Page 10 of Wolf Bound

“Tell the agent we’re on our way to the trailhead,” Devlyn told Billy.

“We’re leaving now for the trailhead,” Billy said.

“We’ll be seeing you soon,” the agent said.

“Can…can I talk to my mom?” Billy asked. “Thanks. Mom, I’m so sorry I didn’t take out the garbage like you told me to.” Then he was crying again. “I love you, Mom.” Then he handed the phone back to Devlyn and they began hiking out of there.

Shawn was carrying Kira’s backpack while she took care of Billy, but she suspected there was more to Shawn’s helpfulness than that. When it came to bachelor male wolves, and she suspected he was one, and they were in the least bit interested in a female, they would do everything they could to get on a she-wolf’s good side.

“Can you walk out on your own okay, Billy?” Devlyn asked.

Kira was holding onto Billy’s hand and making sure he didn’t fall because he was stumbling over roots so much since he was exhausted. Not to mention it was really dark out now. The men had lanterns, though they really didn’t need them, but the boy couldn’t see as well in the dark like the wolves could with the meager light from the lanterns shining in the woods.

“Yeah, I can.” Billy might be tired, but he appeared eager to rejoin his family and his spirits were lifted. Maybe he wanted to be like the wolves too, strong, determined, and independent.

Still, if he was having too much difficulty, she was sure one of the men would carry him to the trailhead. He wasn’t a full-grown man, just a slightly built boy.

She was keeping him well ahead of the other men who were holding onto the litter carrying Fisher. She didn’t want to have to explain to Billy why they hadn’t rescued the dog. Then she heard Fisher saying something to the men carrying him about his backpack.

Tanner said, “You can let us know closer to where you dropped it, and we’ll grab it.”

That was one good thing about being wolves. Their sense of smell was so good they could easily find it. She just hoped the kidnappers hadn’t found it and taken it with them though.

At least Fisher was all wrapped up in a blanket on the litter so Billy wouldn’t realize he was actually naked. Devlyn was leading the way to the trail. Three other men were with him, keeping a lookout in case they ran into further trouble. She doubted the kidnappers would want to tangle with so many of them. She had noticed right way that Devlyn and the other men were all armed with handguns and rifles.

She kept wanting to go back to see how Fisher was doing, but she didn’t want to take Billy to see him. He would start asking more questions about the dog, and for now, all he was concentrating on was moving one foot in front of the other. When they reached the trail, it was a little easier going. It still had some roots and rocks, but it was clearer than the tangled brush they had been trudging through.

The longer they walked, the more Billy stumbled though.

“Do you need a lift?” Tanner asked Billy.

“No, no, I’m fine.”

She suspected that the boy didn’t want to look like he couldn’t manage since everyone else was hiking through the wilderness without any trouble. “I would take him up on it, but I weigh too much,” she said to Billy, smiling.

“I’ll carry you,” Shawn said to Kira.

She chuckled.

Billy smiled up at her.

After another half mile, Billy stumbled and nearly pulled Kira down. He finally conceded that he needed some help, at least for about a half mile. Four miles later, Tanner was still carrying Billy. A seven-year-old normally could walk about five miles at his own pace. He had already walked at least that far with the kidnappers, and she suspected they hadn’t let him go at his slower pace.

Tanner was walking beside her, and she saw that the boy had gone back to sleep. Poor kid. This had been so traumatic for him. She turned around and joined the men carrying the litter and put her hand on Fisher’s forehead. He was dead to the world, but his temperature felt fine, thankfully.

Heath said, “I gave him something to knock him out. He would have been in too much pain jostling him through the woods on the litter otherwise.”

“Good. I’m glad you were prepared. I had never predicted that the kidnappers would take the boy into the national park, and I certainly hadn’t expected them to shoot one of our kind,” she said.

“Yeah,” Heath said. “We were all on alert in case you called us to help you, but we never thought Fisher would be involved in it too.”

They finally reached the trailhead and found several vehicles parked there. Next to her car, she smelled Fisher’s car that was a red Yukon also. She smiled to see he had parked right next to hers. Just as they walked into the parking area, two black SUVs and a couple of police cars arrived.

Because of all the police vehicles’ lights flashing, Billy woke up, looking startled, his eyes wide. He was going home.

4

After Fisher’s brother gave him something to ease the pain from the gunshot wound, Fisher was so out of it. He’d woken once when he had felt Kira’s warm hand on his forehead, but then was out again after that. She had left him to walk with the boy, so that when he opened his eyes again, he asked Heath, “Is Kira alright? The boy? Is he okay?”

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