Silver Mine Read online

  Why?

  Her backpack was gone. So were the medical samples.

  He followed Delton into the living room. “Get a wolf. Get an entire damn pack of them. I want to know where she is, and right now. That chopper arrives in two hours, and if we haven’t found her, we’re going to have more than some mystical forest fairies breathing down our necks with the maybe scaries, we’re going to have the entire Takhini pack calling for blood.”

  Chase stripped off his clothes and let his animal overtake his human. For once in his life he wanted his wolf like he’d never wanted the beast before. Cats could smell for shit compared to wolves.

  Again, he was screwed. The transition rippled over his body, muscles and skin aching like he was being flayed to the bone. He stretched his cougar paws on the floor in front of him and released his claws.

  Fine. The cat would hunt her down. And God help Jones if he didn’t have a fucking good reason for abducting Chase’s woman.

  He bounded outside, Delton’s call already sending three or four men scrambling to shift and respond. Chase would track her down, see what the hell was going on and then—

  He was still on the porch, the light summer breeze ruffling his fur. The scents of the camp and the cabin filled his head. The chance of him actually catching her trail before the wolves did was slim. He waited, pacing back and forth in the six feet of space at the top of the wide staircase, his tail twitching as he moved, his body tense and ready to fly as soon as possible.

  There was something uneasy on the air.

  For the first time he sensed it, that otherness the men had reported. That strange foreboding that had brought them all into his backyard in the first place.

  Chase snarled his displeasure at being tugged aside from his task and yet—

  Damn it all, he wanted to go after Shelley. Needed to find her, but something was wrong. Something was headed their way.

  He plopped his hindquarters onto the deck boards with more force than intended. Swear words filled his head as he fought with himself. Struggled with what he wanted to do, and what he needed to do.

  She needed to be tracked down, yes. But these men, his pack, had gathered to be under his protection. His guidance. All the reasons he hadn’t wanted to be Alpha in the first place made themselves abundantly clear.

  Chase drew back his animal. Reined in the beast with every ounce of his energy, but it had to be done. The transformation to human left him sweaty and aching, legs shaking for a moment as he adjusted.

  On top of his other complaints, that the shift no longer felt good totally sucked.

  “Delton. Let me talk to them.”

  The old-timer had five wolves gathered on the lawn in front of the cabin. “I thought you’d be in the bush by now. What gives?”

  Chase scrubbed a hand over his scalp. “Something’s coming.”

  Delton swung toward the tree line, his sharp gaze examining the bush. “That does put a kink in the search plans.”

  Out from their resting spots, all the outcasts rose and stepped toward the cabin. There were more than Chase remembered from before he and Shelley had headed north the previous day. “I can’t go. I have to stay.”

  Delton nodded. “You want me to go?”

  Shelley wouldn’t be as frightened if the kindly old cougar was with the wolves that chased her. Also, the man creaked in either form. Sending him away from what could be a deadly fight might be the best possible solution.

  Chase stared at the wolf shifters. “You know the lady? Shelley? She’s important to me. I don’t know why Jones took her. Find her. Take Delton, find Shelley and Jones.” At the last minute he reluctantly remembered one more warning. “Don’t hurt the boy.”

  Delton stripped, his wiry muscles covered with snowy white hair. “Don’t bring her back unless it’s safe?”

  “Right. The chopper should set down in the clearing. Stay out of sight if you can, but once you find her, try to get her on it.”

  The old man shifted, his cougar more grey than tan. Four of the wolves pranced around him, then they all went to the side of the house, sniffing eagerly below the windowsill.

  They weren’t bloodhounds, they were better. No one made a sound, but it was clear they’d caught the scent. Seconds later the group vanished into the bush behind the cabin, Delton hard on their heels.

  Chase’s fingers twitched. His body was on fire, and this time the ache had nothing to do with the injury to his shoulder, and everything to do with wanting to go after the woman he’d come to admire so very much.

  He strode forward to meet the men left behind. The ones who didn’t fit in, who had placed themselves into isolation. Yet, now when their lives and the lives of others might depend on solidarity, there were no boundaries between them. Bear, wolf, cat and all the variations thereof.

  Together.

  Chase stood and looked them over. Stared into faces. Saw the strain of years of loneliness. The power and determination they’d gained from surviving where others wouldn’t last a week.

  “Don’t know what’s coming, but be ready.”

  They stared back. No one moved. Waiting.

  Chase nodded once, giving approval that they’d sorely lacked in their lives. Giving them a place to belong. “We fight only to keep what’s ours.”

  They turned as one, scattering to their campsites, removing clothing and shifting into their animals.

  Within five minutes Chase was surrounded again, this time by the strangest of menageries. Massive grizzlies, smaller black bears. Pumas and bobcats and a couple of lynx. There was a three-legged wolf and a dozen more lupines, their fur every variation of silver through black.

  All of them sniffing the air warily.

  Frank stood on his hind legs. The upright position placed him a good three feet taller than the rest of the group, but even he didn’t respond.

  Waiting sucked hugely.

  “Keep to the clearing until we know what’s up. Wolves. Patrol the tree line.” Chase planned to stay in his human form as long as possible.

  The breeze over his naked skin refreshed and cooled the burning. Whatever was out there was on the move—of that he had no doubt.

  How he could tell? He wasn’t human to require more reasons. It was enough he and all the others knew something was approaching, and all they could do was stay ready.

  A wolf howled from the far right. For a moment he thought it was the search party returning already with Shelley, and he was ready to run and grab her and give her a piece of his mind, right after he kissed her senseless.

  Instead it was one of the wolves he’d just sent out scouting, and his heart fell.

  The silvery figure cut off in mid-howl and spun on his heels, returning to the center of the clearing as fast as possible.

  Behind him the bush turned dark as a virtual avalanche of furry bodies emerged. Like a wall of oversized lemmings, bears of all sizes and colours emptied out of the woods.

  There were nearly fifty of them, all headed directly for Chase’s cabin.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Evan slammed his hand down on the stack of paperwork. “I’m coming with you, and that’s the end of that.”

  Shaun glared back, but the fight wouldn’t last long. “Fine. Go latch down everything in the bird. And don’t blame me if you have to act as a nurse or some shit. I have no idea what I’m flying into.”

  “Which is why you want me along.”

  Shaun was too busy working through preflight protocol to respond, which was just as well from Evan’s point of view.

  It suddenly struck him that having one of the pack with flying abilities opened up all kinds of possibilities. Hmm, maybe after they’d completed this snatch and grab, they should have a long talk about organizing sightseeing tours based out of Whitehorse using Takhini resources rather than Shaun’s old alliances.

  Evan had gone up often enough to know what to do as he slipped into the storage space and ensured all the webbing and buckles were latched and secure. Up front
, Shaun was flicking switches and swearing at the control tower—nothing unusual, not for Shaun at least.

  Salty dog was a mild term for his Beta’s language.

  Evan’s cell phone rang. Shit. He tucked the phone away without answering. The jaunty tune stopped then picked up again.

  He closed the storage compartment door before crawling into the passenger seat, his phone still ringing.

  When the ringing finally stopped for the fourth time, he had himself strapped in and was whistling lightly as he stared out the front window.

  Shaun coughed.

  Evan stared forward, refusing to meet his Beta’s gaze.

  “You really that big a wimp you’re not going to answer Caroline’s call?” Shaun asked.

  Evan gave him the stink eye. “I’m not scared of her. Just being reasonable. I don’t want her to worry while we’re gone.”

  “Oh, because it’ll be so much better when we get back and she greets us and her injured sister on the tarmac. You tell me she’s not going to kick your ass then.”

  “Caroline will be completely rational.”

  Shaun snorted. “Which is why you’re refusing to take her call.”

  “Shut up.”

  Evan’s phone went off again and Shaun laughed loudly. It only took Evan a moment to flip the ringer off and set the damn thing to vibrate.

  “Shit, you are pussy-whipped. You don’t see me hiding what I’m up to from my mate.”

  “You and Gem are still in the honeymoon stage,” Evan growled. “Just wait until she decides you need a little closer chaperoning. We’ll see how you deal at that point.”

  A loud blast of pulsing music filled the cabin. Shaun slapped at his hip and pulled out his phone. He eyed it, a huge grin spreading across his face. “It’s Caroline. Think I should answer?”

  Evan had the phone out of his friend’s hand, turned off and tucked into a travel bag in three seconds flat.

  “Hey, that’s mine.”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to answer. I’m saving you from whatever interrogation we don’t have time for right now.” Evan glared harder as something clicked. “Hey, why the hell you got such a sexy song as Caroline’s ring tone anyway?”

  Shaun held up a hand for silence as he went through takeoff procedure. Evan slipped on his headset, the thick padding blocking the loud buzz of the overhead propellers. Only moments later they were clear and angling to the north, Shaun expertly manoeuvring them out of Whitehorse airspace and over the Yukon River, headed toward Keno.

  Evan had just happened to be in the room when Shaun got the emergency call. No way he was going to let Caroline know Shelley was being medevaced out of the bush until they actually had something to tell. And whether she’d officially joined or not, Shelley was a part of his pack. There was no arguing that point, not in his mind. He wanted to be sure she was okay.

  “We got two hours. What do you want to talk about?” Shaun asked.

  Evan flicked the mic button to respond. “You mean a serious discussion, or is this going to be another one of those conversations that deteriorates into dissecting the latest pack foible and who got caught doing who?”

  His friend grinned and shrugged. “Those can be fun. We could also rate the latest pack pranks.”

  “Thank you for reminding me to kick your ass for starting that damn Top Ten list at the pack house. Some of the high jinks are hilarious, I’ll give you that, but good grief. Use your bloody brains more.”

  “What?” Shaun complained. “It’s all good clean fun.”

  “Why does even the good clean fun seem to end up kicking me in the pocket book? It was oh-so-entertaining when Caroline and I had to come to the pound to pay fines for having unregistered animals roaming the streets.”

  Shaun held up his middle finger. “That was only one time, dude, and it wasn’t my fault. One of the other guys ordered the dog tags. I didn’t realize he’d actually put Property of the Moonshine Inn on them.”

  “You were wearing one of the tags, asshole. Read much?”

  Shaun grinned at him. “We’ve got a fine life. I mean really, thousand-dollar fines at the pound aside, we got it good.”

  It was impossible to stay upset with Shaun. “Life with your mate suits you. Even though I hope someday to see you settled down and acting like a grownup.”

  “You sure you want to insult me while we’re flying? There’s another death spiral just waiting to happen. I’ll totally do it.” Shaun shook the control stick and the chopper swayed from side to side.

  Evan chuckled. “You’re such a bastard.”

  “You love me, you know you do.”

  “Gag.”

  Spending time goofing off with Shaun was so much a part of what he’d come to expect from their friendship. Irrelevant and rowdy as he might be, the Beta was one of the best around. Evan glanced out the window. Life was good, other than worrying about Shelley, and considering Caroline and how well she fit into the pack. And didn’t fit in.

  It was the weirdest thing. They got along gangbusters in the bedroom. They liked similar movies and had the same taste in twisted jokes. She was as powerful as a woman could be without being a wolf.

  And they were…just friends. Like they’d tried to be more and they cared about each other, but then it stopped. He wasn’t sure why. Didn’t think the barrier was because he was “looking for his mate” like most wolves. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason.

  Shaun’s voice crackled over the speakers. “I can bloody well hear you sighing without you clicking on your mic. What’s got you moping like a teenager?”

  Evan shrugged. “Caroline.”

  “Duuude.”

  There was a world of understanding in Shaun’s single response. Which cracked Evan up.

  “You are such a shithead at times.”

  “I aim to please. Just, seriously. I get that she’s got a hot bod, and I get that she’s a cool person. I like her, I really do. But you two are the weirdest couple ever.”

  “Because she’s human?” Maybe Shaun could help him figure this out.

  Shaun made a rude noise. “It’s not that. Hell, we all know human and wolf combinations. Some are mates, some are couples that decided to get together because they fell in love. It’s all good.”

  “You are way too sappy now that you and Gem are together, have I mentioned that yet?” Evan growled.

  “It’s a mate thing. And…maybe that’s the best I can do. You don’t have to be mates to promise to stick together, but you guys are like the most perfect fuck buddies I’ve ever seen. Friends who fuck.”

  “Now you make me sound all mercenary and crude, only doing the girl because she’s hot.”

  “Nah, that’s not what I’m saying at all.” Shaun glanced at him quickly. “It’s also as if she’s only doing you because you’re hot.”

  Evan nodded. “Guess this just confirms we are one bloody inflammatory couple.”

  Shaun didn’t respond for a moment. When he did, all his teasing was gone. “Evan? If someone mentioned to me that Gem was using me, I would bite their fucking head off. It didn’t even register for you, did it? That you and Caroline are good together, but you aren’t together. Period.”

  Evan sat and considered Shaun’s evenly delivered message. It was true—the words didn’t sting. Didn’t annoy the hell out of him. It just was. Which was probably the strongest indication how fucked up the entire situation was.

  Shelley was sweaty and dirty. Again. She probably smelt as well, but this time she didn’t care.

  She’d been woken up by a hand covering her mouth. A young man with the biggest green eyes stood beside her bed. As a shifter, his nakedness struck her as less peculiar than his face which, strangely enough, was missing both eyebrows. He placed a finger to his lips.

  He stepped back, freeing her mouth and allowing her to call out for help if she wanted to.

  Should she?

  There was no reason she shouldn’t. No reason except the small, usually silent part i
nside that for some inexplicable reason chose now of all moments to make itself heard.

  Her wolf told her to trust him.

  The stranger didn’t give her a chance to ask any questions, which was probably a good thing or those in the other room would have heard. He shifted into a wolf, put his paws up on the windowsill and waited.

  Shelley checked her watch. One thirty. She yawned as she pulled on her pants and silently shoved things into her pack. Her backpack this time, not Chase’s.

  Maybe following the youth was crazy, but it was the first time in forever that her wolf had nudged her this hard. What good was it to long to have her wolf more responsive if she was going to ignore the beast the rare times it did show up?

  Besides, Shelley was pretty sure she could take the kid in a fight.

  She grabbed the samples, dragged on her hiking boots and slipped out after him.

  Walking into a trap was the last thing on her mind. Maybe it was from years of hanging out around animals and learning when they could be trusted and when not. How it was never the big scary-looking ones she had to watch out for. It was usually the sweet, innocent granny’s poodle with that twinkle in its eye that would knock the needle to the floor a second before driving teeny razor-sharp teeth into her finger.

  This wolf was one of the big, gentle ones. She bet she could crawl on his back, pull his ears, and he’d sit patiently and wait for her to finish tormenting him.

  There was a chill in the air she’d felt earlier in the day that vanished as she followed him into the tress. Ahead of her his hindquarters bounced as he led her down a thin path back toward the main highway. The trail rose slightly as it moved toward the hills they’d crossed before hitting Chase’s cabin.

  He trotted slowly for a wolf, as if adjusting for her speed, and she was grateful. She didn’t think she could keep up even the gentle pace for long though. When he walked straight into the middle of the creek she swore.

  “Damn, you’re hiding our trail.”

  He nodded, lupine head dipping regally.

  “You’d better not be leading me wrong, or you and I are going to have words.”