Wolf Signs (7 page)

Keil looked up to see Robyn watching as TJ spoke, and she nodded. She held her hand to him and he rose to join her. She pul ed off her glove to trace

her fingers down his cheek before twisting around and settling her back against him as she admired the view.

He was very serious, Robyn realized. He couldn’t be much older than she was, and he was planning on taking on the leadership of a large group of, wel , if

she guessed right, rather headstrong individuals.

She could help him learn to relax. She stifled a giggle.

Keil’s strong arms supported her, coming around her torso and pul ing her tight into his rock-solid frame. Too bad winter clothing made everything extra

bulky, but she could stil appreciate the feel of his firm body.

She turned and slipped her hands behind his neck. As their lips brushed together, she tightened her hold and lifted her feet off the ground to let her ful

body weight drag at him.

The surprise move worked and they fel to the snow. Robyn tried to slip away as they hit the ground but he held her as he rol ed over to end up lying on top

of her, pinning her in place.

“That was sneaky, Robyn.” Keil stared at her, shifting his hips to let her know she was trapped. “I think you should pay a forfeit for that little trick.” He

lowered his head and nuzzled against her neck, and Robyn felt him taking deep breaths. His tongue shot along her bare skin, and she shivered as a wave

of desire scurried through her body, over her breasts and settled in her womb like a ticking time bomb.

Man, oh man, this guy was potent.

With a groan Keil rose from her body and pul ed her to her feet.

“It’s getting late and if we want to be back to the cabin in daylight, we’d better ski. Stay away from the right side on the descent, the snow seems

unstable.” Robyn nodded, swal owing hard from the extra moisture in her mouth. Keil traced a finger over her lips and winked at her. “I’l claim my forfeit

back at the cabin.”

The three of them packed up their things, and this time Robyn led the way, skiing down the side of the mountain using telemark turns. She stopped a

quarter of the way down and waited for the others to catch up. Keil stopped beside her, TJ farther to the side.

“Nice turns, Robyn.” Keil said. “Let me go first, I want to watch you from below this time.” He set off, making the lunging motions that cause cross-country

skis to turn in the deep snow of the mountainside.

Robyn admired his skil as wel . The people that she and Tad skied with in the mountains were al experts and Keil would fit in just fine. She caught up with

him and they both turned to watch TJ do his descent.

His bright red jacket looked good on him and that was the most positive thing she could say about his technique. TJ didn’t ski, he threw his legs about in a

mad scramble like he was wearing rol erblades. Ski poles rotated in the air, snow flew everywhere. Robyn bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Then her breath caught in her throat. She saw the snow slab drop and a large crack appear on the hil side above where TJ headed, too far into the

dangerous side and completely out of control.

Robyn stared in horror as the side of the mountain behind TJ slid away in an avalanche, pul ing his windmil ing figure down the slope to the right of them.

The ground underfoot shook for a moment but the snow pack where they stood was solid enough. Frantical y she looked back and forth over the settling

powder and clouds of fine snow to try to see any sign of TJ.

Nothing but the disturbed surface of the mountainside greeted their eyes.

His stomach dropped as the avalanche raced past them. By the time the rumble faded, Keil had his transmitter out and switched to “seek” mode. They

didn’t have much time to uncover TJ, but they did have longer than finding a human.

As long as TJ was conscious.

Keil turned to Robyn. She already had her transmitter in her hand. She was pale and her eyes seemed large enough to overwhelm her face, but she was

going through each step methodical y. Careful y.

He grabbed Robyn’s face in his hands, making sure she watched him.

“You know how to use your monitor?”

Robyn nodded.

“Since you can’t hear me if I shout, I want you to look at me every five paces, to be sure you’re aware of any warning I give. Understand?”

Robyn nodded again even as she shuffled away from him. She pointed up the mountain.

“Yes, you go up. If I signal ‘clear’ like this”—Keil slapped his fists together and pointed away with one hand—“I expect you to ski away as fast as you can.

Understand?”

Her face grew grim and tight.

“I mean it. If you get caught in another avalanche, I won’t be able to save you both. Remember, TJ’s a werewolf. He’s stronger than a human. He’s going to

be al right. Let’s go.”

The two of them skied quickly to the edge of the avalanche field and began the back-and-forth search motion to triangulate TJ’s position. Keil moved

cautiously, his attention split between rescuing TJ and the need to keep Robyn safe. Letting his mate move away from him into the potential danger of

another slide physical y hurt.

His senses were on high alert. The sun reflecting off the snow seemed blindingly bright. The squeak of their skis on the rough snow surface became

reassuring in its consistency. A few steps, a pause to check the monitor, a glance around the mountain. A flick of the eyes to see Robyn, then repeat the

series.

The blinking light on his receiver grew stronger and he turned to fol ow its direction. The next time Robyn looked his way, he raised an arm and pointed.

Robyn double-checked her monitor and raised her arm, pointing downhil in a path that bisected across his angle.

They were narrowing the gap.

It was painful y slow work when every nerve in his body screamed for them to hurry before TJ’s air ran out. Keil took a moment to cal out. “TJ!” He yel ed in

the direction he hoped they’d find TJ, but there was no response.

A trickle of sound reached his ears.

A low rumble in the distance.

He lifted his gaze to examine the mountains around them, fearful of what he’d see.

The peak to their left released a cornice of snow, the slide shifting a cloud of powder into the air. Quickly Keil estimated the angle of the slide, whether it

would reach them, set off another slide on top of them.

The slope of the mountain curved away and Keil breathed a sigh of relief as the loose snow slipped behind a distant ridge out of sight and out of range of

danger. He looked up to see Robyn watching intently for his signal. Escape or continue?

He pointed forward and Robyn nodded, trusting his judgment to continue her sweeping movements.

Her harsh shout a few moments later made his heart pound. He looked up to see her turning her ski pole into a depth probe. She pushed it through the

snow to search for an air pocket or a buried body. Keil struggled up to her level, whipped off his shovel and prepared to dig.

“TJ, can you hear us?” Keil roared.

A welcomed howl rose to his ears. Keil threw up a prayer of thanks as he shoveled, Robyn working at his side. They dug into the hil side from the bottom

to take advantage of the slope, trusting there would be less digging at that level. Soon Keil held out a hand to caution Robyn and get her attention.

“I don’t want to strike him. Let me dig, you watch for additional slides.”

Keil increased his speed, hearing TJ’s howl grow clearer.

“Stay back from the shovel if you’ve got the room,” Keil shouted as he swung at a furious pace. It was only a few more shovelfuls before he broke into the

human-sized air pocket that contained the smal er wolf-sized body that was TJ. Keil watched as his brother scrambled out of the hole and, in his wolf

body, circled around their legs in thanks.

***

TJ sat in front of the fire in the cabin sipping a steaming cup of hot chocolate. He’d run beside them al the way to the cabin as a wolf, his gear buried

somewhere back on the hil .

“I stil don’t get it. What part of ‘stay away from the right, the snow is unstable’ did you not understand?” Keil complained, dropping an extra blanket around

TJ’s shoulders.

“Enough, I’m sorry. I got my lefts and rights mixed up. No harm done since Robyn made me put on the tracer. You found me, I’m fine.”

“TJ, that’s the third set of skis you’ve lost this year!”

The sound of logs crashing to the floor made both of them look up at Robyn’s stunned expression. She lifted a trembling hand to show three raised

fingers, a questioning expression on her face.

“Yeah,” Keil said, “this is the third time Mr. Disaster has been in action this winter. His record is six times in a single season. I’m thinking of having a tracer

permanently implanted—”

“Umm, Keil, why is Robyn glaring at me like that?”

Keil glanced up and he could have sworn he saw steam pouring out Robyn’s ears.

Just before she leapt across the room, grabbed TJ by the throat and shook him.

Hard.

“Whoa, there, Robyn.” Reaching around her, he gently grasped her forearms and loosened them from TJ’s neck. Muttering soothing words even though he

knew she couldn’t hear, he settled her under his chin as her body continued to shake. “My guess is she’s a little shocked that we had to rescue you in the

first place, TJ, and learning this is a typical experience in the bush with you might be more than she needed on top of everything else today.”

TJ had the grace to look embarrassed. He shuffled over and squatted to peer up at Robyn where she hid in Keil’s arms. “I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t

think sometimes. I won’t do it again.”

“Ha!” Keil snorted. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, little brother. The sauna should be hot by now. Go get warmed up al the way. Robyn and I need

to talk.”

TJ shot another concerned glance at Robyn before gathering his clothes and heading out the door.

Keil settled down on the chair by the fire, stil holding Robyn in his embrace as they sat quietly together. Having her in his arms felt wonderful. She was

smal enough to treasure yet strong enough to react in a quick and fearless manner when faced with the emergency on the mountainside. She was going

to be a fabulous mate for him.

She smelt wonderful too. He took in a deep breath and fought down the urge to throw her on the sleeping platform and rip off her clothes.

Her fingers slipped up and traced the edge of his jaw, and Keil shut his eyes to enjoy the sensations tingling through his blood. She wiggled and he

looked down to see she was shaking silently, tears trickling from her eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He tilted her head back to reassure her and stopped at the expression on her face.

Sheer delight.

“What’s up, little bird?”

Robyn wiped at her eyes and crawled off his lap, stopping only to plant a kiss on his cheek. She returned to his side with her notepad, dragging up

another chair so they could face each other but both stil enjoy the fire’s warmth.

It may seem insane but I’m so happy right now
, Robyn wrote.

“Happy? Having to rescue my brother makes you happy? Leaving him buried for once would make me ecstatic.”

A snort of laughter from Robyn made Keil smile.

“Tel me, how can having your whole world turned upside down like we’ve done to you today make you happy?”

Robyn stared at him for a minute and bent her head to write. She handed him the note pad while she signaled like she was drinking from a glass.

Keil turned to read her message as she went to the water bucket.

All my life I’ve been different. But it’s been bad different. It’s hard to share with new people. My only friends my brother and old family friends.

But you accept me right away. You trust me right away.

Your brother is an idiot right away! You’re real with me.

All that makes me very happy.

Keil lifted his head to see Robyn watching him with her big brown eyes, a soft smile on her lips.

“You have been different, but it’s not because you’re deaf. It’s because you were supposed to be a wolf. You were supposed to be around your pack who

would love you and support you. That’s what’s been missing.” He took the glass she held out to him and placed it to the side with care before pul ing her

back into his arms.

“I won’t rush you, and you probably stil have a ton of questions but, Robyn, you need to know that I’l do anything for you. The connection between us is

growing stronger, and I’m glad that I’ve found you.” He leaned down and kissed her.

Soft. Gentle. A kiss of exquisite tenderness. He put his heart into the motion, trying to tel her without words that she didn’t have to worry about him and that

al the concerns of the day would work out fine in the end.

“How can I feel this connected with someone I just met?”

Keil froze.

He’d heard her voice in his mind.

Pul ing back from her he stared into her eyes. He thought it would happen, but not already. They weren’t even mates yet. She hadn’t had her wolf triggered.

It was impossible.

“How did you do that?” Keil asked.

Her face grew puzzled and Keil tried to paste on a smile. It must have not worked because Robyn pul ed away.

“Wait, try something for me. Tel me your favorite colour.”

After giving him the “are you insane” look she did oh-so-wel , she reached for the notepad.

“No writing. Try and tel me in my head.”

Robyn stared at him.
“He’s doing the crazynut thing again. I don’t have a favorite colour to tell him.”

“Everyone has a favorite colour, Robyn.”

Al the colour drained from her face.
“Did you hear me?”

Keil stroked her cheek and attempted to speak to her mind.
“Yup, it goes well with the ‘crazynut thing’ that I do.”