She had to make her escape before that happened–before she became a human with no chance to remain a wolf, not until the return of the moon. It would be seven days until the new moon from the beginning of the waning crescent. But three days had passed and when she took her fatal run she’d already observed the waning crescent for...she couldn’t remember. Two days? Three?
Damn. “There’s been some unusual recent interest in her,” Thompson said. She stopped pacing and turned to listen. Thompson placed his hands on his hips. “Now isn’t it interesting how she listens to our conversation?” “She seems to sometimes. She’s really gentle.” You should see me on a bad day. Thompson shook his head. “A wolf is a wolf, still wild at heart. Anyway, a man was interested in transferring her to another zoo. But...” He looked at his feet. “I don't know. I didn’t trust him. He seemed to have something else in mind.” When he looked up, his blue eyes widened, and he straightened his back. He motioned with his head toward the railing. “In fact, there’s the man, right there.” She turned to look at the railing, and her heart nearly stopped. “See what I mean? It’s like she understands everything we say.” Staring at Caleb, she couldn’t unlock her gaze from him. So many lonely years, dreaming of his hard embrace, and now he stood across the moat from her in the flesh. Her heart beat so hard it was sure to bruise her ribs. Adrenaline coursed through her body at breakneck speeds, the thought that he’d come to free her giving her hope. What she wouldn’t give to nip him in the neck, to tackle him and force him to the ground. To have his heated kisses, his firm touch embracing her with wanton desire. She took a steadying breath. She couldn’t deny he still held her heart captive. Like before, a strap tied his shoulder-length dark brown hair back. A black leather jacket fitted over his broad shoulders, and denim stretched comfortably down his long, muscular legs to his well-worn western boots. He was every bit as handsome as she remembered him, only much taller and more imposing and real than the photos Argos had sent her. She focused on Caleb's mouth. How many women had he kissed since he’d kissed her? Her veins turned to ice as a fit of uncontrollable jealousy washed over her. Was he already mated? Her gut tightened with the idea. She shifted her gaze back to his eyes. His dark brown eyes turned into black quartz, angry with a hint of concern. Did he recognize her? Sure he did. If she caught him in his wolf suit, she’d know him any day. But how had he found her? Unless... unless... somehow the fact that a red wolf was living in the Cascades, when none should, got big-time media. Great. That’s how he’d found her. He must realize the predicament she faced and the danger to all of them. That’s why he’d tried to move her from the zoo. If she turned into a human by the new moon, she could be used to prove legendary werewolves truly exist. Did he have a plan? He moved his hands over the black wrought iron posts, up and down. His actions hypnotized her. What was his plan? “What’s he doing?” Thompson asked. “I don’t know, but he sure has her attention. You think maybe she belonged to him once?” “Hmm, now that sounds like a distinct possibility. And he wants her back so he can release her to the wild again. I want him checked out and watched. He’sprobablyy one of those crazy animal rights activists. Doesn't he realize she’s safer here, with a good diet, and no one to hunt her down? Besides, where can she find a male red to mate? She’d be stuck with scrawny coyotes.” Joe laughed. “Guess it wouldn’t matter to her, as long as the deed is done.” She emitted a low growl. “Don’t think she likes your suggestion,” Thompson joked. She turned her attention back to Caleb. He looked kissable. He’d filled out into a man-sized hunk, but his eyes remained dark and foreboding—even more so now. Caleb tilted his chin up as if taunting her to tell him what she thought of him, but he continued to stroke the bars. She realized then he smelled she was in heat. The urge to mate with her would be as natural to him as breathing the air or blinking an eye. Her gaze met his, the depths of his eyes smoldering with lust. Then he scowled and turned away. He strode off, his long gait taking him away from her within seconds. She wanted to scream at him to set her free. But in the worst way she wanted him to mate with her, to fulfill the unquenchable craving that the sight of him sparked, to take her for his own, his mate forever. “She knows him, all right, don’t you think, Joe?” “Yeah, like a dog knows his owner.” She whipped her head around too fast in anger, a growl rumbling in her throat. Both Thompson’s and Joe’s mouths dropped open. Thompson said, “My God, I swear she thought you'd insulted her.” She loped back to her den, a cement home, hidden from everyone’s view. Insult was right. A dog. And Caleb her master? She growled again. Then she thought what if she changed and, damn . . .as a woman, albeit naked, she could open the door to the wolf's den. Unless they locked it. Why would they lock it? The wolves couldn’t just leave. Big Red crept closer to the entrance of the den. She growled so ferociously, that he immediately backed off. The two men laughed. Thompson studied the den.“ You can see who wears the pants in the family.” Settled down on the floor, she rested her head on her paws. But wouldn’t they lock the doors to keep others out? Sure. To protect idiot visitors who wanted to pet the nice wolves. Diana lifted her snout and howled. She howled for the loss of freedom, for the loss of her red wolf family, for missing the affection of the grays who had taken her in, and for the love, she felt for Caleb—a hopeless, pitiful fondness for a lupus garou she could never have as a mate. “She’s howling for him, don’t you think?” Joe asked. “If I didn’t know better, yeah, I’d think so.” Thompson folded his arms, his blue eyes studying her with sympathy. “Hey, Thompson,” a new male voice said, there's some guy named Ragnar Smith on the phone who says he's got transfer papers to take our new little lady out of here.” Diana's ears perked up. Her heartbeat increased so rapidly that she feared she was having an early heart attack. Ragnar had arranged for Caleb to come for her. Damn the both of them. She growled low with hatred. Thompson shook his head. “Rosa’s not leaving here without some verification that this man has legitimate papers to move her. I’ve heard nothing about this.” To Diana's profound relief, the men left the pen, and she closed her eyes. When the zoo shut for the night and all of the personnel had gone home, she’d change into her human form and escape across the moat, hopefully, before anyone could turn her over to Ragnar. She couldn’t believe after all these years that she'd been safe from him, one mistake in the woods could cost her much more than her freedom. Life as Ragnar's mate would be a living hell. She suspected Caleb would return to her under the cover of night. She had to flee before then. For some time, she slept quietly, allowing thedarknesss to come. But in that darkness, nightmares that had plagued her forever returned—the searing heat, the white-hot flames, the choking smoke, the fire that killed her entire red lupus garou family. Then Caleb, a lanky immature youngster of a gray werewolf pack, nearly twice her size, arrived at the stony river’s edge. Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the scuff of the neck and swam across the river to save her. For a moment, she felt a sense of peace. Then, instinctively, something awakened her in the wolve's pen. A low, menacing growl? A padded footstep creeping toward her? She opened her eyes as Big Red took a step toward her. She’d been so keyed up, so tired, and now still so groggy, that she hadn’t realized what had happened right away. She stared at her changed form. No longer did she have the warm pelt of a red wolf, nor four legs, or an elongated snout. Now lying on the icy cement floor, she was a woman, cold, naked, and facing a snarling Big Red. Hell, she hadn’t correctly calculated the days of the waning crescent of the moon. The new moon had arrived and, except for a sprinkling of stars across the black satin night, no sphere lighted the way. This time Big Red growled at her, exposing his canines and a few front teeth. His tail stood erect, and so did the hair on the nape of his neck and back. She rose slowly from her prone position, but could only crouch because of the low ceiling in the den. She needed to stand, to spread her arms, to make him think she was bigger and more powerful. But it was too cramped. She stared him down, intimidating him like he attempted to do to her now. In her present form, she hated to advance on him. She had to move slowly so as not to frighten him more. He couldn't kill her, but what a mess. How could she explain how a woman entered the wolves' den and survived a vicious attack if he decided to bite? How could she explain why she was naked? And how could she explain how Rosa had vanished into thin air? Further, how quickly could she heal if he injured her? Would the legendary werewolf come to mind?Caleb stared at the inky sky from the balcony of his hotel room, his heart pounding furiously as he considered how Diana had been locked up in the zoo. He never thought he’d see her again, but she was even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. He recognized the longing in her whisky-colored eyes. 'Save me', they pleaded. And the smell of her—wild and ripe for the picking. God, how he wanted to claim her heart and body for his own. He gritted his teeth and fisted his hands. How many times did he have to rescue the woman before she recognized how. . . . He shook his head. It didn’t matter how he felt. She could never be his. Even if Ragnar didn’t lead the pack, it wouldn't matter—Diana was so hell-bent on having a human for a mate. His neck muscles grew taut. The door adjoining his room squeaked open. He turned. Gray-haired, wiry Argos nodded. Once the leader of the pack, he had stepped down when he’d grown too old. “Are you sure she’ll come to me?”
“Are you sure she’ll go with me?” Argos asked Caleb again, worry evident in his voice as they climbed into the SUV. “She only saw me at the zoo. She doesn’t know Ragnar still rules the pack and wants her.” Argos shook his head. “I can’t believe she got herself locked up in a zoo.” Caleb gave an evil smile, the notion he’d have to rescue her from a real wolf’s attentions amusing him. “The big red wolf they tried to mate her with sure looked disappointed, hungry, and dissatisfied.” Caleb's cousins and Argos chuckled. “I can just imagine how mad she is over that.” Argos stared out the window. “I’ve always wondered if we shouldn't have tried to find a red wolf pack for her to mix with. Maybe she would have found a mate with one of her own kind.” Caleb started the ignition with a jerk. “We’re her family,” he said abruptly, not in the mood for hiding his feelings for her. “Besides, I doubt Ragnar would have stood for it.” Intent on freeing her before she turn
The smell of antiseptics wafted in the room, and the air conditioner poured out of the vents, intent on putting patients into a deep freeze, Diana was certain. Feigning sleep, she lay quietly in the hospital bed, the highly starched sheets scratchy against her exposed backside where the gown opened up. The white woolen blankets, piled four or five high fresh out of a blanket warmer, buried her, raising her internal temperature. But the knowledge that she wasn’t safe yet chilled her all over again. The room remained quiet, all except for the sound of hearts beating nearby. Once she was hooked up to the I.V., the medicine whooshing through her veins, heating her blood, the nurse left the room. But Thompson and the doctor stood silently watching her. “Does she have any injuries, Doctor?” Thompson finally asked. “Just hypothermia. As low as her temperature was, it’s a good thing your staff found her when they did. Another couple of degrees drop and she wouldn’t have survived. She hasn’t
He walked her back into the hall toward the center of the building, his stride long and indomitable, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. His touch should have warmed her . . . well, hell, it did. But for all of the wrong reasons. She craved more of his touch, at the same time resenting the implication. He was her captor, her new zookeeper; her blood sizzled. When they walked past the nurses’ station, a woman wearing polka-dot scrubs spoke on the phone, her eyes wide. “The patient is missing?” His jaw tight, Caleb hurried Diana toward the door past the station. The woman said, “Wait! Sir! Miss!” He hit the door with his shoulder and yanked Diana outside into the crisp, cold air. Grabbing her up in his arms, he ran for the black SUV parked curbside. Gray-haired Argos tugged the door open. “Argos,” she said under her breath, the pleasure at seeing him overshadowed by the realization that the pack was returning her to Ragnar. She clenched her teeth. “
Diana stroked her bottom against Caleb's raging arousal, triggering an undeniable lust for the woman he'd coveted endlessly. “Damn it, Diana, stop it.” To still her actions, he tightened his hold on her waist, the insatiable urge to take her filling him with feral aggression. “I can’t help it. Your scent and your touch are driving me nuts,” she growled. “You only say that because you want me to let you go, but I don’t trust you.” Ignoring him, she pressed herself hard against him, challenging him to mate. No human or lupus garou bitch boasted the same alluring scent as Diana. Taking a deep breath, he drank in her wild fragrance, a heady aphrodisiac compelling him to mate with her against all common sense. He nuzzled his face in her silky red hair, making the attraction stronger, not controlling his behavior as he should. Caleb ran his hand over Diana's side, down the gentle curve of her hip, to her inner thigh. She parted her legs for him, and he groaned wi
“You’re not worried about them, are you? We left the zoo and then ended up at the hospital and now here. They won’t be able to follow me.” “The news will carry the story about your hospital stay and subsequent disappearance. The mystery woman found in the wolf’s pen, without clothes, the disappearance of the red wolf, and most likely my description, too. If the red who targeted you is a pack leader, no one would cross him. So he’d know I was from out of town,not a member of his pack.” “He was young, your age . . . early twenties, small. He wouldn’t be a leader.” “Reds are smaller.” He wasn’t dismissing the fact that they could have more trouble than they bargained for—first zoo man Thompson, then the cops, and now a pack of red wolves. “Besides, Caleb, I am selecting my mate.” “That’s what this is all about? You want to choose instead of a male choosing you?” His voice sounded as incredulous as he felt. “This is all about not wanting to be Ragnar's mate. Do
A roadblock. Two police cruisers sat dead ahead on the shoulder of the road. While one policeman spoke to the driver of a compact, another eyed Caleb and Diana's approaching SUV. Despite the car’s heater running on high, a chill ran down Diana's spine, and she involuntarily shuddered. “Maybe they’re just looking for drunk drivers.” Caleb shook his head. “We can’t risk that they aren't looking for us.” “They’ll recognize us, won’t they, if they get a good look at us?” “Yeah, I imagine so. Thompson probably gave them a rough description. That long, red hair of yours will be a dead giveaway." Caleb turned down a side street before they reached the checkpoint and switched off his headlights. “Hold on tight. Someone will probably check us out because we avoided the roadblock.” She swallowed hard, not liking the situation at all. “See the carport in front of those apartments? Pull into a vacant slot. A police helicopter searching from above won't see the SUV then
“He must have convinced her he loved her and then risked changing to turn her. Only she would have been terrified. Humans can’t deal with what we are, Diana. Can’t you understand that?” This wasn’t about the woman. She figured this was about Diana wanting a human male. “You see now why I didn’t want you involved?” he asked. “If he catches sight of you . . .” He shook his head. Rubbing her temple, she tried to figure out a way to alert the killer’s pack. “The two men at the zoo are probably related to the killer’s pack. We have to send word to them. Find them somehow.” “How do you propose to do that when we’re on the run?” “Take us to Tigard; it’s south of Portland. That’s where I live, and we can use it as our base for the time being.” He scowled at her. “The things I do for you.” “Yeah,” she said huskily, “like relieving my . . .tension.” He glanced at her, granting her a wicked, wolfish smile that said he wanted to eat her all up, and she wond