And as the ranger stirred once more Bali dropped him at the feet of a woman dressed in a sheer white gown. She was unperturbed by the cold, her long black hair darker than any night. Her red, red lips had started to drip blood. Zeke watched in horror as the man struggled to his hands and knees, just as Morrigan knelt in front of him.
Red dripped to the snow between his hands and the ranger titled his head up to look at her.
No, no, no,
Zeke had begun to scream, but not even the slightest hint of a whimper slid out of his mouth. The wolf’s jaws were clamped shut as Bali watched smugly as Morrigan cupped the man’s face, tilted his head back, and leaned in for a kiss.
No. Leaned in to
feed
.
And Zeke knew as the man stopped flailing, that when he woke, he’d be just like him.
Wind whipped through her hair and Eden leaned into it, the dogs running over the trail in front of her, eating up the ground. Their tongues lolled out of the sides of their mouths and their breaths came out in large steaming puffs of air. She could hear the rush of their paws over the snow, beating like a wild drum in her head, right in tune with her heart.
They’d been on the trail all day doing snow runs for tourists. An old favorite had stopped in and the dogs had gotten to shake off some extra energy, but now, with the last of her appointments finished, she was letting them burn off whatever they had left to spare. They’d been patient these past few weeks. Hunkering down during a blizzard, dealing with wolves stalking their yard from the forest, even suffering through the troll’s visit. They deserved a good run.
And when they galloped headlong up the trail like this—she felt free. As if the world hadn’t gone all to hell lately. Eden called out, cueing the lead dogs to take the trail curving home again, and held on as they swooshed through the open pass. Wind rushed in her ears and she found herself laughing, smiling. Bay would be done at his shop soon and would be stopping over for dinner and the night. It’d become a ritual of theirs. They each went their separate ways for work each day, but evenings and nights were spent together.
Tonight, would be a human night, and her heart felt a little lighter at the thought. According to Bay the Fae queen couldn’t call him anymore, or if she could, he couldn’t hear her, so he didn’t need to be a wolf at night. But he chose to still shift regularly, the animal needing out just as much as the man did. It was something Eden understood. She didn’t live with a typical man, didn’t
love
a typical man. And both man and beast were what made Bay, well, Bay.
A little thrill danced through her at the thought. Love. It’d taken her a while before she’d been willing to admit that to herself. Her brain not quite willing to accept what her heart had figured out, probably right from the beginning.
The trees broke around her and her yard appeared, the kennels peppering the open snow, and beyond it, in the drive way sat Kennedy’s truck, the clinic’s logo emblazoned on the side.
“Easy,” Eden called out, slowly the dogs as they curved right toward the sloping drive alongside the pole barn. With another cue, they pulled to a stop, panting, but every one of them had their tails wagging.
Dee looked as white as the ground she walked on and Eden felt her heart lurch.
Please don’t let it be anything bad
, she thought, but even as the words flickered through her brain she knew only something awful would make her friend look like that. She set the brake and started moving to let the dogs off. “What’s up?”
“Quinn’s missing. He never came in from work last night, didn’t show up again this morning. They’re thinking a bear but—” Dee broke off on a sob.
She’d had a crush on Quinn Dawson since they were kids and it had only gotten worse with age. She and Rowan had tried to convince Kennedy to just ask him out but she’d proven to be as shy as he was. Hell, the last time Eden had seen him he’d been helping Rowan’s grandma home after she’d seen Dee’s picture of the winter wolf.
Before that, he’d been hinting that maybe Eden had lost control of her dogs and knocked her head pretty good on the way down. But he was always a sweetheart and the man was damned good at his job. She doubted a bear would have snuck up on him. One of the wolves, though, that Eden could see. She pressed a hand to her stomach.
She remembered Bay’s wolf that first day. He’d been faster than any animal she’d ever seen and not only that, but just the sheer size of a wolf that big had been enough to make her slow to react. Shock overtaking panic. It wasn’t even just the winter wolves. He could have had a run in with a troll, a banshee, or any number of vicious things the Fae queen might have unleashed.
“Do they know where he was supposed to be?”
“Checking on a supposed bear attack up along the Pass. Somewhere down the river.”
Everything in Eden went cold. That was near the place Bay had turned her away from when she’d taken him out in the sled for the first time. The place the wolves had surrounded them on the trail. “I’ll call Bay.”
“They’re organizing a search downtown. Fish and Wildlife and the local PD have already sent people up there to see if they can find his truck. I just thought that you could, you know.” Dee looked at the dogs.
Eden had the fastest route up to the trail. The main roads wound up the rough cliff sides along the mountain edge. Eden could cut straight through the forest. But she didn’t even know where to start, or where to avoid. “Call Dorie and Ro.”
“They already know.”
Eden shook her head. “Tell Dorie it sounds like the place Morrigan has staked out for her territory. Bay told me to keep everyone off the trails up there, so I’ve been looping the ones to the east, all forest work. My clients haven’t been as thrilled, but the last time I tried to head up into the heart of the Pass we had a run in with Morrigan’s pack.”
Kennedy’s eyes went round and Eden grabbed her by the arms before her friend could lose it to panic. Her heart clenched in sympathy. Eden didn’t even want to think about it being Bay up there, alone and missing. Then again, Bay stood a much better chance than Quinn did.
“It’ll be okay.” She tightened her grip on Kennedy’s arms. “He’ll be okay. We’ll get him home safely, and then you’re going to grow a pair and ask him out.”
That made her friend smile, a little weakly, but it was the first glimmer of real hope Eden had seen on her face since she’d arrived. “Totally,” Dee whispered faintly.
“Then call Dorie. Maybe she has some trick up her sleeves. In the meantime, I’m going to call Bay.”
Because he could do what they couldn’t. He could shift into an four-hundred pound wolf with a nose that had a chance of tracking Quinn, but more importantly, the size and strength to stay alive if they ran into trouble. Hopefully.
She left her dogs attached to the sled and dialed Bay’s number, already gazing out in the direction Quinn had last been seen. She knew the route the police would take to get up there. The small dirt parking lot off the side of one of the trails would provide a perfect place to organize a search and there were still a several hours of light left.
“Hey,” Bay said, his voice light and happy over the phone. The steady whisper of sandpaper over wood filled the background.
“Quinn Dawson, an old friend of ours from high school and an officer for the Fish and Wildlife Department, went missing yesterday. Up close to where you said Morrigan has been gathering her people. Everyone is going up there to organize a search.” She paused, feeling the rush of panic swirling in her chest, unable to stop the edge of fear from creeping into her voice. She was going up there to help, she just didn’t want to do it alone.
Bay was quiet on the other end of the line and Eden started to tremble. An image of that troll ripping up half the cops in the city kept replaying in her mind. They didn’t stand a chance. No one even knew these types of things existed. They sure as hell wouldn’t know how to fight it. Did bullets even affect trolls?
Hers hadn’t even slowed the creature down.
“I’m on my way, don’t leave without me.”
“Bay—”
“Please.” The word came out a half growl and she could feel him struggling for control.
“It might be better if you’re a wolf. You could smell him, track him. Even if we have search dogs up there, if they’re anything like mine, they’re not going to search once they catch wind of that troll.”
“And how are you going to explain that? No. The wolf will tell me when we’re up there if I need to go back tonight. Alone. And Morrigan won’t do much during the day. I don’t think she can.”
Her calls for him had always come at night, so Bay believed her power was not only linked to winter, but to nightfall as well. Dorie had agreed. But it didn’t stop the panic clawing through Eden, it wouldn’t help Dee sit through the day. Especially since Rowan’s grandma had been pretty adamant that Morrigan would have magic in the winter regardless of the time of day. She’d be weaker in daylight, but she’d still be strong. And if Quinn had been with her all last night?
He could be dead.
A tremor raced through her.
“Hurry then,” Eden whispered, her gaze turning to her dogs. They’d worked hard today. And while they could make the trek up to the Pass, even carrying both her and Bay, it wouldn’t be fair to them. Not only that, but if the wolves and trolls were all up there, no one would be able to keep her dogs from panicking. “I have to put the dogs up.”
“Just set me some clothes out. I’ll be there in a few.”
The phone clicked off but she could imagine Bay shedding human skin for wolf fur and hurtling himself towards the woods. It wouldn’t take him long at all to get to her.
***
Hope had started out strong in the group, but Bay watched as it fizzled and died the longer the search dragged on. Twilight had already begun to pull across the sky, stretching the shadows between the trees. So far, no one had turned the search north and into the more treacherous stretch of Mercy Pass. It had been by luck really, when the sheriff had found Quinn Dawson’s car down by the river eight miles to the south. He looked like he’s slipped in the snow and then just vanished.
But there was no blood, no tracks. No one knew what to make of it.
At least no one outside of their little group. Bay’s wolf squirmed under his skin. The animal had been on edge since they’d arrived. The scent of wolf was strong in the forest, so thick it was all he could breathe in. It burned down his throat, cold and frosted, until he thought it was burned into his nose.
It was drawing close to the cut-off time for the search party and Eden stepped up next to him, her face drawn tight with worry. He’d told her what his wolf had found the moment they’d stepped out of the car and the wind had carried the first scents to him. . He could smell the man, the ripe stench of fear. The wolf he smelled the heaviest by Quinn’s car was one Bay recognized. It smelled like the man he’d thought Morrigan had killed that night, when he’d seen her lips turn bloody, and she’d bent to feed on him like a vampire.
Apparently, she’d just been expanding her collection.
Bay shuddered. No doubt she’d wanted Quinn next. Still growing her pack. His shoulder stiffened as the wolf tensed. The animal didn’t like the thought that the enemy was growing in numbers. Their pack was small and weak. The wolf loved Eden and enjoyed the dogs, but he was the only one that could face the danger. It made the wolf edgy, uncertain.
And now they were tromping through the enemy’s territory.
“You okay?” Eden asked, glancing up to look him in the eye.
She knew he’d see more wolf than man staring back out at her. Knew it, because he could feel the need to shift burning under his fingernails. He wanted to rip off his clothes and let his body morph into that of his beast’s. Then at least he could do something if danger came their way. As a man, he doubted the can of bear spray he carried would do any good. And while Eden sported her rifle, Bay wasn’t sure the wolves would care much for a bullet.
Oh, it’d hurt. The bear spray had burned like fire down his throat and he’d spent the morning after throwing up the bitter taste, but he wasn’t sure what would actually kill a winter wolf. Or a troll for that matter.
He wasn’t sure anything would kill Morrigan.
“Yeah. Just edgy. Why hasn’t anyone came out to say hi yet?” He bared his teeth at the thought and Eden leaned into him, her shoulder bumping his.
“Maybe there are too many people?”
No.
Instinctively, he knew that wasn’t why. There was something else, some other reason, and it made him gnash his teeth in frustration. He’d been so thankful Morrigan couldn’t call to him anymore, but now he almost wished he could still hear her. Maybe then he’d be in on the loop.
“We should head back,” he said softly. “It’s getting dark and everyone should be wrapping up soon.”
And finally Bay would be able to start his own hunt. His attention turned toward the direction Morrigan had always called him from. She hadn’t moved, that much he was sure of. But now, he wasn’t even certain he’d be able to find her. Being with Eden had snapped that bond completely. They’d broken from that pack and made their own.
Before, that had meant freedom. Unlike the others, Morrigan couldn’t call him and he no longer had to fight for control. Now, he wondered if it also meant that he wouldn’t be able to help someone who really needed it. Then Eden caught his hand, her fingers twining with his, as she leaned into him and the doubts and worries faded away. He’d figure it out. He’d keep her safe.