“Let me take that backpack. You look like you’re about ready to fall down.”
She let him have it. No harm in that. “I’m not used to guns going off.” She took a shaky breath. “Listen, that wolf’s probably miles away by now. Let’s go back to my cabin.”
“Okay.” Lionel nodded, although he seemed reluctant to leave. He kept glancing toward the trees. “I’ll drive you. My truck’s not too far from here.”
“Good.”
He started off, the backpack slung over his shoulder.
Her heart still back in the woods with Jake, she forced herself to leave. She had to get Lionel out of here. She lengthened her strides to keep up with him as they walked back down the trail.
He glanced over his shoulder and slowed down. “Am I going too fast for you?”
“No, no. I want to get back.” Mostly she wanted Lionel to get back, and then she had to find a way to ditch him. She hoped Jake would circle around to her cabin, even if he could heal his wounds by himself. They had unfinished business.
“We’ll be there before you know it, Miss M. After I take you home, lock yourself inside and stay there until I’ve bagged that wolf.”
She sucked in a breath and her vision blurred for a second. She had to clear her throat before she could speak. “Let him go, Lionel. I promise you he’s not a threat to anyone.”
“After what I just saw, you can’t promise that. He’s wild and he’s dangerous. No telling what he did to escape from his cage and come back here. There could be people lying in the road with their throats ripped out, for all we know.”
“Lionel, that’s ridiculous.” If only she could tell him how ridiculous that scenario was, but she couldn’t.
“I wish I’d nailed him when I had the chance, but when I saw you down on the ground, and him looming over you like he was about to have you for breakfast, I was shaking so bad my aim was off. Some hero I am.”
She offered up a silent prayer of thanks that Lionel had been shaken enough to affect his aim. He hadn’t managed to kill Jake. Now she had to make sure he didn’t get a second chance. “Lionel, I’m begging you not to go after him.”
“Sorry, Miss M. I stood by while you kept that wolf in your house, but at least then he was wounded and weak. You may not want to believe that he means to hurt you, but I know what I saw.”
“I was talking to him.” She realized that might sound odd. “You know, soothing him with my voice.”
“While you were on the ground?”
“Yes, that seemed the best way to—”
“Because he knocked you over, right?”
“No, he didn’t. I wanted to get down on his level. He’s . . . he’s more like a dog than a wolf.” Jake would hate to hear her say such a thing. “Trust me, he’s harmless.”
“You always want to think the best of everyone, Miss M, including that wolf. But when I came through the trees, he was completely focused on you. His eyes were like laser beams trained right on you, which means only one thing. He was ready to take you out.”
Rachel racked her brain trying to think of a way to buy Jake some time. “How are you planning to hunt him?” The idea of Jake being hunted sent chills down her spine.
“Track him.” They reached the truck and Lionel opened the passenger door for her. “If I’m lucky, I nicked him bad enough that he’s bleeding and I can follow a trail of blood.”
She was determined not to panic. Instead of getting into the cab, she turned to Lionel. “If you’re dead set on doing this, I’m going with you. Let’s go find that wolf.” She could slow him down at the very least and interfere with his aim if he got close enough to shoot.
“I’m not taking you, Miss M. You don’t have the stomach for killing a wolf. I get that, this wolf being your inspiration and all, but—”
“Lionel, if you shoot him, I’ll never be able to carve again.” She looked him straight in the eye when she said it. Maybe the dramatic statement would work. He was young and impressionable. Besides, she’d spoken the God’s truth. She couldn’t imagine living and working in a world that didn’t have Jake in it.
“Aw, Miss M. Don’t say something like that. It’s only a wolf.”
She thought maybe she’d struck a nerve. “No, he’s my wolf, Lionel. Don’t kill my wolf.”
Lionel blew out a breath and looked down at the ground. “I don’t like the idea of him running around loose.” He glanced up, his broad, honest face filled with concern. “I’m worried about you.”
“I know you are. Look, I’ll go home and stay in my house. I won’t do anything foolish.” Or anything more foolish than she’d already done, which gave her plenty of leeway. “I’m sure the wolf only wants to get away and be left in peace. Give him a chance to do that, okay?”
“It’s against my better judgment, but if that’s how you want it, okay. If he shows up at your place, you have to call me.”
“I will.” But she wouldn’t promise to make that call immediately.
Chapter 17
Jake had really screwed himself. Because he’d acted like a total idiot and shifted in a place that wasn’t secure, he had a bullet in his shoulder. He’d never been shot before, and he would have loved to have missed that special experience. He wasn’t a fan of pain, and his shoulder hurt like the very devil.
Worse yet, he needed help. After bragging to Rachel about a Were’s ability to heal, he was faced with something he couldn’t handle by himself. Closing the wound with the bullet still in his shoulder wasn’t smart. Someone would have to take it out.
Yeah, right.
He wouldn’t be required to crawl or beg, though, and he knew that. She would help without being asked. She was that kind of person, that kind of
Resting on a bed of pine needles deep in the forest, he calculated the passage of time by watching the shadows. He wanted to give Rachel a chance to go home and ease Lionel gently out the door. That wouldn’t be easy. The kid had appointed himself her protector.
Jake couldn’t blame him for firing that gun. He’d thought Rachel was in danger and had acted accordingly. In Lionel’s place, Jake would have done the same.
Only Jake could shoulder the blame, literally, for this fiasco. The saving grace, if there was one, might be Rachel’s strong reaction to his shift. She’d expected roses and lollipops and he’d disabused her of that fantasy today. Maybe now she’d give up her crazy idea that they should risk a life together.
Sharp longing made him groan aloud. Mental pain could rival the ache of a bullet buried in his flesh. But no matter how much he craved the same thing she did, he couldn’t let her know. Mating with her would be an act of pure selfishness.
At last he decided enough time had passed that he could chance sending her a message. That in itself was amazing. She’d taken it as a sign that they were destined for each other. He couldn’t go along with that. But scientifically speaking, she was an unusual human.
He knew several Were scientists who would be excited to discover Rachel’s ability to link telepathically with a werewolf. They would never get the chance to study the phenomenon, though. That would mean revealing what he’d shared with her, and that wasn’t going to happen.
Shifting his weight on the pine needles, he focused his mind on Rachel, searching for her the way he might turn the dial of a radio looking for a station he wanted. There. The link seemed to light up a part of his brain, and he could see her as if she sat next to him.
He sent her his question.
