“Stop. Olivia.” He held her so close she felt his heart beat against her back. “This beast will kill you.”
“What about my goats?”
Two trucks skidded into her drive between her back porch and the barn.
“You stay,” Chance ordered, pulling Olivia back into the kitchen. “I called Dir, Trevor, and Jase when I heard that wolf howling. They’ll help me round it up.” He angled his head in the direction of the barn. “Out there you’ll only distract us. It’s a deadly predator. Stay.”
Chance ran out toward the trucks, hand gun clutched tight. The others crouched outside on the passenger side of the trucks, loaded with weapons, waiting for him. Olivia watched Chance directing with silent hand signals, sensing more communication was going on between them, but not understanding why she sensed them at all.
Olivia closed her eyes, reaching with her mind toward the wolf inside her barn, its rage like nothing she’d encountered in the wild. Wetness streamed down her cheeks and a sob caught in her throat. Her goats screaming in agony and pain rent her heart. A bear attacking in defense of its young was nothing compared with the fury, force, and vengeance of the creature inside her barn.
The goat’s bleats and screams suddenly quieted.
She opened her eyes, sensing no life among her goats. Two men ran around toward the back of the barn, and one man along with Chance burst through the smaller entrance door in front of the barn. She knew before anyone entered, the wolf responsible was gone.
Chapter Seven
Chance replayed the sound of those goats screaming, the same as his premonition. He half expected flames bursting from inside the barn. He stopped at the doorway. Blood and carnage littered the floor and hung in the rafters, as if a tornado of blades ripped through Olivia’s goats. Dir and Jase came barreling through the back entrance and stopped short, staring open-mouthed.
“Why would he do this?” Jase asked. “Do any of you scent him?”
“We didn’t pick up his scent outside either. How did he get out of here without us seeing?” Dir stepped cautiously into the room, his head whipping from side to side. Chance walked carefully into the room.
“This needs cleaning up before Olivia comes in. She can’t see it looking like this,” Chance said.
“Oh, no…” Olivia sobbed from the doorway. She walked on stilted legs, only socks covering her feet. She weaved around the strewn body parts of her five goats and their three kids toward a side door Chance hadn’t realized was there.
“Stop,” Chance said. He caught her and slid his arm around her waist for support. “Where does that door lead?”
“Into where I keep the rehabilitation cages, a hawk, raccoon, and ground hog are in there,” Olivia’s words faltered between her raw emotion and tears.
Chance held her in place, snuggled against his side, pressing her face into his chest. Her breathing labored and tears continued streaming down her flushed face. “Jase, Dir, check it out.”
Both men stood outside the door for a moment, getting into formation, each with gun in hand. Jase stood on one side at the ready as Dir flung open the door. Both entered silent and quick.
“All clear, boss,” Dir confirmed. “It appears he missed this room.”
Chance shuffled Olivia inside the room away from the nightmare, and she ran to the cages, checking each one.
“They are shaken, but unharmed. Thank God.” Olivia watered and fed them. Chance watched her movements, like a robot, working as though on automatic.
“I’m going to stay with Olivia today, explain a few things. We’ll inner-communicate as pack while I’m here. Set up our next search mission, we’ve missed something. Find out from Jasmine if her research brought up anything on cloaking chemicals, if so, is there a counteracting substance? Check out the perimeter of the immediate yard, and bury the carnage before you leave.”
“Got it,”
Trevor acknowledged. He waved the guys out of the room.
“Is there a door going outside from this room?” Chance stationed himself beside Olivia. He saw her fidgeting, hands shaking; her flush disappeared, leaving her pale and drawn.
She pointed, and he led her out the door. Sunlight strained through the trees, fingering across the drive and sparking a few dew drops in its path. Her body trembled beneath his arm, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her close, warm her, and take away the pain. He led her through the porch and kitchen, stopping in her living room.
“Maybe you’d feel better after resting. Do you have anything you can take that will help you rest?”
“Are you kidding me? If I close my eyes I know I’ll hear their dying bleats. They needed help and I wasn’t there. They depended on me.” Olivia’s lips quivered. He thought she might faint. Chance watched her face melt into a look of pain, but she didn’t cry. He figured she might be in shock.
“It isn’t your fault this happened. There’s nothing sane about the creature that did this. I’ve been tracking him across Europe for the past year and for some reason he and his pack settled here.”
“Here. Do you mean on my property? Across an ocean?” Olivia stood toe-to-toe with him, her breath settled on his face, shooting liquid fire through his veins. Even after all that happened, his mind and body craved Olivia, and he still didn’t understand the strength of his primal-mate need for her. His wolf raged beneath his skin, wanting her, needing to protect her.
“Yes, we believe his pack is somewhere on your property.”
She slumped onto the couch, and Chance sat close. He covered her hands with his.
“You expect me to believe a pack of wolves crossed an ocean and the Great Lakes and settled on my property? Chance, please, stop lying. My heart is nothing but pulp over the loss of my dog and now my goats.” Olivia pulled her hands out of his and slid away. Cold pressed in where her body had conformed into his and a void settled between them, deeply affecting him and his wolf.
“I’m not a forester, although that’s my cover right now. I work for an international investigative agency.”
Olivia studied him, suspicion etching fine lines through her brows and face.
“And I’m supposed to believe this?” Her brow arched above a tear-filled eye. The sight of her so vulnerable, lost in grief, crushed him, pinning his body against the back of the couch like a dead moth. He’d lived with grief for a lifetime and didn’t think he could do it again. Chance also knew his wolf would make removing Olivia from his life impossible.
The back porch door slammed and a moment later Lindsey stood in the living room, arms crossed, toting a fierce look. “What the hell is going on here? I want some answers, now. What happened to Olivia’s goats? And why in the hell are your men out there burying them?”
Chance looked over at Olivia, fresh tears trailed down her face. Lindsey swept over, plopped down beside Olivia, and hugged her. “It’s going to be all right. Close your eyes and think of the hawk, the raccoon, and the ground hog who are alive because of you.” Lindsey rubbed Olivia’s back and rocked her, and then glared at Chance over Olivia’s shoulder.
“Isn’t it time for you to go? I don’t trust you, and I definitely don’t trust you with Olivia. Not sure what your game is with her, but you can count it over.”
“I’m not leaving.” Chance remained seated at the opposite end of the couch. His wolf thrashed inside, wanting Olivia closer. “Olivia needs protection from the wolf that took out her herd. We’ve tracked him here and know he resides somewhere on Olivia’s property. Everyone here is in danger.” He glared at Lindsey. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Chance waited a couple of moments. Lindsey’s expression changed from a scowling hate into something pale and questioning. He was becoming fully aware of the strength in Lindsey and Olivia’s friendship. Maybe there was more than mere friendship between these two women. It would definitely explain Lindsey’s protectiveness over Olivia.
“Lindsey,” Olivia croaked, cleared her throat, and continued, “I’m stronger than I appear.” Olivia attempted a chuckle that ended more like a sob.
“Everything was fine here until this guy shows up.” Lindsey stood up and pointed at Chance.
“Rebel died before we met Chance. Things started happening earlier, if you remember correctly.” Olivia dried her face with the sleeve of the purple sweater she still wore from lunch with Chance.
“You had a dog that died a short time ago?” Chance asked, recalling the dog he scented while in wolf form the first time he met Olivia.
“I thought Rebel was mutilated by a bear. The mailman found him along the road. Rebel never went near the road. It happened so fast, one minute he’s right beside me walking me back to the house after I put the animals up for the night, and the next minute he’s gone.”
Olivia stared off, like she was reliving the moments.
“I figured he went for his nightly run around the yard, his little last minute check before coming inside. But he never came back. I looked for him in the dark for a few hours. Finally, I came home and waited for his return.”
“Olivia called me that night, so I came early the next morning and helped her search again. We found nothing, until the mailman drove up and asked if Olivia was missing her dog.” Lindsey shuffled uncomfortably and then wandered over and sat in a chair across from the couch. She noticed the boots on the floor. “What happened to my boots?”
“I owe you a pair. My damn front step caught the heel. It’s probably still stuck there,” Olivia said.
“Man, sweetie, you’ve had a rough night. What the hell were you doing out on the front step?”
“Chasing down Chance.” Olivia turned toward Chance.
Her eyes locked on his, and an instant thread of electricity sliced through the center of his chest. Urgency maxed out his instincts. He needed Olivia beside him, bodies touching. He slid closer until her body heat melded with his.
“Don’t even think about it, Romeo,” Lindsey snapped, staring at Chance. Why hadn’t he noticed Lindsey’s possessiveness before? He wondered if Olivia even realized Lindsey’s deep feelings toward her.
“Boss, you there?”
Jasmine’s telepathic pack-talk interrupted the comment he almost slung at Lindsey.
“What did you find?”
Chance replied.
“Come outside, I’m turning into Olivia’s drive right now.”
“I’m going outside and check on things. Would you mind seeing Olivia gets some rest?” Chance focused on Lindsey, watching a frustrated expression consume her face.
“I’d do that without you bossing me around,” she shot back.
Jasmine’s truck pulled in as soon as Chance reached the driveway behind the house. She parked and jumped out, bounding over.
“I found something in Scientific Trendings e-zine, which is sort of an underground science geek information overload kind of magazine. So, anyway, I followed up on it and came to a Doctor Linden in England. He’s been working on a product called Total Eclipse for almost two years.” Jasmine appeared animated, arms moving, eyes wide, and words ultra pronounced. “It’s specifically for military use. They won’t tell me anything over the phone or the internet. My credentials need upgrading, classified. That’s the only way I’ll get anything from Doctor Linden.”
“It sounds like you’re headed to England. I’ll take care of the credential upgrade right away. How soon can you leave?”
“I already purchased my airfare for tomorrow morning. Can you get the credentials that fast?”
“Give me the address of Doctor Linden’s lab and I’ll have it sent direct. Go there as soon as you land, I’ll leave the timeframe open for when they can expect you. I’ll get the military branch information of who you’ll be representing. We should already have a uniform for you back at the club-house.”
“Got it. I’m going to tell Dir and then pack a very light bag. I should be back the following morning. See you then.” Jasmine walked toward the barn. Dir, her mate, stood in the doorway waiting for her.
Chance walked back inside the house and found Lindsey in the kitchen.
“Where’s Olivia?” He didn’t like the fact he couldn’t see her but hoped Lindsey got her resting.
“I did what you asked, stuck her in the Jacuzzi so she could relax.”
Immediately, the vision of Olivia naked climbing out of her sunken tub flashed through Chance’s mind, triggering a heavy erection. He moved and sat at the kitchen table.
“None of this is fair. First Olivia’s dog gets killed and now her goats. It’s taking a toll on her, she’s so sensitive. Animals are the only beings she trusts, they are always honest.” Lindsey looked him square in the eye, again with her arms-crossed-stance. “After being married to a man who abused her habitat expertise for the sole purpose of buying up her prime habitat properties for his damn hotels and then on top of that cheated on her the whole thirty-four years of their marriage, she has got to feel like her whole life is a shitty sham.”
“No wonder she doesn’t trust me.”
“She doesn’t trust you because you lied and you’re still lying about this stupid wolf pack coming over the ocean,” Lindsey scoffed. “Yeah, she told me. Incredulous. She’s not a stupid bimbo. Olivia’s an intelligent, well-versed, caring, non-judgmental person, and you are pushing all of her wrong buttons.”
“I will tell her the truth, was attempting to do that when you broke in on us.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Lindsey, I don’t expect you to believe any of this because obviously, you’re a skeptic with a closed mind.”
Lindsey marched over and jammed a finger into Chance’s chest. “Listen buddy, if you hurt her in any way, I’ll kick your ass to kingdom come and beyond. Don’t screw with my friend or you’ll regret it.” She stood there with her finger solidly planted against Chance’s sternum when Trevor slammed into the room, big smile on his face.
“Hooey, gal. What’s a nice girl like you doing poking an old stick-in-the-mud like Chance?”
Lindsey stumbled back and almost lost her balance. Trevor moved in time, catching her and presenting her with one of his dazzling smiles.
“Oh, yeah, a restless little filly.” He slid his arms around her tighter.
“Hey, stud, I’m not a horse,” she whispered in a sensual voice Chance hadn’t witnessed before Trevor entered. Maybe Lindsey loved both genders; women and men.