Wolf Creek Enforcer (20 page)

“What?” Rafe asked.

“Nothing really.  I was just picturing naked men sitting in trees with rifles.  Ouch,” Lisa said, trying to lighten the mood.

Rafe growled and looked back at
the road. 

Ian was lost in his own world, head
resting against the seat.  He was concentrating on her, calling for her in his head.  Feeling cut off and adrift, he felt his wolf howling in his head.  The primitive part of him was ready to hunt and rip anyone apart who stood in his way.  He had no doubt she was still alive.  Had she been killed, his soul would have known.

“We’re getting close,” Devlin said from the backseat.  “If there’s a road in, it must be hidden.  Time to hide the car and feel our way through.”

After camouflaging the car, they were ready to hike.

Lisa pointed into the woods, “That way.  His slimy magic is making my skin crawl.”

Ian led the way, anxious to find Melanie and end this once and for all.  His footfalls barely registered on the forest floor.  He moved forward confidently, acknowledging Lisa’s quiet directions with a slight nod of his head. 

David knew he could not be as silent as he followed behind them.  He whispered to Devlin, “Don’t wait for me, I have to move slower so I don’t compromise Melanie.  I’ll cover your backs.”

Devlin dipped his head, knowing the druid could take care of himself.  Moving faster now, he quickly caught up and followed behind Rafe. 

On Ian’s heels,
Lisa reached out and tugged on his shirt, stopping him.  “I can feel a barrier up ahead.  I need to be up front so you don’t run into it and alert Braeden.”

Rafe growled, uncomfortable with her being exposed but knowing he had no choice.

“I’ll be okay, I’m not touching it until the pack is in position.  I’m just going to try and get a read on it,” she whispered. 

Ian and Rafe positioned themselves on either s
ide of her and slightly behind, watching her while scanning the woods around them.  Devlin stood back and watched, ready to lend a hand.

Holding her palm
up to halt them, she took two small steps forward and stopped. 

The evil emanating in front of her was making her slightly nauseous.  Raising her han
ds with her palms facing the barrier, Lisa sought to find a weakness in the wall.  She used a miniscule amount of power so as not to set off any alarms or traps.  If Braeden felt anything, hopefully he would assume it was the typical magic that inhabited all living organisms. 

Stepping back, Lisa turned to the men.  “It’s really icky,” she said, scrunching her face up.  “Bad mo
jo, karma craptastic, ginormously god-awful.”

“Okay Lisa, enough with
the adjectives.  I think we’ve got it,” Rafe told her.  “The men are in place, can you handle it without hurting yourself?”

Nonchalantly, “Oh sure, piece of cake.  I can take it down, but what about your snipers?  Since they’re outside the barrier, just how far can they snipe?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about them, they can handle it.  Once you have the shield down, they’ll find better positions if they need to,” Ian said. 

“Alrighty then, here we go,” Lisa
turned and faced the barrier.

Focusing her magic, she let the power build inside her.  She neede
d to take it down all at once so that the pack could enter from their locations.

While Lisa worked, Ian paced.  He wanted to
yell for her to hurry up but knew he wasn’t being logical.  If she messed up, they would no longer have the element of surprise.  That was supposing Braden did not know they were there.   

Rafe spoke quietly to I
an, “I’m getting impressions from our pack, they’ve settled in.  Assuming they’ll be able to see his house once the barrier is down, that’s their signal we’re on our way.”

They both turned to study
Lisa.  She was sitting on the ground with her legs folded under her.  Eyes closed, palms up resting on her knees, she seemed to be meditating. 

As they watched, her
skin started to glow with a crimson luster.  Power and energy surrounded her, with tendrils slowly streaking out and spreading in every direction.  They could clearly see the barrier now as the hue outlined the shield like tracing a pattern on paper.  

Enthralled, they watched as the pattern
crushed the barrier like a vise.  Ian imagined a fist tightening around a throat, squeezing the life out Braeden’s barricade.  Lisa groaned and fell over on her side, exhausted. 

Rafe
, Devlin and Ian ran over as David caught up with them and knelt beside her.  Rafe picked her up in his arms, holding her against his chest. 

“I’m alright, just tired.  That
took more out of me than I expected.”  Lisa looked over at Ian, shaking her head sadly.  “I used all my reserves on that barrier, I’m sorry Ian.  I can’t fight Braeden with my magic until I’ve rested.  I know I said it was easy, but going up against all that dark magic just ate up everything I had in me.  Don’t waste any time staying here, y’all go on and get Melanie.”

Rafe snarled, “I will not leave you here alone.”  He scooped Lisa up in his arms, “I’m taking her back to the car, I cannot leave her without protection.”

Ian understood, knowing he would do the same as his brother if Melanie were in this predicament.  “Devlin and David are here, you two head back.  We have our backup, the pack is lying in wait to help.”

Rafe hated not being able to help his brother, but he had no other option.  He could not leave his mate behind, his first priority being to take care of her.  Nodding
to the men, he turned back and started his trek to the car.

Lisa reached up to stroke his cheek, “I’m sorry you have to stay behind.  I know you want to help him and that nothing I could say would make you leave me and go with them.” 

Rafe smiled grimly, “Nope, and you’re scaring me with whatever is going on in your head.  The not arguing and going along quietly is not your style.”

Lisa harrumphed, “You could give me a little credit, you know.  I’ve learned how protective you wolves are and how stubborn too.  Are you sure there’s not a little bit of donkey DNA in there too?”

Chuckling, Rafe said, “No, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of any type of equine and canine mingling in my families history.”

Glancing at him in surprise, Lisa asked, “Are there horse shifters too?  Oh my God, have I been horseback riding on a shifter?”

Rafe’s chest shook with laughter.  Grinning, he said, “None of my horses are shifters.  As to your question, I’ve never thought about it and don’t know if there are.  Could be, I guess.  Maybe they just keep to themselves.”

Lisa
’s imagination went wild thinking about all the different species of animals in the world.

* * *

Ian, Devlin and David quickly strode across the now defunct barricade.

“My plan is simple.  Attack him before he can cast any spell.  If you can use any kind of magic against him, do it.  We
’ll get Melanie, then deal with him,” Ian stated.

“Agreed,”
they replied.

Running now, they did not bother with trying to be quiet.  With the barrier down, Braeden would know they were there. 

“I can feel her now,” Ian yelled.

“Don’t wait for me, I’ll just slow you down.  Go save my sister,” David shouted back.

Devlin nodded to David, giving him a thumbs up and quickly shucking his clothes.

Ian didn’t
wait.  He shimmied his hips and legs out of his jeans and shifted.  His ragged t-shirt clung in tatters around his neck and arms.  Swinging his head around, his powerful jaws clamped down on the material on his left shoulder and ripped it off, never slowing as he ran.   

Digging his claws
into the forest floor, he raced deeper into the woods.  Ian’s brain worked furiously as the trees flew by in a blur.  She was not answering his call.  He knew she was alive, but received no response from her telepathically.

Ian came out of the
woods near the front of the house.  Ready to charge the front door, he paused.  He could smell her but her scent was stronger around back.  Changing his mind, he ran around to the back, finding her trail and following it back through the woods.

That’s my girl, he thought.  She must have made a run for it.  He had a moments thought as to why none of his wolves had found her
yet.  With his men sitting in the trees waiting, surely one of them would have seen her running through the woods.   

Ian
stopped once he reached the stream.  Nose to the ground he turned, running along the edge.  His claws left deep grooves in the mud as he pushed off, trying to get traction.  Her scent grew stronger as he ran, until finally, he halted. 

Shifting back, Ian looked around.  She was here.  Her scent was weaker past this point of the water.  Fear suddenly gripped his body as he scanned the stream looking for her.  Did she swim across?  Hell, he didn’t even know if she could swim.

“Her scent is strongest here.  I think she went in the water,” Ian muttered.   

Ian strode into the water, fearing what he would find.  That little voice in the back of his head kept asking, why wasn’t she answering?

Devlin stood on the bank, looking up and down stream constantly.  He hoped to see her head pop up out of the water, giving away her position.

Once the water reached Ian’s
waist, he dove under.  Opening his eyes, he couldn’t see much.  The water was somewhat clear about five feet in front of him, but he could not see beyond that. 

Ian went back to the bank where her scent was the strongest.  He walked around the beaver’s den and saw where the mud had been smoothed out.  

“Son of a bitch,” he murmured as he ran back into the water.  Quickly diving, he swam around the den.  Not finding a hole big enough to swim through, he dove deeper, coming up underneath it.

“Where is she?” Devlin
shouted, waiting on the bank. 

Ian shook his hair out of
his face and looked around.  He gasped when he found her unconscious on the muddy shelf.  She was as white as a sheet, occasionally shivering from the cold.  Her back was to him, with her head pillowed on her arm. 

Rushing over to her, he scooped her up in his arms, holding her out of the water.  Her head dropped back over his bicep, her hair trailing down to the water.

“Baby?  Come on, wake up.  I’ve got you.”

Ian maneuvered his body
to where he could sit on the shelf.  He didn’t notice the cold mud against his backside.  Holding her in his lap, he ran a finger down her jaw.  She was burning up, her face flushed.  While her body was pale, her face was not. 

Ian stiffened when he saw the bruising on her cheek.  He was going to kill that fucking wizard.  

He had to get her out of there and to a doctor, fast.  Something wasn’t right.  She could not get this sick from a virus so quickly.  Then again, what the hell did he know?  He was not a doctor.  His mind was swimming.  Kill the bastard later, he had to get Melanie to a hospital.

Ian howled for Devlin
.  “Tear this den apart so I can get her out of here.”  No way would he take her down into the water. 

While Devlin
worked, Ian spoke softly to her.  “You have to wake up, Babe.  I cannot live without you.  Come on, babe, I love you.”  He gently kissed her lips. 

“I’m not sleeping beauty,” Melanie g
rowled.  Her voice was rough with fatigue.  “That’s two, Fluffy.” 

Hearing his pack, he shouted
, “Help Devlin tear this den apart, we’re sitting on a shelf above the waterline.”

The guys made quick work of removing the sticks and debris the beavers had used to build their home. 

Melanie had trouble keeping her eyes open, she felt horrible.  Something was wrong, she could feel it throughout her body.  This was not the common cold virus or flu.  The best description she could come up with was that she felt contaminated.  She was so weak she could barely keep her eyes open.

Feeling the sun on her face, sh
e squinted and saw seven naked men standing in the water.  As weak as she was, she could not leave well enough alone.

“I must be dead, cause I see seven naked men surrounding me.  Cool,
” with that, she passed out.

“Damn it Melanie,” Ian stopped, seeing she was once again unconscious. 

Devlin reached over the debris as Ian handed Melanie over to him.  Holding her to his chest, he turned and almost slipped but his pack members grabbed his arms and hauled him out.

Ian
felt the mud oozing between his toes as he stomped towards the bank, pushing the sticks out of his way. Once he was on the grass, he took Melanie back into his arms.

“I’ve got to get her to a doctor.  She’s burning up.  Did any of you get a shot at Braeden?” Ian asked.

“No,” answered Bruno.  He was the largest enforcer in the pack, standing at seven foot one inches tall.  He was always being teased by the pack, saying they all thought he was really a bear shifter.