Opposition: Montana Wolves, Book Four (Montana Wolves series 4) (2 page)

This, though? This was a little much, even for her. It was like every move any of them made required a frigging quorum over it. And she wasn't the only one who was feeling that way.

The wolves were all getting testy. Not ideal when things were already sketchy between her and most of the rest of the pack because of her issues with having another human in the house. Amber had hardly come down from her bedroom since the skirmish and it seemed like every two hours, the rest of them were gathering around to discuss the state of the union, plans to turn Amber into a werewolf come the full moon and everything in between.

Never a dull moment.

It should have thrilled her. Should have heated her blood and gotten her adrenaline going in preparation for combat. Battle was what she'd always lived for. The thrill of the hunt. The togetherness of the pack.

But ever since the Kotke, things had been off with more than just the pack.

Things had been off with her.

She let out another sigh and opened the dishwasher. Loading each of the dishes in with a practiced rhythm, she played out the battle over and over again in her mind.

She'd done well. In fact, it had been one of her better fights, and as a pack, they had prevailed without sustaining a single casualty. It was a near-perfect scenario, if there was one in war.

That didn't change the fact that she had almost died, though.

She’d had Amber with her, and was about to run straight into the woods and find a safe hiding place for the foolish human so she could go back into the fray again without worrying about her. It was only that low, rough voice that had stopped her.

“
Run.
”

He’d warned her. Had told them where to go. In real terms, he’d very probably saved both her and Amber’s lives.

And he was out there somewhere.

That alone would’ve been enough to capture her imagination. The fact that he was also probably her enemy? Well, that was driving her bananas.

Why had he let her live when he could have ended the whole miserable thing right then and there? He wouldn’t have even had to do the deed himself. He could’ve just…let them pass by and not said a word. The half dozen Kotke wolves less than a quarter mile away would’ve done the job for him. Amber would be dead and all would be right in the werewolf world again. At least, according to his brethren.

Just like this whole sudden change of the rules with the pack and Amber, none of it made any damn sense.

She muttered a string of curses under her breath and closed the dishwasher, setting it to start. After running her hands over a dishtowel, she squared her shoulders and tried to pull herself out of the fog she'd been lost in. Maybe a late night run would help.

The pack hadn't gone out to hunt since the battle. Liam, their alpha, wanted to keep everyone close in the event of a second Kotke attack. He hadn’t specifically mentioned running in the more protected area right outside the compound, though, and she was about to take advantage of his oversight. Besides, without Amber at her side, she was hardly a target, and she’d stay close enough that she could run back to the house quickly if she needed to.

And who knew? Maybe if she got outside in the open air, and ran fast enough she would feel like her old, kick-ass self again.

If not, at least she’d get to see something other than these stupid walls for a while.

She crossed the gleaming hardwood floors and stepped out onto the back porch, peering out into the moonlit darkness. It was just after midnight and the rest of the pack had long since gone to bed, but it never hurt to check before stripping down to her birthday suit. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she pulled her t-shirt overhead and shimmied out of her pants.

She set them on the porch stairs and began to jog. Then, there was nothing but the wind. She didn't even focus on shifting. The wolf form would come on its own, but the exhilaration was something she was going to have to work toward tonight. Without so much as noticing the change, she found her feet had become paws, pounding hard against the damp earth, kicking twigs and pebbles into her fur.

She didn't care. She wanted to roll in mud, to bound around trees like they were part of an obstacle course, to chase her tail until she was dizzy with the effort.

Alone in her wolf form, all the troubles of the pack were behind her. The harder she ran, the further they seemed. It wasn’t until her lungs burned that she reluctantly slowed her steps.

If only she could run forever—

Her ears pricked up and she stilled, sniffing the cool night air. There was a strange scent on the air. One that didn’t belong, but, at the same time, was not unfamiliar. No, this was definitely something she'd encountered before. Like the lake over on the Big Sky Canyon lands and something else... fresh cinnamon?

The smell was growing stronger, edging toward her. And the more pronounced it became, the more certain she was that this was no coincidence or wayward woodland creature moving from one territory to another. This was the smell of the enemy.

A Big Sky Canyon wolf on her land.

Maybe that was why she’d been so on edge. Her intuition had sensed the predator even before she had.

Briefly, she considered making her way back to the house, but she dismissed the thought out of hand. It was a single wolf and there was no point in waking up the whole house over something she could handle with one paw behind her back. If by some miracle she was bested and he continued onto the grounds of the compound, the sensors would catch him and alert the pack of his presence. She was only risking her own neck here, and that was fine by her.

Besides…what if it was
him
? Her savior?

No, that smell she would remember. The scent of jack pines and earth. This was different. She dismissed the thought before it dug its hooks in deep.

Instead, she focused instead on readying herself. She poised for attack, angling her back legs for the pounce while she searched through the leaves for a sign of motion and listened carefully for the crackle of leaves. Anything that might give her adversary away. All she had to do was lay in wait, hold back the growl already building in the back of her throat and—

A snap of twigs. There he was. Practically in front of her, blending into the night with his thick, dark coat. If the moonlight hadn't shown her his shadow, she might not have seen him at all. But as it was?

She had him, dead to rights.

She sprang into action, landing on him with fierce determination and clawing at him. The scuffle was so fast that she could hardly tell which part of him she had, so she snapped her jaws wildly, trying for his throat or something soft so she could do some damage.

When she finally caught flesh, she let out a fierce, guttural snarl.

How dare this interloper cross into Pray lands unannounced?

She didn’t have long to think on it, because one second she was on top, and the next they were rolling across the damp earth, over and over again as they battled for supremacy. Razor-sharp teeth nipped her shoulder, and she yelped, bucking hard against him and lunging forward, narrowly missing a shot at his ear.

Even in the midst of her anger, she had to admit, he was an excellent fighter. Far more crafty than the rabble the Kotke had sent the week before, and twice as strong than their strongest.

He was like a professional boxer, deftly avoiding all her attacks and trying to tire her until he could land the knock out.

Well, if that was how he was going to play, then he was in for a rude awakening. She had stamina for days, and when it came to their territory, there was nothing she wouldn't do to protect them.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than he disengaged and stepped back to circle her slowly. She felt a weird tickle in her brain, a sort of vibration, almost like he was trying to communicate with her. She shook her head to clear it and reassess. That was ludicrous. He wasn't of her pack. Either she was addled from the fight or she was imagining things so, even if she'd wanted to hear what this wolf had to say, she couldn't have.

She growled low in her throat, leaning back on her hind legs as if to pounce again. Before she'd gotten her chance, though, he was already trotting behind her, continuing his circles.

She kept her gaze locked on him, appraising his every move. Waiting. Anticipating the next strike.

He was bigger than she'd thought, and had landed a good many blows himself. She was fatigued, and nearly every joint in her body ached with the effort of her battle. Still, even if he was twice her size, there was no doubt in her mind. This was a fight she was going to win.

He paused for just one second and, heart racing, she pounced.

Apparently, it was exactly what he'd thought she’d do, because he was ready for her. She watched in mid-air as he side-stepped her, allowing her front paws to connect hard with the ground as he pinned her down from behind. She tried to roll again, but this time he was having none of it. Each of his paws was the size of an oven mitt, and he kept her there, every inch of his muscular frame tensed, holding her in place.

She flexed and wriggled beneath him in an effort to slither from his hold. If she didn't get out of this, she was done for. She couldn't allow it. Wouldn't let herself go out like this.

But even as she flailed, she sensed a change in him. The weight of him seemed to lessen, the tension seemed to uncoil, the pressure holding her in place became infinitely more concentrated.

She strained to move her head, and with one eye she spotted it in the dim light. There was no longer a paw on hers, but rather a big, masculine hand.

"Shhh. Stop fighting," he said, moving to grip her wrists when she ignored him.

Maybe her luck hadn't completely run out after all.

If she transformed now, his hold on her would slip as he adjusted to the change in her size. Sure, it was a long shot, but she had to take the chance.

After all, it was the only one she had.

Closing her eyes, she focused all her attention on her human form, willing her body to react. Not so easy in this situation when her blood was running hot and her adrenaline was high. When it did, she didn’t hesitate. She bucked hard, yanking her arms outright to her sides at the same time. His grip was strong, but her speed was legend, and she flipped him off her and made for the path.

Okay, so maybe she couldn't beat this guy, but she could get back to the house. She could warn her pack. She could—

Fwap.
Something hard and warm snagged her ankle, and then she was flailing toward the ground, hands outstretched to break her fall.

So this would be the end. Not in the midst of an epic battle between warring packs. Not after logging her tenth kill. No, Maggie Porter, badass extraordinaire was going to go out like a punk, buck naked in the woods.

Leave it to Fate to keep her humble.

CHAPTER TWO

^"
O 
h for crying out loud, will you calm the fuck down,” Grey said, tightening his hold on her legs.

He was trying to go easy on her, but she wasn’t making it easy.

He felt her scrabbling for something with her hands and then promptly regretted not stopping her as a rock hit him in the forehead, dead center.

Not bad. He resisted the urge to rub at the offended spot. She had pretty good aim. He had to give her credit for that much. What he didn't have to give her credit for was, well, anything else, because she was a real pain in the ass so far.

He'd been standing with her ankles in his clutches for a solid minute and she still hadn't said a single word.

"You do realize that if I'd wanted to kill you, I could have done it about a hundred times over by now."

He tugged on her silky ankle and pulled her toward him, and though she tried to use the move to wriggle for escape again, she did nothing more than reinforce his hold on her and give him a stellar view of her pert little ass.

She growled low in her throat.

"How about you throw more rocks at me? I'll make a target in the dirt, and you can make a sort of game out of it. Like a poor man’s game of horseshoes." He chuckled at his own attempt at humor, but she was clearly unimpressed.

"How about I make a chair of your bones?" she asked, her voice modulated to sound falsely pleasant.

And what a voice it was. Like hot, buttered rum, smooth and silky. Melodic and just husky enough to make him wonder what she sounded like during sex.

"She speaks," he observed lightly, making sure to keep his reaction to her from his own voice. Goodwill visit or not, he still shouldn’t be thinking about sleeping with the enemy.

Not even one with a fine ass like that.

He shoved the thought aside and considered his options before finally settling on a compromise.

“Look, I’m willing to let you up, but you have to promise not to run.” Her head was already bobbing in the moonlight and she was opening her mouth to agree when he cut her off. “And you have to promise not to hit me. Or throw rocks. Or bite me. In fact, let’s just go with a sweeping ‘no violence’ rule. Give me five minutes to talk to you and I won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt me. Deal?”

She fell silent again. Was this how he was going to spend his night? Staring at the backside of a naked woman who wouldn't listen? Not that he hadn't had worse nights, but this definitely was not what he'd had in mind when he'd decided to make the trip over here.

Before he was able to come up with another solution, she nodded her gleaming, dark head. “Fine. Five minutes.”

He released her ankles and rolled to his feet, tensed to break into a sprint and chase her down if he had to. But she surprised him by rolling onto her side and shifting to her feet to stand before him.

He had a speech all planned out on the way over. Something about war. And peace. Except every thought drained from his head along with the blood and went straight to his cock. It was dark out but the stars and the moon gave off enough light, even through the thick canopy of trees, that he could see her fairly well.

And what he could see? Was spectacular. Long, thick black hair hung past her shoulders, the waves brushing the tips of her pert breasts. Her stomach was lean, her hips full, and those legs went on forever.