Starr, Ellen - Wolf's Passion [The Joined] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (14 page)

Wolf rolled his eyes. “Cora wants to see the ranch.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She does.”

“I didn’t say she didn’t.” Rafe grinned.

Dale watched their exchange and sighed. “That rock is rough. Better take a quilt.”

Rafe burst out laughing. “Busted.”

Wolf covered his eyes with one hand. He grinned, shaking his head. “Okay, okay, you win. Just keep the hands out of that area.”

He finished saddling the horses. They’d laughed more in these last few days than he could ever remember. Cora brought them closer, lighting up their world with her presence. With a smile, he led the horses outside and looked up at the cloudless sky. It was a perfect day. In more ways than just the weather.

Cora met him at the kitchen door. She held a quilt and a plastic grocery bag. “You know horses don’t like me.”

“Princess likes everyone.” Wolf smiled, bringing the horse forward. Princess balked. The mare shied, trying to rear.

“Not me.”

“Strange, Princess is the most docile horse we have.” Wolf patted the frightened horse, soothing her.

“At the dude ranch they turned the horse so it couldn’t see me before I could get on.”

Wolf took her suggestion, and they were soon on their way. Princess kept turning her head to nip at Cora’s leg.

“I’m sorry, she’s usually not like this.” Wolf took the reins and led Cora’s horse.

“I’m used to it. Horses don’t like Jean-Paul much either.”

“Hm.” Wolf didn’t really want to hear anything about Jean-Paul, so he let Cora’s comment pass.

They rode in silence until they reached the rocks. Wolf dismounted and tied their horses to a scrawny tree. “We’ll have to climb, but the view is worth it.” He took the quilt and bag from her then led the way up to the top of the boulder.

Wolf pulled Cora up the last few steps. They could see most of the creek along with the waterfall and part of the trail they’d ridden down. The sun in her hair made her look as if she was a princess in a fairytale. Wolf spread the quilt and they sat. Birds sang nearby.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Wolf sat down next to her.

“This place is so peaceful.” Cora snuggled closer. Wolf smiled and tightened his arm around her waist. Contentment is addictive, he thought. But he didn’t mind. They worked so hard for this.

“It is now you’re here.” Wolf sighed. He inhaled deeply. Her scent flooded his senses. He laid her back on the quilt, glad he’d taken Dale’s suggestion. An undertone of something harsh on the breeze made him sit up.

“What?” Cora started to sit up. He stopped her, listening closely to the sounds of the desert around them.

The tiny sound of a rock skittering over the rim of the canyon set off his internal alarms. A faint scrape of a boot heel in the gravelly dirt was enough warning. Wolf caught Cora’s arm and slid with her down off the boulder. He pushed her into a cleft in the stone, motioning her to be quiet.

The horses whinnied, upset, and Wolf stepped out where he could be seen. The two men weren’t familiar to him. From their scent, they were human. He was fairly sure he could handle them. “You’re trespassing on private property. What do you want?”

“I think we found it.” The taller one grinned.

Without warning, something hit Wolf in the back of the head. Everything went black.

* * * *

Cora heard the sound of voices. She tried to see what was going on. Someone grabbed her from behind, a hard grip on her arm and a large, calloused hand over her mouth stifling her scream. The hand cut off her air. She saw spots, and then everything went dark as she passed out.

* * * *

Consciousness returned. Wolf sat up slowly. His head throbbed. He put a hand up to the back of his throbbing head, feeling the stickiness of blood.

“Easy, that’s quite a blow you took.” Rafe’s voice came from above. Rafe’s strong hands helped him to his feet, steadying him.

“Damn. Cora?” He saw the horses were gone. He managed to stand. He couldn’t hear Cora. The pain of her silence hurt more than the injury to his head.

“They took her. Dale is tracking them.”

* * * *

Cora figured she wasn’t out long. The man on the horse with her held her too tight. She could barely breathe. His hold on her pinned her arms. She struggled anyway. The horse didn’t appreciate her movement and gave a sideways jump, trying to throw her off.

“Dammit, hold still!” The man wasn’t having much luck controlling the horse or her. Cora redoubled her efforts. With any luck, the guy would drop her. She could run then. Something Jean-Paul told her long ago came back to her. Cora clenched her teeth then slammed her head back as hard as she could.

The man yelped, and his grip loosened. She didn’t waste time. With a shrug she managed to slide out of his hold and out of the saddle onto the ground. She scrambled to her feet running. With no idea where she was or how to get back to the ranch, she opted for away from the men.

Shouting and swearing sounded behind her. A strange sense of hysterical déjà vu swept over her. A hand grabbed hold of her hair, jerking her back. Without thinking about it, she let her mind cry out for her Pack.

* * * *

Cora’s scent washed out everything else. Dale knew she was close. He could hear her fuzzy thoughts. In the distance, he heard men yelling. Cora’s thoughts were suddenly a shout in his head. They were hurting Cora. Dale’s bones itched. His vision went red.

Rage filled him in a way it hadn’t since Old Town. All his protective instincts kicked in. He knew he was about to change, and he forced the rage down. Cora would be frightened at the violence of his killing rage. Dale didn’t want her to see that part of him. She was precious, to be protected from anything bad or dangerous. Dale pulled himself back from the abyss. He was dangerous, yes, but not to her. Never to his
chienne
.

Dale stopped long enough to strip, dropping his clothes to the dirt. His body rippled, becoming more muscular as he let his true form take over. Claws ready, he sprinted toward the sound of Cora struggling with her attackers.

The man lifted his hand to strike Cora. Dale snarled and leaped forward. The horses screamed in fear and panicked, bolting with the two men who were riding them.

“Come back here, you assholes! Shoot him!” The man tried to use Cora as a shield.

Dale focused on the man, his vision narrowing until nothing existed for Dale except his prey. He crouched slightly, waiting for the perfect moment.
Drop
, he willed his
chienne
. She crumpled.

“Son of a bitch,” the prey swore, reaching for the gun he wore. Dale grinned.
Got that right, lunchmeat
. He sprang.

* * * *

The creature that came out of the brush was darkness itself. Her breath caught in her throat. This was Dale in his true form. She’d never seen anything so deadly or so terrifyingly beautiful. The man holding her jerked her between himself and the death coming for him. Time slowed. An inarticulate need to fall gripped her. She let herself go limp, dropping to the ground.

Dale sailed over her, a lithe streak of chocolate-brown muscles and fury. She scrambled away. Dale’s snarl rose to a shriek. Afraid he’d been hurt, Cora looked back. She wished she hadn’t. Dale had the man on the ground. The sound of bone cracking echoed in the desert air. Cora closed her eyes tightly, her hand over her mouth, turning away. She covered her ears, trying to block out the snarling and the man’s screams.

She didn’t know how long she huddled there before she realized the sounds had stopped. Strong, familiar hands were lifting her to her feet. The comfort of her Pack’s thoughts washed over her like a cool mist. Cora stood, searching for Dale, needing to know he was all right.

“Dale?” She caught Rafe’s hand.

“Fine. He’s gone to get his clothes. He’ll meet us back at the house.” Wolf rubbed her shoulders.

Rafe kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.”

“Done?” She tried to turn toward him. Wolf stopped her.

“Done.” Wolf gave her a gentle nudge away from Rafe. Cora remembered her attacker then. She swallowed a wave of nausea and allowed Wolf to lead her away.

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Meanwhile

“Jean-Paul, so good to see you.” The leader of the Dead Man Colony clasped Jean-Paul’s hand. He let the warm, light tones of the man caress his ears. He always admired his friend’s Southern accent.

“I am glad of such a warm welcome. I was not sure you would receive me.” Jean-Paul stepped into the nondescript adobe building. The dim coolness of the interior was welcome after the hot sun.

“Why would I not welcome my old friend?” Doc led him through the house to a comfortable parlor.

“You know Kate has never liked me.” Jean-Paul smiled.

“That is very true.” Doc returned his smile.

Jean-Paul resisted an urge to laugh. Doc's lover was of the Blood, as he was. Kate barely tolerated him these days, and only because he was Doc's friend.

“Now, would you care for some refreshment? Or are we going to get right down to business?”

“I thank you, but the business is of some importance.” Jean-Paul gave a regretful sigh.

His host snapped his fingers, waving the help away.

Jean-Paul waited until the few humans left the room. He took a deep breath, stalling while he tried to think of some way to begin. To the point is best, he told himself.

“There are two things. First, there is a new cult. Two of their agents attacked me three days ago in New Orleans.”

“A new cult? But we’ve had no word from Remy on this.”

“Remy is dead.” Jean-Paul let the shocked silence hang in the room while he looked at each member of the Colony. “Some of you are old enough to know what this means. I leave it to you to explain to the young ones.”

Doc shook his head slowly. “Remy dead. I can’t believe it.”

“They call themselves Reapers. I do not know how they began, and I do not really care. It is enough they are out there and they have killed. They will do it again. We better be prepared.”

“Indeed we had. I will make the necessary arrangements. Now, why don’t you tell me what really brought you to my door? Old friend.”

Sharp, as always, Jean-Paul thought. “Ah. That.”

“Yes. That.”

“I sent my lover, Cora, to Dead Man. Fortunate timing as it turned out. In one respect at least. These Reapers attacked the next day.” Jean-Paul looked everywhere but at Doc.

“But? I believe I distinctly heard a
but
in there.”

“You never miss anything, my friend. There is a very large
but
.” Jean-Paul hesitated.

Doc raised an eyebrow in question.

“Cora has become entangled with a Pack of Werewolves.” There, he’d said it. He gripped the arms of his chair.

Doc stayed silent for a long moment. “And how exactly is your lover entangled?”

Jean-Paul sighed inwardly. He repeated to Doc everything Cora told him. “It appears now she is mated to them.”

Doc gave him a pensive look. “We don’t have much to do with the lycan population of this fair city, so I don’t think we’re in any position to swoop in and bring your lady love back to you. If you’re looking for that sort of help, I shall have to disoblige you.”