more of them in the vicinity.

His flank was burning, but he tried to ignore it as he ran full-out as if a whole pack of wolves were on his tail. With the enhanced healing abilities of the
lupus garou
, it would heal up sooner than if he were just human, but it could still take some time, depending on how bad it was.

Eric reached his truck and shifted, the shift warming his muscles and bones, though his wound burned even more. The shift was instantaneous and he quickly unlocked his door using the code, grabbing his medical bag and fumbling around inside it for the disinfectant. Then he bandaged the injury. It wasn't too deep, thankfully. He hurried to pull on his clothes when he heard a wolf yip about a half a mile away, in a different direction than where he'd just been.

His need to protect a wolf kicked in, yet the wolf could very well be from the same wolf pack that was growing pot. What would the odds be that members from two
lupus garou
packs besides his were here in the park?

He grabbed his medical pack and headed out at a run, calling CJ, his deputy sheriff brother, at the same time. “Killed two of the wolves involved in the drug operation. Left when a third was on its way. Now I'm investigating a wolf injury.” He gave coordinates for the drug site.

“Wait for me to get there. I'm calling it in to Darien and the sheriff, but I'm on my way.”

“Can't wait, little brother. I'll be cautious.”

“All right. I'll let everyone know what's going on.”

Eric approached the area, careful to stay downwind. When he was close enough to see what the problem was without the wolf seeing him, he witnessed five wolves around an injured she-wolf. She was lying on her side near the base of a cliff where evidence of a recent rock slide littered the area. By the way the other wolves were reassuring the injured wolf, Eric assumed they were
lupus garous
, which surprised the hell out of him. He hadn't seen any in the park before his run-in with the other wolves earlier today. But owing to the size of the national park, it was understandable. Unless they were just visitors and not from the area.

He smelled their scents and was assured none of these had been near the cannabis plants he'd already located. Although they could still be members of the same pack and involved with the operation in other ways.

He slowly walked out of the cover of the trees toward the rocky cliff, wanting them to know he wished to help the injured wolf. He quickly told them who he was, since he was off duty and no longer wearing his uniform. “I'm a park ranger. My name is Eric Silver. I can take her in my truck to the clinic in Silver Town, two hours south of here. It's wolf-run.”

Two of the wolves snarled and growled at him, but they didn't draw closer. He assumed they were betas, trying to figure out what to do. They couldn't take care of the wolf themselves, not as wolves. And running around in the woods as naked humans carrying an injured wolf was going to take a lot of explaining if they ran into anyone else.

The injured wolf was still lying on her side. She tried to sit up and yipped, lying back down.

“Just lie still,” Eric said, motioning for her to stay put, his voice gentle and reassuring.

He needed to get closer so he could examine her, but he was cautious about the wolves who were threatening him. Even beta wolves could tear a person apart, so he needed permission to draw closer. Though they probably wouldn't hurt him, he couldn't risk injury by ignoring the threat.

When they wouldn't back down, he tried again to convince them he only wanted to help. “I can carry her to my truck, only a mile from here. Some of you can come with me so you know I'm serious about getting help for her.”

They continued to snarl at him, protecting her, but Eric wouldn't back off either. He wasn't leaving until someone took care of her.

Then one of the men shifted. He was maybe in his forties, with black hair and hard amber eyes. “We don't need your help.” Even so, the man was obviously in a quandary.

Eric took the wolf's shifting as a good sign. Not of friendship, but the wolf would have remained a wolf if he had felt threatened, especially since he appeared to be in charge. He would have led the wolves into attacking Eric if he was going to do it.

At that point, Eric slowly drew closer to the injured wolf. Then he crouched down to examine her, hoping they would finally let him help.

When he touched her right hind leg, she yipped. “Okay, girl, I'll be gentle. I just need to check to see if it's broken or something else.” He carefully ran his hand over her leg, and she pulled it away from his touch.

“Is it broken?” the man asked, sounding worried.

“I don't feel any break, but it's obviously tender. It could be a bruised tendon, torn ligament, or even a hairline fracture of the bone.”

“She can't walk on it. We're parked about five miles out.”

Eric said again, “I'm parked only a mile from here on one of the official-use-only trails. I can carry her to my—”

“No. We don't need your help. We'll take care of it.”

“But—”

“I
said
we'd take care of her.”

Eric raised his hands in a sign of truce, but he wasn't leaving until he saw that they could provide her with the care she needed. “How are you going to do it? I'm trained in first aid. I can call in some others from my pack to help get her out of here, or I'll carry her to your vehicle.” As much as Eric hated offering, he'd carry her the five miles to their vehicle if that was the only way they'd go for it.

“All right. You can carry her to our campsite then.”

Eric let out his breath in exasperation. Every mile he moved her would cause the poor wolf more pain.

The man in charge had already shifted back into his wolf form and was watching for signs of anyone else coming with the other males, while the female stood by the injured she-wolf, looking concerned. Eric made a makeshift splint, and as soon as he bound her leg, she whimpered. He hated that she was in pain and wished he could give her something for it. As gently as he could, he lifted her in his arms. This was going to be the longest hike he'd ever made. He wished the wolf in charge had listened to reason.

As a wolf, this would have been no problem, even though he was feeling some pain of his own. But as a human carrying an injured wolf, the trek was all the more difficult. He stumbled over too many exposed roots to count because he couldn't see the path, making the she-wolf whimper or yip in pain. He fought groaning himself a time or two.

When they grew closer to a creek, he heard feminine laughter and worried human women would see him carrying a wolf, surrounded by wolves. One of the wolves in the lead ran off. The darkening sky was sprinkled with twinkling heavenly lights, the round moon on full display. Eric loved the wide open spaces in the park, the seventy-degree temps during the day, and fifty-degree temps during the night—even though in the summer things became rather hectic with all the visitors.

He wanted to make a wide berth around the women in the creek to make sure he wasn't seen.

But the lead wolf made Eric stay to the path closer to the creek.

Despite how chilly it was, the women were splashing around in the creek, which intrigued him. They wouldn't see him—not when he blended in with the lodgepole pines, oaks, and the shadows—unless the wolf forced him to go to the rocky bank.

Which the wolf did.

When Eric grew near enough, he observed five women in goddess-like semi-sheer dresses. He knew he had to be dreaming. Their silky pastel creations, in blues and pinks and mint green, fluttered about them in the summer breeze. The women were standing in the water up to their calves, the pocket water temperatures higher. Above them, the creek water was mostly gentle with a few small rapids. Down here, the rapids were much more common and significant, which had created the pockets of water. The women were laughing and talking. A petite brunette, her hair short and curly, really caught his eye. She was wearing a robin's-egg-blue dress, the water plastering the bottom half of the gown to her calves and thighs in a sensual way.

Another woman with her back to him had long brown hair and a mint green dress. She moved in the water, which effectively blocked his view of the woman in the blue dress.

The area was great for fishing, and he was mesmerized by the woman in blue, thinking what a delicious catch
she'd
make.

“You know, Pepper,” a blonde said to the woman in the blue dress, her voice darkening, “he wants you for his mate.”

Eric straightened a bit. No one used the term mate but
lupus garous
. He couldn't smell their scents from where he was, nor could they smell his. He would have to cross the creek upwind of them to learn if they were really wolves. But he suspected the woman he was carrying must be a member of the same wolf pack these women belonged to. Why else would the wolf lead him in this direction?

The male wolf suddenly detoured and Eric was taken away from the creek and back into the woods, on a path that led straight to a small cabin. A few more people were there, warily watching him. So the pack was camping here, not just visiting for a few hours. As many of them as there were—he'd seen about fifteen—they must have rented a couple of cabins.

The door opened for him, and a man stepped aside so Eric could carry the wolf inside. To reach these more isolated cabins, the pack would have had to hike in on foot. There were no vehicles here and no parking next to the cabins. Another reason he would have preferred to take her to Dr. Weber in Silver Town.

The wolf in charge ran into a room, then came out wearing a pair of jeans. “I'll take it from here. Just lay her down on the bed.”