Chương 4: EP4

Not good.

He ran to where he had left his mark. No trace of him. But the urine was fresh. Very fresh. She was supposed to be nearby, but if she was following her, she couldn't be an alpha female. If he needed a mate, an alpha female would have already approached him and said he wanted her. She needed to smell how mature she was and know that she was ready too. Is that why he went after female humans because they were easier to get hold of than a lupus garou? Perhaps he was afraid of moving towards a more wild, more cautious, more unpredictable solitude.

He smelled someone else. Also male. Except for waving his ears back and forth and panting his tongue back, he listened and sniffed the air, but stood still.

He smelled - water.

He felt himself being swallowed by the scorch and rushed towards the sound of Wolf Creek, the bubbling waters nearby. He paused at the edge of the forest, not liking the creek banks being so exposed. For several minutes he stood and watched, listening for signs of danger - human danger.

Nothing.

The water called to him. He swallowed again, peered into the stream, then walked cautiously along the pebble shore.

He waited, unable to shake the feeling of someone watching him, like a rabbit cornered and glued in place by a wolf.

The icy water from the melting snow from the mountains dove on the round rocks. He plunged his tongue into the water and rubbed himself; The liquid cooled him and soothed his dry throat.

She couldn't help wishing she'd been back in California, running with Derek like they did when they were younger, chasing through the woods, nipping each other's asses, feeling the wind ruffling their fur. God, how he would love to mate with her.

The water was running and gurgling at his feet, birds were chirping above him, and sugary oak leaves rustled in the breeze around him. But then a flash of red fur caught his attention and he turned.

The gleam of the fading reflection of the sun from a wolf's amber eyes caught him, held him hostage, but his gaze captured him too. But just for a moment. He shook his head. Another fur glowed and another woman appeared. Then a wave of a wolf's tail as the lupus garou rushes back. He should have heeded the instinctive warning. Instead, he measured the remaining wolf's stance, turning his attention back to himself, closing his mouth, and almost smiling before chasing after his friend.

The slamming through the bushes failed to disguise the most dangerous sound wildlife has ever known – the click of a trigger on a rifle. Nothing could hide the voice of death.

Immediately his tail was erect and the hairs on his back and neck stood on end..

A shudder ran down his spine, and he raced through the stream, his heart pounding. Its ears curled back and forth, trying to determine where the predator was standing.

A crackling sound rang through the woods and open field, and a sharp pain pierced his left flank. He stumbled... then tried to jump again, his leg paralyzed.

The hunter shouted, "Still going! I've never seen such a big red wolf! Shoot him again!"

They are idiots. They couldn't kill him with normal bullets.

She ran a few yards to the edge of the forest, but the guarded relief she felt faded as the men leaped into the creek to warmly chase her. He ran north to his cabin, miles away. Going this way meant he had to cross the river. Then again, while doubting what he could do, he could pass it by.

"Hurry up!" shouted one of the men, his voice full of enthusiasm but overshadowed by a bit of worry.

He would grit his teeth in anger, but he was breathing too fast. His movements slowed. Even his brain became blurred and his vision blurred. If they got close enough, it occurred to them to slit their throats. His primitive instinct for self-preservation overruled his decision that his own kind did not kill humans; keeping their existence a secret outweighed the importance of any lupus garou's life.

"Catch him before he reaches the river! We don't want him to drown!" the same man shouted.

Another crack. Another pain. This time the right wing. He stumbled when his hind legs gave up. What did they shoot him with? He was out of breath, his heart beating fast as he tried to keep his mind.

The men slammed into him through the bushes. His boots, hitting the ground, spread outward and were in the middle of the quivering pads. He struggled to run. His pulse slowed.

"Dude, oh, man, I told you, didn't I, Thompson? It's beautiful," said a tall man wearing camouflaged clothes, his black hair cropped short, a camouflaged baseball cap shading his eyes. He approached her carefully.

She gave him a wild look that meant danger and dragged her hind legs. Work damn it! Work! But no matter how much he tried to push his legs forward, he couldn't. He sat down, panic forced him to flee, but he couldn't bear it as a strange numbness ran through his body. He could no longer sit, he turned on his side. And watched the hunters approach with murder in their eyes.

"Damn! He's the biggest red wolf I've ever seen, Joe," said Thompson as they both approached... cautiously... the smell of fear obscured them. He was dressed like the other, only his blue eyes were wide with excitement.

He raised his head, snarled, and gritted his teeth, but it cost him precious energy that he was trying to do in vain. Tired, he laid his head back on the forest floor, the bed of pine needles tickled his nose.

Joe crouched on her back, then pulled something from his hip. Darts, not bullets. to curse. His heart was beating so slowly that he thought he was going to die.

"You were absolutely right about a red wolf prowling around here. But they've been extinct for years. How did it get here? I mean, it couldn't have come all the way from Great Smoky Mountains National Park." Joe smelled of sweat, sex, and musk deodorant that couldn't stand the pressure; nor did her floral cologne hide her body odor.

Thompson, a blond-haired bearded man, smelled just as sweaty and masculine, but without artificial sweeteners to attract the female variety. He could hear his heart pounding against his ribs as he lifted his hind leg. He snarled, unable to raise his head, but the muffled sleepy voice did not have the threat he had intended.

"She's a woman. Damn. How can a female get that big?"

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