“I guess I was desperate for them not to abandon me I didn’t count on the alpha’s urge to leave me behind would be greater than the threat of Skins. The alpha ordered everyone on a pack run. The Skins in the copters showed up and they killed everyone, except me. I hid by my mother’s body and then used my powers to transport myself into the cover of the trees. When I returned, the helicopters were beginning to land, I guess, to claim their prizes. I felt horrible and guilty. It was my fault. I used my powers to cremate the bodies so there could be no wolf trophies. And then I used them to dismantle the copters… I gave them more of a chance than they gave the pack. Skilled pilots could land, even with damaged machines. These pilots were not skilled.”
Troy held out his arms. She resisted at first, but he enveloped her in a tight hug.
“It wasn’t your fault. They never should have abandoned you. Never. You only wanted to belong.”
“I can’t belong, Troy.” His jacket muffled her voice as she buried her face into his shoulder. “You must understand this. I’m not meant to belong to a wolf pack. Whatever I am, I don’t fit into the structure of a normal pack. Even one like this filled with hybrids and half-breeds.”
“Let’s not think about that now. Let’s relax, get you settled. Live for today.”
“What are you going to do, Troy? I can’t stay here and I won’t subject you to a nomadic life when you need a pack.”
She lifted her head.
“I’m going out for supplies. We need food for tonight. Stay inside, lock the cabin.”
After he left she knew the truth. Troy couldn’t stay with her. He was too used to the Skin life with a pack.
Jenny went for a walk to think.
In the distance, she saw what looked like ominous figures in robes. The stench of evil invaded her nostrils and her hackles rose. Not again!
She shifted into wolf and began running toward the threat when suddenly something snapped on her leg. Bone broke and she howled in terror and pain.
Blood poured from her wounds, pooling on the muddy ground. Jenny screamed inside, but in wolfskin, the sound came as a low howl. The trap’s steel jaws sank deep into flesh and bone. Her leg was broken. She’d heard it snap like a twig.
Fighting against the instinct to pull free, shake the trap loose, she forced herself to remain still and use her intellect. She was at least a mile away from any outbuildings in the ranch. Even if she could force herself to shift into Skin, Jenny knew she lacked the strength to set herself free.
She listened instead, panting, trying to assess her surroundings. If only Troy were closer! He could easily spring the trap. But Troy was far from here.
Anguished, she howled in pain and fear. Couldn’t work her extraordinary powers in wolfskin.
Nothing answered, but the rasp of tree branches rustling in the wind, and dry, dead leaves stirring at her head.
No, wait…
In the distance, a low wolf howl answered back.
Hope leapt up, and then died. Probably a real wolf.
Jenny licked the air, her wolf senses kicking into overdrive. Harder to fight them now that she grew weaker.
Leaves and undergrowth crunched. The smell of male Skin rose in her nostrils. Growling, she turned her head and saw a handsome man, about thirty, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans.
He had an air of concern and didn’t carry a rifle. Still…
She growled deeper.
“Easy now,” the Skin soothed. “I know it hurts, girl. Easy. I’m here to help.”
Right. And I’m the big, bad wolf. Instinct made her snap her jaws at him.
The Skin stepped back. “I don’t want to muzzle you. You’re in pain and if you move any more, you risk losing that leg. So let’s make a deal. You keep your jaws to yourself and I’ll work down here, on this trap.”
Jenny went still, watching, alert for any sign this Skin wanted to further hurt her. But he knelt down, his big hands working at the trap and released it. Pressure eased.
With extreme gentleness, he lifted her leg from the steel jaws. He sighed. “That looks bad. Broken, most likely. I have materials for a splint and something to stop that bleeding. My Jeep’s not far. Hang in there.”
He picked up the cell phone hanging from his belt and punched some numbers. He frowned. “Aiden, it’s Professor Jeff Chance. I know you’re probably on the range, but call me soon as you get this message. I found a female wolf caught in a trap near the den. She’s injured badly and I may need your help moving her.”
He hung up, eyed her. “Aiden has a way with wolves. I’ll be back.”
This was Professor Chance they mentioned, the one studying the Timberline pack.
A friend. A rescuer, not the one who set the trap.
Don’t leave me.
Every cell in her body knew something worse than the wolf trap was coming for her.
But her mind was fogged and she couldn’t think straight. Professor Chance stood and ran off through the woods.
She watched him leave, and then pushed aside the wolf instinct. Jenny forced herself to shift to save herself. Pain coursed through her body. Whimpering, she clothed herself.
Jenny crawled away through the dirt, dragging her injured leg behind her. From a short distance away, she heard low laughter. Whoever set that trap was coming for her. She struggled to stand, and bit back a cry of pain as her injured leg buckled beneath her.
Something whooshed through the air and a needle stung her on the neck. Dizziness claimed her. She felt vision grow gray, and then darker.
Chance had left, getting help.
But for her, it
