Hunter's Heart

“A woman,” Nick said simply, with a bit of reluctance. “And the fact that she’s going to shake up your world pretty thoroughly.”

Oh, crap. “How so?”

“You’ll just have to find out for yourself. But for that to happen, we’ll have to get going.” The man cocked his head. “Did she appear to you?”

Evasive bastard. “Yes, and she’s hurt. She didn’t say her name, but she told me she was pushed into a ravine past the second ridge, to the north.”

“Pushed? By whom?”

“I don’t know. She tried to say something about the rangers and a checkpoint, but the message was garbled at the end.”

“Okay. I’ll go by my office on the way out and give the ranger station a call while you grab a few of the guys.” He eyed Ryon. “That is, if you’re healed enough to go.”

“I will be after I shift,” he insisted. “My wolf is going nuts and if I stay behind, it won’t be pretty.”

Nick paused, considering. “All right. I trust you to know your limits.”

“I’ll meet you at the hangar with others. And thanks, Nick.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll speak to Melina, Mac, and Noah on the way out, tell them what’s going on and get them to accompany us in a second vehicle.”

“We’re bringing her here?” he asked in surprise. “What about the humans’ Search and Rescue team? Sounds like she’ll need a regular hospital.”

A mysterious smile played about Nick’s lips. “I have a feeling that’s not going to work out so well.”

“What—” Much to his annoyance, his boss left without explaining. “Damn.”

Ryon stood, shrugging off the annoying hospital gown. Next went his briefs, tossed to join the gown. Naked and trembling from that small exertion, he focused on reaching out to his wolf in preparation for the shift, a process that wasn’t typically as fluid and easy for him as it was for some of the other guys. Now, however, his wolf surged to the surface and completely took over, his anxiety to get to the injured woman almost a physical need.

Muscle and bone popped, morphed. His body rearranged itself, fur sprouting from his skin, muzzle lengthening, tail growing, hands and feet becoming paws. All of this in less than five seconds.

Immediately he felt stronger. Not fully healed, but he would last until the raven-haired beauty was found and brought back safely. The pull to do just that got him moving.

Steady on four legs, he bolted from the room and down the infirmary’s corridor. Ryon ran straight to the recreation room where many of his friends could be found loitering away their downtime on any given day, and he wasn’t surprised to find that today was no different.

Hammer and Aric were there, playing a video game on the Wii, and Micah Chase and Kalen Black were watching a rerun of Ghost Hunters. The foursome stopped what they were doing, giving him their full attention as he skidded to a stop and shifted back.

“Damn, my eyes!” Aric moaned as the others laughed. “I guess you’re feeling better, huh? At least put on some pants.”

They all knew the redheaded wolf was teasing—the Pack had been together long enough that they didn’t care about nudity before or after their shifts. But Ryon didn’t have the time or patience to play along.

“I need you guys,” he said, holding on to the sofa for support. In human form he wasn’t as well as he’d like, but it couldn’t be helped at the moment. “We’ve got an injured hiker out there, and we’re mobilizing.”

Hammer, the team’s gentle giant and Nick’s righthand man, rubbed his bald head, perplexed. “That’s not our job. What about Search and Rescue?”

“The woman appeared to me in astral form and begged for my help,” he explained impatiently, unable to hide his anxiety. He chose to leave out Nick’s interesting response to that very question Ryon had asked. “Getting S and R involved will take time she doesn’t have. There’s no way a bunch of humans will be able to find her before we do, and she’s going to die if we don’t hurry.”

Aric stood. “In that case, I’m in.”

The other three echoed him, and Ryon looked to Micah. The brown wolf/Dreamwalker had been rescued along with Aric, weeks ago, by the Pack and Rowan, Micah’s sister, an LAPD cop who turned out to be Aric’s mate. Micah had fared much worse in the lab facility where he and Aric had been held, and had endured heinous experiments for months at the hands of the now-deceased Dr. Gene Bowman. Micah was horribly scarred inside and out. But with drugs and therapy he was making progress, it seemed.

“You ready to test the waters?” Ryon asked him. He was fairly sure Nick wouldn’t object to their Pack brother stretching his long-unused muscles while assisting on a simple rescue. If so, he’d take the heat later.

Micah nodded eagerly, pushing a long strand of brown hair from his face. “You bet. If I have to stay behind again, I’ll lose what’s left of my mind.”

“That’s settled, then. We’re meeting Nick at the hangar with the medical team. Anybody know where Jax is?” Jaxon Law was their unofficial Pack leader, right after Nick.

“I’ll find him and Rowan. We’ll see you there.” Aric jogged off.

“I’ll get dressed and be there in a few.”

Ryon shifted again and took off in the direction of his personal quarters. Everyone had his own apartment at the compound and Ryon’s was situated at the end of one of the wings that housed the Pack and the rest of the staff. At his door, he shifted to human form again and cursed the necessity. His wolf was much stronger and faster in many aspects. He could follow a scent trail and locate someone in a way that was impossible as a man. But they would need vehicles and emergency equipment. No help for that.

Anxious, he punched his code into the security pad and let himself into his quarters. As quickly as possible, given his own injuries, he dressed in a T-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots, and then braced his hands on the dresser. Mirrors didn’t lie, and this one was telling him to go straight back to bed and stay there for another week.

Unfortunately, on top of looking like shit, he felt even worse. As he headed out again, the stab of pain in his side reminded him that he’d missed the promised dose of pain meds. But it wasn’t the pain that concerned him— he’d been through plenty of scrapes and survived. It was the possibility that his body might fail him before he found the woman.

He didn’t doubt that if something happened to him, the Pack would find her. But every instinct in his body screamed that it was vitally important that he be with them. He couldn’t fail.

Half-limping, he jogged into the hangar to see Nick and the others waiting. The group of men, plus the medical team, was swallowed by the cavernous space that held a number of vehicles, including SUVs, three Hueys, and a private jet. Several pairs of eyes turned in his direction, and a couple of his buddies exchanged dubious looks.

Aric shook his head. “You need to sit this one out, bro.”

“I agree,” Jax said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Forget it.” Slowing to a walk, he joined his team. “The woman reached out to me for help, nobody else. That makes it sort of personal.”

Jax persisted. “We’ll find her and bring her here. You’ve done enough—”

“We’re wasting time,” he snapped. “Can we just get on with the plan?”

Anger flashed in Jax’s gaze and for a couple of heartbeats, Ryon thought they were about to get into it. Nick didn’t intervene, simply watched and waited. Even Aric, the smartass, went silent. But then his friend relented, albeit reluctantly. “Fine. But if you pass out, I’m not carrying your stubborn ass back to the vehicles.”

“Like nobody’s had to carry you before,” he shot back. Jax had no comeback, and the decency to appear contrite.

The tension gradually dissipated as Nick brought them up to speed. “I contacted the rangers’ station and learned some interesting things. First, the woman we’re looking for is probably Daria Bradford. She’s a wildlife biologist studying the wolf population in the Shoshone—the real kind.”

Daria. What a pretty name. Ryon’s insides fluttered, but he hid his reaction.

Micah snorted. “Wolves? How’s that for irony?”

“They’re also not too concerned about her just yet. Miss Bradford checked in with the rangers this morning as scheduled, and gave them the coordinates for her next campsite. She’s not due to call in for another few hours.”