Wolf on the Hunt (9 page)

“I have to go.” He was procrastinating, and he couldn’t keep doing it or Jacque would send someone out looking for him. Hell, if he knew his brother, Jacque already had Armand searching to find out whose phone he’d used. It wouldn’t take them long to realize it wasn’t a local, and since there weren’t many places to rent around here, they’d quickly narrow down his possible location. They knew he didn’t have clothes, so unless he’d stolen something to wear, he was in a private home and not a public place.

Gray nodded and walked with him to the front door. Louis shook his head. “Back door.”

“Right.” She swiveled and headed toward the kitchen.

“I’ll only be gone a few hours,” he assured her.

She squared her shoulders. “I’m perfectly fine. I have work to do anyway.”

Louis nodded, opened the door and walked out onto the porch. He inhaled deeply, scenting the wind.

Gray shot a nervous gaze toward the woods. “Should you just be standing out here wearing only a towel?”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be wearing a towel.” Louis whipped off the piece of cloth and handed it to her. Gray’s eyes immediately shot to his groin, which had his cock straining for release.

“That has to hurt.” She glanced at his face and then back down. He wished he knew what she was thinking. She was aroused. He could scent the sweet smell and it was making him crazy.

Leave
, he reminded himself. He had to go. “You have no idea,” he told her. He grabbed her and planted a hot, wet kiss on her lips. It was quick and not satisfying enough, but it was all he could manage without tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her back inside.

“Later,” he promised.

He jumped off the porch and ran toward the woods, shifting on the fly. It was showing off, sure, but he couldn’t help himself. He heard her gasp but didn’t look back. If he did, he’d never be able to leave her.

Chapter Nine

Later
. Gray played the word over in her head wondering if it was a promise or a threat. Either way, she would be seeing Louis later today. She didn’t know whether to be excited or worried and decided to be both.

Shadow pushed his large, furry head against her hand and she obligingly scratched behind his ears, sending him into doggy bliss. “Did you see that?” She still couldn’t believe how fast he’d shifted. He’d started to run and from one stride to the next, he’d gone from a man to a wolf. The shift had been nothing more than a blur of disappearing skin and metamorphosing limbs. As a man, Louis was a force to be reckoned with. As a wolf, he was nothing short of magnificent.

Feeling exposed now that she was alone, Gray went back inside with Shadow behind her. She closed and locked the door and looked around the room. It seemed so much emptier now without Louis’s presence.

“Enough,” she scolded herself. “You have work to do.” She might not feel comfortable tramping around the woods sketching, but she could go through the pictures she’d taken this morning and work on her sketches from the comfort of the living room or the front porch.

First, she needed to do laundry. There were bloody towels and blankets to clean and a bed to strip and remake. She fisted the towel in her hands and lost the battle with herself. Slowly, she lifted it to her nose and inhaled. A low moan escaped her as his scent filled her. Hot and musky and male.

“I am in big trouble,” she told Shadow, who hovered protectively beside her. He gave her a low whine of sympathy while she tried to gain control of her body. Her skin tingled and her breasts ached. Now that she was alone, she lifted her hands and cupped the full mounds. That seemed to aggravate things even more. She dropped her hands back down by her sides and strode to the bedroom.

She tossed the towel away and surveyed the bed. It was mussed and the pillow still contained the imprint of Louis’s head. Knowing that waiting was only prolonging the problem, she ripped the blankets and sheets off the mattress, yanked off the pillowcases and tossed them all on the floor.

Gray gathered the rest of the towels in the bathroom and added them to the pile. She bent down, scooped the mass into her arms and headed for the kitchen. In her earlier explorations, she’d discovered a washer and dryer in the utility room. She turned the water on hot, added some of the washing power to the machine, even though it was synthetic and not the natural product she usually used.

She screwed her nose up at the scent but ignored the nasty odor as she dumped the sheets and towels into the washer. She’d have to do a second load for the blankets. Once she was done, she closed the lid and replaced the washing powder. “Fresh scent, my ass.”

It always amazed her that no one else seemed to be able to smell the chemicals but her. Her grandmother had always said she was sensitive. Her friends had thought her strange.

“At least I know why.” She rubbed her hands over her face and tried to reconcile everything that had happened, everything she’d learned. “I’m not going crazy,” she informed the dog. “I’m not.”

She really had seen the wolf turn into Louis and Louis morph into a wolf. She wasn’t on drugs, wasn’t dreaming and was completely sane. So that left only one possible explanation—werewolves were real.

Her knees went weak and she stumbled to the kitchen and dropped into one of the chairs. “What am I going to do?” she asked her faithful friend. She wished he could actually answer her back. Instead, he did what he always did. He sat beside her and offered her the comfort of his presence.

She patted his head while he stared back at her, concern in his big eyes. “I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “At least I think I will be.”

Gray closed her eyes and listened to the sounds in the house. It was something she did when she needed to center herself. She could hear her own breathing and Shadow’s as well. The washing machine was hard at work. The chugging sound was rhythmic. The refrigerator hummed lightly as it worked to keep the food cool. Through the open window, she could hear birds chirping. The air was still and heavy and buzzed with the sound of insects.

She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing had changed, but she felt more capable of handling the situation.

The facts were simple. She’d met a genuine werewolf, pissed off some local hunters and made herself known to the local law. Oh, and she’d discovered she was also half werewolf. She snorted. “And the day isn’t over yet.”

She pushed up from the table and glanced at the clock. Gray frowned. She’d been sitting here longer than she’d thought. Right on cue, the washer finished the spin cycle and clicked off.

The house was quieter without the machine running, but it wouldn’t last. She still had more laundry to see to. It didn’t take her long to shove the washed load into the dryer and start another one. More detergent left her nose stuffed up. Normally, she would never use the dryer on such a beautiful day. Clothes smelled so much better when left outside to dry, but she didn’t want to risk the sheets blocking the view of the woods. Better to be safe than sorry.

She stepped back into the kitchen and groaned at the mess on the counter and in the sink. As much as she wanted to leave the dishes, she knew it would only be worse later. “Just get it done,” she told herself. “Then you can lose yourself in work for a while.”

That was what she wanted, what she needed. Determined to get this over with quickly, she grabbed Louis’s mug and tried not to imagine his lips touching the rim. Heat flashed through her body and she bit her lower lip. It wasn’t fair for him to affect her in such a way considering he wasn’t even here.

She wiped down the counter and rinsed the frying pan. As she loaded the dishwasher, Gray wondered where he was and if he’d made it home. She should have asked him to call. Gray dried her hands on a kitchen towel and dug her phone out of her pocket. She stared at it for several seconds before jamming it back where it came from.

“No need to call him.” Gray left the kitchen and went to get her knapsack. She’d load the pictures she’d taken earlier onto her laptop and have a look at what she’d managed to shoot before her life had been turned upside down. She wanted another look at her sketches too. At this point, they were rough and nowhere near complete. But they were a place to start.

She grabbed the pack and carried it back to the kitchen table. Better to work here. Not only was there enough room, but the noise from the laundry room would remind her she needed to take care of more mundane chores as well.

Shadow padded to the low picture window and stared out. She wanted to do the same thing—stand there and watch until Louis returned.

“Not happening,” she muttered. “Come here, boy,” she called to the dog. He gave one last look and then trotted over to sit beside her. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

As she set everything up, she couldn’t help but wondering where Louis was and how he was feeling.

Louis didn’t like leaving Gray, but he’d scouted the immediate area before he’d left and hadn’t found any fresh scent from the hunters. He had no doubt they’d be back. They might lie low for a few hours or even days, but Louis had seen the expression on the one hunter’s face and knew he’d want retribution.

Louis had been extra careful on the way home, more vigilant than ever. He hated that the hunters had stolen some of his sense of freedom. Now they had to worry about being attacked on two fronts—their former pack and local hunters.

He stepped into the clearing behind the house, not surprised to find Jacque waiting on the porch for him. He looked pissed with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. Louis knew his brother was angry only because he was concerned.

“What the hell happened?” Jacque demanded.

Louis shifted, letting it flow over and through him. Didn’t matter how many times he’d done it in his life, nothing could diminish the sense of wonder that flooded him. His body reshaped, fur receded to show skin and his jaw reformed. When it was done, he stood upright and rolled his shoulders.

“Hello to you too.” He strode over to the railing and grabbed the jeans he’d left there. Louis pulled on the pants and zipped them but didn’t bother with the button.

“Damn it, Louis,” Jacque began.

“What’s going on?” Gwen stepped outside and glanced from one to the other. Her blue eyes narrowed on Louis. “You’re not provoking your brother, are you?”

Louis laughed. “Why do you automatically assume it’s my fault?”

She pointed her index finger at him. “Because I know you.”

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, he smiled. He was also struck by the fact that he no longer felt any sense of longing when he was in her presence. No, all he could think about was Gray.

“I’m glad you find this amusing.” Jacque glowered at him. “I want to know what the hell is going on and I want to know now.”

Jacque might be his brother, but he was also his alpha and deserved his respect. “I had a little trouble with some hunters.” Louis rubbed his side.

“You were hurt?” Gwen started down the steps but Jacque caught her.

“We need to take this inside.”

Louis agreed with his brother. “We should call the others too.” Better that he only have to explain once. “Don’t howl,” he warned.

Jacque yanked out his phone and made a quick call to Armand. “They’ll be right over.” His brother ushered Gwen inside. Louis stayed behind them and took one last look over his shoulder before following.

Louis went straight for the coffeepot, needing another hit of caffeine. Because their metabolisms were so much faster than a human’s, they could all drink a hell of a lot more coffee without getting a caffeine buzz. He was hungry too.

Before he could get a mug out of the cupboard, Jacque’s hands fell on his shoulders. Louis turned to face his brother. “How bad were you hurt?” Jacque asked.

“Not too bad,” he answered honestly. “Could have been worse.”

Gwen pushed by them and started taking mugs down from the cupboard. She filled them all and then started another pot of coffee. Louis hated the concern in her eyes, even worse, the fear.

“Hey, everything is okay,” he assured her. “I’m too mean to die.” He meant it as a joke, but she gave a small cry of distress and buried her face against Jacque’s chest. Louis hated that he was upsetting her but there was no choice.

Gwen gathered herself, patted her mate’s chest and gave Louis a weak smile. “I know you are.”

He grinned and grabbed one of the mugs and downed half the coffee in one mouthful. The back door opened and the others trooped in. Armand led the way with Anny tucked protectively under his arm. Cole followed with Cherise safely in front of him, and Gator brought up the rear with Sylvie.

“What’s going on,” Gator asked. “I was just about to start marinating steaks for supper.”

Louis shook his head. That was so like Gator. The man had tattoos up and down both arms and was tough as they came. No one in their right mind wanted to cross him. Yet he was a wizard in the kitchen and loved to cook.

“Sit,” Jacque told them all. They all sat but Gator, who detoured to the counter to grab the mugs of freshly poured coffees and distribute them to the others. When they were all seated, Jacque turned to Louis. “What happened?”

Louis raked his fingers though his hair. “I was out patrolling. Decided to take a run by the town and check on Anny’s place.” He nodded toward her. “Since she had someone staying there, I wanted to check out this artist.”

He looked back at Jacque. “They were downwind and I wasn’t being as careful as I should have been.” As much as it pained him to admit it, he’d already been thinking about heading home and not paying perfect attention to his surroundings.

“I’m not quite sure how many hunters were out there, but one of them caught a glimpse of me and they all started shooting.” The barrage had caught him off-guard and he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he should have. “I got grazed by a few bullets, but three of them hit me.”

Gwen gasped and tears welled in her eyes. Louis made himself look at his brother. He hated having any of them worry about him. “I got away, but they were hot on my trail.” This was the part that bothered him most. “Seems they’re hunting for wolves in the woods because of what happened to Anny last fall.”

“That’s crazy. After all this time.” Anny’s distress was evident in her tone. She turned to her mate. “The authorities thought I was confused, that it was a dog that attacked me. And even if it was a wolf, they’ve stated that the animal would be long gone. Why would the hunters bother after all this time?”

They all knew it hadn’t been a real wolf that had attacked Anny but Armand’s father. Armand lifted her out of her chair and onto his lap.

“Honestly, I don’t think they expected to find anything,” Louis told them. “I think they were just as surprised as I was, but they now believe they saw a wolf.”

“Fuck.” Jacque rubbed his temple. “That’s all we need. Locals running around the woods shooting at one another…and us.”

“What happened after you were shot?” Gwen asked.

“I tried to find a place to hide,” he told them. “I knew I needed some time to heal.” It had been an intense few minutes of him racing through the woods, knowing if he didn’t find somewhere to hunker down, he might not make it.

“I’d stopped to rest for a minute.” No need to tell the women just how bad it was. Maybe that was chauvinistic. He preferred to think of it as being protective. But the men understood. If Louis had stopped it was because he hadn’t been able to go on.

“A dog found me.” He shook his head. “No, not a dog. Part wolf, part German shepherd.” A smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“Did the dog have an owner?” Jacque’s golden gaze sliced through him and Louis nodded.

“Gray Everson.” He turned to Anny. “She’s the artist renting your place.”

“How much does
she
know?” Jacque’s flat tone had Louis bristling.

“
She
is under my protection.” Louis was ready to challenge his brother if that’s what it took to ensure her safety. No one was going to hurt his woman. “I was in my wolf form, but she came right up to me, got me on my feet and her and her dog got me back to the house.”