Hours later she woke to full sunshine, thirsty, sore, thankfully still alive and about to be rescued.
But the wolf who’d saved her life was nowhere to be found.
Gavin Campbell was a man on a mission.
He marched into the building, quickly took note of all the things he no longer needed to take note of now that he was a civilian, and then headed to the counter.
“Hi,” he said to the skinny-looking guy who was nervously shuffling paperwork. “I’m looking for Suzanne Bailey.”
“Who?” the young man asked as if he’d never heard the name.
“Suzanne Bailey,” Gavin said slowly. “She works here.”
The man shook his head. “I don’t think so. I…um…I’ve been here for…uh…three months now, I think, and I’ve never heard the name.”
“Is there someone who’s worked here longer than that?” Gavin asked as dread started to pound through him. Suzanne’s home had been boarded up, the place obviously abandoned, so if she no longer worked here then he needed to find someone who knew what happened to her.
“Ah…I’ll just ch–check,” the young man said nervously. Gavin knew he could come off as intimidating at times, but he wasn’t about to start backing down now. If scaring people just a little got him some answers, then it was well worth it. The kid scurried from the counter and returned a moment later with a man who seemed to be in charge.
“Shane Jenkins,” the older man said extending his hand.
“Gavin Campbell,” he answered, dutifully shaking the guy’s hand. The man obviously wanted his name and Gavin wasn’t about to withhold it. If he didn’t find Suzanne soon, his name was going to be on everybody’s lips anyway. He’d tear the damn mountain down barehanded if that’s what it took.
“Steven says you’re looking for Suzanne Bailey.”
“That’s right,” Gavin said, trying not to show his impatience. At least this guy seemed to recognize her name. “Do you know where I can find her?”
“How do you know Suzanne?”
“I’m her brother,” he said trying to sound casual.
Both men gave him a look that clearly showed their disbelief.
“Half brother,” he added grudgingly.
“Look,” the older guy said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “ordinarily I’m not allowed to give out personal information about people who’ve worked here, but in Suzanne’s case we don’t actually know anything. She resigned suddenly about twelve months ago. She didn’t leave a forwarding address or discuss her next job so even if we were allowed to help you we wouldn’t be able to anyway.”
“Did she give a reason for resigning?”
“Nope, she came in with her fiancé one day and just resigned.”
“F–Fiancé?” Gavin asked reflexively, regretting the stuttered, shocked word almost immediately.
“Gavin, is it?” the older guy asked, even though it seemed pretty obvious that he hadn’t forgotten. “If your sister didn’t tell you she was changing jobs, didn’t contact you with a new address, and didn’t invite you to her wedding, maybe she doesn’t want you in her life. Maybe you should just go home and forget about visiting her.”
“Yeah,” Gavin said, deliberately giving the impression that he was going to give up looking for her. “I guess I spent too many years in the Navy. She probably got used to not having me around.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t help,” the older man said with a sympathetic frown.
“Me, too,” Gavin said as he forced a casual shrug and turned to leave the building.
* * * *
Hensen Bright deliberately ignored the delicious scent by turning and running in the other direction. Yes, it was cowardly. Hell, it probably put him in the realms of totally fucking stupid, but the last thing he needed or wanted was a mate.
He had plans. He didn’t want to be tied down to a mate and pups just yet. He was barely one hundred and four years old. He had a lot more living to do before settling into domestic drudgery.
Ironically it seemed he wasn’t the only one avoiding his mate. Whenever Hensen discovered the delicious scent, it was obvious the wolf was moving away from him just as fast as he was running in the other direction.
Thank fuck this assignment was going to be finished in a matter of days. It had taken far longer than planned, and with Gideon and Brigden tied down with their mate, Suzanne, it had taken even longer. He was happy for the three of them. It just wasn’t his idea of a good time.
He’d have to drop by occasionally for general system maintenance and retraining for a few years—at least until Dry Creek had a pack member with a better grasp on technology—but he could handle that. His relief that it was necessary had nothing to do with the idea of checking in on his mate from time to time.
His paws stumbled slightly as instinct warred with logic. His wolf side desperately wanted a glimpse of his mate, but as a man Hensen didn’t need to know what she looked like. The last thing he needed was her face flashing through his mind as he chased tail. There were plenty of pretty she-wolves happy to play. He had at least fifty more years of freedom, and he planned to enjoy every one.
Of course his wolf half whined pathetically as he forced himself to move further away. As soon as he was close enough to the Dry Creek pack he changed into his humanoid form and jogged back to his accommodations.
* * * *
Kade Ridges tried desperately to slow his rapid heartbeat as the other wolf finally turned and headed back the way he’d come.
That was too fucking close.
Kade had spent nearly seven months staying far enough away from Hensen Bright, avoiding what some would say was inevitable, to fail now.
Hell, just the thought of Hensen’s strong arms closing around him had his dick rock hard. He could close his eyes and almost feel the man slide deep inside his ass, the fucking desperate as Hensen rode him to orgasm and then claimed him for his own. He didn’t want to admit—even to himself—how many dreams he’d had of making love to the man he was deliberately avoiding.
But, his need for the other werewolf didn’t make any sense. Yes, it hurt to be rejected by a man who should have been eager to meet him, but Kade had found his mate a long time ago. She was human. She’d been very young the day they’d met, and she’d only known him in his wolf form, but for the past eleven years he’d held out hope that she would again visit his part of the mountain.
Crawling to the exit of the den he’d been hiding in, Kade sniffed the air, glad to confirm that Hensen was truly moving away. He waited several more minutes before leaving his hiding place and heading toward the cliff face where he’d found his true-mate this day so many years ago.
* * * *
Something was wrong. Gavin could feel it in his bones.
He’d spent days searching the Internet for details on people Suzanne had last worked with or had last seen. He’d tracked down and spoken to all of them except one. Jay Holks.
But it seemed Jay Holks didn’t exist. Oh, there were work records and birth records and all sorts of other interesting tidbits of information, but none of it quite added up. If Kade was still working black ops, he’d swear the guy was an undercover enemy operative. Jay Holks had disappeared around the same time Suzanne had mysteriously left for a happy new life with her supposed fiancé without telling anyone where she was moving to or what her plans were. It seemed too much of a coincidence.
What the hell had Suzanne gotten herself involved in?
* * * *
Maggie stood near the edge of the cliff that had almost claimed her life this day eleven years ago and lamented the addition of a safety rail. That concrete and metal construction marring the beautiful forest was her fault. It was understandable that the authorities wouldn’t want anyone else falling down there, but it was quite a way off the walking track. If Maggie had owned just a lick of sense back then she would never have been anywhere near the edge of such a dangerous fall.
She glanced around the area as she reached for her water bottle. Unlike her previous visit, this time she knew exactly what she was doing. Not only was she wearing the proper footwear and carrying a backpack full of supplies, she also carried a GPS locator, a satellite phone, and a first aid kit. And she’d advised several different people of her whereabouts and intentions.
She also had ten years of training and experience now. Ordinarily she wouldn’t even consider going hiking alone any more, but this visit felt necessary. In some ways an apology of sorts or maybe even a way to close this part of her life so she could move on.
Nobody had ever believed her story of the wolf that kept her from freezing to death that night.
Many theories had been bandied around—she’d been delusional from the cold, or she’d retreated into her imagination when she’d thought she would die, or even that she’d made the whole thing up to get even more attention—but none of them had explained how she’d survived a freezing cold night in shorts and a T-shirt without even a touch of hypothermia.
She’d read that wild wolves had a lifespan of about eight to ten years, so she knew that her wolf was probably long gone, but something inside her wanted to be here. She would have come years ago, but when her mother had fallen ill, that had taken priority. Eight long years of diagnoses and treatments, high hopes and crushing disappointments later, her mom had died in terrible pain and barely aware of anything around her.
Perhaps that was why Maggie felt the overwhelming need to be here now. Home was clear on the other side of the country, but this was where memories of her mother were the strongest. The morning that rescuers had winched Maggie to safety had been a turning point in her life, and she’d finally understood the deeply protective, all-encompassing love her mother had for her. Memories of that pivotal moment in her life had helped her cope as her mother’s condition had slowly worsened and the cancer had eaten away at her personality as well as her insides.
“I miss you, Mom,” she whispered into the crisp morning air.
She turned in a circle, wondering what to do now. It seemed kind of ridiculous that she hadn’t thought past actually getting here. She had her tent and camping supplies of course, but now that she was here she wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting.
Maggie could hear the rustling of animals moving around the forest, and she had enough experience hiking in areas closer to home to be able to identify the animals by size if not by species but it was the blue eyes watching her from only a few feet away that had her jumping back in surprise.
“Sorry,” the man said stepping closer and reaching a hand out to steady her. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Oh, I…um…That’s o–okay. I just wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. That’s all.”
He laughed softly and gave her a brilliant smile. “I wasn’t expecting to find someone here either. Do you mind if I stay?”
“Of course not,” she said, her mother’s lessons on manners kicking in. It didn’t matter that she was in the middle of nowhere, on a walking track rarely used, in the off-peak part of the camping season, in an area that she knew from experience that no one was close enough to hear her scream…Fuck, screw manners. “I…I was just going anyway. It was…um…nice to meet you.”
She turned quickly back the way she’d come as she decided a rapid escape was called for. The guy did not seem like a regular hiker. With his broad shoulders, short, military-style haircut, and lack of camping supplies, he was probably some sort of survival nut. She’d seen enough B-grade movies to know that running into people like that in an isolated area never went well.
She was a good hundred feet away before she realized her reaction was probably ridiculous. She glanced back to find the man watching her curiously, an amused smile on his face. Apparently he found the idea of scaring women funny.
The independent, kickass, stand-up-for-her-rights side of her wanted to go back and confront him for his attitude, maybe even wipe that irritating smile from his face, but thankfully the mature, sane woman that she’d grown into overruled the hotheaded inclination. She continued walking quickly until the man was completely out of her sight.
Maggie didn’t even see the wolf until she was almost face to muzzle with it.
Gavin watched the woman make a hasty retreat and smiled at her sensible decision. He actually hoped she was carrying a gun in that heavy-looking backpack. Unfortunately, despite the myriad of deadly animals in the forest, chances were the woman was at more risk from other hikers than anything else.
He was about to turn around and head back to his sister’s abandoned house when he heard the woman scream.
Without even having to think about it, he ran at full speed, his hunting knife in one hand and his handgun in the other. The wolf was already on top of her, biting at her face when he ran into the small clearing. Its packmates scattered as soon as he ran toward her, the attacking wolf quickly leaping away as Gavin got close. He did a quick three-sixty, making certain that no other packmates stalked them before he dropped to his knees and tried to assess the damage.
The woman was a fucking mess.
But it was the wide gash on her throat that threatened her life.