Howl (Winter Pass Wolves Book 1) (3 page)

She’d managed to forget that she was actually going to have to
touch
him.
Crap.

Kneeling next to Harlan on the couch, Penny blew out a breath and leaned over to examine his shoulder. It was a bunch of tiny, deep cuts, not the gnarly wound she’d expected.

“It was just flying tree bark,” Harlan said, his magnificent chest rising and falling as he spoke.

“You were right. It isn’t that bad,” Penny said, gently probing one of the cuts with a finger tip.

Harlan didn’t flinch, though one of his pecs tightened.

“Told you,” he ground out, looking away toward the door again. Ignoring the potential awkwardness that might spring up between them any minute now.

“Alright. I’ll be quick.” Penny spread a little antiseptic gel over each of the cuts, trying to focus on her work. Her eyes strayed over his shoulder to his back, where black swirling tendrils announced a large tattoo of some kind. She peeked, and saw that it was a very simple rendering of a wolf howling at the moon. “Pretty serious about saving the wolves, aren’t you?”

Harlan grunted and shifted, not meeting her gaze or acknowledging her question. Penny grabbed some gauze and medical tape, then started covering his cuts. Her gaze trailed down his front side this time, dipping lower and lower.

Her curiosity earned her an eyeful, making her fumble and get tape stuck to her fingers. She jerked her gaze away from his crotch, but not before she saw the thick, long outline of his cock pressed up next to his fly, running all the way up to the waist of his pants.

Holy cheese and crackers, Batman
.

Not only was Harlan packing some serious heat, he was hard as a rock right now. Penny bit her lip to stifle a laugh as she realized that all his staring off in the distance and shifting in his seat hadn’t been because he disliked her.

No, it was quite the opposite.

For the barest second, Penny almost convinced herself to lean over and cup his thick erection, just see how it felt against her palm. Or kiss his sinful, proud lips, maybe…

Harlan cleared his throat, and Penny realized that she was staring at his mouth, a blank expression on her face.

“Maybe you should head back to bed,” he suggested.

Penny’s mouth opened, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.

“—and get some sleep. You look, uh… worn out,” Harlan finished.

“I—” Penny faltered, her momentary confidence fading. “Uh, right.”

“I’ll clean this stuff up,” Harlan said, clearing his throat again. He was looking anywhere but at Penny, and making her more confused than ever. He might be hard for her, but he didn’t seem very happy about it.

“Alright,” she said, shoulders drooping. Maybe this whole thing was in her head after all, just exhaustion combined with some leftover breakup blues.

“You need help getting there?” he prompted.

“Uh, no,” Penny said, abashed. “I got it.”

“I’ll wake you up at sunrise,” Harlan said, plucking a few bandage wrappers from the couch, staring a hole into the first aid kit.

“Great. Sure.”

Penny lurched to her feet and propelled herself forward, glancing back as she hit the hallway. Harlan was definitely looking at her now, those green eyes of his practically glowing as he watched her walk away. His lips twisted when their gazes caught, but Penny didn’t stop moving.

She scooted straight into the bedroom and closed the door, then climbed onto the bed and sprawled out on her back.

What in the hell was happening between them?

Penny squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for sleep, though it didn’t come for a long, long time.

H
arlan stepped back
into the cabin, a growl rumbling in his throat. The whole world was coated in several fresh feet of snow atop the previously collected drifts, and it was almost as high as Harlan’s waist in some places. He’d made it as far as the main lodge before giving up and turning back.

The sun would warm the world and tamp a little of the snow down by late morning, but until then there was no point in waking Penny up. No car was going anywhere anytime soon, probably not for a couple of days.

Harlan shook of the snow and stripped off his jacket and boots, wracking his brain for a new plan. Last night, he hadn’t thought much farther than
get her the hell out of Dodge
, but the icy light of morning was proving him a fool.

A snow mobile could get her away from Winter Pass, but where would she go? It could only take her a couple of miles safely, and there wasn’t anything close by that would be a reliable, warm shelter. If Harlan sent her out into the world like that, she’d be in serious trouble again once night fell.

Something, anything
…

But no. He had nothing. Penny was stuck here with a bunch of strange men, all of whom happened to be werewolves, and at least one of was way too interested in her every movement. If interest was conveyed in the sense of having a constant hard-on anytime they had to so much as breathe the same air…

If only Harlan was a normal human guy. Even being a fucked up former soldier with PTSD, he’d find a way to pursue his pretty redheaded companion. He sure as shit wouldn’t be standing here staring forlornly at the bedroom door, longing for some attention.

He’d have Penny pinned to the bed, fucking her brains out, ruining her for other men.

Another soft growl slipped from his throat. Harlan needed to get her out of his head, start thinking about how he was going to keep himself from turning her. He didn’t have to glance at the calendar to know that tonight was the first night of the full moon. The moon ruled the wolf, the wolf ruled the man, and therefore the man always knew the calendar by heart.

Moving over to the stove to boil some water for coffee, Harlan turned over different ideas in his head. None of them worked, except maybe…

What if Penny stayed here, or up in the main lodge? Harlan and Paxton could lead Chase as far away as possible. If they left soon, went far enough… when their wolves took over, they might be more interested in hunting animals than backtracking to find Penny.

Harlan sighed. As far as plans went, it wasn’t the best thing he’d ever come up with, but it was all he had. If Harlan led the Triad due east, the opposite direction from town, they’d probably lead the hunters away, too.

“Hey.”

Harlan jerked out of his thoughts, turning to find Penny standing a few feet behind him. She wore her own clothes this time, a nice red plaid shirt and jeans that clung to her curves just right, making Harlan’s mouth water a little. Her wavy red hair was pulled into a braid, fastened at the end with a few threads that looked like they’d come from some part of her shirt.

Her heart-shaped face, big brown eyes, and freckle-covered nose were just overkill. If she kept looking at him like that, all innocent and tempting, Harlan was going to tackle her to the ground and rip her clothes off.

He turned back to the stove and took the kettle off, pouring the water over a filter and some grounds he’d set up earlier, which drained into a large glass container. The coffee’s fragrance bloomed under his nose, comforting him, washing away Penny’s intrusive scent for a few moments.

“Coffee?” he asked after a minute, not turning to look.

“You got cream?”

Harlan turned to find Penny staring out the window at the fresh snowfall.

“Yeah.”

He fixed her a cup and left it on the counter with the cream, taking his own cup and retreating to his armchair. He couldn’t afford a repeat of yesterday’s little scene on the couch, better to sit where Penny couldn’t join him.

“Thanks,” Penny said, taking her cup and sitting on the couch across from him. “So… there’s even more snow today, looks like.”

“Yep.”

“I hate to say this, Harlan, but I think you might be stuck with me for a couple of days,” Penny said. A blush rose in her cheeks after a moment, making Harlan wonder what she was thinking. She was too far away for him to scent her, but yesterday her desire for him had been plain enough. Resisting her pheromones in the air was one of the hardest things Harlan had ever done.

Hell, if she hadn’t just been through a terrible ordeal and almost froze to death in the woods, Harlan wouldn’t have even tried.

“You’re going up to the main lodge tonight, actually,” Harlan said, squirming in his seat, trying to disguise his body’s response to her presence. “I’m the one who’s leaving.”

“What? Why?” Penny’s brow creased. “You’re going to leave me here with a bunch of crazy hunters?”

“I admit, it’s not ideal,” Harlan said. An understatement. “I’m going to lead them off into the wilderness, away from town. That’s why I’m leaving. I already stocked the main lodge and set up a couple of the rooms in the event of the cabin generators going down, so you’ll have plenty of firewood and food. Wifi, even, as long as the power doesn’t go out.”

Penny’s incredulous expression made Harlan’s lips lift at the corners.

“You guys have internet out here?”

“We’re loners, not cavemen,” Harlan said.

“Man, I wish I’d brought my laptop from my car,” Penny sighed. “I don’t know what I’d even look at, though. My Facebook is all weddings and babies, which I find depressing. And there aren’t any good job postings for art teachers in the middle of the school year, which is even sadder.”

After a moment she shook her head.

“Sorry. You don’t need to know all that,” she said.

“It’s okay,” Harlan said. And it was, really; immediate threats of hunters and werewolves aside, a little part of him was mulling over her other problems, seeking a solution.

He wanted to help her, which was… yeah, totally outside the norm for him.

A crackling electronic noise made him jump. Harlan and Penny looked toward the sound, coming from a walkie-talking sitting on its charging base next to the front door.

“H, we got company,” came a staticky voice. Chase. “They’re tripping sensors on the property line. We got about fifteen minutes before they’re in our hair.”

“Shit. Okay.” Harlan jumped up, grabbing for his jacket as he shoved his feet into his boots. “The hunters are back. They don’t know you’re here, and I want to keep it that way. Hunker down in the bedroom. Lock the door, and don’t come out for anyone except me. Got it?”

Penny’s eyes were wide, but she nodded and stood.

“Go,” Harlan said, shooing her.

Penny scampered into the hallway, looking back at him a couple of times. Only when the bedroom door closed and he heard the lock turn did Harlan lace up his boots.

Rifle and extra cartons of shells in hand, Harlan locked up the cabin and jogged out to one of the makeshift firing turrets the Triad had set up. The lodge sat on high ground, surrounded by lots of low-lying woods. Chase had already found the three strongest defense points when Harlan and Paxton arrived, and eventually they’d set up camouflaged blinds.

Like for deer hunters, except in this scenario, the wolves were both predator and prey. The hunters were coming to attack the Triad, nail their pelts to a wall somewhere, but soon they’d find things turned around on them.

Right on time, as soon as Harlan was crouched and ready in the blind, three guys in full Ghillie suits emerged from the woods. They were covered head to toe in white and green camo resembling snowy leaves, and when they stopped walking they sunk into the background, almost undetectable.

Almost. Thanks to Harlan’s super senses, he could still pick them out. These assholes had probably spent thousands on the suits alone, not to mention all the military-grade weapons and equipment they were undoubtedly carrying.

It turned Harlan’s stomach. Didn’t they realize that the werewolves they were hunting were also human beings a good portion of the time? It was sick. The thought made him even more angry that Chase had ordered the Triad not to kill the hunters if it could be helped.

Apparently killing humans on Chase’s land would only make werewolves look like vicious, untamed murderers… no matter how bad the human hunters might be.

Harlan looked down the scope of his rifle, taking careful aim. He released five quick shots, hitting low hanging tree branches and piles of snow above the hunters’ heads. One dropped right where he stood, hands flying up to protect his head as he dove into a snow bank.

Amateur
.

The other two at least had the sense to take cover behind a cluster of trees. One of them gestured to the others, giving Harlan the impression that he was in charge of their little group.

Then again, for all their fancy equipment, these guys weren’t likely to be ex-military. They might have a little paramilitary training, but if they were anything special they’d have caught the Triad unawares in the first place. It would be better for Harlan not to assume that they’d use classic USMC moves.

Just like Syria. Disorganized, disjointed, and even more dangerous. The randomness of it made the enemy deadly.

Focusing on them, Harlan shot around them in a lazy circle, careful not to get too close. Warning them, if they’d only listen. A real soldier would recognize Harlan’s abilities, see that fucking with the Winter Pass wolves was a very bad idea.

Over his shoulder, he heard the softest rustle. He tensed and turned, expecting an animal of some kind, maybe Chase or Pax.

Not the camo-suited goon standing only ten feet away, pointing a sleek black handgun right at Harlan’s chest.

“Slowly,” the man said, cocking the gun. “Put your hands on your head and stand up, shit bird.”

Rage flared bright in Harlan’s chest. His wolf rose, and he let it come, though he didn’t let his wolf pull him into a shift.

Harlan released a truly threatening snarl, his wolf’s voice pouring from his human throat. The hunter stared at Harlan, knowing that Harlan was seconds from shifting and potentially ripping him to shreds. A strong whiff of panic rolled off the guy, and the gun trembled in his hand.

Coward
. Wasn’t this the fight the hunter had been looking for?

Harlan sidestepped, drawing the gunman along with him, trying to find a way to weaken him, back him into a tree or make him trip over a rock.

The human surprised him by firing a shot, barely missing Harlan’s right hip. Then another, and another.

If the guy’s hand hadn’t been shaking so hard, Harlan would be in serious trouble. Too quick, the man spread his legs and braced his weapon with his other hand, aiming right at Harlan’s chest.

“Freeze!”

Harlan and the hunter both went still. That voice did something to Harlan’s inside, made him bare his teeth and growl, trying to draw the hunter’s attention again.

Penny stepped out from behind some trees, a shotgun in her hands. She was breathing hard, big puffs of steam rising in the air, her cheeks as pink as could be. She also looked more than a little pissed off, not to mention pretty comfortable with a twelve gauge. Well, well. Wasn’t she full of surprises this morning?

“Drop your gun,” Penny said, cutting to the heart of it. “I am too close to miss, and I have no problem pulling the trigger.”

The hunter sneered at her, but he did lean down and drop his handgun.

“You okay?” Penny asked Harlan.

“Uhh… think so,” Harlan said. He was a little ashamed at getting rescued by her, not to mention overwhelmed by her easy mastery of the situation. A weaker woman would be curled up in the fetal position, scared out of her mind right now. “Keep him in place for me.”

Harlan snatched up his rifle and walkie talkie. He propped the rifle against his shoulder with one arm, turning and finding the other three hunters far too close to the blind for his liking. He fired a few more shots, deliberately hitting one of them in the foot and another in the upper arm.

They turned tail pretty quickly after that, beating feet back the way they’d come in. Harlan whirled back to the final enemy, raising the walkie talkie to his lips.

“Ran three off. Got a live one here,” he reported. There was silence for a long beat.

“Shot four of ‘em, saw them jump in a Humvee and floor it,” came Pax’s voice.

“I got a live one too,” Chase called after a moment. “Tie yours up and leave him in the blind. I’ll come around and collect him. Gonna take ‘em both out as far as I can, let them figure their own ride back.”

“With pleasure.”

Harlan made short work of hog-tying the idiot, stripping him of three more handguns and several fancy pieces of comm equipment in the bargain. Once the hunter’s hands were tied, his face and belly pressed into the snow, Penny leaned the shotgun up against the tree, looking relieved.

“I thought I was going to have to kill him,” she said, worrying her lower lip with her teeth as she watched Harlan tie the guy up.

“Funny, I thought you were going to stay put,” Harlan said without glancing up.

“Not very grateful, are you?” Penny huffed.

Harlan sighed.

“Can we get a little farther from here before we start arguing? I don’t think this asshole needs to hear anything about us or our lives, do you?”

Penny scowled, but didn’t argue as Harlan led her in a wide circle around the main lodge, then toward the cabin.

The whole way to the cabin, Harlan couldn’t stop thinking how impressed he was with Penny. The way she’d wielded that shotgun, threatened the man about to fire point-blank at Harlan. That she’d been brave enough to do that, cared enough to protect Harlan, a man she barely knew…

That spoke volumes about her character. About the kind of woman she was, on top of being beautiful and insanely attractive to both Harlan and his wolf.

“Go on in,” Harlan told Penny, needing a moment to gather himself, keep from pouncing on her and finding out what other surprises she had in store for the right man. “I’m going to grab some firewood.”