Savage Smoke (25 page)

A howl, and then another and another, echoed from different locations in the forest. Her forest, her wildlife preserve, not a place for a beast like her visitor, and most definitely not a place for the aggressive lot in the forest. She swiped her face with the bottom of her shirt and looked toward the woods.

About thirty yards away in the mowed meadow, her wolf circled with another, close-in-size, milky-eyed wolf with a deformed face, both spot-lighted in the yard light. They flashed razor sharp teeth and glowing eyes, with the exception of the one’s coated eye. Their vicious growls and snapping jaws filled the air. Olivia found her tranq gun on the ground and grabbed it. By the time she turned for a shot, she saw the tail end of both wolves leaping into the woods, her wolf chasing the other.

Olivia leaned against the barn, adjusting her position in accordance with her pain. She thought of the curious readings she sensed from her wolf, not sure of their meaning. She never questioned first impressions from readings anymore. Years of experiences proved first intuitive readings rang as authentic truth in almost every case.

She closed her eyes and pictured her wolf looking at her for the first time, the way his head snapped in her direction and how their gazes met and connected. She touched her neck, sliding fingertips up her cheek where his tongue touched her skin.

Her breath caught, heart raced, and her eyes opened wide. She laughed out loud, maybe in relief, maybe in a small fit of hysteria, or maybe because she consider that wolf as “her” wolf. Her “stimulation” readings from him threw her off, knowing it wasn’t a possibility. She would check with an area forester or park manager regarding the wolf pack.

On shaky legs she shoved away from the barn siding and walked toward the house. Olivia dropped the gun just inside the porch and then marched through the house, until she stood outside the bathroom door.

“I came in for a flashlight, still haven’t looked in on the animals. It will take me a while, Lace. Are you going to be alright?” Olivia spoke through the closed door.

“I’ll be in bed before you get back and won’t care if the lights go out again. Got to leave early, I’m needed back in the classroom by tomorrow evening.”

“Okay, I’ll have coffee ready.”

Olivia snatched the flashlight from on top of her refrigerator in case the lights went out again. She slung the tranq rifle over her shoulder by its leather gun strap and headed out to her mending critters. An owl hooted nearby and she jumped. She scanned the back tree line, listening for wolves. Nothing.

For the first time since, Rebel, her Australian Shepherd, died, she was thankful he hadn’t been there tonight. She knew Rebel would have attacked to protect and she also knew he wouldn’t have survived. Perhaps that was exactly what happened one week ago. Rebel protected and lost. Her heart cracked a little more for the loss of her friend.

She walked through the barn housing the cages of a broken-winged red-tailed hawk, a healing ground hog that got caught in a trap, and a young maimed raccoon, now healed and nearly ready for release. She gave them fresh water and checked bandages and bedding. All looked good for the evening. She’d brought her small goat herd inside earlier—they were all bedded down for the night as well.

After leaving the barn, Olivia inspected the back area one more time, noticing the motion light was off. She closed the porch door gently behind her, set the flashlight on a windowsill nearby, and slid the gun off her shoulder, leaning it against the doorframe.

“I called Chance and left a message on his phone,” Lacey said, startling Olivia and making her stumble. Olivia latched onto a wicker chair before she fell. Lacey continued, “Told him to stop here if he wanted a date, phone calls wouldn’t work for you.”

“What! Who’s Chance? What in the hell are you talking about, and why are you sitting out here in the dark?” Olivia grumbled.

“I wanted you to know I left a message on his phone in case I forget to tell you in the morning. He’s a wonderful, caring man, all into nature, just like you.”

“Didn’t we just have this conversation? God, Lacey, when will you stop? I don’t want a date with anyone, I’m happy alone.”

“You said you’d go out with him, before you went checking on your animals, before I got in the tub. Doesn’t matter, this will be the last man I want you to meet. Promise.”

Olivia’s eyes acclimated to the dark interior of her porch. She saw Lacey arch a well-groomed eyebrow, her movement accentuated by the outside light filtering through the branches of Olivia’s one oak tree between her house and barns. She rolled her eyes and sighed, her head, back, and chest aching.

“I’ll do this, only because by doing it, you’ll never—and I mean
never
, send another man my way again.”

“I won’t, because I won’t have to. You’ll fall for this guy. He’s a forester. One of the guest speakers at the college seminar I attended, only instead of talking about cultivating a healthy, healing forest, he was more into wolf sightings and their habitat. I met him personally at the professor’s meeting afterward. When he told me he resided in your neck of the woods, I asked him if he was single…and the rest is history.” Lacey giggled, which tensed Olivia’s jaw even more.

“God, Lacey, you never cease with your pushing. There are so many other great uses for that kind of energy, and yet you waste it on me. Wow.”

Olivia shuffled straight to her bathroom, snapping on the light. Her eyes automatically squinted when she saw her reflection in the mirror. “Oh my God,” popped out.

“It isn’t that bad. This guy’s a real gentleman, well, kind of a hot looking nice gentleman.” Lacey said from the hallway.

“See you in the morning, sis.” Olivia closed the door before Lacey saw her condition. Olivia’s shirt wore remnants of vomit. Her hair strayed in ratted disarray from its tie, and the filth on her face showed streamline moisture tracks from tears. Olivia learned long ago she couldn’t share stories of wildlife with her sister. Lacey would go on a rampage against the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She wanted Olivia to move back to Lower Michigan’s most southern area, especially after Ray died.

“Night, sis,” Lacey said from the other side of the bathroom door. “Tell me how it goes when you meet Chance. Don’t you just love his name? I’ll try not to call you every hour for a report.”

“Stop. Go find your own guy and leave me be.”

“That’s just it; I have lots of guys beating down my door. You have zippo. You’ll need to douche with Rustolium in order to get those feminine parts back in condition.”

“I have a battery charged way I keep my lady parts in working order.” Olivia chuckled.

“Olivia! I didn’t know you had it in you.” Lacey laughed.

“I don’t, yet, but it’s on my agenda for tonight, so close your bedroom door tight.” Olivia grinned at her little funny, and Lacey laughed even louder as she walked away.

Olivia turned on the water and filled her jetted sunken tub. One of the few selfish things she afforded herself when they built the house. She got a Jacuzzi, and Ray got a crazy huge shower with multiple showerheads and wall benches.

Her whole body ached, every cell, zapping any stamina left. She slipped out of her jeans and pulled off her T-shirt. Steam wafted, thickening the air, but not enough it masked the mirror. Olivia stood staring at herself, naked. Her muscle hadn’t lost much of its firm tone, but the tightness of her aged skin was another matter.

Then, she noticed something else, looked away from the mirror image and down at herself. “What?” She touched the tops of her breasts. Above each nipple, a huge red and purple paw print appeared, as if tattooed.

Chance leaned against a tree, brushing a twig from his chest hair, uncaring of his nakedness. His fingertips touched broken skin and followed a deep scratch from mid-sternum to the inside of his hip. It must have happened when he jumped the eight-foot fence. The wound would heal before morning.

More important, he’d lost the rogue alpha, again. Just like before. The Lycan International Investigation Agency (LIIA) identified this alpha as Smoke. He completely vanished, leaving no scent trail, not even a blood spill. Chance never got close enough to clamp his jaws around any part of the elusive wolf.

But more perplexing was that woman. How her scent drew him away from the rogue he’d tracked for months. He first saw her in the window, looking at him. In that moment, an undeniable connection occurred, a deep admiration, respect…or something deeper, unexplainable. She totally obliterated his focus. He couldn’t decipher it, but she captivated him, drew him in as if some kind of spell bound them.

Then, she was crouching outside, emanating fear on the light breeze. His wolf instinct answered her call for protection with a force as powerful as firemen pulling victims from a blazing inferno. Such a fragile human body, he was afraid he’d killed her when her head hit the ground. His only thought was getting between her and Smoke. He didn’t want her wandering around the yard with Smoke and his pack so close.

Her scent pervaded his consciousness, like the taste of her skin. Both lodged comfortably inside his brain, a cherished memory. She sat there, afraid, yet strong, fighting down panic. He enjoyed her trembling body, and her confidence.

What in the hell happened back there?

It made no sense, the trail of Smoke’s pack ended on that woman’s property. His team had followed the rogue pack across France and into the states. Smoke only concentrated on areas free of fences and people. Chance couldn’t rule out how close her property was to the LIIA Ops facility, only a few miles away. Plus it wasn’t far from the village limits, and Chance knew what Smoke was capable of doing to the locals.

She didn’t carry the mark of a male mate. He understood from a fellow forester there was a wildlife preserve taking up over two thousand acres of wooded land in the area. He must have stumbled onto it when he leaped over the fence.

His forester guise would last a while longer. He needed access onto her property in daylight hours. For some reason the rogue pack ran mostly nocturnal. Daylight hours left them vulnerable in their sleep and allowed Chance’s team an opportunity at finding Smoke’s lair.

“Trevor.”
Chance put out a telepathic pack call, as only pack members could for each other. Trevor was the best agent Chance ever trained, besides being his closest friend and his right hand man at LIIA.

“Hey, boss man,”
Trevor answered.

“I found something. I’ll want you and a few others with me tomorrow morning. We’ll need an up-close and personal scan of this area. The rogues are here.”

“You need me there now?”

One thing about Trevor Drakeland, he never hesitated jumping into the action, the more dangerous, the more he wanted in.

“No, I’m good. See you in the morning.”

“Got it. I’ll have Jase and Dir with me. Meet you at the club-house.”

A howl in the distance threw Chance into alert mode. He’d tracked this pack himself, not only because they went against Lycan laws by killing innocents, but they did it in a most elusive way. They vanished many times without leaving any scent trails.

Tonight Chance came close to capturing Smoke. But, for that woman, the one he couldn’t banish from his memory anymore than he could have stopped her from distracting him as he closed in on the rogue leader. Just the thought of her fired his cock into attention. Chance never experienced anything like her in his past; no woman claimed so much power over him. His right hand fisted around his heavy shaft.

He had turned away from Smoke for one moment and in the next moment he was gone without a trace. Then again, after Chance’s interaction with the female, he confronted the rogue alpha, and then lost Smoke a second time. Arousal fled and frustration settled in.

Chance howled in human-form and within seconds, in a flurry of bones cracking, muscles stretching, claws and fangs extending, he transformed into his furry self.

He ran back to Blue, his midnight blue Dodge truck, parked along a two-track on the public land. Chance shifted into his human form, gathered his clothes from the truck seat, and dressed quickly. He climbed in, started his truck, and then maneuvered onto the main road, turning toward the lone woman’s home.

An eight-foot fence ran along the roadside, enclosing a huge wooded area. With his window down, he scented for her, but instead picked up Smoke. The same scent had eluded him only a short time ago. He stopped the truck, pulled a tranquilizer hand gun from his glove box, and got out.

“I know you’re close, you son-of-a… Show yourself.”

Smoke’s scent grew stronger, like a rabid killer, so familiar and yet different. Chance set himself into a battle stance, prepared for attack, tranquilizer gun in hand.

“Come out, coward,” Chance yelled. The rogue’s scent came at Chance from all directions, so close, and suddenly it drifted away until Chance couldn’t scent the rogue alpha at all.

What is this guy’s game?

An eerie prickle combed over his scalp, shooting a deep worry for the woman he’d seen earlier. He assumed she lived alone. He jumped back into the truck and drove down the road until he came upon a two-track drive. His truck lights flashed across a large mailbox listed as
Bentley, 120 Wayward
Road
, beneath hung a wooden sign,
Nature’s Friends In Need Wildlife Refuge and Preserve.

Chance cut off his truck lights and swerved into the drive.

Ms. Bentley, here I come.

He drove about half a mile along the winding wooded drive before he saw her house. He backed up, losing sight of it and parked off the edge. At eleven o’clock, she should be inside for the night. Chance figured she’d have another motion detecting light in her front yard, like in her back. He picked up a dog scent, maybe a week old, nothing fresh.

His night vision cued in on the motion sensors near the light fixtures. He found a black-out spot, stooped low and crept closer to the house. If he stuck near the siding he would go undetected. There were no active laser beam set-ups or cameras.